The start of a new series features a cop that was born with a Mark that allows her to travel back and forth in alternate timelines. This has allowed her to have an amazing conviction rate on the crimes she investigates. It has also allowed her to do some financial trades that has made her life a bit more comfortable even though she lives alone and has no idea about her past. She was adopted by the cop that found her at the age of 6 covered in blood and not knowing English. One night she is accosted by a man clad in rags yelling at her in an unfamiliar language. Before she can do much about it a knight comes out of nowhere and kills him and disappears. Using her skills to try and figure out what happen attracts the knight to her and he attacks her while her partner is at her apartment. With her secret out of the bag with her partner and new information from the knight she finds out she is part of a select few people that have the talent to travel among different realities. As she is trying to digest this new info, they are attacked by zombies coming out of nowhere. She joins forces with the knight and agrees to go back to his world to find out more about herself and what is going on and why these things are attacking her. The book ends not so much on a cliffhanger but certainly is a setup for the next step in her life.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Received from NetGalley
Completed 1/19/19
335 page ebook

This book is hard for me to rate. I liked it, I did, but there was something off about it too that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it was the pacing. Things started off fast, then they slowed, then they were fast again and slowed again. It was a weird mix of good pace and a bit too slow.

The story was fairly unique but wasn't anything like I was expecting. It felt like the story didn't quite know what it wanted to be, was it time travel or parallel worlds. Was it a police procedure or a vigilante. It was all of that and it was a bit too much for the book, I wanted it to be one thing or another, not all of them.

Still, it was good, just not great. I almost rated it a 3, but because I read it in one day, it kept my attention, so I thought it deserved a 4.

It's worth a read, as it's different. Nothing about it was straight forward.


Setting = B
Plot = B-
Conflict = B
Characters = B+
Theme = A

Marked embodies a fascinating concept, exploring the possibility of endless realities that are merely a step away. Our protagonist, Detective Dana Rohan, is an incredibly complicated character, constantly battling with herself and what it means to have the power to affect reality. The writing is strong and compelling, the villains terrifying and sudden. Get ready to travel through the boundaries of reality.

Full review at: https://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/01/14/marked-book-review

Marked, by author S. Andrew Swann, is a genre bending action and adventure free for all featuring Detective Dana Rohan who wears a Mark on her back that allows her to walk between alternative realities. This is a story that combines crime novels with Urban Fantasy as Dana uses her time-traveling powers to aid in her detective work which makes her one of the most successful detectives in her department.

Dana has been partnered with Detective Jacob Hightower for 3 years. She's never told Jacob or anyone else for that matter, what she's able to do. She's able to phase into alternative realities and catch those bad guys who seem to get away with their crimes. But, she's not perfect. She does make mistakes which leads to some issues. Things quickly change when a grubby old man tells her that shadows are coming for her and that she needs to run.

What's even stranger is the appearance of a Knight in full armor who disappears after killing said old man. Soon thereafter, it appears that we now have time traveling zombies who are able to phase anywhere where she happens to be. They can quickly infect anyone with just a bite, or a scratch. Dana & Jacob meet a new ally, Ivan Roskov, who is from an alternative reality where Napoleon has managed to unite France and Russia under his flag.

As Dana and Jacob and Ivan travel through various alternative universes including the so called Chaos in her 2016 Dodge Charger, Dana learns that she is what's called a Walker, and most likely a very powerful one at that. So powerful, in fact, that she could be the head of her own unique family were that the route she chooses to take. What's even more intriguing is the arrival of a villain who, along with the Emperor, may hold keys to Dana's past, as well as her future.

So, yes, the book started out slow, had some impressive chase and action scenes, including several fight scenes, ricochet between alternative realities, and ends on a curious note. I say this a whole lot, but I do hope that there is a sequel to this story. The way the author leaves things, there's plenty more to come now that Dana has some answers to how she is able to do the things she can do as well as her possible romantic interlude with her partner Jacob. I really wish authors and publishers would work together to release more information to readers. If this is a standalone, shame. If not, wonderful.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm torn on this one - it's really original, the characters get developed nicely, and the worlds-building is really cool. The plot was good too! For all of those things, I wanted to give the book the full five stars... *BUT* it took me forever to get in to the story. That could have been my mood, that could have been the pacing, that could have been a lot of factors... but that makes me want to give it 3 stars. So I found the happy medium and rated it at four stars.

