Beth Tabler

Who would you be if given everything, money, power, life, and magic?

There is an age-old saying first uttered by English historian Lord Acton, but it is now in common parlance that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But, I think in terms of The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, unlimited power, wealth, and magic doesn't corrupt per se, but it brings the chosen six more into who they already are. Weak, strong, or cruel the seeds were planted long ago amongst the students.

The story follows six advanced magic students with unusual or substantial magical gifts. They are those that float to the top as the cream of magical society.

“- Libby Rhodes and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona: inseparable enemies, cosmologists who can control matter with their minds.
- Reina Mori: a naturalist who can speak the language of life itself.
- Parisa Kamali: a mind reader whose powers of seduction are unmatched.
- Tristan Caine: the son of a crime kingpin who can see the secrets of the universe.
- Callum Nova: an insanely rich pretty boy who could bring about the end of the world. He need only ask.”

All so young, or beautiful and enchanting, or both. All, frankly, rather boring. A mysterious and powerful man invites these six people to a unique library where they can study and have access to the great collections of the lost Library of Alexandria, with a possibility of future advancement. Here they can further their skills if they work hard enough, except there is a catch. There is always a catch. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated.

“We are the gods of our own universes, aren't we? Destructive ones.”

In the blurb, it sounded fascinating. I love good dark academia. The darker, the better, as I am a little tramp for any that fall into this category. Plus books. Who knows what one could achieve if given access to these resources. The possibilities of where this plot could take me were endless.

But, nothing. Nothing really happens. Frustratingly so. Don't get me wrong; there is plenty of turmoil, relationship drama, and inner monologuing about “what does it all mean!?' The interpersonal relationship woes reminded me of a pseudo Dangerous Liaisons mixed with characters from the tv adaption of Lev Grossman's The Magicians. Especially Parisa as Margo Hanson and Callum as Elliot. While they are not carbon copies, the characters' attitudes reminded me of them.

“A flaw of humanity,” said Parisa, shrugging. “The compulsion to be unique, which is at war with the desire to belong to a single identifiable sameness.”

This is a darling of BookTok and gets talked about endlessly; much of what is hailed about The Atlas Six are the characters, but not so much the plot. Again, many of these characters have the depth of a teaspoon. So much so that I had a difficult time telling them apart. Libby and Nicolás Ferrer de Varona are easy to tell apart as they are unnecessarily swiping at each other because of “sexual tension.” Out of the bunch of characters, I enjoyed Nicolas the most. He had more depth than any of the other characters as we learned more about what was happening in his life outside of the competition.

Reina as a naturalist, was odd. I could differentiate her character by the amount of plant squealing and chatter she had to endure. Parisa was a seductress. I enjoyed her openness and freedoms, but it sometimes came off as forced. Tristan was a character that blossomed but got lost in the Libby, Parisa, and Callum machinations. Callum seemed like a sociopath.

The ending upset me so much that I stood in awe at it; either it is brilliant and above my intellect or, um, “what?” I don't even know what to say about it other than, “wow that came out of left field.”

Other than that, I have got nothing. There is a plot of something something, but it all gets lost in pretentious self-absorption.

I know this is a beloved book for many people, which is lovely! Not every book is for every reader, and this book was certainly not for me.

I read many stories, sad stories, happy stories, fluffy ones, and occasionally violent stories. But in all of my reading, I rarely get a chance to read a mom story. Moms are usually portrayed as one of three different ways: soccer mom, women who are nothing but a mom, and an older mom or grandma-like figure. Fantasy is full of cliches, and being a mom myself, I don't see myself in any of these characters. It is as if literature is afraid to portray a mom as a badass or a warrior. Women can't be warriors and moms. They cancel each other out, right? Just because we had kids, we don't lose the badassery while passing the afterbirth. And frankly, life is a lot more exciting and complex than a trope.

But then I read Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse, and finally. FINALLY, we have some great badass moms having babies and kicking some ass. Thank you, Rae Carson, for giving the world this story and me, mainly because I needed to be reminded that I am also a badass mom on occasion.

First, let me set a bit of a scene. Giving birth is a dirty business. It is primal; it is the most primal feeling many women feel only seconded to protecting their child from danger. Moma bear is not just a cute saying; most moms would rip the throat out of anyone who would come at their kid and lick their lips. Now imagine trying to do all this, being pregnant, your body is split in two with excruciating pains that feel like they are tearing at the very fabric of who you are, and zombies are outside scratching at the door. I know zombies get a bad rep; they are everywhere in horror. But they are representative in this story. The mom Brit is being pulled apart by two massive forces, childbirth and the flight reaction of getting the hell out of there. Zombies are scary, and we want none of that.

“I know how tough my baby is. Remember when you came out to your Baptist preacher dad while holding the hand of the most beautiful Black woman in the world?”
“Yes.”
“This is not harder than that.”
“No.”
“Remember when you fucked that trader silly, faking the big O night after night until you were good and sure he'd given us a baby?”
“Yeah.”
“This is not harder than that.”
“Not even close.”
“You got this.”
“I think my water broke.”

Now imagine that you have to run for it. Fluid leaking down your leg, contractions are squeezing your body until you can hardly breathe. You mostly waddle now that you are nine months pregnant, carrying a watermelon in your pelvis. But you have to be quiet; sound travels. If you make a sound, they will come. And most of all, you need to get to the safe birth room so that you can lock yourself in. In Brit and Marisol's case, it is a metal freight car. Zombies love the smell of birth, it drives them crazy, and they will swarm outside and get in given a chance. Also, Brit has no medicine and the most rudimentary help. She is lying on the floor of a metal shipping container stuffing rags between her legs to stifle the smell of birth. If that is not badass, I don't know what is.

“We barely got here in time,” I say.
“We knew they'd find us.”
We are silent a long moment. Another bang, then a slick whisper of a sound as something slides along the wall. I hardly dare to breathe.
“The container will hold,” Mari says.
“I know.”
“They'll mass while you push that baby out, and for a day or two after. But we'll keep quiet, and the birthing scent will fade, and they'll eventually give up.”
“I know.”
“We'll go back to the enclave with a brand new baby for everyone to love on.”
“I know.”
“They'll be so glad we did this.”

“The container will hold. The container will hold,” Brit and Marisol chant to themselves. It will hold. It has to hold. An innocent is being born into this world, and he needs to live long enough so that they can name him.

Please hold.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
It isn't going to hold.

Rae Carson has created a hell of a short story here. I almost gave up trying to summarize and talk about my feelings about it with, “God, this is good. Please read.” Instead, I'll start with God; this is good. Please read. But read it because Rae Carson took tropes of womanhood and mothers, twisted them, and smacked them with a hammer. There are no weak women in this world of zombies and blood. It is loving; Brit and Marisol are truly loving partners. It is full of community strength. It is primal. It is exciting, and most important of all, it is badass because you will need badass moms to lead the world out of a zombie apocalypse one child at a time.

The Die of Death is the second book in The Great Devil War series by author by Kenneth B. Andersen and is an exciting second act to human, Phillip Engel's story. Thus far, protagonist Phillip Engel is back in his regular life. He is changed from the experiences of the first book. Now instead of being all angel, Phillip is a little bit of a devil. Just a little bit to temper his character. You can't go to hell and not be a little bit changed, and I think in terms of Phillip's character, for the better. After all, humans are not black and white, but shades of gray. And not only are humans gray but so are the devils that play supporting roles in Phillips's story. I think this is an essential distinction for young adult readers who would be reading this story. Not everyone is black and white, and no one thinks of themselves as a great villain. The devil in The Great Devil War series knows he does terrible things as a matter of course, but he knows that he has a part to play like everyone else. You can't have great good if you don't also have evil. You need to have balance in life.

Now Death needs Phillip's help. Death's Die has been stolen, and without it, people can not die. Without Death, Life has little meaning. What transpires is a fun “who done it.” The tale includes a massive cast of characters, including Satina. Phillips friend and young temptress from the first novel. All, in all this, is a fun story. I love these books; it reminds me of a dark, slightly evil Percy Jackson.

I am looking forward to continuing Anderson's tale and learning more about Phillip as time goes on.

The Ikessar Falcon, the follow up to by K.S. Villoso's The Wolf of Oren-Yaro is a book that avoids many of the pitfalls common to the middle book in the trilogy, and instead offers the readers clear plot progression, excitement, and character development.

