Official Review: A Villainous Spite by Mike Connor

[Nisha Ward]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Villainous Spite" by Mike Connor.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

What If you got stuck in a different world? What if you had to struggle for your survival in a, quite literally, alien land? What if there was a dinosaur running around that could kill you at any moment?

What would you do?

In Mike Connor’s A Villianous Spite, these questions are asked and answered in tremendously interesting ways. The story of Jack Landon and his struggle to survive, we see our hero stranded on the world of Gronoldva after going through a portal from Earth. When he stumbles upon a world devoid of people and populated mostly by animals and the robot Redbeam 500, he finds himself in quite the pickle.

Can he survive until another portal opens? How will he escape the giant dinosaur terrorising the area? And what of the people who once lived there?

This was a really fun book to read. It reminded me of both classic science fiction and books like Robinson Crusoe. That the book revolved around, at first, two or three characters in a strange world cemented this feeling. It also allowed Connor to focus on building Jack’s rapport with Redbeam 500 before delivering a series of unexpected twists that kept me on my toes.

What I really liked about this book was actually that rapport. It’s clear that their initial meeting left both man and robot in a tight spot as they didn’t like each other. Yet, as the novel went on, that changed. It didn’t become less antagonistic, as Redbeam was quite the cantankerous character, but they did start to care about each other. This was compounded by Jack’s feelings about his own robot, Kinro, and his frustration at being stuck on Gronoldva. It made for a building tension that kept me reading.

I also really liked how Connor connected Gronoldva to Jack’s life on Earth. To avoid spoiling the book, I won’t say how this is done, but I will say that it showed how much thought went into building this world. It’s something I can appreciate, as it made everything feel more lived in as I delved deeper into Gronoldva and its history. It also raised the stakes, as it gave Redbeam a past both tragic and infuriating.

However, I didn’t like the numerous and frequent errors in the book. They’re the reason I’m only giving it 3 out of 4 stars, as they actually did make the book harder to read. The novel needs an editor’s deft hand to rectify this, as it ate away at its potential to be a great book.

Still, I liked the book more than I hated the errors. It’s nail-bitingly exciting and funny, with never a dull moment. I definitely recommend this to science fiction readers, particularly those who like media like John Carter and Lost in Space. It’s worth the read.

Happy reading, everyone!

******
A Villainous Spite
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Rayah Raouf]

It is unfortunate that the errors made the book harder to read. The premise of the book sounds AMAZING! But, I would wait until another round of editing happens first.

[Alheotuci]

The plot seems intriguing, will definitely give this one a read. Thanks for a detailed review!

[NetMassimo]

This seems like an engaging adventurous science fiction novel that just needs another round of proofreading to be perfect entertainment. Thank you for your great review!

[zulfiyya]

Great review! I'm curious to find out how he will get out of this pickle of his.