For some reviewers, books that invite you to “shut your brain off” are just asking to be raked across the coals.  But I have found such works to be like candy. 

Sure, they may be the empty calories of literature, but if done well, can still be a plain fun time. And why not? Sci-fi doesn’t always have to be cerebral or allegorical, and fantasy doesn’t always have to be epic. 

Being the type of person who has never turned his nose up at a nice pulp sci-fi/fantasy mashup, the Facebook ads that led me to Michael-Scott Earle’s Eye of the Tiger did not steer me wrong. It’s one part comically violent futuristic action movie, another part cyberpunk thriller with just a dash of sexy vampire and weretiger thrown in. This story has all the makings of a complete three-car pileup of plot elements, but the author managed to put it all together surprisingly well, despite the admitted overall absurdity. 

It is this absurdity that made it so much fun for me. 

Adam starts the story in an indeterminate time in the future. He is a slave prisoner and the subject of many horrifying experiments that gave him the ability to transform into a super-powered weretiger with astonishing strength, speed, and superhuman senses. With an explosive collar to keep him under the control of the scientists who did this to him, he fights as an expendable soldier, going to whatever planets he is told to (along with other slave prisoners that survived the experiments). He is often sent into missions with a low survival rate. 

Adam, thus far, is the only prisoner who has survived consistently on these missions, much to the chagrin of the scientists in charge. His latest mission takes him to the Trappist 1 system to retrieve a valuable asset that turns out to be a powerful vampire named Eve, whose telepathic call draws Adam to her.  She frees Adam and pledges her life to his, both vowing never to be taken prisoner again.  Adam, with his dark past and sense of honor, helps Eve find prey and she sets in motion a plan to escape this system to bring justice to the galaxy against the oppressive corporations that keep the local populace under control and have imprisoned other supernatural creatures like herself.

The execution of the plan, however, is fraught with danger, with street gangs and corporate forces on the lookout for their escaped asset. Soon after, Zea, a sassy super-hacker who is forced into their company, becomes an invaluable help to the vampire and weretiger duo in their adventure in spite of her high-strung nature, which leaves a high body count with every skirmish they find themselves in on their quest for freedom. 

It really is that simple. 

But the fun lies in the straightforward nature of the tale, as well as the fast-paced action and growing chemistry between Adam, Eve … and even Zea.  The Trappist 1 system is also elegantly written with a vibrant array of locales and history, and a blend of Western and Southeast Asian culture that weaves seamlessly into what is hinted at as a vast universe, with many other systems to explore and many and sundry sources of danger just around the corner for our werecat super soldier and his vampire and hacker companions. 

As a matter of fact, during the course of my reading, the entire thing began to remind me of the Quad system in the woefully underrated 2013-2019 SyFy series, Killjoys: a series with fast, almost nonstop action that skillfully weaves a universe with a rich history.  Eye of the Tiger, equally as pulpy, has the same level of finesse as Killjoys in worldbuilding, as well as the ins and outs of Eve’s mysterious powers and Adam’s ravenous animal side, in spite of the story’s brevity and fierce, violent action. 

And it is violent. 

Blood and bodies pile up in Adam, Eve, and Zea’s fight for freedom, so this is a story not for the squeamish.  And though devoid of overt sexual content in this first outing, being the start of a 14-book series, it is strongly hinted that things between our protagonists will get quite steamy in the succeeding volumes.  So this will definitely scratch the itch for those who like their sci-fi or fantasy action-packed, sexy and violent. 

Of course, for something as pulpy as this tale, it is definitely not without its flaws.  Chiefly, the things that I loved about the story will most certainly be the very things that sci-fi aficionados with more discerning tastes will hate—chiefly those who shy away from blending science fiction and fantasy.  For those whom never the twain shall meet, this series won’t work for you.  Also, those who find more violent fare distasteful, or dislike pulpy, simpler stories that rely heavily on tropes will want to skip this one. 

As for more practical flaws, the biggest issue I could see was the inconsistency of the dialogue.  While Adam and Zea had a much more casual manner of speech, with the exception of Adam’s military conditioning, causing him to reply to every request with “confirmed” as an affirmative, Eve’s dialogue felt far less realistic … almost stilted, often to the point where it clashed with the flow of the story.  I can’t say that this is due to the author not quite sticking the landing with giving her a more regal nature, or if it really is just a lack of ability to find a good voice for Eve.  Nevertheless, she does come off as sincere in her convictions and how much she cares for—and is attracted to—Adam. 

Eye of the Tiger is a straightforward tale that, for the right readers, will be certain to please.  For fun-loving readers who are looking for a story that crosses the genre streams to unwind with, that provides crazy, violent, sexy, wall-to-wall action, and is guaranteed to entertain as long as you don’t think to hard about it all, I believe that for the right people, this will definitely satisfy that craving for those literary empty calories, and will be the start of one of their favorite “shut-your-brain-off” series.