They live among us. We know they are there. No government can control them; no authority can stop them. Some are evil. Some are good. All are powerful. They inhabit our myths and fairy tales. But what if they were real, the witches, wizards, and fairy godmothers? What if they were called "adepts" and were organized into guilds for mutual protection and benefit? And what if they started mucking around with the affairs of "lessers" (that is, those humans not able to match their powers)? During the height of the Cold War, Michael Vaughan is a rogue without a guild. He survives by working for the CIA as NOC (Non-Official Cover). Shortly after the funeral of President Joe Kennedy, Jr., he is sent to Cuba to assassinate Castro. There he finds himself in a cat-and-mouse game with adepts working for Fidel.My Thoughts: There's something I need to get off my chest. This is one of those shameful secrets that I've carried around my entire life. Don't judge me too harshly when you read it. *deep breath* I'm terrible with acronyms. Terrible. Like, I used to be a hardcore Buffy fan and when other people would take about episodes and they be all "In IOHEFY, I thought that Angel and Buffy's relationship went to a whole new level..." and I'd be all "Holy crud. I... once... had... epiphanies... for... No, that's not it! NOOOOOO!" Seriously, throw a few initials in my direction and I get a full-on deer in the headlights look and start whimpering.
The reason I mention this is that there are more acronyms in this book than I'm comfortable admitting to. Which means that I kept having to go back while reading to figure out what the characters were talking about. I wish I was kidding about this. I can tell you the most stupidly trivial things but I can't figure out how to apply initials to anything. I fail at life.
Once I got over the acronym speed bump, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The twists and turns of the spying business can be downright nasty. Vaughn is resourceful and has a pocket full of tricks that he pulls out whenever the situation calls for it. The tweaks in our nation's history made for an entertaining read and the giant pterodactyl on the cover isn't just for show. I will always approve of the gratuitous use of pterodactyls.
More books by S. Evan Townsend
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Agent of Artifice was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Too many acronyms remind me of reading scientific articles for grad school. Or military stuff. Neither of which I would like in a novel.
ReplyDeleteIt worked in the context of the story, I just had a hard time remembering what was what.
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