Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a stop on the “Long Chang: A Superhero Detective Story” Superhero Fiction release tour from Seventh Star Press. The tour is hosted by Tomorrow Comes Media who does the publicity and blog tours for Seventh Star Press and other Indie and/or Self Published authors. I am a regular blog tour host with Tomorrow Comes Media and have been an avid fan of the #AwesomeJones series since it first debuted. I was overjoyed the second installment in the series is now releasing and that I could participate in it’s blog tour.
I received a complimentary copy of “Lona Chang: A Superhero Detective Story” direct from the publisher Seventh Star Press in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I love reading the #AwesomeJones series:
Lona Chang took Awesome by surprise, not only for her growing affection and respect of his character, but for being endeared to him as a companion. The two took to each other quite readily, but it was how they fit into each other’s pocket that I felt bemused about the most whilst reading the story! You see, they were the near-identical half of the other, and I refer to it being ‘near-identical’ as although they each read the newsprint release of breaking news, they differed on a category or two. Little unbeknownst differences out of a sea of common threads which helped knit Awesome Jones and Lona Chang together in the bliss of conjoined living. She was quite methodical herself, yet Awesome took the cake for exacting out his observations, and for being near computeristically perfect in his actions. Whilst the two were together, they not only complimented each other in synced harmony but they cancelled each other out on their eclecticism.
Lona and Awesome were intricately entwined by their common share of loss, as they respectively never knew their proper origins. They were each raised by loving parents who adopted them as their own when their biological parents had died. They attempted in their own way to resurrect a connection fate did not allow to solidify whilst their parents were alive. In their shared ambiguous loss, they each sought ways in which they could formulate a way to connect themselves through a passion of their parents; even if the only true connection they had were fragmented pieces of their parents personal effects. These tangible reminders were a weight of a burdened yoke which toyed with their emotional well-being.
When Awesome Jones grapples with the choice between the life he’s formed together with Lona and the life he’s dreamt of living, they each have to put to test the strength of their love for each other. I sided with Captain Lightning (one of the main superheroes focused on in the story) on the outdated rules and regulations of The Guild (apparently superheroes are organised more than you realise!). He’s put in a most difficult position because as you can well imagine, he goes from knowing a scant amount about his ancestry and then, in one large dose of revelation he gets far more than he bargained to learn! I would imagine that if you wake up one day and your entire essence of who you are as a person is chucked out for this alternative version; a version you knew nothing of and had no idea of how to accept, there would be a period of adaption to adjust!
This is when I found myself reading at such a lightning clip as to beg my eyes to move faster down the page, as I had my hand at the ready for turning into the next scene! Again, I love the pace of Awesome Jones as you get to the point where you want to see him succeed. You want him to develop self-confidence and believe in his own truth. There are always forces against you in life, and there is always a chance that your going to falter in your confidence on your own behalf, but part of what endeared me to this story is that the main characters believed in each other. It did not matter what the outcome of their lives would be as far as where their place in the world would fit, as if they had each other they could overcome just about anything crossing their path.
-quoted from my review of Awesome Jones: A Superhero Fairy Tale
Ever since I finished reading #AwesomeJones and took to Twitter to announce my findings within the first novel of the series, I’ve wanted to return. To become re-swept into the vision Ms Sullivan has created for her superhero world and to find out more of what she’s envisioned for her heroes. She has such a strong voice in this wicked hybrid of novelling a comic book story-line – wherein she’s created her own wonderful niche of how you can bend a novel to the will of your own pen. She’s given credence towards following your own instincts towards how a story can be told and she breaks barriers of code by how a novel can be written. In essence, she’s a rebel in her own right and I love her for it.
It is hard to pin down exactly what drew me closer to Awesome himself and to Lona’s story-line which hugs so close to our lead hero. There was a moment as I was first reading #AwesomeJones where I just felt this was a wholly original story, told in a unique manner of delivery where narrative and comic illustrations merged beautifully together to tell a poignant story. You become so dearly involved and entranced by her style, you nearly forget how wicked awesome it is to find someone who is re-setting the heights of where a story like this take a reader.
A bit like how we all have our preferences in superhero motion pictures and televised adaptations – I have the tendency to shy away from the leading crowd of options and seek out the ones who stand out to me. For instance, my favourite upcoming release at the moment is the sequel of The Incredibles – similar to this series, you could say they broke the rules on how superheroes can have a strong base of family and even their children can have hidden talents which can develop alongside their parents.
I truly love the vision of this series – not to mention the fact it’s a joy to be reading!! You don’t have to worry about anything too shocking taking place – even if there are hard-hitting threads within the series, I just meant, this is less intensive than reading traditional Crime Dramas. The beauty though is watching how Ms Sullivan crafts her stories together – as your hardest instinct to overcome is not to read this so fast that you miss the nuances along the way! There are little nudges of insight into the wider world as it’s evolving but mostly, I love the hugged close to her characters’ points-of-view the most! You feel so personally engaged with their line of sight and how they are internalising their own adventures – it’s truly a remarkable series!
Lona Chang: A Superhero Detective Story
by AshleyRose Sullivan
Source: Publisher via Tomorrow Comes Media
When one of the world's greatest superheroes dies in her arms, Lona Chang takes it upon herself to investigate his murder. Armed only with a power she barely understands and a mysterious coded book, Lona begins a quest for answers that leads her down a dark rabbit hole of secrets--secrets the ancient organization known as the Guild is determined to keep hidden at all costs.
Meanwhile, when a new threat descends upon Arc City, Lona's soulmate (and freshly minted superhero) Awesome Jones defies the Guild, dons the cape and cowl of his father and finds a group of unlikely allies. But can Awesome trust them--or himself? He'll have to fight his own demons first if he has any hope of defending the town-and the people-he loves.
As tensions rise between the Guild, Lona, Awesome, his allies and Arc City's criminal underground, Lona realizes that life, and the answers to its questions, are never as simple as they seem in comic books.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1941706640
Also by this author: Silver Tongue
Published by Seventh Star Press
on 30th August, 2017
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 323
Published By: Seventh Star Press (@7thStarPress)
Available Formats: Softcover and Ebook
The Awesome Jones series:
Awesome Jones | Book One (see also Review)
Long Chang | Book Two
Converse on Twitter: #AwesomeJones + #LonaChang & #7thStar
About AshleyRose Sullivan
Born and raised in Appalachia, AshleyRose Sullivan now lives, writes, and paints in Los Angeles. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University and her first novel, Awesome Jones: A Superhero Fairy Tale is available from Seventh Star Press. She can be found at her website or her blog, My Year Of Star Trek.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- #FuellYourSciFi
Road Ghosts : Omnibus Edition
Beauty and Her Boss
Dante's Gift