Review by trinityw -- Diamonds of Devil's Tail
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trinityw
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- Latest Review: Diamonds of Devil's Tail by A.W. Baldwin
Review by trinityw -- Diamonds of Devil's Tail
[Following is a volunteer review of "Diamonds of Devil's Tail" by A.W. Baldwin.]
It's all right there in the title. There are diamonds of nefarious origin in the Devil’s Tail, a remote Colorado canyon landscape. These diamonds are happened upon by a lively cast of characters, and chaos ensues. Whitewater rafters, thieves on the lamb, and a peculiar moonshining hermit that calls the canyon home are all pitted against each other in a whirlpool of greed, action, survival, with a touch of whodunit.
I rate author A.W. Baldwin's Diamonds of the Devil’s Tail a three out of four stars. Relic is a playful, familiar character, and I love a classic adventure story, but I had reservations about giving this read a perfect scoring. Ultimately, I decided on three because it is not anything groundbreaking. The interactions and motivations of the characters are inspiring, but it was nothing that kept my nose deep in it. It is a standard adventure storyline, down to a character in the likeness of Indiana Jones and Mad Max, one accidentally and repeatedly pulled into adventure and peril on his wandering travels. The writing style, relatable characters, and themes are what saves this book from a two out of four.
Based on what I mentioned above, you can guess what I disliked most about this work; how formulaic the hero of this story is. Relic is a quintessential thankless do-gooder with an unorthodox personality. He is one of those 'destined to go at it alone' characters that cycles through temporary adventure buddies with each new storyline. It is obvious who the main character of the story is, while the protagonist who carries the narrative is much more relatable, and my favorite character, Brayden. Also, something that was initially rough for me was how long it took to get interesting. Maybe my millennial attention span is showing through, but it felt to me that it had a slow start. As the story picked up the pace, each character is set up well within their alternating chapters, but I can see how it could be a deterrent for a reader in need of immediate attention-grabbing. Conversely, on the same point, I liked the progression through many viewpoints. It creates engaging narrative clusters that are insightful and important to the overall story.
A.W. Baldwin’s writing places the reader right into the thick of the desert heat. His incredible descriptions of the landscape are at the top of the ‘what I like most’ list. I also thrived on the heavy-handed theme of environmental consequences. The diamonds exemplify the erosion of morality in the shadow of greed and gain, fittingly backdropped by a landscape threatened by global warming. This pessimism of human behavior is balanced by a handful of inherently ethical and enjoyable characters. Each character is distinctive and well written with realistic drives. Brayden and Em are such characters whose chapters I enjoyed most. I identified with Brayden. He is the typically anxious twenty-something caught up in a passionless job that pays his bills and thrusts him right in the middle of all the excitement. His growth through the dangers he encounters is what I wanted more of, rather than using him as a tool to show off just how cool Relic is.
This book is for people who enjoy a healthy mix of campy heist-action-adventure-murder mystery twist storylines with realistic survival situations. I recommend it to other readers looking for a story with weighty themes to deepen a fun read. Overall, this book is perfect for fans of typical action-adventure, who appreciate thematical relevance and commentary of the human condition. For me, this book felt like watching an old, familiar movie that sparks some existential thought as I put it on in the background to do laundry.
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Diamonds of Devil's Tail
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It's all right there in the title. There are diamonds of nefarious origin in the Devil’s Tail, a remote Colorado canyon landscape. These diamonds are happened upon by a lively cast of characters, and chaos ensues. Whitewater rafters, thieves on the lamb, and a peculiar moonshining hermit that calls the canyon home are all pitted against each other in a whirlpool of greed, action, survival, with a touch of whodunit.
I rate author A.W. Baldwin's Diamonds of the Devil’s Tail a three out of four stars. Relic is a playful, familiar character, and I love a classic adventure story, but I had reservations about giving this read a perfect scoring. Ultimately, I decided on three because it is not anything groundbreaking. The interactions and motivations of the characters are inspiring, but it was nothing that kept my nose deep in it. It is a standard adventure storyline, down to a character in the likeness of Indiana Jones and Mad Max, one accidentally and repeatedly pulled into adventure and peril on his wandering travels. The writing style, relatable characters, and themes are what saves this book from a two out of four.
Based on what I mentioned above, you can guess what I disliked most about this work; how formulaic the hero of this story is. Relic is a quintessential thankless do-gooder with an unorthodox personality. He is one of those 'destined to go at it alone' characters that cycles through temporary adventure buddies with each new storyline. It is obvious who the main character of the story is, while the protagonist who carries the narrative is much more relatable, and my favorite character, Brayden. Also, something that was initially rough for me was how long it took to get interesting. Maybe my millennial attention span is showing through, but it felt to me that it had a slow start. As the story picked up the pace, each character is set up well within their alternating chapters, but I can see how it could be a deterrent for a reader in need of immediate attention-grabbing. Conversely, on the same point, I liked the progression through many viewpoints. It creates engaging narrative clusters that are insightful and important to the overall story.
A.W. Baldwin’s writing places the reader right into the thick of the desert heat. His incredible descriptions of the landscape are at the top of the ‘what I like most’ list. I also thrived on the heavy-handed theme of environmental consequences. The diamonds exemplify the erosion of morality in the shadow of greed and gain, fittingly backdropped by a landscape threatened by global warming. This pessimism of human behavior is balanced by a handful of inherently ethical and enjoyable characters. Each character is distinctive and well written with realistic drives. Brayden and Em are such characters whose chapters I enjoyed most. I identified with Brayden. He is the typically anxious twenty-something caught up in a passionless job that pays his bills and thrusts him right in the middle of all the excitement. His growth through the dangers he encounters is what I wanted more of, rather than using him as a tool to show off just how cool Relic is.
This book is for people who enjoy a healthy mix of campy heist-action-adventure-murder mystery twist storylines with realistic survival situations. I recommend it to other readers looking for a story with weighty themes to deepen a fun read. Overall, this book is perfect for fans of typical action-adventure, who appreciate thematical relevance and commentary of the human condition. For me, this book felt like watching an old, familiar movie that sparks some existential thought as I put it on in the background to do laundry.
******
Diamonds of Devil's Tail
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Diamonds of Devil's Tail by A.W. Baldwin
