White Knight (One Eye Press Singles) by Bracken MacLeod

White Knight (One Eye Press Singles) Reviews

• 
  Claudia

  One of the things I most admire about MacLeod's writing is his ability to make the characters so engaging. We immediately bond with them and that makes the tale even more harrowing. It's not just that we have shared experiences, it is their humanity. Our hero in White Knight makes some really questionable choices but we realize that they are the same choices we would make if we were in his shoes. He is a slightly dirty White Knight and that makes him real. No one does the right thing all of the time and the best heroes are the ones we can believe could be real, the heroes who might be us. This man has two goals; to rescue a woman and to keep a child safe and he understands that he needs to break some rules to get that done. Because we are so invested in his character we easily allow him to do unsavory things and still hold our interest, our loyalty and our admiration. The ending has a fine moral twist that I felt pretty good about, although if questioned in a court of law I will have to deny knowledge of. It's a one sitting book. Make sure you have the time to give because it is fairly impossible to put down once you turn to page one. It moves at a mind numbing pace that sometimes leaves you breathless. It will also make you question what you believe is true and wonder about the definition of victim and perpetrator.
• 
  J.P. Behrens

  Let me tell you why I hate Bracken MacLeod.
  
  With every sentence, MacLeod stabs you in your heart, showing you what true talent looks like. If you are a budding writer, stay away! Disheartenment lies in these pages. Through his subtle command of wit, his characters can be funny in the most tragic ways. The metaphors flow seamlessly providing the reader a multi-layered understanding that just leaps off the page. The story explodes with complexity, but retains that thread to bring it all together to a satisfying end.
  
  Simply, he makes it look easy.
  
  Bastard!
  
  To read White Knight or Mountain Home is to see how stories are meant to be written. While I may thank Bracken MacLeod for writing such a marvelous work, I must also shake my fist in the air while I burn my own to start again from the beginning, wishing my words could stand next to his. Damn you, sir. Damn you straight to hell.
  
  But not before you write another book. Get to work!
• 
  Benoit Lelièvre

  That was short. And awesome. I've read it in about 90 minutes, with one pause for a glass of apple juice and a Goodreads update. Bracken MacLeod has a great command of his style. The sentences he crafts have a strong sense of identity and his characterization goes beyond his protagonist's development. It felt good to read a story where the bad guys had a mouth and a mind of their own. They are crafted well enough for me to believe they could exist and keep being bad people outside WHITE KNIGHT. It's more rare than you think.
  
  Otherwise, WHITE KNIGHT was a fulfilling read for a hater of white knights like me. There was enough pain and sweat and experience crammed in its couple of pages to make the protagonists good itention believable and likeable to me. Fiction thrives on an alchemy that is scientifically and WHITE KNIGHT has it. It is throbbing with a lean and powerful energy and a cast of dynamic bad guys and a soulful, disillusioned white knight. A quick, fun read and a killer introduction to Bracken MacLeod's material.
• 
  Michael

  I just finished an ARC of MacLeod's "White Knight" 10 minutes ago and am still ramped up. That was 90 minutes well spent. I couldn't put it down, nor did I wish to. Breakneck pacing without sacrificing character, MacLeod has shown that crime fiction can still thrill and excite. While not my usual reading fare, I had to dive in as I was blown away by his first novel, "Mountain Home" and had to read more of his work. And that's exactly what happened. Or rather I believed that I dove into this tale. The truth of it was that it pulled me in and before I knew it, I was immersed. Well done good sir! Thank you!
• 
  Angel

  A genuinely engaging protagonist, antagonists that deserve little pity and a @$^%-ton of hate, and a high tension, mile a minute ride. Well worth the price of admission in digital and ESPECIALLY print.
  
  A truly gripping piece. Kudos!
• 
  Sarah Read

  I won an ARC of this from the publisher--really a great read. Exciting story, engaging characters. Really thrilling. It's exactly what I look for in a novella--all the concentrated intensity of a short story, but with a little more complexity and meat on its bones. I'll definitely be picking up more work by this author.
• 
  Eddie

  Good enough to steal from.
• 
  Doungjai

  WHITE KNIGHT is fast paced and full of tension. Bracken MacLeod is quickly becoming one of my favorite new voices in dark fiction.
  
