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Assassin #2
Pieces of Hate
- GenresHorrorDark Fantasy
90 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2005
66 people want to read
About the author
Tim Lebbon
297 books1,557 followersI love writing, reading, triathlon, real ale, chocolate, good movies, occasional bad movies, and cake.
I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. And our dog, Blu, who is the size of a donkey.
I love the countryside ... I do a lot of running and cycling, and live in the best part of the world for that.
I've had loads of books published in the UK, USA, and around the world, including novels, novellas, and collections. I write horror, fantasy, and now thrillers, and I've been writing as a living for over 8 years. I've won quite a few awards for my original fiction, and I've also written tie-in projects for Star Wars, Alien, Hellboy, The Cabin in the Woods, and 30 Days of Night.
A movie's just been made of my short story Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies. There are other projects in development, too.
I'd love to hear from you!
I was born in London in 1969, lived in Devon until I was eight, and the next twenty years were spent in Newport. My wife Tracey and I then did a Good Thing and moved back to the country, and we now live in the little village of Goytre in Monmouthshire with our kids Ellie and Daniel. And our dog, Blu, who is the size of a donkey.
I love the countryside ... I do a lot of running and cycling, and live in the best part of the world for that.
I've had loads of books published in the UK, USA, and around the world, including novels, novellas, and collections. I write horror, fantasy, and now thrillers, and I've been writing as a living for over 8 years. I've won quite a few awards for my original fiction, and I've also written tie-in projects for Star Wars, Alien, Hellboy, The Cabin in the Woods, and 30 Days of Night.
A movie's just been made of my short story Pay the Ghost, starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Wayne Callies. There are other projects in development, too.
I'd love to hear from you!
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 25, 2016
At first, I want to mention that this is a joined review for Book 1 and Book 2 in the series.
Deadman's Hand
I'm not that much into westerns. I do have one that I really liked, Shane
Jack Schaefer but other than that one all of the few westerns I've read were either boring or simply not good.
This one wasn't boring. It might not be filled with action, but it reads rather well. The ending rather surprised me, especially since I knew there will be a second story. What brought me down was the brutality of the world presented there. Yes, it fitted, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.
Pieces of Hate
This is the story I signed up for. You know - pirates :D. And if this one was the only one I've read I might've had a better opinion of these stories. Then again, maybe not.
Pieces of Hate shows you the beginnings of Gabriel's story. How he became immortal. How he became a revenge-fueled hunter. Wherever Temple goes, Gabriel will follow. And to find him he'll use whatever means necessary. His old wounds show him the way - the closer he gets, the more they hurt.
In this rather short story, the author used a sentence "snake in his/her/their eyes" several times. After a while, I really had enough of it. It seems the further the story went, the more people had snakes in their eyes and some of them for no reason. At first, I thought it was something like an evil look, but I'm guessing it means way more.
I also couldn't find myself liking the characters. Any of them. I know this wasn't really the type of story where you do like them, but I was actually glad it all ended.
One thing I have to admire in Tim Lebbon, he can surely create a mood. He presented us with the world that was perfect for this story. All very real, brutal, dirty. People's reactions were fitting to the situations, very natural. Even though these are stories about an immortal and a demon, they feel as if they might've really happened.
As a bonus, here's the cover of the second book that tempted me to read it. Then I read the description and I thought "I want it!". Nice one, right? Way better than the original. But to tell you the truth - the original fits better to these stories.
To sum it up
Somehow I couldn’t find myself liking these stories. They were rather well written and I did like the feel of the world, all brutal and dirty and very realistic, but the first story was just a bit too similar to the Gunslinger by King which I simply couldn’t get through. I think this one might find some fans, I'm rather curious to see how the story will continue, but I don't think I'll read the next one.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Check my reviews at https://maginibooks.wordpress.com/
Deadman's Hand
I'm not that much into westerns. I do have one that I really liked, Shane
Jack Schaefer but other than that one all of the few westerns I've read were either boring or simply not good.
This one wasn't boring. It might not be filled with action, but it reads rather well. The ending rather surprised me, especially since I knew there will be a second story. What brought me down was the brutality of the world presented there. Yes, it fitted, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.
Pieces of Hate
This is the story I signed up for. You know - pirates :D. And if this one was the only one I've read I might've had a better opinion of these stories. Then again, maybe not.
Pieces of Hate shows you the beginnings of Gabriel's story. How he became immortal. How he became a revenge-fueled hunter. Wherever Temple goes, Gabriel will follow. And to find him he'll use whatever means necessary. His old wounds show him the way - the closer he gets, the more they hurt.
In this rather short story, the author used a sentence "snake in his/her/their eyes" several times. After a while, I really had enough of it. It seems the further the story went, the more people had snakes in their eyes and some of them for no reason. At first, I thought it was something like an evil look, but I'm guessing it means way more.
I also couldn't find myself liking the characters. Any of them. I know this wasn't really the type of story where you do like them, but I was actually glad it all ended.
