Book Review: Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene

Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You begin the day in the heart of an empire lead by the Almighty who came personally to change life and at the end of the day, you realize you live in a dystopia. Breach of Peace is the debut work of Daniel B. Greene, the first of a trilogy of novellas that introduce his world.

Though the book follows the investigation of an extremely violent crime by three top inspectors of God’s own police, it gives a look into how average people view the area they live in and by the end how what they believed is completely wrong. Greene mixes a crime mystery in a fantasy world that quickly is ensnarled in political intrigue with significant religious overtones that is a lot to attempt in 134 pages with so-so results. The three main characters—Inspectors Khlid, her husband Sam, and their colleague Chapman—are a mix of good and cliché. The main narrative viewpoint of Khlid is well written in which we get a feel for the world an average person experiences—though from a law enforcement perception—and how it comes crashing down, Sam comes off as a quick-tempered cliché while Chapman comes off as a smart incompetent especially when one considers his divided loyalties. Given that the beginning s dark with the aftermath of a violent crime, the fact that the ending is darker not in violence but how a character’s worldview is completely shattered is effective.

Breach of Peace is a nice debut work as Daniel B. Greene gives readers a look into the fantasy world he is creating. Some elements work as well as some characters, he attempts to put a lot in a small page count to mixed results, but he does have good prose that makes for an engaging reading experience.

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