Reviewed:
I think living as the main character in one of bluedragon's stories would be either one of the best or one of the worst lives, depending on where in the story you're at.
This story is brutal. There's not much other way to say it. Every time something seems to be going well for our hero, David, he gets slapped back into the dirt. Whenever it seems that things can't get worse, they get better for a bit SO THAT THEY CAN GET WORSE.
Looking over the misfortunes that befall David, none of them are contrived or "thrown in". They all make perfect sense, and most of them are heavily foreshadowed. All of them hit the reader fairly hard, as David and the other characters in the story are well-characterized and written.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are some really amazing characters introduced here, and David knowing them does seem to offset the bad things that happen to him - at least until the next bad thing happens. I kid. Or do I?
While it's not a story that I'm eager to reread because of how serious it gets at times, I have never wished that I didn't read. On the contrary, I'm of the opinion that this is the story which proves to me the greatness of bluedragon's writing potential - that he can get me to love a story even despite all the angst and drama going on. That even through the ups and downs, I can still manage to connect with, and like, his characters even when they're making the absolute worst decisions.
Well done, bluedragon. I hope everyone who hasn't read this gives it a chance.