One thing I have to admire in Tim Lebbon, he can surely create a mood. He presented us with the world that was perfect for this story. All very real, brutal, dirty. People's reactions were fitting to the situations, very natural. Even though these are stories about an immortal and a demon, they feel as if they might've really happened.
As a bonus, here's the cover of the second book that tempted me to read it. Then I read the description and I thought "I want it!". Nice one, right? Way better than the original. But to tell you the truth - the original fits better to these stories.
To sum it up
Somehow I couldn’t find myself liking these stories. They were rather well written and I did like the feel of the world, all brutal and dirty and very realistic, but the first story was just a bit too similar to the Gunslinger by King which I simply couldn’t get through. I think this one might find some fans, I'm rather curious to see how the story will continue, but I don't think I'll read the next one.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Check my reviews at https://maginibooks.wordpress.com/
January 29, 2016
I received this from the publisher at no cost.
Having read the first story, I was expecting another with an uninvolved narrator. So when it turned out to be Gabriel himself, I was surprised and a little disappointed. I can see why Lebbon did this; this story, which certainly felt much longer than the first (not sure if it really was), gave Gabriel's backstory and motivation for his quest to kill Temple. But I think that this could have been done in discussion with someone else, perhaps while on the voyage to Port Royal (the scene this time: en route to, and briefly in, Port Royal). That would have made it seem a bit less like Gabriel was moping around, and simultaneously wallowing in his fury and hate which were a little distasteful. I'm not saying he shouldn't be angry for what happened, just that I got impatient and a little bored with all of the WOE FOR ME bits.
There was a lot going on in this story that didn't involve the search for Temple. Some of it was showing Gabriel to be a bad-ass, which actually I didn't need; it's clear he is, and I think it would have been more impressive to have the clash between him and Temple show his chops, rather than killing maiming... well, not innocents, but not-Temple. Gabriel knows that he's no saint and doesn't claim to be, but it is hard to really be on the side of someone who is not-quite-as-bad-as the villain.
It wasn't a bad story, although the pacing felt a bit off; I'm not sure I care enough to read the third in the series.
Having read the first story, I was expecting another with an uninvolved narrator. So when it turned out to be Gabriel himself, I was surprised and a little disappointed. I can see why Lebbon did this; this story, which certainly felt much longer than the first (not sure if it really was), gave Gabriel's backstory and motivation for his quest to kill Temple. But I think that this could have been done in discussion with someone else, perhaps while on the voyage to Port Royal (the scene this time: en route to, and briefly in, Port Royal). That would have made it seem a bit less like Gabriel was moping around, and simultaneously wallowing in his fury and hate which were a little distasteful. I'm not saying he shouldn't be angry for what happened, just that I got impatient and a little bored with all of the WOE FOR ME bits.
There was a lot going on in this story that didn't involve the search for Temple. Some of it was showing Gabriel to be a bad-ass, which actually I didn't need; it's clear he is, and I think it would have been more impressive to have the clash between him and Temple show his chops, rather than killing maiming... well, not innocents, but not-Temple. Gabriel knows that he's no saint and doesn't claim to be, but it is hard to really be on the side of someone who is not-quite-as-bad-as the villain.
It wasn't a bad story, although the pacing felt a bit off; I'm not sure I care enough to read the third in the series.
November 18, 2019
This is marked as part two of the Assassin books but it comes earlier in the narrative. And I think that is a mistake. In book 1 readers met Gabriel and the demon, Temple, in Deadwood, South Dakota.
But book 2 has pirates, so I kept listening. [and it’s hard to skip a whole novel in an audiobook collection]
Gabriel is on a boat to Part Royal where he has heard Temple is headed. But… it’s so repetitive. ‘His eye and his leg hurt, a hint of wounds to come’ is said two or maybe three times. So is ‘feed your hate’ and lots of people have snake eyes or snakes in their eyes. Gah…
It’s a novella… it seems really unnecessary to repeat yourself multiple times. I’m surprised you’ve got the room to do it.
It's just… I want to say dumb. For example:
The best thing about it is the title - that's clever.
Technically it’s a did not finish but I am going to one star it.
In the Tor audio collection – the blue one.
But book 2 has pirates, so I kept listening. [and it’s hard to skip a whole novel in an audiobook collection]
Gabriel is on a boat to Part Royal where he has heard Temple is headed. But… it’s so repetitive. ‘His eye and his leg hurt, a hint of wounds to come’ is said two or maybe three times. So is ‘feed your hate’ and lots of people have snake eyes or snakes in their eyes. Gah…
It’s a novella… it seems really unnecessary to repeat yourself multiple times. I’m surprised you’ve got the room to do it.
It's just… I want to say dumb. For example:
The best thing about it is the title - that's clever.
Technically it’s a did not finish but I am going to one star it.
In the Tor audio collection – the blue one.
July 23, 2017
Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com
April 17, 2025
Check out my video review. Hit subscribe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xvTW...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xvTW...
February 21, 2016
3.5/5.0
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews