Frosted Blood

Frosted Blood

by Larry Pelliteri

published by author

2015

ISBN 978-0-692-28181

Why read? Review/First Reads (received copy from author in exchange for an honest review)

Larry Pellitteri mixes a lot of speculative fiction genres in his debut novel, Frosted Blood, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not.  No matter the genre, Pellitteri delivers on the non-stop action.

High school senior Michael Saxon is used to being a loner ever since his parents mysteriously vanished into the side of the hill when he was seven.  Since then, he has spent his life learning about crystals, trying to identify the one his parents left with him.  His research draws the attention of Enbright, the environmental corporation for whom his parents worked for, who offers him a paid internship right out of high school.  He is not the only teenager hired on; there is also the beautiful Emma who moves into the same house he is renting, bring along her younger sister, Sophie.  Soon Michael, with the help of the sisters and his only friend, Christopher, are discovering that Enbright is not all it appears and is deep in the world of drugs, clones, and diabolical plots to take over the world.

Once the exposition of Michael’s early life is over, Pellitteri never lets up the pace.  So many twists and turns are packed into 300 pages that it is hard to keep track of everything, especially the whys behind many actions, although I feel some motivations are more on Pellitteri’s part to keep the story moving.  This, unfortunately, leaves the reader in a state of confusion, which makes it hard to really get into the story and suspend disbelief, which is greatly needed.  One thing that would have helped with much of this would be to make Michael and his friends a few years older.

If you are look for some non-stop sci-fi/fantasy action and are willing to totally suspend your disbelief, then Frost Blood can be a fun read.  I would be interested to see what Pellitteri turns out next as he continues to refine his writing style.

Rating 2/5