“I've heard rumours you were dead.” “That's an improvement. Last time they said I was fucking goats.” “Oh, we took that one for a fact. What the hell are you doing here?”
― K.S. Villoso, The Ikessar Falcon

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro was one of my favorite reads last year. “Bitch, Queen, whore, warrior, wife, and mother: In The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso, Talyien aren dar Orenar is all of these and so much more.” After I finished Oren-Yaro, there was much fist-pumping. Talyien is a badass. Plain and simple. However, something changed as I read The Ikessar Falcon. While, Talyien is still very much a warrior queen, or Bitch Queen as she is often referred to by those who are lesser than her, she is not a caricature. She is not all sword and no soul. She is not all bravado with brains. Talyien is a bruised, batteling, and in some ways, a broken warrior who wants to protect those she loves. At all costs. Her upbringing allows her to do what must be done, however painful. But her heart and empathy allow her to understand the consequences of her actions. She internalizes them; she is bruised and broken by them. They become as much a part of her psyche as her sword training.

To give a very brief synopsis, the Bitch Queen is trying to save her son. I am going to quote the blurb on this because I think it sums the story up best, “Queen Talyien's quest takes a turn for the worst as she stumbles upon a plot deeper and more sinister than she could have ever imagined, one that will displace her king and see her son dead. To save her land, Talyien must confront the myth others have built around her: Warlord Yeshin's daughter, a symbol of peace, warrior and queen, and everything she could never be. The price of failure is steep. Her friends are few. And a nation carved by a murderer can only be destined for war.” As this story is much more about Tali's internal struggles and people's perceptions, it is not easy to sum it up. But know this, it is a great and terrible quest done by a mother who will do anything, and I mean anything, to save her young son.

“But even someone born and raised to be a queen can be short-sighted, maybe especially so, considering what I thought my life would be and how I would end up. I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know.
Ignorance can be the sweetest sin.”
― K.S. Villoso, The Ikessar Falcon

One of the things that stick out for me about Ikessar Falcon is that it is not an easy book. Firstly, my copy of the story clocks in at just under 600 pages. This can be daunting, but I don't want you as a reader to look at this tome and “nope” out. The Ikessar Falcon isn't a filler of a story where 250 pages are an actual story. The other 300 are extemporaneous filler pages describing the doorknobs, what the world looks like in painful detail, and what the Bitch Queen is wearing at various moments. I am looking at you, Robert Jordan. (Don't send me hate mail) What it does have is a complicated plot, with multiple layers of political machinations, batteling, warring cultures and religion/belief systems, and a collection of antagonists that are downright scary in the psychopathy.

Because of the amount of detail, political factions, it is easy to get lost in the book. It is my only quibble against the superb writing. I got lost a few times and wasn't sure whom Tali was talking to. So I backtracked to catch up. This probably is entirely on me, and your results may vary. If I were to reread this, I might make a chart to better understand the various war chiefs and locations. The world-building is exquisite, and as a side note, Villoso describes food in great detail. Some may not appreciate this, but I believe that getting to know a culture or a person, you can get a greater understanding of them by looking at the food they eat. Food is a cultural thing that all humans partake in. What we eat varies from place to place and can be defined by local produce and history. If you want to get to know a place, check out the food first. It is a good character and place identifier that is not often used in storytelling.

“The Oren-yaro do not lack for courage, it is true. We know how to face battles when the odds are stacked against us. We know how to give our lives for our lords and believe we know sacrifice like no other. But I did not face that dragon as an Oren-yaro. Our tenets may run deep, but they do not make us. I decided that if I ever get out of this alive, I would tell Rayyel that. We are flesh and blood, not words; we bend, we break, but our failings need not be etched in stone. I faced the dragon as someone willing to give her life for another not because of some deep-seated arrogance that I was better but because it was the right thing to do.”
― K.S. Villoso, The Ikessar Falcon

I want to talk briefly about the relationships in this book. If I say too much, I will give things away. However, Tali's relationships with the side characters in the story hinge on perceptions that those characters have of her and what she should be rather than what she is. This is true to some extent with Talyien and how she perceives who she is and her responsibilities. She is forever the daughter of a violent warlord, one who carved a road through the country made of the blood of those who stood against him. Is this Talyien? Is this who she is? I don't think she even knows, at least not yet. But slowly, as the story progresses, we see more and more of who she is. Not always the warlord's daughter, the betrayed wife, the mother, the childhood friend, and Talyien. The Bitch Queen who will hold her country together and save those she loves.

Damn the consequences, and damn those who stand in her way.

I know that K.S Villoso has much to show us readers. I know there will be more heartbreak, intrigue, power plays, and psychopathic characters. I am ready for it. Tali is a character that I think will bend but will not snap. One that will continue to do what is best and damn the consequences. I am here for it. Bring it Villoso, bring on the woe.

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling started incredibly strong but pittered out and ending with a whimper.

Evelyn Perdanu is a shipping magnate, the only living survivor of her family. She walks the city veiled and hidden away from the eyes of those around her. Her country is slowly dying, rotting away like food left out to spoil. Arriving from her last voyage out, she discovers that a plague has visited her city, and it is traced back to her crew. They act erratically and slip into catatonia. She begins to investigate the plague as much for the city's sake and those in it as for her own company and family name. What she finds is complicated and horrific.

Also highly confusing to me as a reader.

This story started beautifully. It was atmospheric and enchanting. We learn little bits of the background of Evelyn's life; we know a bit about the relationship she has with her assistant. We realize that Evelyn is a master herbalist, and she has used her herbal concoctions all over town, both for good and evil. This fantastic backstory for Evelyn gave me a solid foundation to picture her character in my mind.

This all takes place in the first act of the story.

When we start the second act, additional ideas and characters are added to the mix; the police captain, for instance. It gets confusing, and I was not sure of the importance of things. Should I, as a reader, be concerned by the Police Captain sniffing around? Or with the plague? Or with Evelyn's business interests?

By the third act, the story gets a bit stranger and still very confusing, and it just ends. I don't want to give it away, as the ending is very out of the left field.

Conceptually, this is a remarkable book. Starling absolutely knows how to work words into magic in the mind of the reader. During the story's first half, my mind's eye was covered in yellow smoke, twisted and thorny vines, and a woman sitting amongst it all veiled in black lace. It lost me in the second and third acts. The atmospheric description was constant, though, and that is why I finished the story.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for my open and honest review.

Katie M. Flynn's newest story, The Companions, is described as a dystopic combination of “Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go set in an unsettling near future where the dead can be uploaded to machines and kept in service by the living.” However, The Companions never hits the mark with either comparison.

The story is about a world that has been destroyed by a crafted, highly contagious virus. California is under massive quarantine, people cannot go outside or interact with other people for fear of contamination. Right from the start, this isn't a new idea. This kind of isolationism is widespread in science fiction. Humans are social creatures, and we start to act funny and do odd things when cut off from society. The dead can come into homes, however, in the form of “companionship.” A deceased persons mind, intellect, and memories are downloaded in storage and uploaded into a new robot if “the company” deems it fit. This leads to so many questions that break the plausibility of this story. Why would a company be given so much power and ownership of what amounts to people's souls? What about this virus? What did it do? Why are some people outside, but seemingly ok? Is the virus a lie? and so on...

“Wealthy participants in the “companionship” program choose to upload their consciousness before dying, so they can stay in the custody of their families.” This class system stratification could have opened up a ton of exciting avenues for the story, the wealthy versus the poor, where the wealthy love forever. But, it came off as more of a footnote—a bit of backstory rather than a propelling narrative for the plot.

“Sixteen-year-old Lilac is one of the less fortunate, leased to a family of strangers. But when she realizes she's able to defy commands, she throws off the shackles of servitude and runs away, searching for the woman who killed her.”

The premise, at least in the blurb, is solid with this story. We have disharmony between societal classes, a vast plague that disrupts social norms, people stuck in machines, and more, which is why it saddened me around the 50% mark to see that this story was not going to go anywhere.

What was written where a series of character vignettes.

Each of the vignettes is interesting and well written on their own, but taken as a whole are an incohesive story. The characters that were very strong to start with, get lost. There is no real character that I could call a true protagonist. The story jumps in time and events with rapidity, but the reader is never given a chance to eternalize why some events are important and why others are not. What we end up with is a substantial character and emotional series of stories that take place in the same world, and might have some connecting thread between them, but not much else.

