As a writer, have you ever had a review that made you want to rush over and shake its hand? Or, rather, the author of the review? Something along those lines?
Anyway, I could not go without reprinting this review I received for my new novel, The Weight Of Night. To say that it made my day is like saying fish enjoy swimming, or songs were meant to be sung, or Charlie Sheen has no mind-mouth control… You get the idea.
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03/01 Brian Steele gave 4 stars to: The Weight Of Night (The Progeny) by C.L. Stegall
bookshelves: adventure, dark-fantasy, post-mythic
As an author of horror fiction and urban fantasy that often deals with ancient myths, cultural legends and religious lore, I went into Stegall’s first novel with certain expectations. I was thrilled to discover he had created a rich, contemporary world saturated with a mythos he had made uniquely his own. His twist on the familiar Greek Pantheon remains similar enough for us to recognize, but with his addition of “The Progeny,” he has added an alternative element. While one might be inclined to compare these children with those penned by Rick Riordan, one only has to read a few chapters to see the astounding differences.
Stegall’s book can just barely be classified as a YA novel. Unlike the somewhat well-adjusted adolescents populating The Percy Jackson books, The Progeny found in The Weight Of Night are mostly flawed, violent, insane or simply dead. Enter into this our Alexis and her friend Keats, who must deal with murdered family members, sociopathic demigods, back-stabbing humans and various other daily torments. As Alexis digs deeper into her heritage, she finds greater control over her growing abilities only to face ever growing horrors opposing her.
However, it’s not all bloodshed and madness. Stegall manages to weave equal parts action, romance, humor and philosophy into his tale, none of which feels forced or heavy-handed. The only reason this tale doesn’t receive a full 5 Stars from me is due to the age of the characters, that magical edge of 18, that lets this books slide back into the YA category. I think if Stegall had matured the protagonists a few years into college he could have achieved a properly brutal Urban Fantasy novel.
Regardless, The Weight Of Night is an excellent piece of Post-Mythic fiction that I highly recommend to any fans from authors as diverse as Neil Gaiman to Garth Nix.
