Bone Splintered Asphalt - John A. Burks Jr. - 4 star

I read Flesh Worn Stone by Burks last year and remember feeling a little disgusted by the book and yet I felt the need to go on to see what would happen next and how things would turn out. It was one of those stories that are very graphic and disturbing but it has an interesting plotline. So I decided to continue with this installment and I am actually really glad that I did.

In this installment we have Stephen who lost everything he ever held dear to the Game and the Court. Now he is continuing the game but in a different way than I first expected it would be. It did not continue on the same note that the first one ended with. With Mia in tow Stephens life gets no better in a grueling fight to end the Game.

I was not sure what I expected from this installment when I started to read it, but I gotta say that I really liked this one. The story persists in being engaging and you can't help but read on. The Author did very well with that. Although there were not as many graphic and disturbing scenes in this one, there were plenty. Something else that this story had was even more action than the first one if that was possible. Of course again the imagery was great and the plotline was also very good. I do have to say there were some unrealistic parts but thy are easily overlooked. And one question will come to mind while reading this book. How do you fight a battle that you can never win?

I really ended up liking Stephen. You see anther side of him in this story that I would not have thought I would see. I have loved seeing him evolve through these 2 installments. We meet some new characters along the way and also see some of the original characters as well. All of them are well developed and some are very likable. The antagonists in this story are ruthless, conniving, and very callous. The makings for some really great villains.

I had to rate this one higher than the first simply because I think it had better action and excitement and it focused more on a cause than on the grotesque twists and turns that the first story had. Again I can't really recommend this book to anyone but those who like the dark and disturbing. This is not for the faint of heart.