When you release a new book and ask people to review it, there is always the “nail-biting chased with vermouth on the rocks” time that takes place before (and sometimes while) responses roll in. When you’re a cross-genre author, it’s even more harrowing, because your projects frequently don’t hit the mainstream target markets. They don’t have the auto-appeal that westerns have to cowboy fans or gears have to steampunk fans or magic has to fantasy fans.
So, when I undertook writing a book that combined elements of westerns, steampunk, and fantasy, I was understandably nervous. I filed my nails down and stocked up on vermouth in preparation, in fact. And then I sent out ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) to the beta readers and put out a call on FaceBook to get more volunteers to give an honest appraisal of what I’d written.
Before I go further, I want to thank the following reviewers on Amazon for taking the time to A) read my book and B) post a review. You took time out of your lives and spent it on my writing, and I can’t emphasize enough how grateful I am for your willingness to give me both a chance and a helping hand. So, here’s props and humble gratitude to:
- Mel
- Naira
- Aaron M. Ritchey
- Mario Acevedo
- Jon Corres
- Big Dave
- Sassa Margot
- Kevin
- Tiffany Harris-Reeves
- Megan Upole
- Lady Vo
- nikki
- Bill Wilson
- Rachel A. Brune
- Lou J Berger
- Aaron Spriggs
Having said all that, I wanted to mark a milestone on my blog by posting here all the really wonderful things you all had to say about Blood Ties. If a writing career is a journey, then every new book is another photo album of discovery along the way. Well, there are five more books to go on this particular vacation to worlds we’ve never known, and I count myself as fortunate that I have folks like you to take the trip with me.
REVIEWS AS OF 11/9/2015
Jake is a character you love to watch …
By Mel on November 7, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of action, a lot of clever one-liners, and a lot of fun.
Jake is a character you love to watch get into trouble, just to see how he gets out of it.
Good settings, great characters – it’s really a lot of fun the whole way through. Highly recommend it. Can’t wait for the next one!
Gears and Guns and Magic – Oh my!
By Naira on November 6, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
I just finished this book and I want more! I don’t usually read Westerns, but throw some steampunk and magic into the mix and I’m hooked! The characters jump off the page from the start, and the slightly fantastical world of the post-Civil War west is rich and believable. The diverse cast of characters is genuine and not just a ploy. I’m a little disappointed at the cliffhanger ending, but I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment.
A cross-genre steampunk shoot’em up full of vivid characters
By Aaron M Ritchey on November 2, 2015
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blood Ties is an old-fashioned carnival ride in the best sense. A cross-genre steampunk shoot’em up full of vivid characters and a well-thought out world. While it does leave questions unanswered, as book one of a series, I was satisfied with the story as a whole, and look forward to book two! Finally, we have the chronicles of Jake Lasater with more gunslingin’ and wise-crackin’ on the horizon.
A glorious genre mashup
By Mario Acevedo on November 2, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quincy Allen offers a brisk, thoughtful story that weaves together the necessary tropes to create a satisfying Steampunk adventure. His hero Jake Lasater is a mangled Civil War vet, who along with his sidekick Cole McJunkins, embark on a Weird Western odyssey that put them mano-a-mano with a host of villains: Chinese gangsters, werewolves, rogue soldiers, and a clockwork bionic killer named Ghiss. The tight prose draws you into an evocative tale that spins on intrigue and double-crosses. Go for it.
Mister Allen Astounds!
By Jon Corres on November 2, 2015
4.0 out of 5 stars
Okay, aside from the minor narrative time slip…
An action adventure that mixes fantasy and science fiction seamlessly. There are few authors I can list that illicit such a visual experience as much as an intellectual one. I’ve read a fair few – from some of the original steampunk authors such as Homer all the way to Jules Verne. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a fair few as well. Mister Allen ranks as small handful of authors to truly watch! He’s not a bandwagon; He’s a force of literary nature waiting to be encountered. Jake Lasater is a hero or anti – hero that can appeal to many on man different levels.
One of the brush strokes I find to be a hallmark of a really great writer – the ability to meld a piece of the author into the protagonist. Mister Allen does this very well and with flair.
To summarise, I find this a great introduction to a new fictitious world of wonder! I can’t wait to be able to take a break and read and re – read before the next instalment!
Freewheeling, Fantastic, and Adventurous
By Big Dave on November 2, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
For the first few pages of Quincy J. Allen’s blood ties, you might think you were reading a straight Civil War novel. Captain Jake Lasater has been commanded to make what may or may not be a suicidal charge on a rebel-held hill, and after making the necessary protests, will do as he’s been told. A sly reference to a Zeppelin may or may not tip the reader off to what’s coming, but when Jake gets to the top of the hill he finds a machine-gun wielding armored monstrosity that never saw action in the real Civil War, and we know we’re in a steampunk novel.
