Assassin Marked

The DuFonte Chronicles, Book 1

By: Michael C. Sahd

Narrated by: Paul Burt

Length: 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

An interplanetary crime syndicate. A debt, long overdue. An assassin gone rogue. Love. Revenge. Betrayal.

Although he knows it will mean the end of his relationship with both the crime syndicate and his long-time lover, Captain Victoria Maruska, Damian can’t let sleeping dogs lie. After overcoming his captain’s well-intended efforts to hold him back, Damian sets off to exact his revenge on the man who had once left him to die on the barren wastelands of Earth....

Victoria may not know where to look, but she knows she has to find him. Following Damian’s disappearance and the not-so-mysterious murder of one of his superiors, the Syndicate has called Captain Maruska’s loyalty into question. As a result, she has been assigned the unenviable job of leading a task force to hunt him down....

On the outs with his lover and on the run from trained killers, Damian DuFonte is...an assassin marked.

©2017 Michael C. Sahd (P)2019 Michael C. Sahd

A great story of love and revenge!

The style of the story and the cleaver way it is narrated immediately takes you to the classic 40's spy tales. It took me a bit to realize that this is set in the future. I appreciated Sahd's rich descriptions of the Assassin's world . There was a nightclub that was presented to the reader with the sensibility of a 5 star meal; seasoned with the perfect amount of detail. I could hear the music playing and picture myself among the dancers. The narrator (Paul Burt) did a remarkable job of voicing the characters. Each one vividly brought to life by him. I want to know what happens to the characters in Assassin Marked because I am now attached to them.

An Assassin’s Love Story

What I liked most about this book was that it contained a very human aspect—the love between two assassins. I didn’t expect this, as in their profession I would assume it to be a weakness, which perhaps it was. But it added a welcome dimension to the story. Sure, there was still plenty of action and bloodshed as should be expected, but this story was much more than that. Something else I liked was that in this futuristic tale, with spaceships and high powered weaponry, that the main character’s weapon of choice was something as rudimentary and vicious as a knife. Finally, I really liked the darkness the narrator lent to the voice of Damien and the world as a whole. It was really gritty and reminded me of Sin City.

interesting, and short

the story works to create a new universe without much detail work. we are entered in what I can assume is a dystopian space exploring future, in which our main character is an assassin who essentially is blacklisted.

I'm hoping for more world development going forward. there were also some inconsistencies with the voice actors narration style and quality that removed me from the story. I feel like had I been reading on paper, it may have been easier to follow.

overall, an interesting story, and I'm curious to see where it goes.