The Island Deception is Dan Koboldt’s follow up to his 2016 debut, The Rogue Retrieval (review), and the second novel in his Gateways to Alissia trilogy. I enjoyed The Rogue Retrieval very much when I read it last year, so much so that it made my top 10 books of the year. To therefore say I was looking forward to The Island Deception is an understatement – I couldn’t wait to get back to Alissia and see where Koboldt’s imagination would take me. And I wasn’t disappointed, for within the electronic pages I was carried away to another world, one where magic is real, but so is the danger…
From the publisher:
What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. But what happens after you step through a portal to another world, well…
For stage magician Quinn Bradley, he thought his time in Alissia was over. He’d done his job for the mysterious company CASE Global Enterprises, and now his name is finally on the marquee of one of the biggest Vegas casinos. And yet, for all the accolades, he definitely feels something is missing. He can create the most amazing illusions on Earth, but he’s also tasted true power. Real magic.
He misses it.
Luckily—or not—CASE Global is not done with him, and they want him to go back. The first time, he was tasked with finding a missing researcher. Now, though, he has another task: Help take Richard Holt down.
It’s impossible to be in Vegas and not be a gambler. And while Quinn might not like his odds—a wyvern nearly ate him the last time he was in Alissia—if he plays his cards right, he might be able to aid his friends.
He also might learn how to use real magic himself.
Set a few months after the events of The Rogue Retrieval, Quinn Bradley is finally about to live his dream of delivering his big show in one of Vegas’ biggest venues. It’s what he’s worked his whole life for, but after travelling to the world of Alissia and seeing real magic first hand, something is missing. That something soon changes when Veena Chaudri shows up to return him to the CASE Global island facility and, ultimately, to Alissia on another mission. After his previous contact with the magicians of Alissia, Quinn finds himself uniquely placed to re-tread his steps back to their island in order to help CASE Global finally locate it. But, as always, things aren’t what they appear to be, and Quinn must use every trick at his disposal to survive until he reaches his goal, all the while wondering if that spark of real magic he found within himself on the previous mission can be fully revealed…
While many second novels in a trilogy can suffer from the ‘middle-book syndrome’, one of the big benefits is that they know what they need to do. Koboldt uses this wisely in The Island Deception, placing the reader straight into the heart of matters and pushing the plot ahead at full steam. Little time is wasted on Earth, and before we know it Quinn and the team of Kiara, Logan, Chaudri, and Mendez are back on Alissia in order to track down and stop Richard Holt, former head Allissian researcher at CASE Global, now elected Prime of Valeria. It’s not just one target either, for Holt took equipment with him when he defected, and getting this back is a very high priority for the team. But due to the nature of the mission they must split up, Kiara and Logan on the trial of the technology, Quinn, Chaudri, and Mendez on an information gathering mission before Quinn makes his way to the Enclave of magicians.
Suffice to say that there is plenty going on in The Island Deception. While Quinn’s storyline is the one I was most interested in when I approached the story, it turned out that by splitting up the core team I became hooked on each of the separate threads equally. There is much more going on than initially meets the eye, and while this helps with the story, it also helps immensely with the world building, a facet I felt was slightly under-explored in the first novel. Koboldt manages to do this through natural exposition, giving deceptively detailed explanations of the world and society as the teams progress.
There is some really good character building going on too. Logan and Kiara are an interesting pair together, though Kiara’s unwavering adherence to her orders and the goal of CASE Global is especially effective in providing some disagreements and friction along the way. Mendez and Chaudri’s relationship is teased aplenty, though it is also clear that Chaudri has an affection towards Holt given their previous mentor/apprentice relationship. Quinn’s development comes courtesy of his involvement with the Enclave, and this is explored nicely through both magic training and his discussions with other members on the island. The characters are ultimately responsible for the success of The Island Deception, more so than the story itself.
And speaking of which, this is where the downside issue of ‘middle-book syndrome’ comes into play: not that much actually happens. It’s clear that Koboldt has big plans for the third book, but it means that setting the pieces takes time, and that’s the only real downfall of the story. Don’t get me wrong, things do happen, just not quite at the level I hoped or expected. I did have one other issue with The Island Deception, and that’s Quinn’s endless reliance on the technology he has to pretend to be a magician rather than actually trying to find his real magic. It’s a theme throughout, and one that is frustrating due to its ongoing nature. I was satisfied by the end, just not quite so with the way it got there.
So, my final thoughts on The Island Deception are quite simple: I liked it. A lot. Is it perfect? No, but it does address some issues from the first novel while building a solid base on which to deliver the finale. The short chapters, entertaining characters, and witty dialog certainly helped the pages turn long into the night, and when I finally finished only one thought came to mind: when’s the next one out? In my eyes, when a book leaves you with that feeling you know you’ve got a winner. Recommended.
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse
Author: Dan Koboldt
April 2017, 352Pages
Ebook, ISBN: 9780062659088
Review copy received from the publisher
© 2017 Mark Chitty | @chitman13
