The Saviour by DC Wood

Once upon a time, there were two orphans. Both suffered unimaginable tragedy. Tragedy that not only affected them, but the entire world as well. Eight years later, they have returned…

Enter Adam Soranatos, a teenage celebrity martial artist, and a young man who is unaware of his true destiny. And enter Jaron Mahanah… who you will know as The Saviour. Together they will reunite as they find themselves caught in a viscous circle of violence and manipulation, made up of faces long thought dead, ghosts that made them what they are, and newcomers who will either be friends, enemies of both.

The Saviour starts out with 15-year-old Jaron known as The Saviour, who and what he is remains obscure until about a quarter of the book. Jaron patrols the streets of London as a teenage ninja-vigilante stopping theft and other misdemeanours. Adam, a 16-year-old, is later introduced and on a chance encounter while out in the city meets Jaron, while Adam’s step-sister is being harassed. Both boys do not recognize each other immediately, but their fates intertwine in the end. Meanwhile a secret scientific organization is busy with cybergenetics and other genetic experiments to modify humans, to make them stronger, more athletic and enhance them with modern weaponry such as rocket launchers. During an “accidental” breakout at the laboratory, several experimental subject make it to London, and it is up to Jaron, the teenage vigilante, and Adam, the teenage martial artist, to battle both the experimental cyborgs and the challenges that lie ahead.

The Saviour is a fast paced novel (282 pages). The events that occur only pick up speed and I read it in one go. Wood’s use of grammar and language makes it fun and fast to read, the battles that occur are explained in a coherent manner. The thing that bothered me the most about The Saviour was the fighting. The first half of the book is 80% fighting, I personally would have liked to have more background about the characters involved. Although this becomes more clear towards the end of the book, a bit more information about Jaron, Adam and the world they inhabit would have be appreciated.

When I first requested this book to review I had mixed feelings about the story. The text on the back cover can either make or destroy the book. I must say that I still have mixed feeling about the book, in my opinion there is just too much fighting in the book and hardly any character depth/build-up in the book. If Wood could add more detail to the characters and their surroundings I think it would have made for a better book. I do like the language used in The Saviour,: it makes the book easy to read and understand. In one sentence: The Saviour is an action packed hack n’ slash novelization that could do with more story build-up. The last page ends with “Not The End...”, for any sequel I do hope there is more character depth and less fighting scenes.

6/10 An action packed hack n' slash novelization