Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Fade to Black” virtual book tour through JKS Communications: A Literary Publicity Firm. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publicist at JKS Communications, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Fade to Black
by Sue Duff
Source: Direct from Publicist

In the world of illusions there are many secrets . . .

Ian Black has more than most.

Ian Black is an illusionist with a talent for keeping secrets. College student Rayne Bevan has a gift for uncovering them. She suspects that the popular performer's skills extend beyond the stage and that he's the area’s mysterious and elusive defender of the innocent.

In her efforts to uncover the truth, Rayne is swept into the hidden world of the Weir, a magical race who struggle to prevent Earth from self-destructing. Her inquiries expose Ian to those who would kill for his connection to the planet, and as he fights to keep Rayne safe, they discover a force behind the Weir’s raging civil war—a traitor bent on launching Earth’s Armageddon.

Genres: Sci-Fantasy

Places to find the book:

Series: The Weir Chronicles, No.1

Also in this series: Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters

Published by CrossWinds Publishing

on October, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 456

A bit of a back-story on how this novel was conceived:

Where did you come up with your ideas for Fade to Black?

I was in search of a new kind of superhero and I drew upon my love of science in a deliberate avoidance of all things alien, vampire, werewolf, or typical wizardry. From that basic premise, Ian’s character and the world of the Weir gradually took shape.

You’re a fan of both fantasy and science fiction, and your writing is a hybrid of the two genres. Can you talk a little about writing the book in such a way?

Although the basis of the story is very much Contemporary Fantasy, I pull strong SciFi elements into all the novels in the series. The basic plot centers on the fact that the Weir are dying out. In this day and age, it made sense to me that even magical beings might turn to modern science as a way to stop, or reverse, the extinction of their race. I enjoy the dichotomy that the Weir, with their care of the planet and emphasis of all things natural, debunk what they have stood for, over thousands of years, and mess with Mother Nature in an attempt to save their butts.

While Fade to Black is an entertaining read, you do have a message behind it as well for readers?

Yes, there are two things I hope people get out of reading the series. Regardless of the naysayers, believe in yourself and follow your own strengths and path in the world. Ian didn’t develop his powers as the prophecy predicted, and Rayne wasn’t the firstborn male Sar that her father desired. The fact that Ian turned to illusions in order to do what he couldn’t naturally (lack of powers in a magical world) is key to his character. Tortured for what he had no control over, he discovered and nurtured something that he could control.

Secondly, accept that science can’t explain everything and embrace the wonders and mysteries in the universe. My favorite line from the first book is: There will always be magic in the world, as long as we believe in what we don’t understand.

My Review of Fade to Black:

At first, I must confess I was a bit confused on the dimensions of the world where Ian Black lives, as I am a bit used to world building and characters having a hearty breadth of fusion between the two; untoward not having any gaps or misgivings on where each fit into each other. For Fade to Black, the hardest part about the opening Chapters is that there is a lot of information funneling into sight but there is a bit of an absence of how each component fuses and fits individually as much as which of them key into triggers of the wider story. I felt a Glossary or an Appendix on some of the dimensional time shifting and other elements which give Ian Black and his kind their supernatural abilities would have provided a bit of a foundation.

The part that I felt compelled to read further into the text itself was how Ian Black could conjure illusions out of his training as a performer but also how he could add-in his natural gift to ‘shift’ (spelt: shyft) in/out of rooms and close spaces within where his performances took place. There is a wider story arc existing within the fringes of the background, but without a clarity of knowing ‘what Ian Black’s back-story’ is nor a full understanding of how Patrick fits into his life as his agent (supposing as his role is uncertain) or how there are twins (Mara & Tara), a teacher Milo, and this nefarious cat and mouse dance between the forces of good and evil. There are secondary characters arriving on scene whilst Ian Black is caught rescuing a woman in an alley, but it the absence of understanding who the Duach are and what motivates them against the Weir which I found most frustrating. Even the inclusionary eye of a team of ‘Watchers’ is only encouraged to be taken on sight without understanding if they work for the organisational entity behind the Weir themselves or if they are a group of intercessory workers to keep people like Ian Black safe from dangerous exits of their lives.

As we meet Ian Black, he is getting ready to create an illusionary performance for a cheering audience of supporters of magic and illusion; it is within this performance we find that Ian Black is mortal and not immortal against his tricks of action, light and illusionary art. There are a few small foreshadows about who might come forward later to play a more central role in the story, such as Rayne Bevan, but what drew me in and out of the story itself is having to wait so long to understand the world itself.

I felt as though I were reading the second book in the series rather than the first, there is such a bevy of information I felt was presumptively accepted on behalf of the reader yet I had no honest clue what half of the characters were trying to tell me. Even by page 63, I was only being given snippets of what the entire story arc could be and where the imbalance between the light and dark forces were going to bleed into the world; circumventing the role Ian Black would have as an illusionist.

Rather than giving us a grounding in science at the jump start of the novel, we are picking up small clues of what makes Ian Black uniquely different from others; we never quite see the full picture nor understand completely how his gifts are working to aide him in both his act and his acts of heroism. I wanted to fall into step with this story, and curl into a Sci-Fantasy as riveting to read and devour as the Piercing the Veil Series yet instead I found myself struggling to align in the world of the Weir Chronicles.  My first reading of this novel did not go as I had hoped, I had so many questions bobbling inside of my head as I read each new chapter that the joy I was expecting to feel as I read dissipated. I was disappointed because I simply could not continue forward – I wasn’t sure if I wanted to wait any longer to endear myself to a character who was remarkably unknown to me and whose entire life was a mysterious footnote of exclusion.

Sadly, the cover art combined with the book synopsis had such a breath of promise, I was truly saddened I could not knit inside this world. 

This blog tour is courtesy of JKS Communications:

See what I am hosting next by stopping by my Bookish Events page!

I created a list on Riffle to share the books that I simply could not become attached to as a reader myself, but stories which would benefit a reader to find them, and appreciate them for what each writer gave to their story. For me, the reason I included Fade to Black is because I felt immediately disconnected to the story as soon as I first opened the book itself and unlike my fellow book bloggers who waited til halfway or further into the story to understand the basic metrics of the science behind the curious plot, I am not that patient as a reader who thrives on science based stories of Sci-Fantasy. Therefore, this is now listed on my Riffle List entitled: Stories Seeking Love from Readers.

This review is being cross-promoted via:

Reader Interactive Question:

What do you prefer when you read Sci-Fantasy!? Do you appreciate having a grounding of the science within the fantasy world your reading to be presented in the opening chapters to set the tone, pace, and direction of the story? Or do you prefer to remain in the dark on everything until at long last the revelation takes place further into the novel?

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Fade to Black”, author photograph, author biography, book synopsis, excerpts from the Author Q&A (via the Press Kit) and the tour badge were all provided by JKS Communications and used with permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Badges for Sci Fi November & #IndieWriterMonth created by Jorie in Canva.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• Go Indie
• Sci Fi November Readathon