Overall, I think it was a great book. I've never read any stories with the premise. It felt like a mix between Doctor Who and the Invisible Library series, with a dash of that old tv show Sliders mixed in as well.

I didn't have any preconceived notions going in, so I won't say too much and give you any, but I would recommend this book for urban fantasy and sci-fi lovers. Since I think it was my weird mood that slowed the beginning down for me, I think most people would enjoy the story straight away.

Marked by S. Andrew Swann, a novel and intriguing story. A tattoo that's not a tattoo, but something that has an extra-physical feel and weight to it. A young women who has no knowledge of where he actual origins are. Dana is a police detective and uses her Mark to solve crimes when a man shows up out of nowhere to warn her...

Actual rating is 4.5 stars for Marked

Thoughts and Plot

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

You know, it's been awhile since I've met a book that demanded it all be read in one day, spaced between two sittings. At 294 pages, on a work day, that is nothing to sneeze at.

My Synopsis

Dana Rohan is a detective with a stunning track record for arrests and convictions. So good, the government sends someone to check her and her partner, Jacob, out. But after the death of her mother, who was proceeded by her father when Dana was a teenager, Dana isn't in the mood to play nice. Besides, she can't exactly tell everyone that the whole reason why she is so good at her job is actually because she can walk through alternate times and realities. She finds who committed the crime one reality over and then uses that knowledge to find a way to convict the person in her dimension.
The strange Mark on her back is what allows her to do this and she's kept it a secret from everyone including her recently deceased mother. But after a misstep regarding her Mark at a crime scene and the appearance of a strange old man who is then killed in front of her, Dana's carefully constructed life is rapidly unraveling before her eyes. To make matters worse, strange undead people are phasing through time and space, intent on killing her and anyone who stands in their way.
The only way to try and save herself is to flee through the dimensions and into a place called Chaos where she must travel until she arrives in an alternate world ruled by the Emperor. She hopes here is where she will find some answer.

Actual review
So, at first I was just curious how this story was going to play out. I mean, a woman with a strange marking on her back similar to a tattoo, that never fades and grows with her. What does it do? Time travel? Nah, Time travel and inter-dimensional travel! How could it possibly get any better???

Well let's have her bump into someone else who can do the same thing and is initially trying to kill her. Say wwwhhhaaaaattt? Not good enough for you? Let's add time travel zombies. Now I know this sounds weird...and a little stupid, but the way S. Andrew Swann puts it together it works. Although I totally called the Whedon thing once the zombie-like creatures popped up.

What I really liked was the pacing. This book is not one of those books that has large chunks of filler in it. Pretty much the whole time there is a purpose to what you are reading. There is plenty going on so, if you are like me, you don't find yourself suffering through pages upon pages of trollop because you have too much pride to skip a few pages at a time and skim your way to the good parts. You're pretty much hooked from the start.

My brain was literally jumping from question to question. Who murdered Mr. Kim? How does she do that? Does anyone know? What is her back story? Who's the dude in the crazy metal armor? OMG, is that a dimension stepping zombie??? How she's going to get out of this one? Is she seriously going to take her car? Man, she really loves that car...


In Conclusion

Marked is artfully put together, combining a new idea with an old one (zombies people) to make a refreshing story about a woman who just wants to know who she is and where she comes from only to get a LOT more than she bargained for.

Unfortunately this is a did not finish for me. I think I have been spoiled by well written fantasy and this one was not well written, predictable and a bit too romantic for my taste. There are other writers who are doing wonderful things with the reluctant hero/heroine, that this one missed the mark. I know that there are some who will love this book so I am not completely down on it. Just for me it did not hit the mark.,