Ink and Shadows

By: Rhys Ford

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

Kismet Andreas lives in fear of the shadows.

For the young tattoo artist, the shadows hold more than darkness. He is certain of his insanity because the dark holds creatures and crawling things only he can see - monsters who hunt out the weak to eat their minds and souls, leaving behind only empty husks and despair.

And if there's one thing Kismet fears more than being hunted - it's the madness left in its wake.

The shadowy Veil is Mal's home. As Pestilence, he is the youngest - and most inexperienced - of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, immortal manifestations resurrected to serve - and cull - mankind. Invisible to all but the dead and insane, the Four exist between the Veil and the mortal world, bound to their nearly eternal fate. Feared by other immortals, the Horsemen live in near solitude, but Mal longs to know more than death, war and famine.

Mal longs to be...more human. To interact with someone other than lunatics or the deceased.

When Kismet rescues Mal from a shadowy attack, Pestilence is suddenly thrust into a vicious war - where mankind is the prize, and the only one who has faith in Mal is the human the other Horsemen believe is destined to die.

©2015 Rhys Ford (P)2016 DSP Publications

Scary, creepy, but oh-so-engaging!

Any additional comments?

There is something I don’t like to admit about myself. I get scared and startled easily.

Yes, I am a wuss. I turn into a quivering pile of shuddering terror around horror stories. It’s true. I get nightmares easily and figure, hey! No reason to bring that shit to my playground, right? So I avoid horror movies and books whenever I can. Which is most of the time.

When I was offered Ink and Shadows for review I did read the blurb, but what I was thinking was “Rhys Ford and Greg Tremblay together? Winning combo – sign me right up!” I saw this as “Urban Fantasy”, sure, but I didn’t really think anything of it.

I should have. Oh, god, I really should have. Because this story creeped me out…big time.

The story scared the (bleep) out me. Straight up – left me clutching the sheets trying not to fall asleep for the images in my mind – scared.

I played a chapter for a co-worker that had me straight up gasping and trembling…

And she looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “That’s not scary.” I was told. But it *was* scary, for me. I didn’t want to keep listening, but I couldn’t stop.

Between the awesome world building, and the fabulous narration performance by Greg Tremblay (naturally!) I was hooked. I was really into the story, which for someone who’s not a wuss, will probably work out a lot better than it did for me.

This is a great stepping stone story into this new world. While not a cliffhanger, the story is more an introduction to the world and the characters, and certainly not complete. The end lends itself to many unanswered questions, which I assume will be answered in later installments. Also, good for some to know is that though there’s some hints of affection and longing between characters, this is by no means a romance. Maybe there’ll be some romance later, you can see the potential of it, but there’s none here.

This one is for those people who love a good paranormal/urban fantasy story with lots of deep, dark crevices to explore. More for say a Stephen King-type fan than a Nora Roberts-type fan, if you know what I mean.

My problem? Now I’m hooked. I need to know what happens next. So, I’ll just have to put on my big girl pants and suck it up and get ready for book #2.

D

Any additional comments?

Wow! Second book within one week that is soooo far from the norm of mm romances. This is definitely an urban fantasy setting with so much depth to the characters that draw you into their world, issues, hopes, and dreams.

Although the story is based around Mal and Kismet, Ari and Death were a big part of this story and I actually liked them so much more than Mal and Kismet. Mal and Kismet are both in a position to grow and become better than they were at the beginning of the story and by the end, they really weren't stronger mentally or physically. And I think that's because the story will continue for them.

Now, Ari and Death, I was just in love with them and couldn't help wishing the story was mainly for them and their romance. -pouts- And Min, she really didn't make an impact on me at all. I'm looking forward to the next story in this series.

Great beginning but description misleading...

This book is a great start to a complex world and series, but it is much more setting and plot driven than character driven. The book description would appear to focus on Mal (a physical embodiment of the Apocalyptic Horseman Pestilence) and Kismet (a mortal psychic sensitive that can see the dead and otherworldly beings) as the main characters but the relationships of the main villains and the Horsemen Death and War are much more provocative and central to the plot. I have read/listened to Rhys Ford's Cole McGinnis, Sinners, and Hellsinger series so I was expecting a single relationship/intense villain drama story and instead I got an urban fantasy with two semi-fledgling relationships and pretty much no sexy times. Unexpected but still enjoyable. I hope this goes on to become a long ongoing series with much more relationship development.

