A Bloody Business: A Review

I’m going to cut right to the chase. A Bloody Business by Stephen A. Roddewig is a bloody good time. If you had told me that this was a byproduct of the writers room from Archer, I’d have believed you (coincidentally, one of my all time favorite shows).

Martin Williams galavanting journeys put onto display the Author’s reverence for the subject matter. His deft hand weaves a wonderfully poignant theme throughout Martin’s journeys in Europe, Asia, and a particularly striking journey into a booming post-war America. In a stark, but well escalated, turn from the overall tone, the final chapter hits like a slug from Martin’s revolver and leaves you contemplating the nature of war and peace.

Fans of Archer, Get Smart, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, and other classic spy stories, you will love this book. It has the highest seal of approval I can give for the genre–I gave my copy to my dad.

If I had to critique anything, it would be that there are times when the inner monologue can become a little “exposition-y” (which is rich coming from me…I do it all the time). With that said, a reader less knowledgeable with the subject matter would likely appreciate it, and it’s not his fault Stephen seemingly pulled the settings straight from my Wikipedia history.

To really put it over the top, I would have liked to have seen a little more from the primary antagonist, but the relationship works well in the vein of classic spy stories.

Outside of the story, the production quality is fantastic. You can easily tell the Author took the time to create a quality work–my copy of Mistborn has more misedits and typos than this book. Additionally, it reads fast. I really appreciate it when I can rip through a good story over a long weekend, set it down, and say, “I really enjoyed that.”

Overall, I’d give A Bloody Business 4.5 stars. I have it slotted in my overall 2024 ratings right between two bestsellers: right below Dark Age by Pierce Brown, and right above The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.

Pretty good company I’d say.

Go get your copy below!

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