And then Jake dies.
Only he doesn’t, quite, because in this steampunked version of the Civil War, for just the person at just the right moment, there are other options. So Jake Lasater undergoes some dramatic reconstruction and emerges as a clockwork gunslinger.
Left eye enhanced by a strap-on ocular, left arm and both legs entirely clockwork, Jake is a cool-headed card player and a hard-punching man of violence in the grand tradition of Westerns. His also spiritually sensitive, having apprenticed himself to a Cherokee shaman as a young man rather than waste his time sitting around in his dad’s brewery. And Jake is no loner — his sidekicks include a fellow gunman and a young mechanically-gifted ward. Jake will need every advantage he’s got, when the Tongs of San Francisco start sending supernatural assassins after him to avenge the death of one of their own.
This is steampunk in the best traditions of the genre: freewheeling, fantastic, and adventurous, eager to plunder motifs and themes from any other type of tale, throw them all in a bag, shake them up, see what comes out and punch it between the eyes.
A fun read for genre fans of steampunk and Weird Wild West fiction
By Sassa Margot on November 1, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blood Ties: Book 1 of the Blood War Chronicles by Quincy J. Allen
Length: 276 pages
Genre: As the author puts it, a Western Steampunk Epic Fantasy. As this reviewer elaborates, a genre-blending mashup of Fantasy, Paranormal, Steampunk and Western
Summary: Half-clockwork gunslinger Jake Lasater and his blue-eyed mulatto riding partner Cole McJunkins storm through a clockwork Weird Wild West battling werewolves, Chinese Tongs, crazed European soldiers and a deadly clockwork mercenary called Ghiss aided by a talented horse with a mighty kick named Lumpy, a beautiful Chinese tinker magician named Qi and his fast-on-her-feet ward Skeeter. Oh, and in the mix there’s a savvy mad emperor and sexy mysterious noblewoman in need of assistance as well.
Set in a vaguely post-Civil War American West, Jake’s adventure begins, after a few preliminary poker games, gunfights and assassination attempts, when he receives a telegram from Qi asking for his help on a job in San Francisco. San Francisco, where the Chinese Tongs who tried to kill him are headquartered. But does our hero turn down an opportunity to head straight for danger? Of course not! “Well, son, lemme tell ya…when a lady like Qi Lau Xing sends you an urgent telegram asking for help, you pretty much get off your tail and lend a hand. You’ll understand better when your suspenders are a little further from the ground.” Without spoiling the rest of the story, let it be said that mayhem and swashbuckling ensue, introducing a vibrant and well-drawn world, peopled with vivid characters and setting the stage for epic adventures to come in later stories, as this one rollicks to a cliffhanger ending.
Review: I enjoyed this book, straight up. Definitely a genre-blender, with steampunk showing up in airships, half-clockwork repaired veterans, green goggles and top hats everywhere, paranormal touches in the occasional werewolf, magicians and enchanted guns and prosthetics, and old school Western appearing in beautifully detailed Old West scenes sent ever so slightly askew by all the madness, like calculating whether your mechanical arm can draw faster than his when the poker game goes awry. If you are a genre purist, prepare to be appalled. If you can roll with author Quincy J. Allen’s mad mix, prepare to be enthralled as he builds a beautifully detailed, creative and markedly visual world.
Why did I enjoy it? Pace. Characters. World-building. Writing.
The dominant pace is breakneck page-turning madness, as we race from one shoot ‘em up to the next, with major battle scenes every other chapter or so, lovingly detailed in Wild West meets Steampunk tropes. But this skilled author knows when to slow the dance down and savor a moment, for high stakes poker games, encounters with lovely ladies or moving moments with Jake and his ward Skeeter. It’s a fast read, with snappy dialogue driving the action.
