Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I expected it to be a graphic novel as listed but attempted it anyway. Unfortunately I was unable to get into it.

I was expecting this to be a Comic/Graphic Novel per the way it was presented in NetGalley. While this book was right up my alley in the plot, because it was a standard novel I was a bit disappointed and think that this jaded my POV a little. Good book,

A telephathic family member of the crime family running vice and crime on Hardcore Station, a space station run independently of the large corporations that otherwise run the galaxy, has fled to Earth to escape the corruption of his family. But Zenos DeFonces finds no escape and is dragged back into family affairs to find the murderer of the family patriarch.

Starlin has crafted a rogues gallery of characters running the family business that make the Corleone family seem positively civilized. But little is as it seems. Is Xenos player or played? Is the patriarch really dead? What else has changed while Zenos have been away?

Starlin has crafted a fine and fun book. As much as Starlin paints Xenos as having a past of no little evil, we see little of this now. As such, Xenos comes off as a little too likable. To be fair, Starlin is attempting a difficult act here trying to make Xenos hard enough to have survived his family, yet likable enough to be a hero.

The book is a bit inconsistent in its pacing. The first chapter seems a core dump of information on the Hardcore universe; much of this information might have been provided at a slower pace. Then the book settles into its pace and Xenos begins his investigation. At the end there seems to be a rush to finish to finish.

This should not distract from the fun of "Hardcore Mindgames". All in all a fun read. It would seem to be the start of a series set at Hardcore Station by Starlin. I am looking forward to the next volume.

Review copy provided by NetGalley.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Kindle Press for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very original and funny. The main character is very interesting and his family is extraordinary too. I'll never complain about my family again after reading about Xeno's, lol.

I was a bit confused about Xeno's bodyguard because she was called on one page by the last name and later by the first name, so it took me a while to see that the author meant the same person. Overall I felt that the secondary characters, including the girl Xeno was trying to save, could have been more developed.

The end seemed a bit rushed, I suppose there will be a next book where we'll know how things progress. I would surely read the next book in this series to see how Xeno's story goes on.

It is not a graphic novel, so I haven't read it. I asked for this because it was archived under the voice: graphic novel, instead it is a novel and I was not interested in reading it. Sorry. Is there are reason why you did it? was it in purpose?

What a great book!

I literally stumbled upon this book on NetGalley yesterday. When I clicked the "read now" button, I thought I was getting a comic / graphic novel (because the author has previously written comics) and not a proper book/novel but decided to just read it once I realized what it was.

Best. Decision. Ever.

This book was fast paced, action packed with solid world building that reminded me of why I love sci-fi so much.

It also had an understated humour which helped the story move right along. The investigative aspect was unpredictable to the end and I just couldn't get enough of the protagonist Xenos/Zareb. Being in his mind was just a joy for me. It also served as a palate cleanser for me after all the romance novels I've been reading of late.

Truly, I didn't have a single issue with this book and I would definitely read more books by this author ESPECIALLY if it goes back to Xenos/ Zareb which I hope it does!!

I picked up this ARC because it was listed in the comics/graphic section. The writing style didn't appeal to me and I did not finish this one. Just not my cup of tea.

Not quite what I was expecting, but a lot of fun all the same!