The Companions started so strong, the writing was excellent, but the lack of cohesive narrative and worldbuilding leave it muddy.

Last year I reviewed one of the most atmospheric books I had ever read—Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh. It was whimsical, verdant, and dark. When I think about it a year later, I still get the mental picture of a deep lustrous forest with secrets to keep. Silver in the Wood was the first book in the Greenhollow Duology. The second, Drowned Country, is as good as the first one, although the tone is slightly different.

Drowned Country brings us many of the characters from the first story, specifically of the two male leads of Tobias and Silver. Where Silver in the Wood was very much Tobias's story to tell, Drowned Country is Silvers. It has been two years since the first novel has taken place. While in the first story, the setting of the deep dark woods was a character as much as Tobias was. Now in Drowned Forest, the temperament of the story has changed too much more character-driven.

Silver has a difficult time finding his footing as the new wild man of the forest. He is sulky, petulant, and bored. Tobias has taken to working with Silver's mother, the aging monster hunter Adela Silver. Adela asks Silver to come to help her with her newest monster problem. There is a 900-year-old vampire afoot and a missing ingenue that needs rescuing. Silver is bored and wants to get back some of the excitement that he had when he was not the wild man. Thus starts their adventure. Things certainly do not pan out as we think they will.

Most of the story is the tension between Silver and Tobias. There is a certain charm between the two of them, a lightness that comes off easily and is a testament to how good Tesh's writing is. Their relationship had an effortless quality to it. I spent much of the book wishing they would work things out. The background story of elves and Maud is less important than their relationship. It is what they were doing at the time, but it is not all-encompassing.

The small detractor I found with this novel is that I wished it was longer, and the plot felt more important. I wanted it fleshed out. It had some pretty vague points that lost me as a reader. And, because of its vagueness, it lost some of the atmospheric quality. I couldn't picture it as well as her first book, Silver in the Wood.

In the end, Tesh did a great job with this book. It is a fine ending or beginning depending on how you look at it to this Duology. I loved the romance between the two of them; there is a slow burn quality to it that is almost steamy. This book gave me some warm fuzzies.

I am sad that the series is over, but in many ways, the journey of Silver and Tobias is just beginning.

If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my writing on www.grimdarkmagazine.com or www.beforewegoblog.com

Something wicked this way comes.

I am new to the church of Jeffrey Ford. Pretty much any die-hard horror fans will be familiar with his massive catalog of work. His stories have appeared everywhere, from anthologies of fantasy to his stand-alone novels. Knowing all that, I still hadn't picked up one of his stories and jumped in. It was always a convergence of wrong time, wrong book for me. This is why it was such a pleasure to be sent an advanced copy from Macmillan-Tor/Forge for his newest novella, Out of Body.

Also, at 176 pages, this is not a huge undertaking. I was looking for bite-sized horror, something that would grab me by the throat, and scatter my body in chills. What I got was... eh.

This is a decent story. I loved the librarian angle as I tend to think of librarians as superheroes. I thank my childhood visits to the library, and A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies, a short story by Alix E. Harrow. That short story replenished my love and admiration of librarians. I was tickled that the main protagonist was one. Owen, the main protagonist, leads a complacent life where he seems happy with the routine. “It was time to wash out his coffee cup and dress for work. That day it was the blue-gray suit, white shirt, no tie. The only alternative was the brown suit, white shirt, no tie. Locking the door behind him, he walked to the corner and turned left, making for town along a tree-lined sidewalk. The rain had stopped overnight, but the wind was raging, and the new leaves on the spring trees made a rushing noise like a rain-swollen creek.” Until one day, his seemingly charming if lackluster life is cracked open like a pinata. He witnesses the murder of a friend of his while in the local deli for his usual breakfast sandwich. This murder sends him for a loop, it traumatizes him emotionally, and the injury that occurred to him changed him physically. As a child, Owen suffered a terrible sleep disorder called sleep paralysis. This disorder that stalked him as a child is back. Not only has It come back, but it has also changed, giving Owen a chance to leave his body for another plane. Owen pushes out from his body and can wander the Earth as an OBE or out of body entity. He has a duty now to observe and bear witness to the world that only night can bring.

By about this point in the story, there isn't much going on. Owen is going day to day and night to night. He views the quirks and curiosities that only come out at night. Owen watches men who eat bugs to get high one night, a loving family the next, an author, and finally an old painter. On one of his nightly runs, he meets another OBE, she takes him under her wing and begins to explain the terrible and frightening things that lurk in this plane, things that can sever the cord to your body, or boil your soil out of existence. There are things of real horror in this world between life and death. And, sometimes, things that see you in the spirit realm can find you in the real world.

This story is as advertised, a cool take on night paralysis and out of body experiences. It was a nice story to read, even with the horror angle that comes the last 1/3 of the story. I enjoyed reading it. The issue that I had with the story and why I didn't give it a much higher review was I found Owen to be unlikeable. Not all protagonists need to be liked by their readers, but Owen was so unlikeable to me that I had a difficult time latching onto his plight and being concerned about what was befalling him. That, coupled with the shorter length of the story, didn't allow me to invest the mental energy that I would have loved to had it been longer.

All that being said, this is a good story and should be added to your reading list if you are a horror lover. The writing is solid, and the plot was interesting. The pacing lagged in the beginning but picked up dramatically at about the 50% mark. Plus, the story has elements of fantasy as well as horror so that it will appeal to a broader audience. Check it out. Though, I think I am going to try another collection of his books, The Well-Built city trilogy, to get a real sense for him as a writer.

Out of Body comes out on May 26, 2020, and can be pre-ordered or purchased wherever books are sold.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.

Wow. What a story. What an idea.

Again, Christina Dalcher has written an almost prescient story about humanity. Much in the Vein of Vox, Dalcher tackles the idea of the “haves” and “have nots” and takes it to a terrifying place. It isn't a new idea; I know of quite a few authors who have delved into the concept of inequality based on genetics or disposition. However, I can't think of one who pulled at my emotions as much as this story. Her book struck a chord in me. Maybe it is the combination of motherhood, something so powerful and innate it makes me shake thinking of someone taking away my child, and the current climate of unease. Or, perhaps the utter impotence and rage I felt reading about Elena's predicament. She fought to save her child in a near-impossible system.

Either way, Dalcher wrote a hell of a character.

Dr. Elena Fairchild looks like she has it all. On paper, she does because she has a high Q score, the perfect husband, the ideal career, the perfect children. The Q score is an amalgamation of all the characteristics a society considers “desirable.” Underneath it all, people are imperfect. Because people are people warts and all, and when you shove them into a system like the one described in Master Class, you can see right away how people will start to fall through the cracks. People like those who learn differently, such as Elena's daughter. Or wives who fall out of love with their husbands. And especially those who have any disability, all of those who are outside the “perfect” line. When Elena's nine-year-old daughter bombs a critical test, her Q score becomes too low and is sent away to an institution, and Elena wants her daughter back.

I think that some who read Master Class will feel that it is a compelling dystopian story, and the undercurrent of narrative and discussion won't go any further than that. Others, though, like myself, Master Class will rip their heart out and have to put the book down a few times because of the building rage inside of them.

I wanted to yell a few times:
“Stay the hell away from her child!”
“What a bastard of a husband!”
“What a messed up system!”

Any book that can elicit such a strong emotional response inside of me is aces in my book.

Oona is a traitor. Born to a westerner woman and an easterner man, she already lived upon the dividing line of two worlds and considered a half-breed child, not enough of either land to be claimed by it. Now she is a mapmaker, and in her native language, a mapmaker means a traitor.

Imagine two worlds, on one side, The East, where the land is claimed and calm. Mountains stay where they are supposed to, rivers do not wind, and bend to patterns of their devising. The West is wild and free. Dangerous and magical. Of course, the people of the East want to claim and conquer the land of the West.

Oona and her brother Ira, son of another lover of her mothers, are trying to make it on their own. Ira is struck down with tuberculosis. Oona must care for him. So Oona becomes a mapmaker. She helps define a path for an Eastern-based company, Great Eastern River Company, that wants to explore and conquer the land. Oona, as a mapmaker, can calm the wildness of the land. The company knows this, so they yoke her to their cause by the love she has for her brother. How will Oona survive the two worlds that are slowly tearing her apart?

Harrow writes with beauty and a keen understanding of the power of words and language. Her narrative is melodic and almost lyrical. She writes as if she is describing the warring of the lands and the wildness of the WestWest in poetry. It is magical. I love that she took the idea of Western expansion and manifest destiny and turned it on its ear.

You can try and manifest your destiny, but what if the land fights back and does not want to be tamed?

I started listening to All Systems Red on Scribd with the hopes of passing some time listening to something fun and simple while doing kitchen chores. Boy, was I wrong. I ended up not only cleaning the kitchen, reorganizing the pantry, fridge, cooking dinner, and meals for the next day in the hopes of listening to as much of this as possible before having to put it away for the night. It is compulsive and addictive read. Once you start reading it, it is so short and exciting you will not want to stop till you get to the end.

All Systems Red is a perfect and tidy story. When I say tidy, it isn't derogatory. Novellas have to get a lot done in a short amount of time. The author needs to convey thought, history, emotion, narrative, and plot progression. So all of the choices the author makes need to be concise and tidy. In Martha Wells, All Sytems Red, she created an exceptional character in Murderbot, Murderbot being the name he calls himself. He is cynical, confused, and courageous but more than anything, Murderbot has very human emotions. This character works quite well within the context of a novella because the reading audience has a cultural dialog regarding machines with human emotions, i.e., The Terminator. There isn't a lot of groundwork to be laid, we already have a feel for what this scenario could look like. Murderbot is an artificial life form with organic components, and these components work in tandem with its artificial ones to create the perfect killing machine.

How life works for the Murderbot is that he is deployed on contract through his host company, The Company. In the first installment of the quadrilogy of short stories, Murderbot is protecting and defending a group of scientists and geographers on an inhospitable planet. Murderbot hacks his mainframe to start making independent choices aside from is company programming. Most of his decisions consist of which type of soap opera to watch on the entertainment channels available at his outpost. However, when another outpost on the same planet gets attacked, Murderbot needs to step in to protect the scientists that he has become attached to. What plays out over the brief story is exciting scenes, great dialog (both internal and external), and an excellent plot jump to the next novella. I loved this, and it is easily understood why the author received so many well-deserved accolades. It is funny and enjoyable.

The Loop is a freaky story: a little bit War of the Worlds, a little bit Stranger Things, and a little bit, huh?

Have you ever heard of Turner Falls, Oregon? A typical little city with a population barely enough to call it a city. Probably not. It isn't worth noting except for the weird quirk of having a plethora of Biotech corporations. That is the rub. What happens when a little tiny town and the teenagers who live there mix with biotech? You get The Loop.

The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson is a weird little story that had me in the first fifty pages. It follows a typical body Snatchers type trope where the snatchers are bioengineered creatures instead of aliens. Except Johnson puts little twists on it here and there to keep the idea feeling fresh to readers. The way Johnson describes some of the scenes is pure body horror, and I am here for it.

“You guys were the ones who thought it would be okay to pop a fucking octopus computer into somebody's neck.”

Johnson took some of the big universal scares of humanity, things like tentacles that invade your body. They enter through your neck and break through your skull and shoot down your spine. These creatures remove your empathy and turn you into hive-minded machines bent on destruction. It is a great idea, especially in the beginning when a student is smashing a teacher's face in with a book's spine. What puts him into such a huge rage is not usual. Gore splatters the walls, and the students that witness the murder are forever altered by it. It wasn't just a horror fest; there is character development and interest.

My main question in all this was why? The story did not have the deep plausible why that I needed as a springboard for the visuals. What was the point of the bioengineered monsters? Was it to control the teenagers? That seems a bit flimsy, and because that one bit of plot information eluded me, I could not fully immerse myself in the story.

Aside from the “big why,” that I spoke about above, there are many positives with The Loop. For one, the main character is a teenager but not the annoying angsty kind. Instead, the protagonist is the type who is just done with all this small town nonsense. Additionally, her banter and levity with the other characters kept rather brutal scenes lighter. And when I say Brutal, The Loop does not shy away from the dark and cruel. The writing and depth of horror reminded me a lot of the great Graham Masterton.

Sadly, even with the great writing, excellent gore, and engaging protagonist, I could not connect to the story on its most fundamental idea. These octopus spider things exist, but I don't know why. This is my own quibble, as other reviewers who have read this story understood and embraced the biological scenario. But for this reviewer, I could never get past it, so it was a midgrade read for me.

Persephone Station by Stina Leicht is a dark space opera that will appeal to Firefly fans. The story has that same sort of found family/mercenaries type vibe. Stina Leicht, known for her short story work and The Fey and the Fallen and the series The Malrum Gates, brings us her first full science fiction novel in Persephone Station.

“Why do you think, bitch?” His accent was pure West Brynner. A local. That could mean many things. “If you're here for a robbery, you picked the wrong damned apartment, asshole. Drop the knife.”

The story stars Angel de la Reza, an ex-marine thrice revived head of a band of criminals for hire. Reza is a deep and sympathetic character. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are certain Firefly tones to this story. Angel reminds me a bit like Malcolm Reynolds. She is gruff, gritty, with a complicated backstory, who once adopts you into her motley crew, you become family. Angel and her team take a job and are framed for an assassination that they don't do. They may steal from you, kill you if you look at them wrong, but assassination something they won't do.

Angel, as well as her crew, are forced to flee the station. Rosie, a sympathetic crime lord, has a different idea for them. Protect the planet from another from the Serrao-Orlov corporation that is a front for another crime lord. Things get complicated as they meet the indigenous people of the planet and find out that this isn't just a protection job, but they will have to fight an army of mechs, drones, and other ships. There are quite a few shooting, explosions, and battle scenes to balance the dialog and quieter moments.

“The question was rhetorical. They knew why it had been done. Intimidation. But they had a powerful need to verbalize even a small piece of outrage. It was like puking up the tiniest bit of poison. The end was inevitable—the toxin had done its work, but the impulse was unstoppable nonetheless.”

This book is full of wonderful space opera moments. The plot is very character-driven. The cast of characters is almost entirely female, non-binary, or gender-neutral. As someone who reads a ton of space opera, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to see BIPOC or non-binary individuals as strong characters.

The world-building in Persephone Station is unique. It has the feel of an old west frontier but in space. There is an outlaw type feel over all of the descriptions. The planet that Angel's team works to protect seems very Earth-like; however, the indigenous people and creatures are very imaginative. Especially the aliens and how they communicate. It reminded me a bit like Adrian Tchaikovski's Children of Time series, where the spiders rely heavily on scent as a means of communication.

“Rage, pride, and avarice, Rosie thought. Three of the seven deadly sins. A great fall after such an auspicious start.”

The pacing was uneven in the story, and that is my only complaint. The beginning of the story had some exciting fight scenes. They were exceptionally well done, with a little bit of gore. However, the pacing slowed down a bit. The middle portion of the story seemed to be holding its breath before the big finale. I would have liked a bit more transition between the beginning and the end. But, once you got to the last part of the book, everything came together beautifully. The different characters' perspectives made sense, and the ending had an unexpected twist, which was fun.

Persephone Station was a great read. From beginning to end, even with the plot slowing down a bit, I still couldn't put the book down. The characters are dynamic, and the found family trope is always excellent, and that cover was gorgeous. If that cover doesn't make you want to read this book, the opening two chapters will. If you are looking for a space opera with BIPOC and queer representation, this is your book. Check it out!

Ring Shout, by thrice nominated nebula award author P. Djèlí Clark will win a Hugo or a Nebula and maybe just both for this story. I do not say this lightly as there have been a plethora of gorgeous work, both indie and traditionally published, that have been stellar. We are talking body and soul moving type work, but nothing I have read this year holds a candle to this. If you are not familiar with Clark's other books, let me elucidate you and baptize you in the world of his short story and novellas.
Firstly, The Black God's Drums written in a steampunkesque New Orleans featuring a Moxy filled young teen, African gods, a kidnapped Haitian scientist, and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God's Drums. When you read this story, you can practically feel the dark cobblestones under your feet, the heady moist air of New Orleans, feel the energy from sweaty dancing, and the power of a place steeped in lore. New Orleans is a special place, but the way Clark describes it is another world fueled by magic.

“As you know, we specialize in that thing you call hate. To your kind, it's just a feeling. A bit of rage behind the eyes.”

The second book in his catalog is The Haunting of Tram Car 015. Where Clark takes on an alternative Cairo where humans live and work with otherworldly beings. While The Black Gods Drums beats with the heart of New Orleans, Clark takes you to Cairo and feeds you passion, silks, smells, and hot sand. Where New Orleans is dark and humid, Cairo is bright and dusty.

The last story in his catalog is that of A Dead Djinn in Cairo. This also takes place in Cairo but has a slightly different feel. It is power, hot sand, history, and bright light, but the story is, at its core, a police procedural. It has a very sam spade type feel.

Why the history lesson on his other books?

So I can help to describe the genius loci of the worlds he creates. The spirit of the place that embodies the culture, architecture, history, and people all combined make a place original. Its own special unique thing that can not be duplicated. Clark is such a good writer that he has created a genuine genius loci in Ring Shout. Halfway through the story, I was looking for a door, a window, anything that could let me into this world. There is no way that it wasn't real.

The story can be summed up that an evil sorcerer has infiltrated some hardened American hearts with a movie The Birth of a Nation. Those people become Klan members and physically change to be the embodiment of the hate they have. They become demons, or as they are known in the story as Ku Klux. Monsters from hell. This sorcerer is trying to open the door to literal hell and devour the souls of Earth's people. Enter Maryse, a female African-American bootlegger from Macon, Georgia that hunts these racist demons. She carries a magical sword infused with the pain of dead slaves. Their voices sing to her and fuel the rage that allows her to manifest the sword and the will to face the Ku Klux. She is a flawed hero in every sense of the word. She has a broken past that haunts her, and she struggles with her choices. But my god, is she this stories champion. I don't think I have ever read a female hero as well written as her.

Aside from that short summation, I can't tell you more of the plot. I would ruin it. This is a novella, and Clark uses few selected words when describing his worlds. Everything is purposeful, and there is not a lot of room to dance around the events described in the book.

Clark writes terrifyingly fantastic body horror in this story. The Ku Klux is frightening in many ways. First, and most obvious, is what they represent. In its most visceral form, racism is pure hate, and that hate has given rise to these creatures that feed on hate. Iconographically, the white hood is frightening in what it represents historically. And the transformation of creatures you are already scared of because of what they represent goes a step further in becoming an actual demon. Clark took fear on many levels, and it works so well. It is very Lovecraftian.

I loved that I could tell some of the influences that Clark has had when writing this. You do not often come across writers that have been influenced by A Wrinkle in Time and Madeline L'Engle. But I felt it in the three Aunties can be likened to Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which. Or maybe a nod to the Greek Moirai. These wise Aunties guide Maryse, but they are full of secrets and know more then they are letting on.

Clark is one of the best authors I have ever read, and he is undoubtedly one of the greatest authors alive. I kid you not; if Clark described what fire was in a book of his, I would expect the pages to start to char and blacken as they internalize the prose he writes. To say this is good would be an understatement. All I can say is that Ring Shout should be studied in school for future generations to marvel and learn from.

I just witnessed the birth of a new American classic, and I stand in awe.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor.com for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.

Over The Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker is a complicated book to review. A. Deborah Baker is the newest pseudonym of prolific author Seanan McGuire and goes hand in hand with one of her other works, Middlegame. It is meta, Over the Woodward Wall was mentioned in Middlegame, and now we have the full children's book to go with it.
Honestly, I wasn't even aware of the connection until I had an a-ha moment about halfway through the story. You don't need to have read Middlegame to appreciate Over The Woodward Wall. Still, I think readers will have a fuller appreciation and understanding of the story if they have read Middlegame.

“Humans always look the same to me once they're old enough to leave the nest. Hatchling humans are one thing, but the rest of you? Pssh.”

The story is about two children who are polar opposites of each other in almost every way. Avery, who is calm, collected, systematic, and rule-abiding, is half the duo. While Zib, who is loud, frizzy, wild, and free-spirited, is the other half of the pair. Together they balance each other and cancel each others strongest tendencies. The only thing Zib and Avery have in common is their age. That is... until a chance meeting while on a wall to the Up and Under intertwined their destinies. Now, in a land completely different than our own, the two of them have to work together because they will never escape otherwise.

Seanan McGuire is a master storyteller. If you haven't had a chance to check out the myriad of her novels, series, and short stories, you should. She has a way about writing that is lyrical enough to dance across the pages, but substantial enough that a reader does not get lost in the words. All that being said, I don't think this is her best work. That is a relative thing. Even on McGuire's worst days, she still is a fabulous writer.

But, Over the Woodward Wall was missing something.

The story has a lot of good. The worldbuilding is well done. There are giant talking blue owls, waterfalls made of mud, a crow girl, and so many other fantastical things. It is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and McGuire's Wayward Children series. The world is an elaborate creation, and it is believable and whimsical at the same time. I can see two children getting lost in all this.

“Neither of them could see the cliff they fell past, but if they had, they would have understood the mud a little better, for the stone was banded in pink and blue and purple, stripes of one color sitting atop the next, like something from a storybook.”

Avery and Zib are fun lead characters that balance each other well but learn to adapt to the situations as they arise. It is a good lesson for kids because, technically, this is written for children. But I think the lessons were too heavy-handed; every character Avery and Zib crossed had something to teach them, some lesson. That is generally important in a fable; it seems too much. Even fables and children's stories have subtleties. Because it was apparent what each of the characters was doing, I could not get engaged in it as much as I would have liked to.

On the flip side, the story did not seem long enough. It felt incomplete. I wanted more. Maybe that will be realized in future books, but I ended this story slightly dissatisfied. It was a weird combination of too much info in one part of the story and not enough in another.

“A piece can represent the whole,” said Meadowsweet. “If the human child wants to hold up a branch and say it means the entire tree, I don't see where it's another human child's place to stop it. Representative symbols are an essential piece of making so many things. Without them, we wouldn't have maps, or books, or paintings. Peace, human child. Let your fellow be.”

Of course, even with slight criticism of the plot, this is a fun story. The children's voices are engaging, and its meandering manner is thematic. You are meandering with the kids as they make their way through the world. And, even though this isn't McGuire's best work, it is still a fun read. Besides, I loved Middlegame. It was one of the best books I read last year, and the meta quality of Over the Woodward Wall adds another layer to the story and makes me appreciate Middlegame all the more.

If you are a fan of McGuire's work, you will undoubtedly appreciate this. And, even though it wasn't as engaging as I had hoped, this is still a very good story and worth the time it takes to read it.

3.5/5 stars rounded to 4

If you are just reading the description of this story, on the surface it looks like a pretty common plotline about magic users and magic competition. An urban fantasy story set in the already magical New York City. But what you don't know, and you learn in the first few pages of this novel is that it is so much more than that. This is a nuanced story involving political machinations, abuse of power, and privilege. Those who have the power abuse those who are considered expendable.

The story opens with a seemingly innocent, but still amazing feat of magic. Sydney, the stories protagonist lifts cars with magic, “The cars around her, as one, lifted gracefully into the air. Sydney held them there, rust-stained taxis and sleek black sedans with tinted windows, courier vans and a tour bus blaring the opening number of the latest Broadway hit. Ten feet above the ground, floating through the intersection like some bizarre migration of birds. A smile stretched, bright and wild, across her face. If the people in the cars could have seen it, they might have called it exhilaration. They might have called it joy.” Was it joy or was it a necessity? We won't know till the very end of Sydney's journey.

This story has a multiple POV narrative. Often authors fail to write definitive voices when using this narrative style, but Kat Howard's characters are clear and definable from one another. Sydney goes through a bit of a badass transition into an incredible force of will and magic. She will change society and win The Turning or die in the process. We have Ian formerly of House Merlin, who plays a good counterpart to Sydney. Laurent, the man who is highers Sydney to represent him in The Turning is also a force of good in the story. It is refreshing and wonderful to have a story that is mostly trope free. Sydney is a badass. Just that. She doesn't need a man to save her nor make ridiculous mistakes that are out of her character for sake of literary convention. No. She is just a badass. I loved it, and you will too.

The narrative and plot arc is fast-paced. The story comes at you in the first chapter or so and doesn't stop. The narrative takes place over a short amount of time so this helps keep up the action.

I've read quite a lot of Urban Fantasy and it is one of my favorite genres. I can say this is one of the better books I have read representing the genre. I am certainly looking forward to a second book to continue Sydney's story. Good characters, great world-building, interesting magic system. You can't go wrong.

The House on the Bottom of the Lake by Josh Malerman is a lovely novella full of nostalgia and wonder with just a touch of horror that takes it from saccharin to sweet.

I remember being 17, don't you?

Looking back on that period of my life, it was a magical but weird time. I sat on the cusp of adulthood, not quite a kid but also not quite an adult. More importantly, I saw myself as an adult; I thought I knew everything. Looking back on this weird age 20+ later, I now know that I knew nothing then. Hell, I barely know anything now.

A House at the Bottom of the Lake by Josh Malorman starts with a boy and a girl, Josh and Amelia. Two 17-year-olds, both are stepping out and trying something foreign.

“How can I say no? Canoening with a stranger? Yes. I'd love to.”
Both seventeen. Both afraid. But both saying yes.”“

They meet up for a canoe date. James's uncle has a place on a lake. But there is a second lake, one that no one uses that is directly off of the first one. Both self-conscious and not knowing what to do on this first date, they head out on Jame's uncle's green canoe. They find the second lake, and a bit of magic happens.

The magic isn't showy like dragons or unicorns, but it is the magic that occurs between two people connecting for the first time. It is that zing that flows through someone who meets another person, and they become their +1. They connect, marveling at this lake.

“For the first time in either of their lives, they were falling in love.”

On the second date, they find the third lake. If the first was beautiful, the second more so, the third lake was not. It was much less grand, with murky water, and smelled. There was something off about it. But the third lake had something; it felt unvisited. It felt like these two kids were doing something slightly naughty on a grand adventure.

And very soon after, they find a house on the bottom of the lake, one that was not rotting and crumbling from the pressures of the lake and time, but one that is held in stasis. As if it was waiting for them.

A House on the Bottom of a Lake's narrative touches on various dichotomies of ideas. The story's main characters have feet in two worlds: reality and dream, 17 and older, horror and beauty, and seclusion and society. A house sitting perfectly nestled on the bottom of a lake is in itself a dichotomy. It is something “other” inside of something natural and normal.

“Curiosity killed the cat and the snooping seventeen-year-old girl.”

Do not go into this story thinking that this is a horror novel. Malerman writes many great horror novels: Bird Box, Mallory, and Pearl. A House on the Bottom of a Lake is about young love first and how terrifying that can be. Later as we learn more about the house, it is creepy and unnatural. It is “other” with fear of the unknown vibes. This otherness enhances the connection between the two main characters but never overshadows it.

Overall, this is a great story. Malerman shows real range with his character creation in his bibliography of work. But the one thread going through his books is true authenticity. His characters feel real, and this story is no exception. The House on the Bottom of the Lake is both fantastical and character-focused. I fell a little bit in love with the idea of Josh and Amelia, and I think you will too.

Ink & Sigil is Kevin Hearne's first book in an exciting new series called aptly Ink & Sigil. if you aren't familiar with Hearne's novels, he has a couple of interesting series, the most famous being the Iron Druid Chronicles. “Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound.”

“A toast! Tae inks and sigils and straight razors, tae good bosses and wizards on lizards, tae outsmarting evil when ye can and kicking its arse when ye cannae do that, and tae distillers of fine spirits everywhere. Sláinte!”

In my opinion, the Iron Druid Chronicles is some of the best urban fantasy out there and has the most loyal companion dog in all of fantasy. Although, Mouse from Dresden Files is a very close second. The banter and characterization of Atticus's Wolfhound make many of his books both movers and funny. The Iron Druid series set me on a quest to find an Irish Wolfhound for myself. That is, until I found out the actual size of a said wolfhound—basically, the size of a VW Bug. And much like Mouse from the Dresden Files, a Fu dog and also the size of a VW Bug, he will have to be a dream for someday.

With all that being said, this new series has a lot of the flavor of the Iron Druid series, a wicked sense of humor, banter, and action. But, we have an entirely new type of magic to learn about and a new champion protagonist to cheer for in Al MacBharrais. Al, aside from being a slightly cantankerous sigil agent, has also been cursed. As soon as he speaks, his once melodious voice now causes the hearer to hate his guts. Instead, he is forced to talk to folks using a text-to-speech program on his phone. Problems with his various text-to-speech devices do provide a bit of comedic fun. I believe that who cursed him will be the overarching mystery of the series.

Specifically, the great mystery to this book is what is happening to his apprentices. They keep up and dying on him. Geordie, his newest apprentice, although not a nice guy in any way, did not deserve to die the way he did. Much to Al's dismay, Geordie had been living a double life and dabbling in an underground trafficking ring. Fae had been captured and sold to the highest bidder for often nefarious purposes. This ring is where we meet our sidekick of a sort in Buck Foi, a rogue and mischievous hobgoblin set to steal all he can and drink all of the whiskey. Geordie had him trapped.

This underground trafficking ring and the untimely deaths of his apprentices set Al on a quest to find out who is doing the stealing and killing.

Ink & Sigil is such a fun book. Generally, all of Hearne's books are irreverent and do not take themselves too seriously. His books have a light-heartedness peppered with action that keeps the pace rolling along but still makes you laugh out loud as a reader. However, I think that Ink & Sigil steps up the quality and intelligence of the comedy. It is a smarter comedy, although Buck Foi does throw in plenty of dick and fart level jokes to spice things up.

Also, technically Al is much, much younger than Atticus. However, Al has wisdom that Atticus does not. Maybe it is because of Al's profession; Al is a sigil master. He crafts words and symbols with special inks and seals them for different effects. Al, himself, is not magical. But he has the intelligence to do great magic. Conversely, Atticus does Earth magic and communes with Gaia. His magic is more inward, and dealing with the spirit requires less mind and more soul.

Maybe it is the type of magic he practices or because Al looks the part of a cantankerous older man. Unlike Atticus, who looks 22 but is over 2000 years old. But Al feels like he is one inch from yelling at you to get off his lawn.

These beautiful characters come together to make a fun story that is relatable and with a moving plot. Al is full of all sorts of surprises as well as his staff. Nothing is really as it seems. And like The Iron Druid, it is undoubtedly going to be a bit of a keeper. I can't wait to read more.

Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by author Jason “David Wong” Pargin is the second installment in the Zoey Ashe series following 2016's Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits. Just as it did in Futuristic Violence, the newest Zoey book is a hilarious blend of science fiction storytelling and the absurd. Once again, the story takes place in Tabula Ra$a, Utah. A city designed around the wealthy, the indulgent, and lawlessness. In the previous installment of this series, Zoey had inherited her father's multi-billion-dollar empire built on his mob-like tendencies and the whimsical desires of a man with too much money and not enough scruples. Zoey, who grew up very poor with a single mother, has to morally navigate the needs of existing in this ridiculous world with her moral compass. All while surviving what is thrown at her from exploding humans with superhero powers to mobs of online rage-filled people passing rumors around about her being a cannibal.  

“Will, calm as wind chimes, said, “Wu, if you hit Zoey two inches below her rib cage and one inch to the right of her spinal column, you'll punch a hole through her abdomen that she'll likely survive. Set the round to detonate about six inches later, inside Mr. Tilley's torso. It will blow him in half, implants or not.”

This particular entry into the series has Zoey being digitally harassed and attacked. The masses of online trolls of Tabula Ro$a accuse Zoey of being a cannibal and a power-hungry despot. They threaten her home and general well being. They attack her online, make up wild stories and accusations, and generally make her life a living hell. To complicate things, a rival security company is throwing proverbial gasoline on the fire. Did they send the steamer trunk with a dead body that jumped up and started chasing everyone around the mansion, shouting about Zoey being a cannibal? Or was it something more sinister? 

This story again demonstrates the wit and imagination that Wong has shown in all of his books. Both the Zoey series and John Dies at the End employ the absurd and the gonzo with sympathetic characters and social commentary. While Zoey is a funny book, the characters play off of each other well. There is a lot of funny banter between the Zoey and her team, but there is an undercurrent of sadness under it all. Zoey is isolated. She has no close friends, and the only regular social interaction she has is with her cat. That isolation is making her feel off-kilter and very alone. 

Another positive of David's writing is that he does not shy away from humanity's uglier problems. For instance, in between the timeline of Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits and Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, Zoey ends up having a mental breakdown and needs to enter a mental health facility. It is no wonder she has been through some incredibly traumatic events. Instead of using that kind of thing for comedic fodder, Zoey speaks pretty candidly about it. Likewise, Zoey has small mental breakdowns, nightmares, moments of freak out that normal people experience. It adds realism to Zoey's character, and it is wonderful seeing an author talking about things like mental health more realistically.

“The victims smelled smoke. They all wanted to get out but they didn't hear an alarm. The alarm, in that situation, wasn't there to announce there was a fire—they knew there was a fire. The alarm was there to give them permission to get up and leave. Nobody wanted to be first, the social pressure kept them glued to their seats. Well, mass violence works the same way. It just takes one person to be the fire alarm, to give everybody permission to go wild. But probably half of the rioters back at the inn couldn't pick you out of a lineup or even explain what they were angry about. It's a core of obsessed true believers surrounded by a cloud of fence-sitters looking for a purpose to cling to. Most of those would disperse if the core were to . . . go away.”

Zoey is, fundamentally, a realistic person. She was a coffee barista, has a terrible ex that broke her heart, and worried about keeping the heat on. At her core, Zoey is a morally good person, maybe not all the time, because who is good all the time. But at her heart, she is trying. She cares about people, even people she has never met and wants to make the world a better place. She is also continuously being thrown in bizarre circumstances that are usually beyond her control, and she fakes it till she makes it. Basically holding on to her goodness and humanity as best she can.

This quality of Zoeys, paired with David Wong's excellent writing and ferocious wit, makes him one of my favorite authors to read. He continuously puts out good work, and if you are a fan of the slightly bizarre with a science-fiction bent to it, his stories and specifically Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick is worth reading. I have a feeling you will love his books.

  

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig is his magnum opus. It is a colossal story that occupies a sliver of literary real estate between dystopian, science fiction, and current events.

“You didn't change anyone's mind about politics by hammering away at them—all that did was drive the nail deeper into the wall of their own certainty.”
― Chuck Wendig, Wanderers

One morning on June 3rd, in the small town of Maker's Bell, Pennsylvania, Shana stood next to her little sister's bed and thought, “Nessie ran away again.” Nessie ran away often, and as Shana was Nessie's older sister and protector, it was Shana's problem. Nessie left the farm in the middle of the night with nothing on but a dress. What Shana did not know at the time, but learns quickly is that Nessie is sleepwalking. Or, as she becomes known later, a walker. Nessie has begun a long walk, and nothing can deter her. Shana is not far behind. As the days pass, the group of walkers grows. The group that stumbles through the countryside is made up of all sorts of people, young or old, they all walk with a single-minded determinedness. The group picks up walkers, and shepherds (people who help take care of their flock of walking friends and family) regularly.

While the walkers walk, the world's opinion is split on what type of creature these walkers are. Are they aliens, science experiments, do they carry disease? Whatever they are, the right-wing side of American politics, Kreel, feels that there is something unholy about them. They should be stopped. Kreel goes to rallies and muckrakes against the sitting president Hunt. How is she is not doing anything? How is she not acting fast enough and putting the children at risk? It would be perverse if it weren't so plausible. All of the political machinations of the American two-party system tear each other apart and turn to civil war in the background of the story. While the walkers are doing their long march across the countryside, the world is wracked by a pandemic. A type of flu that travels quickly from person to person, kills without mercy, and drives people insane.

In the foreground of the story, we have a few intersections of well thought out and interesting characters. The first thing I noticed about Wanderers is that it doesn't feel like there are any protagonists, either that or everyone is a protagonist. No one truly is a hero. All the characters develop and change. Because the narrative is told from many viewpoints, you get a good feel for all the distinct characteristics. They are all dealing with the world crumbling around them, political unrest, and the desperate desire to protect the walkers.

Secondly, the characters are written like people, warts and all. You will like them; you want them to live. Sometimes they won't. You will hate them, and maybe want them to suffer a little bit. There are good guys, especially Benji, Aram, and Pete, but perhaps they aren't always right.
Wendig draws no lines in the sand on who is good and who is evil. There are not amateur black and white characters in Wanderers because in Wendig's world, the world is full of grays. Much like real life. No one thinks of themselves as the villain.

“That is how science and medicine are practiced best, though—we are best when we admit our ignorance up front, and then attempt to fill the darkness of not-knowing with the light of information and knowledge.”
― Chuck Wendig, Wanderers

Also, I tell you this as one reader to another; this author is not kind to his characters in this book. This book is The Stand meets Nevil Shutes On The Beach with some Techno-Thriller Johnny Mnemonic stuff that is impossible to explain without spoilers. Half the time, I had no idea where the hell the story was going. I said, “huh” more times than I could count.

The pacing was a real issue for me, and Wanderers is a massive book. It is a tale that slowly burns. Every chapter is well written, but instead of galloping, the chapters slowly and steadily march you towards the end. At about the 50% mark, the pace starts to quicken, the parts and story begin to collide. It is a symphony of elements that come crashing together in a grand sforzando that left me stunned and unable to read much for a few days.

“I heard that if you complain, it reprograms your brain like a computer virus, and it just makes you more and more unhappy, so I'm going to stay positive because I bet the opposite is true, too.”
― Chuck Wendig, Wanderers

Most importantly of all, there is hope in Wanderers. Hope for humanity, and the characters. I didn't see it through the weeds of most of the book. It was frustrating and tiresome at times. I wanted to be blasted in the face with hope. Please give me something to cling to Wendig. Give me something to grab on to, don't let me be pulled out to sea to drown with these characters. But hopes shining light would stick out now and again. There is hope that most magnificent of human emotions that can lead us through tragedy. Wendig wrote about it; it is here in the muck and mire of pandemic and upheaval. Look for it, chapter to chapter, you will find it among Wendig's words.

I would recommend this as a must-read. I have never encountered a Wendig book that I was not fond of, this included. The reader should be aware of the exciting and interesting, heart busting, soul-crushing time they are in for. Especially with times as they are right now.

I first discovered The Day I Traded my Dad for Two Goldfish while perusing the section of Neil Gaiman Books on Scribd. (An excellent service by the way if you are a big reader) One of the goals I set for myself this year was to read Neil Gaiman's extensive catalog of work. A rather lofty and impossible goal for myself. At this point, I will be happy tackling some of the lesser-known stories. He is so prolific and spans so many different genre's it is a bit daunting. The audio version of this is only about an hour long. It is a short book, but at that hour, the story is engaging. Even without the visuals, it is a fun listen. Add in the visuals, and you have a different experience entirely.

The story is about a boy when after a dull morning with his dad, decides that it is in his best interest to swap up. His dad didn't do anything; there was no row between them. You can imagine this scenario with pretty much any preteen child. His dad is dull. And he reads the same newspaper in the same chair every day. Against his sister's good advice and wiser nature, the father is traded. The dad doesn't notice being shuffled around from child to child; he just happily continues to read. Once the boy begins to wonder if he had done the right thing by trading away his father, he begins to see the error in his way. Thus starts his and his sister's adventure in getting their parent back, much like the guy who started with a paperclip and traded up to a house.

The pleasant thing about this story and much of Gaiman's work is that it is not peachy. Gaiman never speaks or writes for children like they lack intelligence, spirit, guile, or dreams. Children lack the experience that comes from age; that's it. So he writes for them. I appreciate that as a reader, and it makes stories like this adventure so much more enjoyable. I recommend checking this story out, especially if you have access to the gorgeous visuals done by McKean. Again, it seems as if McKean adopts the same sort of philosophy that Gaiman has in regards to writing or in McKean's case illustrating for children, they are smart visuals, nuanced, artful, and beautiful. It is an excellent addition of Gaiman's already stunning catalog of work and worth the read.

Lovecraftian horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that emphasizes the cosmic horror of the unknown (or unknowable) more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named after American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937).

Locke and Key is the Lovecraftian horror from the minds of Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box, and most recently Full Throttle) and Gabriel (Sword of the Ages).

The tricky thing about writing horror in the form of a graphic novel is that there is no curtain. There is nothing to shield you from upcoming panels, so creating suspense is very difficult. Unlike movies where the action and dialog move moment to moment or a book where you read line to line as the suspense builds. You can see everything in a graphic novel. So, for a graphic novel to increase tension and anxiety, the graphic novel needs to implore more of what happens in mind versus what you see on a page. The subtle suggestion is far scarier in this format than blatant gore, and that is what the heart of Lovecraftian horror is. No one knows precisely what Cthulu looks like, but we all think we know. It is our worse fears brought to light. Lovecraft himself described Cthulu as, “A monster of a vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind.” The word vaguely is essential here. The reader has a general understanding, but their mind and personal experiences but twists and curves to the outline that Lovecraft built. That is what Locke and Key does, as well.

The essential story of the series is about a young family, three kids, and their mom. They are touched by violent tragedy in the form of an in-home break-in and grisly murder of the family patriarch. After the funeral and arrangements are made, the family moves to their father's childhood home Keyhouse. Aside from the tumultuous transition of children moving school to school, city to city, Keyhouse has secrets of its own. There is an aura about the house of something darker. There are secrets yet to be unfolded. The children and mom move into the house and try to make sense of their lives without their influential father figure. Those darker things are keys that unlock specific attributes. This early in the story, Hill is introducing us to the characters. He is showing us the horror of the murder of the father. It is grisly, spoiler, it was perpetrated by a former student of the fathers. In the final panels of the first book, the youngest child Bode is out searching the grounds and familiarizing himself with his environment when he discovers the first Key. It ends on a pretty serious cliffhanger.

One of the things that immediately struck me when reading Hills, work, and specifically, his graphic novels is the restraint he uses. I alluded to it earlier when I talked about horror in mind versus fear that is shown to you. It is almost old school, Hitchcock type restraint. He lets the panels speak for themselves rather than add dialog or force a moment.

Graphically, Gabriel does a beautiful job. Although it is a particular style, if you aren't a fan of this type of comic style, you will probably not enjoy Locke and Key. But, whether you like the style of inkwork or not, it suits Hill's writing style and the overall theme of the story.

I recommend this with a small caveat that this book isn't perfect. It feels like it has been cut off midstory with the cliffhanger. I found that to be an annoying point to stop the story. But otherwise, it is an excellent example of graphic novel horror and well worth the read.

Oh my heavens. Bob. Bob might be my spirit animal. You will have to pardon me if I am late for the Bobverse party. This story has been on my TBR forever, but a good friend recommended this as a palette cleanser from all the heavy reading I have been doing lately, I bumped it up. It was the perfect bit of science fiction fun I needed to reset myself. Even better, I downloaded the audible version of this story and listened to it in tandem with reading the book. I am so glad I did. The voice acting rivals Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy for how much it laughed. I am a connoisseur of the snark.

The story follows Bob Johansson as he is reveling in selling his tech company and be set up for life. What does he do with his newfound wealth? He signs a contract to have his head cryogenically frozen. It sounds like a stretch, but the author Dennis E. Taylor made it work. He sells the idea. Bob is at once a like-able character. He and his employees, whom he treats as a family, are sitting around laughing and showing support for Bob who just got out of a bad breakup. He mentions the cryogenics thing, and everyone laughs. As they should, it seems like such an absurd thing to do. Later, Bob is crossing the street and bam! Bob gets hit by a car and instantly killed. He wakes up disoriented, looking for his body. Bob's conscience has been turned into software and downloaded into a computer!

What follows is light science fiction fun. It involves enemies from other countries, duplication, 3D printing, colonization, and the human race. I laughed out loud many times reading this. Especially with the voice acting from the audiobook. This story lends itself to different voices. There are many, many Bob's by the end of it. You need to be able to differentiate easily, and even though the writing does help with the differentiation, voice changes from the audiobook speaker help a lot.

My only quibble with this story is it is a bit fragmented. There are so many Bob's and all their adventures that it can be hard to keep up with who is who and who is doing what. But this small quibble and did not keep me from enjoying the book, far from it. Check this story of the many Bob's for they are Legion and are coming to save the universe.

This is a fun and fairly short story from famed author Seanan Mcguire. Even in it's short format, the story packs in plenty of worldbuilding to give you a full sense of the moment in time and space that Mcguire is describing.
As someone who has visited The Flatiron building in New York, I can attest that it is an architectural marvel jutting away into space like the sail of a great ship. It is fitting that Mcguire used the imagery of another ship, in this a blimp, as a way to connect the two. At least that is the imagery I got from the story. She created it to celebrate Tor.com's residence at the Flatiron building.
Check it out!

Bitch, Queen, whore, warrior, wife, and mother: In The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso, Talyien aren dar Orenar is all of these and so much more.

K.S Villoso's debut novel and the first novel of the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen series introduces us to the protagonist and all-around badass Talyien. Talyien is the Queen. Her longtime betrothed, Rayyel, the Ikessar heir, whom she married to unite the warring clans of her homeland, has left her and disappeared. Now she bears the burden of monarchy solely. Alone and facing warlords who would love to see her fail and take her throne from her, Tali must survive and hold her country together.

Five years have passed since Rae left; Talyien has struggled and fought to hold her homeland together. It is a battle every day to keep the predators of rival clan warlords away from her and her young son. Taylien receives a letter from Rayyel out of nowhere. He asks if they can meet. Taylien is hoping for reconciliation for the sake of the ruling throne. She quietly sets out for this clandestine meeting, leaving her young son behind in the care of family members.

“Even after I became Queen, the rumors continued. I was powerless to stop them. I should have been more, they said. More feminine. Subtle, the sort of woman who could hide my jibes behind a well-timed titter. I could have taken the womanly arts, learned to write poetry or brew a decent cup of tea or embroider something that didn't have my blood on it, and found ways to better please my man. Instead, Rayyel Ikessar would rather throw away the title of Dragonlord, king of Jin-Sayeng, than stay married to me.”

What transpires on this journey to this meeting and afterward is exciting and chaotic. Assassination attempts, kidnapping, fights, and great characters, Tali is in a foreign land with foreign adversaries pulling strings behind the scenes. She doesn't understand much of the language or customs, and after the assassination attempt, Tali is alone.

She has to survive on her wits and wiles.

One of Villoso's strengths is her ability to set a scene. The lighting, the sky, the food: she covers it all and paints with the world with a colorful brush. You can practically feel what her characters are wandering through. Especially the food, I happen to think that food is one of the driving forces behind understanding a culture. It is central to gathering and feasting, it is the most important thing and can denote great fortune. Adding in descriptions of the sumptuousness of one lands cuisine versus the bland nature of another can help a reader understand the cultures better.

“They called me “bitch,” the she-wolf because I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me.”

Coupled with the worldbuilding, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro is a tremendous character-driven narrative. At no point in the story did I not know who Talyien aren dar Orenar was a person. Same for the characters around her. I might not have known all their motives and trickery, but I got a good sense of who they were as people. For instance, Talyien is a character that is weary of her duties, but she is duty-bound and honorable down to the core of her soul. She is hard on the outside. That is necessary and fitting for her survival as Queen, but inside she is somewhat naive. Rayyel, her would-be king, is charming and scholarly. We see the descriptions of who Rayyel is through the eyes of Talyien, as the story progresses and changes, her perceptions of him change and mature.

The pacing of this story does not stop. We are moving moment to moment, fight scene to fight scene constantly. It does not get overwhelming, but this is an intense story. There are moments of introspection, moments to take our breath, but they are so brief that it is almost as if they didn't happen. I think that is a tool that Villoso is utilizing to show how quickly this story is evolving. There isn't much introspection because there is no time for meditation. We have murdering and spying to do.

“Perhaps, when you love less, it is easier not to let the emptiness become a cavern from which you could no longer see the sun.”

One of the excellent character dynamics of the story is between Tali and Khine. Khine is a swindler con-artist that assists Tali at the beginning of the book when she got separated from her group. Nothing is free, and Tali had to help Khine with the swindling of a mark. She does so, and a great friendship is born. Their scenes, even though most often took place while fighting or running, added a light levity and banter to the story.

A few times, I was even chanting Team Khine and screw Rae.

Overall, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro has been one hell of a fun ride. It is emotional, full of danger, loyalty, betrayal. It had plot twists, twists on twists, and for once, a kick-ass female character that was also a mom. All of this combined with an energetic and emotional group of characters that you become invested in rather early, and you have one thrill-ride of a novel. I highly recommend it, and I can't wait for the next one.