Podcast Review #127: Dark Currents: Book 2 in the Emperor’s Edge Series
originally published April 10, 2012
Title: Dark Currents
Author: Lindsay Buroker
Genre: Fantasy with Steampunk elements
Released: 21 March 2012
Located: Podiobooks, iTunes
Formats Available: podcast, ebook
Rating: PG – 13 for violence
Several months ago, many regular readers of the blog will remember that I found a new podcast novel written by Lindsay Buroker and read by Starla Huchton. You might also remember I greatly enjoyed it and had few complaints concerning it. Well, that book was The Emperor’s Edge, and now I’m here to review it’s sequel, Dark Currents.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis: It’s been three months since former enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon and the notorious assassin Sicarius thwarted kidnappers and saved the emperor’s life. The problem? Nobody knows they were responsible for this good deed. Worse, they’re being blamed for the entire scheme. With enforcers and bounty hunters stalking them, and the emperor nursing a personal hatred for Sicarius, it’s going to be hard to earn exoneration. (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)
Production: Dark Currents is produced by the same team that produced The Emperor’s Edge, Darkfire Productions. Many of the same superior production qualities that I enjoyed with The Emperor’s Edge are still present in Dark Currents. However, there are a few more background artifacts during the reading. This might have been something that was uncontrollable and impossible to remove. Regardless, they did catch my attention and momentarily pulled me out of the story. Also, in one ep the outro music appears several minutes early and leaves a gap at the end. This definitely messed up the ending of that ep, at least for me. Hopefully, this issue has been corrected.
Grade: B-
Cast: As with The Emperor’s Edge, Dark Currents is read by Starla Huchton. And once again, she does a superb job. Each of the characters retains their individual flavor from the original story and, remarkably, so do many of the periphery characters.
Grade: A
Story: You may remember that I stated during the review of The Emperor’s Edge that the steam elements seemed unnecessary. Well, in Dark Currents, Ms. Buroker has upped the steam and the need for it. This second story makes the steam elements more much necessary and common. This story takes place outside of the city for the most part. I found myself enjoying the story very much, but realized that the setting of the first book was one of the things I greatly enjoyed about it.
Grade: A
Verdict: I enjoyed Dark Currents. Immensley. I might have even enjoyed it more than the first. I love watching the relationships between the characters evolve. I hope to see the trend continue in the next several books. I heartily congratulate Ms. Buroker on the story and Ms. Huchton and the lads at Darkfire for bringing it to life.
Disclosure: I’ve never met Ms. Buroker. Since the review for EE, i have begun following her on Twitter (@goblinwriter). I was offered nothing in return for this review.
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