Official Review: Assassins Code by Stephen Ashby
Posted: 16 Dec 2019, 18:06
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Assassins Code" by Stephen Ashby.]
No doubt for the money, a former member of a special unit takes on a hitman’s job. He lives big in a secretive and decommissioned missile silo with a bevy of beauties as apprentices. But his real strength lies in his hi-tech tools (which include an armory), a dedicated support structure, and an array of extermination methods to choose from. Regrettably, though, he talks of having a code for his line of work; the more I read his novel, the more I realized this was a veiled attempt to lend a veneer of propriety to his unnatural obsession with bloodletting.
As it were, little is conventional in the Assassins Code by Stephen Ashby. Even its classification as a Romance novel is overrated as its main characters are lascivious and sadistic at best, a description that is hardly anything close to the glamour associated with plain vanilla love. I’d think that it’d be better suited classified in the Crime genre. Moreover, the characters include a fellow, Fangster, with a knack of popping in and out of existence at will. To the lead character, Bill Sampson, Fangster represents “the supernatural council,” the ubiquitous body whose requests Bill can’t turn down even if he wanted to.
As a result, I found Bill’s belligerent tone to his would-be targets disturbing and uninspiring, more so because he relies on second-hand knowledge to eliminate a victim. It matters little he takes steps to minimize collateral damage as the fact remains he is the judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one. The only redeeming quality with his autobiography is that Ashby discourages anyone from constructing his explosive devices or trying to use his book as a guide for staging assassinations.
All the same, Ashby’s book presents a black-and-white picture of a harsh world that still seeks the services of an assassin. Call it choosing the lesser of two evils, if you may, but Ashby’s story contains incidents that seem to suggest Bill’s skills are highly sought and attract a premium rate. I, therefore, leave it to the reader to discover how Bill is approached, plans his operations and executes his orders, or if at all, he’ll eventually survive in his chosen preoccupation. He also mentions a lot of high-sounding terms relating to munitions which I thought would be better suited for a military operation rather than a civilian one.
Lastly, the novel needs some work on the editing: some of the errors I identified included some typos, a few possessives and homonym errors, and a couple of misplaced words in sentences. The other major weakness with the novel has to do with the plot or foundation of the story. I found the information presented poorly organized because the assassination incidents dominated other portions of the author’s story, e.g., his social life, background, etc. As a result, the story eventually became monotonous to read; because of the two mentioned flaws with this novel, I rate it 2 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this novel to those who like crime thrillers, as the central characters perpetrate crime and the novel highlights the criminal methods used. On the other hand, it’ll be less suited to those who dislike stories featuring vampires and sadism. And for this latter reason, I should add that the book should only be read by mature readers.
******
Assassins Code
View: on Bookshelves
No doubt for the money, a former member of a special unit takes on a hitman’s job. He lives big in a secretive and decommissioned missile silo with a bevy of beauties as apprentices. But his real strength lies in his hi-tech tools (which include an armory), a dedicated support structure, and an array of extermination methods to choose from. Regrettably, though, he talks of having a code for his line of work; the more I read his novel, the more I realized this was a veiled attempt to lend a veneer of propriety to his unnatural obsession with bloodletting.
As it were, little is conventional in the Assassins Code by Stephen Ashby. Even its classification as a Romance novel is overrated as its main characters are lascivious and sadistic at best, a description that is hardly anything close to the glamour associated with plain vanilla love. I’d think that it’d be better suited classified in the Crime genre. Moreover, the characters include a fellow, Fangster, with a knack of popping in and out of existence at will. To the lead character, Bill Sampson, Fangster represents “the supernatural council,” the ubiquitous body whose requests Bill can’t turn down even if he wanted to.
As a result, I found Bill’s belligerent tone to his would-be targets disturbing and uninspiring, more so because he relies on second-hand knowledge to eliminate a victim. It matters little he takes steps to minimize collateral damage as the fact remains he is the judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one. The only redeeming quality with his autobiography is that Ashby discourages anyone from constructing his explosive devices or trying to use his book as a guide for staging assassinations.
All the same, Ashby’s book presents a black-and-white picture of a harsh world that still seeks the services of an assassin. Call it choosing the lesser of two evils, if you may, but Ashby’s story contains incidents that seem to suggest Bill’s skills are highly sought and attract a premium rate. I, therefore, leave it to the reader to discover how Bill is approached, plans his operations and executes his orders, or if at all, he’ll eventually survive in his chosen preoccupation. He also mentions a lot of high-sounding terms relating to munitions which I thought would be better suited for a military operation rather than a civilian one.
Lastly, the novel needs some work on the editing: some of the errors I identified included some typos, a few possessives and homonym errors, and a couple of misplaced words in sentences. The other major weakness with the novel has to do with the plot or foundation of the story. I found the information presented poorly organized because the assassination incidents dominated other portions of the author’s story, e.g., his social life, background, etc. As a result, the story eventually became monotonous to read; because of the two mentioned flaws with this novel, I rate it 2 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this novel to those who like crime thrillers, as the central characters perpetrate crime and the novel highlights the criminal methods used. On the other hand, it’ll be less suited to those who dislike stories featuring vampires and sadism. And for this latter reason, I should add that the book should only be read by mature readers.
******
Assassins Code
View: on Bookshelves