Absolutely fascinating!

I want to start by saying that I think I categorize this as “romantic fiction”. There are absolutely potential romances on the horizon (War and Ari, Kismet and Mal) but in this story we are more focused on the world building and the development of Kismet as a new Horseman of the Apocalypse.
These aren’t the typical Horsemen you may be familiar with – there is no strong religious bent – instead these are guys doing a job and they’re flawed, funny and fascinating. Because it’s Rhys Ford, you know you’re going to get fantastic prose, elegant descriptions, humor and deep emotional ties. Oh… and adventure!
So… if you’re interested in a story that’s more adventure (for now?) than romance this is absolutely the story for you. It’s amazingly well written and for me to say that I enjoyed it (when usually this is not my cup of tea at all!) says a lot!
4.5 of 5 stars (a small ding because I wanted the next book out now or for the romance to start in this book!)

Audio
I had originally passed on this because (as I said earlier) it’s not my thing – but when I saw it had Greg narrating it, I couldn’t pass it up. These two together are MAGIC and I knew that even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted in a romance, I’d still be entertained. And I was! Greg did another fantastic and superlative job with this – giving each of the MCs a unique flavor and voice. His research and care in creating characters is evident – he doesn’t merely read you a story he co-creates with the author to give you an EXPERIENCE. I think I could listen to Greg read pretty much anything ever and I’d love it – but in all seriousness – this is truly wonderful!

Narration 5 of 5 stars

Overall 4.75 of 5 stars

Gripping but sometimes confusing

This was an interesting story. I wanted to know more about the characters. I wanted them to have more time to develop. Having said that it was an enthralling read and something fun and different for Rhys Ford. Can’t wait for the next one

Unexpectedly excellent

I’ve been devouring M/M fantasy for the past [pandemic] and a lot of times I go in thinking I’ll get a fun story, some steamy scenes, and the comfort of a HEA or at least a HFN. I usually do gym or hobby or housework to such stories.

This turned into a story where I really cared for the characters and worried for them despite knowing things would probably be at least HFN. I couldn’t multitask while listening because it was too gripping.

Now finished, I am really wishing to know what happens next. This was not the whirling fantasy romance I hoped for, but was better and darker than I knew what I was getting.

5/5, 10/10, whatever :)

Good but not her best

I'm a fan of Rhys Ford's books but this one feels like it was pretty early in her career. Pestilence's and Kismet's relationship doesn't make a lot of sense. I get that he's an addict and I don't need the frequent reminders. I found Death and War much more interesting. Famine was barely a blip on my radar. Additional world-building would have been nice. There are some rough transitions where I would wonder how they got to that point and go back a chapter. The concept was good but it wasn't fleshed out enough for me to care about the characters.

The cover art is intriguing and Greg Tremblay, as always, did a very good job. He's one of my favorite readers.

Excellent narration can’t redeem a bad book.

Ford’s writing just couldn’t match his imagination. From the SLOW start, through the unnecessary and forced love scenes, all the way to the non-existent ending, I was left wanting more.

Great turn of a tale.

I have never read any books by this author but I really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed the way the horsemen were portrayed and the battle they wage within themselves to do their jobs. Except Ari/War.. he actually loves his job.

Slow

This one started out rather slowly. I almost gave up. It felt like it had no direction or purpose for the first chapter. The expected romance is almost non-existent. What is there is a feeling of loneliness, learning to trust, and friendship. The book ends with minimal closure, however. I am still uncertain if this is a series or one and done.

Top Notch

Would you listen to Ink and Shadows again? Why?

Yes. It's too good not to revisit

Who was your favorite character and why?

There were several really good characters, but my favourite was Mal, the youngest and most inexperienced of the Horsemen. He was far from perfect, which made him all the more likeable

Have you listened to any of Greg Tremblay’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Greg always delivers a great performance, and this was no exception.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

With any of Rhys Ford's books, I always want to listen to the entire story in one sitting, but the length of them makes it near impossible to do this

Any additional comments?

Another top notch book from Rhys Ford with a unique and original take on the Four Hoursemen of the Apocolypse, and an outstanding performance from Greg Tremblay

Excellent

The narrator is utterly brilliant. I love the way he really nails the different voices it’s like listening to real conversations. The story was great as well loved the twists and turns. Sad it had to end