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The Halter Review

Written by Declan

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Darby is a well known writer in the video game world, not only has he helped shape some of the greatest moments in Assassins Creed history, but his early career saw him work on some video game adaptations of Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of The Rings. Being a video game writer comes with a few challenges, you need to make sure your story fits the established world and lore to create a balance between gameplay and cutscenes when telling the story.

So what happens when Darby has free reign to create his own world, and his own story that is only limited by his imagination? Well you get his first novel Halters, a story that seamlessly blends the noir crime genre with a futuristic element. A few of the book's synopsis has linked his book to Ready Player One, and while reading this book I can see the link. As you get deeper into the novel I feel this book is more of a fusion of Ready Player One and Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, but these fusions are only just the tip of the iceberg as Darby adds his own flair and ideas.

From the beginning of the novel to the end, Darby introduces a whole cast of characters that are unique and feel like they have their own stories to tell. The main protagonist, Kennedy Stark, is a very likeable and relatable character, and as you follow his journey you gain a better sense of who he is and by the end I wanted more. One of the greatest strengths of this novel is its unique way of world building that creates a vivid and detailed world that we could step into at any moment. I also enjoyed the moments that explored humanity's hidden desires and motives that can only be explored through a virtual world.

For his first novel Darby has hit the ground running, pooling all his experience writing, and his own deep imagination to create a story that will have you hooked from beginning to end. If you haven't already placed this book on your radar I encourage you to do so and hopefully we'll meet in the forum.