Baptism By Fire
by Michael Stanton

Reviewed by: Cherri Millard

Upon opening this book you'll be drawn in by the prologue, which is brilliant! Great narrative, great wordplay, great dialogue and a great set up overall. Author Michael Stanton uses his prologue to set readers up for the other parts of his epic saga, which has six installments altogether. However, you'll be surprised that after the prologue the rest of this first book doesn't quite live up to the faith that one would have already built up upon reading the prologue. Truthfully, if this book did not contain the prologue, I would have probably experienced a better read altogether. With the prologue of this book, the bar was already set so high that I expected more than what I got.

Don Starchild is our main character serving 10 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. He was arrested after police were tipped off to his possession of a gun that was previously used in a murder. What makes matters worst, the gun is given to Starchild by one of his closet comrades named, Sosa, and here the story slowly unfolds.

Don Starchild has served his 10 years and is ready to go home. Throughout his prison bid, Don has adapted to the prison itself. By that I mean, he has everything down to a science, from the time the lights go out at night to the exact time his cell door opens in the morning. There is a part in the book where he looks at his watch and starts to count down and by the time he reaches one, the prison lights are cut on. Same thing with his cell door, he gets dressed and walks through the front door, exactly on cue as if his cell door was touch/motion sensitive. Along with his impeccable sense of time he maintains extremely strict regimens. He works out daily, irons all his clothes with a crease, and when he isn't doing one of the aforementioned tasks he moonlights as a chemist, handling all his cocaine meticulously.

Cecil is the very close prison buddy of Don Starchild who is serving a life sentence. Don has to fight the urge to tell his good friend that he'll be released and will have to leave him behind. However, when Cecil learns of his buddy's impending release, he immediately detaches himself from Don.

Moments after Don is released he gets into a fight with a prison guard who is proceeding to his shift within the prison boundaries, inside the parking lot actually, where Jewel—Don's significant other—awaits him. The guard would end up on the ground unconscious.

Don escapes the prison grounds before anyone learns of the fight and the search for Sosa begins. Don makes visits to his old neighborhood and home where his secret stash has been since his lockup. At his former home he is greeted by a beautiful woman, Nydia, who lets him in to look around. This is a bit unrealistic, but nevertheless the author attempts to clear this up with his character thinking to himself: ". . . [Don] thought it was exceptionally peculiar how she invited him in her house without a fragment of worry . . . she was home alone and anything could happen . . . he wondered if she was this trusting with everyone that just knocked on her door out of the blue . . ." Don heads into the attic where his stash awaits him, all the while Nydia leading the way with no worries or concerns for her safety. She also offers him drinks and even sex which is a tad unbelieveable citing the fact that Starchild is a complete stranger to her.

Don and Sosa finally meet for the first time since his prison release and Sosa acts as if he isn't aware of what he had done to imprison his old friend. A timely prep for his vendetta with Sosa is in the works and Don uses every resource he has at his dispense, to make his hope a reality. It is at this time we are introduced to "Do-Dirty" a loyal street runner that Don recruits into his army as he makes his rise for the takeover. From his name alone you can imagine what Do-Dirty is about.

After Do-Dirty is recruited, the story takes a radical shift and we're back in prison with Cecil. Who gradually comes back to himself after going into a mental coma after Don's release from prison; he sets his mind on leaving the prison one way or the other, whether through legal technicalities or escape. From here on out the reader is taken on an unexpected but enjoyable ride.

Baptism By Fire gives off the impression of being intelligent, crafty and engaging. Early on this book contained everything that would define a 5-Star, highly recommended read, but as the plot unfolded it fell short of the innovative story I thought it would be from the opening. Nonetheless this is another decently written tale of the street. I only hope that Michael Stanton will give us something more than what was on the surface because I'm not sure how much of that we can take for another five books as advertised in the back of this one. I definitely look forward to reading the second installment, but if it comes short, I'm done with the Baptism series.

What did you like best about this book?
I loved the prologue, I can't stress this enough! It was one of the best openings of a book that I've read. The character traits and descriptions are blended nicely together. I also liked that the author doesn't use slang unnecessarily throughout the book, instead he used it sparingly in dialogue to give his characters depth without putting emphasis on it like most authors do.

I liked how the author demonstrated his history and research. Stanton goes so far as to explain the history of the New Jersey State Prison. He even tells you when the first stone was laid and who the first wardens were and even whom the first criminals were to be committed to the prison.

What did you dislike about this book?
The sex scenes could have been improved; they were mirrors of the earliest ones described in the book; The same sex scenes with the same people, not sure if readers need to read about characters having sex multiple times with each other.

There were also missing punctuation marks. But I guess they are better missing than placed in the wrong place. Minor tense issues stuck out as well.

How can the author improve this book?
The author should use whatever it was that allowed the sleek and crafty execution of the prologue.

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