Blood and Masks

Excellent First Novel; Well Worth a Read

TL;DR: Quite a good read, few flaws, well worth the $3.
Quite well done for a first novel. Blood and Masks is a refreshing fantasy novel and quite possibly the only Urban Fantasy that stays in the High Fantasy setting. Never leaving the confines of the highly Roman-esque city of Neva Cora, it still sticks to the classic "Swords 'n' Sorcery" style and tropes, something unusual in the Urban Fantasy genre, and something I felt was refreshing. Few dare to set a medieval fantasy entirely in a city as few remember how truly metropolitan Rome was in its days as an empire.
The characters feel well rounded and unique within themselves, and the balance between genders and sexualities was more than welcome. Ziebart's female characters are rounded, well-written, and aren't simply stuck in the "write women first as people" trope; he's not afraid to flex their femininity (for the most part).
Ziebart's writing style is fluid and grabbed me within the first seventy pages easy. He isn't afraid to play with age-old tropes, but he puts them to use in a way that feels fresh. While the dialog isn't always perfect, sometimes bordering on stilted or overdramatic (almost belonging on a stage rather than a novel), the characters more often than not are fluid and have a life of their own. The good dialog far, far outnumbers the stilted bits to the point that the poor could be counted.
If there is anything to truly criticize, I can only conjure two things that stood out to me. I counted eight or nine typos (which I won't blame the writer for, and after all, it is self-published; in over 400 pages, eight typos ain't bad). The other complaint might be the sex scenes.
While there are few (four, if I counted right), all but one felt unnecessary, explainable simply as "character building," loosely threaded into the plot, though easily written out. Are they completely and truly unnecessary? Perhaps not, they did build character, and they certainly weren't gratuitous (far less egregious than I've read in other books), though they bothered me for the almost James Bond-ish quality to them. It felt like the scenes only served to show us how suave the main character is, how he can get or bed anyone, any time. It took me a bit out of it how suddenly they came and went, barely tied into the plotline. Perhaps all I'm asking for is more necessity tied to them, although it's entirely debatable that they weren't necessary.
If the only things I have to complain about are typos and something I'm having a hard time justifying, I gotta say this is a solid read. Great job for a first-time author, a highly enjoyable read, and I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel. And might I say, this is most definitely a self-contained story; don't fear the sudden drop-off, it gives closure.
Pick it up. It's good stuff. Buy it so he writes more.