  Highly recommended!
• 
  Colin Murtagh

  I picked this up as a freebie from one eyed press. They had a choice of shorts to choose from, and I almost went for the western, been a long time since I read one, but went with this one instead. It was a good choice.
  It was short, I tore through it in less than a day, but certainly not sweet. The story revolves around an assistant D.A. who becomes a little too involved with a domestic abuse case. This ends up turning him into the White Knight of the title. Even so, he's a little of a dirty knight.
  This is a proper noir thriller. And as with any noir, not everything is quite as it seems, the hero is never quite as straight as he should be, the villain never quite as bad. Just when you think you've got a handle on it, things take a left turn. Our knight makes some "interesting" choices, especially when his wife gets involved, which at the time makes no sense. Yet the more you think of it, the more you realise there is a very good chance that in the same circumstances, you would do the exact same thing.
  While this does not break any new ground, it's a solid, well written, completely believable story. Well recommended.
  
• 
  Dusty Wallace

  This is a very good read from Bracken MacLeod and One Eye Press. Clever writing and a tight story. There's a few proofreading errors, including a character's name that get's accidentally changed from Rory to Remy, but the journey is well worth dealing with those minor bumps.
  
  I wasn't in love with the last two or three pages, but endings are not what it's all about. Plus, I know how difficult they are to write.
  
  If you like noir give this a chance. MacLeod's voice is well-honed and his wit is sharp.
  
  The story follows a state prosecutor who specializes in abuse cases because of his own family history. He's learns the hard way that being a victim doesn't necessarily make someone a good guy.
• 
  W. P. Johnson

  Another great read from Bracken MacLeod. Like Mountain Home, things don't stop once they start and the tension is taught until the very last page. The synopsis doesn't really do the story justice- slaying dragons? This guy is dealing with some real crazy shit in this book.
  
  Since it's a "single", it's very short and if I have to be honest, that would be my only complaint, but it would be silly to critique for that since it's supposed to be short. That said, really looking forward to his next work and hoping that it's a full length novel. Tight writing, good story telling, Bracken is someone you want to pay attention to and see what he does next.
• 
  Jonathan Woodrow

  This one's a very quick read. Fast paced and absolutely riveting.
  
  The White Knight is a county prosecutor who handles a lot of family matters. In addition to being smart as a whip, he's a guy who can handle himself in a physical confrontation. But a bad call on one of his spousal abuse cases leads him down a dangerous path.
  
  I didn't have to read the bio at the end to know Bracken Macleod's background as a lawyer. That much is clear from his handle on legal procedure, which is addressed with (I can only assume) total accuracy, without getting bogged down in legalese.
  
  Highly recommended.
• 
  Stephen Dorneman

  It's a good thing that WHITE KNIGHT is only a 91-page noir novella - because once you start reading it, you won't want to put it down until the life-shattering conclusion. An assistant DA, drawn to victims of domestic abuse because of his own past, gets too involved when a violent criminal endangers everything the DA has fought for in his life - involved to the point where violence, he believes, is his only recourse as well.
  
  MacLeod has a full-length novel coming out in October (STRANDED), and I intend to be first in line to buy that hardcover. Read this volume to whet your appetite.
• 
  Shawn O'Brien

  MacLeod has an innate ability for creating morally ambiguous situations that challenge the reader. Sometimes good intentions, or what we perceive as good intentions can have unintended and dire consequences. The lines between right and wrong are often obtuse and when faced with peril, survival instincts trumps all. MacLeod has such a knack for creating relatable characters and putting them in situations were we can all emphasize with them. White Knight is well paced, tense, and compelling. A fantastic read, highly recommended!
  
  
  
  
• 
  Christopher Irvin

  WHITE KNIGHT is a fantastic hardboiled thriller that will keep you in your seat until you’ve finished it in one sitting. MacLeod’s passion is on clear display, and the way he threads the narrative with his experience as an attorney is brilliant. WHITE KNIGHT should be at the top of your list to read this summer.
• 
  Lenore MacLeod

  This story ended way too soon. I want this to be an origin story. I'm not done with it yet!
• 
  Paul Anderson

  The blurbs weren't wrong--this is a novel's-worth of action and pathos, compact within a novella, but it doesn't leave you feeling ragged. You're eager to turn the pages, to see the twists and turns.
• 
  Ralph Carlson

  A great little read. A page turner. Once you start it, you won't want to put it down until finished with the last page.
• 
  Rusty

  Dig the smashmouthed pace. Great book.
• 
  Jason Salzarulo

  If you open Bracken MacLeod's White Knight be prepared to finish it in a single sitting, stopping only to catch your breath.