Spectacularly crafted speculative fiction.
It’s a drastic understatement and total miscalculation to say that Shawn Turner woke up on the wrong side of the bed. In fact, he’s neither in a bed nor does he any longer possess a beating heart. But these facts are news to Shawn as he is carted off to the ominously named Wayward Academy. Just shy of hostile, almost everyone Shawn meets at WA is long on intimidation and short on explanations. Why is he here? Is he really dead? Is he free to leave? And if so, where could he go? True, modern life often leaves people with more questions than answers, but once you’ve been granted a second chance at living, even the questions become almost too difficult to ask. For Shawn, his rebirth into a dark world dealing in death means taking an assignment as a reaper, the grim title given to those chosen to transport life’s essence, or soul, to the next stop on its journey. A career nobody asked for seems better than the deadly alternative, but the situation is a lot to take in. Besides, between some genuine new friendships and a decadent menu, life at WA isn’t all bad. So Shawn does his best to keep his head down and follow the rules as he learns them. But when a difficult choice has to be made, will he simply continue to mindlessly follow the longstanding rules? Or will he go with an imperfect solution to an impossible problem, regardless of the consequences?
Against all reasonable expectations, Kramer manages to turn the business of death into something approaching grace and nobleness. The First Assignment is foreboding and fun, an urban fantasy that overwhelmingly succeeds at explaining the unexplained. Intricate scene and world building plunge readers into the peculiar afterlife and on-the-job training that the author has envisioned for Shawn and the other post-dead teens. The job of the reapers is presented in a manner that is both morbid yet satisfying, terrifying yet necessary. But there is always more than one side to a story, and these two sides make for an inevitably delectable conflict for Shawn and his friends. With clearly delineated characters, an honorable protagonist, a stunning underworld backdrop and a pulse-pounding plot, this crave-worthy novel is abundant in length, but at the same time woefully inadequate in that you’ll never want to put it down! The supernatural tale is darkly humorous in the best way possible, proving life and death can be wildly entertaining. If you enjoy spectacularly crafted speculative fiction and are prepared to be wholly immersed in the complexities of Wayward Academy, The First Assignment will be your new favorite book!
