Quincy's Curse is published!

Posted on December 21, 2013 (Subscribe to Blog)

As the post title suggests, I'm happy to announce that my complex, fun, and occasionally dark and creepy fantasy tale Quincy's Curse is now published to Kindle.

As usual, it will be on Nook, Kobo, and Apple soon, and there will be a print edition in the coming weeks. But right now it's available on Kindle at Amazon US and Amazon UK and Amazon AU and so on.

QUINCY'S CURSE by Keith Robinson

Quincy Flack is cursed with terrible luck. After losing his parents and later his uncle and aunt in a series of freak accidents, it's no wonder he's reluctant to make friends.

For that reason, Megan Mugwood is a little worried about befriending him when he moves into the village of Ramshackle Bottom. But word has it that incredibly good fortune shines on him sometimes too. Indeed, it turns out that he found a bag of valuable treasure in the woods just a few months ago!

As luck would have it, Megan has chosen the worst possible time to be around him.

This has been a pet project for a long time. It tells the story from multiple perspectives in that each chapter is from the point of view of a new character -- yet everything is so seamlessly woven together, I'll bet you stop counting the characters after a while and just enjoy the way everything circles back to the central plot. In most instances, even though you're reading about a new character, the main players wander back into the frame directly where they left off from before.

I was afraid some beta readers wouldn't like the "new point of view each time a chapter starts" method, but all of them quickly got used to it. Some loved it. Personally speaking, I knew this method was so different from the norm that some readers would hate it, but I believe the multiple perspectives only enhance this particular story. If nothing else, I implore (challenge!) you to read it and tell me what you think.

What beta readers have said:

Robinson taps into his vast imagination and tells a tale from a plethora of viewpoints. Each chapter moves the story forward from a different character's POV. It is a thrill to see how each chapter overlaps and drives the plot onward to its dire conclusion. It's a great example of how an author quickly introduces a character and establishes their relationship with the rest of the cast. And Keith does this every chapter. It's a real treat starting each new chapter. The reader is supercharged to read on and see how the story unfolds. I loved seeing how he fit scenes into place like sweetly sculpted puzzle pieces. And they all fit together beautifully. Not a one appears rammed in there. Seriously. It's quite a sight to see how seamless the story is strung together.

There are plenty of exciting events to go around and, overall, the story is infused with a light yet menacing air. While I'll admit the changing perspectives threw me off a bit, I suspect this is a personal quirk as other reviewers appear to have no problem with this device whatsoever. The villainy is world-class in "Quincy" with Robinson introducing (technically "re-introducing" since this character comes from folklore) an otherworldly fiend of the sort that caused me to worry if anyone would be left standing by the end of the book.

What a charming book! It's a cross between a fairy tale, a science fantasy and a medieval thriller along the lines of one of my favorite novels: An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. The story is seen from the differing perspectives of all the characters and is fascinating how the author weaves it all together. Devilishly humorous and sometime a little eerie, the story is breathtakingly captivating. Highly recommended.

Completely different from Robinson's 'Island of Fog', it's a rollicking good tale told from multiple points of view, with one surprising twist after another. It took me a couple of chapters to get into the story; but once I did I was hooked.

The characters are lovely and the story is interesting. What makes it best is the switching perspectives, which can be very annoying in books, when you have to re-adjust places and characters, but here it's done brilliantly, every new character and storytelling perspective clicks just into the right place. I would say this books target audience would be slightly older than the island of fog series, which is nice.

So WHAT are you sitting there waiting for? Get it now! :-)

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