Author Allen’s characters are beautifully detailed, nuanced and vividly memorable. Our hero Jake is noble and good, in spite of the tough hand he’s been dealt, and skilled at vanquishing bad guys, but only the ones who earn it by making life hard for others. Not a bad philosophy. Cole McJunkins is loyal, quick-thinking and equally skilled at bad-guy vanquishing, and accepts his friend’s despised “machiner” half-clockwork nature as generously as his friend accepts his mulatto skin in a racist time. Skeeter is a fun character, a rebellious but fabulously skilled and street-savvy teenager who, guess what, breaks rules but is grown up enough to handle the consequences. From what I’ve seen so far of this author, I would guess Skeeter has bigger roles to play in future episodes of this epic adventure. Then there is the alluring Qi, magician and tinker, too busy with her own life and missions to take up as our hero’s girlfriend. I’ll leave it to readers to discover on their own Ghiss, mad Emperor Norton and the European lady in need of assistance, not to mention Grandfather Chung, just to mention the more important ones. But what’s great about this writer is even the one-off small characters carve out their own moment, like Marshal Billie Sisty—female, someone who could “speak softly and still know how to work a leg iron when the situation required it”—who had to reprimand Jake for shooting within city limits, although she did allow that he “did the wrong thing for the right reason…or is it the right thing for the wrong reason.”
On world-building, maybe I’m partial because I am from Colorado like the author, and he obviously loves Colorado and its colorful Old West heritage and uses that knowledge masterfully to create a firm foundation for the crazy world he goes on to build. From an overnight stay in the Horace Tabor House to quaffing a brew at the Colorado brewery, Allen knows and loves the real Colorado, even as he covers it up with steampunks and werewolves and half-clockwork villains and heroes. He’s a visual writer, lovingly detailing the gadgets and gehaws, but never slowing the action down to do so. As mentioned above, he proudly refuses to color between the genre lines, or pick a genre for that matter, so buckle up for a few chapters as you rollercoaster from Old West to steampunk to paranormal, but trust that you will know and understand the rules of his mad world and they will eventually make sense. This is probably not a good book for someone who likes their reality real or objects to enchanted mechanical arms, but it’s a great book for someone who is delighted by creative surprises every few paragraphs.
And the writing. It is fine, damn fine. Writing in my mind is five things: the plot, the characters, the world-building, the prose and the quality of the editing. The dull stuff first—editing. I won’t suffer bad grammar or typos. I found one skinny little typo, which is miraculous in a newly published novel, so I take my top hat off to the author for delivering such clean prose. Full points for great well-motivated characters, a rollicking fast-paced plot plausible enough in its own madcap way and a beautifully detailed world, which leaves us to discuss the actual prose. I love this writer’s dialogue and humor. His style reminds me of my favorite Robert E. Heinlein stories, with swashbuckling, wise-cracking heroes, tongue-in-cheek at times with a knowing awareness and humor that leavens both dangerous and moving moments. Allen takes even the tiniest moment and gives it a little sparkle. Like when our hero has to jump naked from bed into a raging gunfight and find a way to present himself with some modesty a few minutes later to a beautiful woman, covered only by his holster. Or his description of a small moment in a card game:
““You’re called, mister,” the cowboy added.
Cole sighed and turned over his hole card. It was a king. The cowboy turned pale first, knowing he was beat, and just as Jake suspected, his face went from pale white to crimson in that slow transition far too many drunken cowboys get right before the shooting starts. Jake could see the alcohol coaxing liquid backbone into the cowboy.””
Recommendation: Read it if you are a fan of steampunk or Weird Wild West genre fiction. You will love the vivid characters, rollicking plot, madly creative world and snappy dialogue. May not have quite enough magic for fantasy and paranormal fans, and I promise there is far too much madness going on for those of you who like your reality real. As my motto is “Reality is for those who lack imagination,” call me a fan. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this madcap universe of the Blood War Chronicles.
A Great Steampunk Adventure for Even Those Timid Toward the Genre
By Kevin on October 31, 2015
4.0 out of 5 stars
The description of the book is already a wonderful synopsis. The only thing I can add about the plot is while our hero’s origin lay on the battlefields of the Civil War, the meat of the story begins with a poker game in Denver, lasting just long enough to send you on Jake’s perilous journey through San Francisco. This can only result in a serious confrontation with at least one crime syndicate on the Barbary Coast. Or I could be wrong, and he merely ends up enjoying a good plate of Dim-Sum.
This is Steampunk. You must know this, and expect this going into the book. As someone who is picky about his science fiction, and not entirely enthusiastic about Steampunk, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
While it is part of a larger series, the book left me feeling fulfilled and wanting more without my emotions left to hang from a cliff hanger. The characters are well rounded, featuring three fully complete dimensions, leaving the reader with memories of having met people who live in a Steampunk universe, without being caricatures of a Steampunk universe. This is something with which most Steampunk writers struggle, but not Quincy! The fight scenes are also vivid and compelling, bringing to life the movie theater of your imagination.
While this genre may not be for everyone, this book makes a superb attempt to bring new audiences to the Steampunk genre, while bringing the wonderful skill of Quincy Allen to new and veteran readers. I wish I could say more, but further elaboration would serve only to rob the surprise of discovery from the reader.
If you enjoy Steampunk, or like the idea of Steampunk but have difficulty finding a writer who satisfies your inner critic, this book is a must read. Indulge your madness. You won’t regret it!
The Chinese Tong and a few others would like to find Jake and settle a score with him
By Bobby K Reeves on October 31, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
Set in the Victorian era, the newest release from author Quincy J. Allen introduces us to Jake Lasater, an injured Civil War veteran who happens to have some clockwork limbs that are magic infused. He is on a quest to deliver a mysterious package for Lady Danesti, but there are those who are out to prevent this. The Chinese Tong and a few others would like to find Jake and settle a score with him, as well. Jake is travelling with his partner, Cole, and Skeeter- who is his ward and a tinker. His lady, Qi, is also a tinker (helpful!). They run in to more trouble than one can imagine during their action packed journey!
The characters in this novel are so well developed that I felt like I knew them within a few pages of them being introduced. I could not stop reading this book! I didn’t so much feel like I was reading it, as it felt like a friend was telling me a story, and I love getting that feeling from a novel. It was fast paced and filled with action and witty banter between the characters. I really enjoyed that, as with his other writing, the female characters were strong and played a pivotal role in the story. There really weren’t any “background characters”; all of them were really well developed.
I didn’t think that Quincy Allen could make me love him more as an author, but he certainly did with Blood Ties. I am anxiously awaiting book number two!
A fantastic start to an exciting series! Pick it up. You will not be disappointed.
By Meagan Upole on October 30, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
Steampunk is a relatively new frontier for me and when I was told the premise of the novel, I was intrigued to see how he could manage to fit so much into a single story. I worried perhaps it was a bit heavy in promises and I’ve seen many authors overreach and end up with bit of mess.
That is definitely not the case here.
I absolutely loved it. The characters are interesting, lovable (or the opposite in a few cases), and imaginative. The main character is both easy to relate to and interesting to follow while the cast of characters surrounding him are beautifully crafted and far from simply side characters. I quickly and easily found myself chuckling at the book, which was honestly the best part. In my opinion, too many authors take their story too seriously. Life isn’t always serious (or always a comedy). Mr. Allen manages to avoid this masterfully. The humor and honest humanity of the characters make the story believable despite the advance tech and sprinkling of magic involved and keep the story feeling honest even as ninjas, mechs, and magic collide.
I only have one complaint with the novel– the end. And my only real complaint is that I have to wait for the next one to find out where the story goes from here! I expect great things in the sequels to come and I’ll definitely be picking them up as soon as they’re available! I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone, steampunk fan or not. I think it’s a nice gateway to an interesting genre that will have me delving deeper, reading more steampunk novels and stories, as I anxiously await more from Mr. Allen.
Steampunk Western Addiction
By Lady Vo on October 28, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book was hard to put down once I started reading it! I deeply appreciate the steampunk aesthetic being brought so beautifully to not only the Old West, but other cultures than the traditional Victoria Europe. The diversity of characters gave representation to many who are often left out and added a layer of interest to an already engaging story. The description of the clockwork was done in beautiful detail and I foresee being inspiration to many a fellow steampunk project. This is something I can see my family who are fans of this period in history and not necessarily steampunk fans enjoy as well. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
Fantastic!
By nikki on October 26, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic steampunk Western! Mr. Allen did an amazing job of pulling me out of this world and into another as I read this book. Couldn’t put it down. Thanks for a fantastic read!
A Steam Punk Western with pithy sayings, witty dialogue and non-stop action.
By Bill Wilson on October 25, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
“They’d chewed a lot of the same dirt over the years”
A Steam Punk Western with pithy sayings, witty dialogue and non-stop action. Think Cullen Bohannon from Hell on Wheels mixed up with Joséy Wales with bionic, runic engraved, clockwork driven, prosthetic limbs with the character and integrity of John Carter and a dash of James West and you have the protagonist, Jake Lancaster. An ex civil war veteran, gunslinger and card shark along with a host of strong intriguing women characters , Chinese tinkers (Qi and Master Chung) and tong members, zeppelins, an evil Wallachia villain along with a bunch of henchmen, a mercenary named Ghiss who was known as “The Night Stalker” for the Confederate Army …mix in magic, zeppelins, an impossible quest to safely deliver a sacred Reliquary, a mysterious Lady Danesti who is a warrior witch, a sixteen year old Tinker, clockwork, engineer named Skeeter and a dangerous partner in arms, Cole McJunkins, and you have Raiders of The Lost Ark mixed with The Warrior Way and a dose of Shanghai Knights. Book One, Blood Ties, of the Blood War Chronicles leaves you wishing that the rest of the series had already been written so you could indulge in a marathon of escapism into the world of Jack Lancaster . If you enjoyed reading John Hornor Jacobs’ The Incorruptible , David Niall Wilson and Steven Savile, Hallowed Ground and are fans of The Wild, Wild West and Jonah Hex, Quincy Allen’s Blood Ties will blow you away with its well written, witty dialogue and action packed plot.
