Review of The Poe Consequence
Posted: 03 Sep 2021, 12:39
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Poe Consequence" by Keith Steinbaum.]
The Poe Consequence is a fantasy murder mystery novel that weaves Edgar Allen Poe references throughout the novel. The story features several different points of view and centers on the conflict between two gangs and the violence that they bring to their community. The mystery revolves around a series of mysterious deaths in both gangs and how to stop them before they lose more people. One of the questions I had while reading was: who should I be rooting for, the killer or the victims?
I enjoyed the storyline of this novel, I have read several of Edgar Allen Poe's writings as well, so it made the references made in this book that much better. The characters were colorful and I felt that the writing showed gang activity in a clear lighting too. The gangs were gritty and violent, not a cleaned up version for the sake of the reading audience.
There were a few grammatical errors in the book, but they did not detract from the overall book. While the gangs in the book are well written and honestly written, I'm just going to say for anyone reading this there should be a warning for rape. There were a couple of times where I needed to take a break from reading so that my mind could go back to a happier place before starting again. I will say again, the writing was honest about what gang life can look like and all the ugliness that comes with it. Sometimes that just became a lot to take in at one time.
I believe the recommended audience should be adult readers only. The language is very coarse and there is a lot of cursing within the book that make it inappropriate for a younger audience. There is violence within the book but nothing very graphic, there are a lot of instances of sexualized speech throughout the novel.
I would rate this book a three out of four stars. It was an enjoyable read, however I needed to take some breaks because of the content being too much to take in at once for me. The book was well written overall, with the characters being distinct and true to their given backgrounds. There were a couple of scenes that any potential reader should be aware might be triggering.
**Moderators Note: Per the author’s request he wants it made clear that despite a rape occurring the details are not written in as part of the storyline, only as a character’s reminiscence that led up to the event.**
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The Poe Consequence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
The Poe Consequence is a fantasy murder mystery novel that weaves Edgar Allen Poe references throughout the novel. The story features several different points of view and centers on the conflict between two gangs and the violence that they bring to their community. The mystery revolves around a series of mysterious deaths in both gangs and how to stop them before they lose more people. One of the questions I had while reading was: who should I be rooting for, the killer or the victims?
I enjoyed the storyline of this novel, I have read several of Edgar Allen Poe's writings as well, so it made the references made in this book that much better. The characters were colorful and I felt that the writing showed gang activity in a clear lighting too. The gangs were gritty and violent, not a cleaned up version for the sake of the reading audience.
There were a few grammatical errors in the book, but they did not detract from the overall book. While the gangs in the book are well written and honestly written, I'm just going to say for anyone reading this there should be a warning for rape. There were a couple of times where I needed to take a break from reading so that my mind could go back to a happier place before starting again. I will say again, the writing was honest about what gang life can look like and all the ugliness that comes with it. Sometimes that just became a lot to take in at one time.
I believe the recommended audience should be adult readers only. The language is very coarse and there is a lot of cursing within the book that make it inappropriate for a younger audience. There is violence within the book but nothing very graphic, there are a lot of instances of sexualized speech throughout the novel.
I would rate this book a three out of four stars. It was an enjoyable read, however I needed to take some breaks because of the content being too much to take in at once for me. The book was well written overall, with the characters being distinct and true to their given backgrounds. There were a couple of scenes that any potential reader should be aware might be triggering.
**Moderators Note: Per the author’s request he wants it made clear that despite a rape occurring the details are not written in as part of the storyline, only as a character’s reminiscence that led up to the event.**
******
The Poe Consequence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords