{Book Review} Pigs: Daniel James

Pigs: Daniel James

Reviewed by Steve Stred

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency (6 July 2019)

I don’t actually remember why I snagged this one for review through Kendall Reviews. It may have been that no one else had asked for it and I wanted to help it get some reviews, or at the time the synopsis intrigued me.

At the end of the day – I was a bit confused. This is a straight-up action/adventure/revenge story. I kept waiting for a horrific turn of events. A creature or a monster or a paranormal entity to arrive and wreak havoc.

Never did.

Pigs tells the story of a man, who on his first day out of prison, wakes to find his son and wife being murdered.

From there, the story becomes a standard gang type story of his old group trying to get him back into the fold and our main character battling the idea of “getting revenge and going clean again,” or “going fully back into that lifestyle.”

I understood our main character well and Isaac was a fully fleshed out lead, but ultimately, I’m just not too big of an action/adventure reader. I don’t mind action movies, but shoot-em-up revenge stories are definitely not something I tend to lean towards or seek out.

James wrote some fantastic action sequences here, which can be tough to do with so many moving parts, but he pulled it off, which I really appreciated.

So, if you’re looking for a truly fun time – think Keanu Reeves or Liam Neeson type movie – look no further.

James brings the firepower and the body count with ‘Pigs.’

Pigs

Isaac Reid, a former professional thief, has just finished a ten-year stint in prison for a botched job turned bloodbath. Now all he wants is to go straight and make amends with his wife and young son. On his first night of freedom his loved ones are brutally slain by a bitter enemy. Surviving the encounter, Isaac struggles with his choices: do right by his late family’s wishes and abide by the law, or seek vengeance. But he’ll need to decide quickly, as another mysterious force from his past is now in play: a cold killer wearing a wolf mask, leading a band of pig-masked assassins. To Isaac, these men are strangers, but they’re prepared to kill any who get between them and him.

You can buy Pigs from Amazon UK & Amazon US

Steve Stred

Steve Stred writes dark, bleak horror fiction.

Steve is the author of the novels Invisible & The Stranger, the novellas The Girl Who Hid in the Trees, Wagon Buddy, Yuri and Jane: the 816 Chronicles and two collections of short stories; Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery and Left Hand Path: 13 More Tales of Black Magick, and the dark poetry collection Dim the Sun.

On September 1st, 2019 his second collection of dark poetry and drabbles called The Night Crawls In will arrive. This release was specifically created to help fund the 1st Annual LOHF Writers Grant.

Steve is also a voracious reader, reviewing everything he reads and submitting the majority of his reviews to be featured on Kendall Reviews.

Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog OJ.

You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred

You can visit Steve’s Official website here