Definite recommend for steampunk fans!
By Rachel A. Brune on October 23, 2015
4.0 out of 5 stars
Steampunk cowboys, black zeppelins, and just a dash of the supernatural — all add up to an action adventure that keeps you immersed in its pages from page one.
Jake and Cole, with their sidekick Skeeter, find themselves wrapped up in intrigue and the shenanigans of a number of shady entities, not all of whom have their best interests at heart. From the high plains to the alleys of San Francisco, they have to use their wit and gun fighting skills to survive.
There is a lot to love in this book, especially if you’re a fan of steampunk, Wild West pulp adventures, or just good writing. The characters were well-developed, even as the plot hurtled forward like an airship in an electrical storm. Even the minor characters were fun and compelling – and who doesn’t love a cameo from Emperor Norton (an actual historical figure – check him out.)
There were a few minor quibbles, mostly to do with editing, which pulled me out of the story here and there, but never enough to make me put the book down and stop reading.
I definitely put this book on my recommend list, and am impatiently waiting for the sequel!
Jake’s modernistic approach of “live and let live” will leave readers very comfortable in accepting him as a hero worthy of our
By Lou J Berger on October 18, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quincy Allen’s Blood Ties is a deftly written, well-crafted steampunk adventure that had me turning the pages as fast as I could. His Jake Lasater, a wounded Civil War vet with magic-infused clockwork limbs, pairs up with Cole McJunkins who is more than just a sidekick.
Lasater’s charm is magnified by his enormous heart and unflagging courage as he chases down villains for the reckoning that is due them. Although set in the latter years of the Victorian era, Jake’s modernistic approach of “live and let live” will leave readers very comfortable in accepting him as a hero worthy of our attention. Lasater is a manly man, a cigar-chomping, poker-playing ruffian with a tender side, especially when he’s around women.
And women play a vital role in this novel. Skeeter, a Tinker with burgeoning skills in machining practical devices, has invented myriad ways of using steam, pistons, cogs and the like to automate Lasater’s home. Qi, Lasater’s soul-mate, is also a Tinker and knows Lasater’s innermost thoughts, both the heroic ones and the not-so-heroic ones. Lady Dăneşti, a mysterious woman with an equally mysterious package, needs Lasater and McJunkins to deliver it for her, despite a bevy of villains set on taking it away, even if it means killing our heroes in the process.
Allen’s book is gripping, well thought out and, in a word, riveting. I was beguiled by the sheer competence of Lasater’s philosophy, impressed with McJunkins’ loyalty, and felt more than a little protective of young Skeeter, who only follows the rules she agrees with and is competent enough to face the consequences when things go south.
I recommend this book strongly, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Let the sigils glow and the shells explode
By Aaron Spriggs on October 14, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars
High-action (in both tension and altitude) rains down you the reader from start to finish. This is steampunk in the Wild West done the way it should be.
Mr. Allen keeps the story’s pace fast and furious, dancing a staccato to shame a Flamenco dancer. His characters are all fleshed out, vital, living, breathing people with backgrounds you the reader only get glimpses of, just like real life. Jake, our main protagonist, may be a gunslinger card player, but he’s got a moral compass that doesn’t sway from true heroic, and can laugh at himself just as be serious. This last bit is my favorite part. The humor. So many stories get heavy handed with action and tension, they lose humor, which life is full of. “Blood Ties” stops to smell the jokes, often sprinkled in with the high-action/drama of a scene, making it all the better.
Let me finish up by saying my praise isn’t easily won, especially for the steampunk genre. I’m usually a strict purist, wanting my steampunk all science and I rarely enjoy having magic mixed in with it. I expected to like this story since I’ve read other work by Mr. Allen, but I didn’t expect to like it nearly as much as I do, knowing there was magic involved. He has it in the world, but it to, like the humor, is sprinkled in and rare. He’s balanced it just right, and I’m a converted steampunk fan, now that I know it can be done right.
So, let the sigils glow and the shells explode for this crew of characters zepping around the Wild West. I truly look forward to the next two books of the series, and I can’t wait to purchase hard copies of this story, after reading the electronic version.
