Beth Tabler

“I'm dead,” he said. “There's no going back from that. A river only moves in one direction.”

TJ Klune's books have become a place where my heart can get a zap like a defibrillator pedal. Both Under a Whispering Door and Under the Cerulean Sea tread the line between sentimental and sweet, but Klune is such a skilled writer that I never drift to the wrong side of that line.

Instead, after I get done with his books, and for this review, I will be talking about the newly released Under the Whispering Door; I feel good about myself and good about the world. I hope that somewhere in the vastness of this universe, there are true stories like what you find in these books. In the infinite, anything is possible. But until I discover and am witness to real-life stories that are as sweet as these, I will have to go back and read Under the Whispering Door again and again.

Wallace whispered, “It's easy to let yourself spiral and fall.”
“It is,” Nelson agreed. “But it's what you do to pull yourself out of it that matters most.”

The book follows Wallace Price Esq. A big-time lawyer and partner in a law firm. He is everything a someone who does not practice law expects lawyers to act. In that vein, Wallace is an immediately identifiable character, not one you can sympathize with, but absolutely one you understand. He is cold, calculating, ruthless, and utterly devoid of the ability to empathize.

These characteristics served him well. He is smartly dressed and expects the same of those around him. He is crushingly fastidious and again expects this of others. Any infraction on this is met with cold civility and a pink check. In other words, he is hated by his employees, has no friends, and his contemporaries are either terrified of him or believe him to be a cretin.

Then he dies. Alone. This starts the actual journey.

He wakes up from death at his funeral. There was no gnashing of teeth and wailing to the Heavens. Quite the contrary. “He was a real bastard.” Everyone is ignoring him; no one can see him. He is dead, so it makes sense except for one woman. She keeps staring in his general direction. She introduces herself, her name is Mei, and she is a reaper. She has come to take Wallace onwards.

She takes him to a place, a shabby chic little tea house in the middle of the forest. A place that Wallace would never have visited in his life but is now staying at in his death. Mei introduces Wallace to Hugo, the ferryman. Hugo's job is to help Wallace get used to the idea that he is dead before he steps through the final door. A door where Wallace hear's whispers coming from underneath it.

The writing is lovely. Klune writes in a minimalistic style; he gets the ideas across in prose that is not overly embellished or wordy but still packs an emotional punch. “Because you're you, and that's who you're supposed to be.” It is also hilarious, and there is one scene involving an ouija board that had me in tears.

Klune is so good, and his books keep having me come back for more because of the relationships he forges. There are many types of love in this life, or death as it were. There is familial love. The love of found family. The love of a dog. And the love between lovers. Klune explores them all. Because what can teach someone most about life more than love? Love spans the gamut from Blisteringly painful to joyous, and Wallace needs to learn to be a person.

Under the Whispering Door is a joyous book, a little slow at first, but things start to get rolling about midway, and I finished it all in one afternoon. It has passion, love, pain, and all the beautiful things life has to offer if you can recognize it and appreciate it. Thank you, TJ Klune, for another lovely book. I won't be forgetting Wallace's journey anytime soon.

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

“An island of bliss in a sea of amnesia”

This story touches on some important issues. What it means to live. What it means to die. When do you live enough life? Classicism. Love and marriage over a long period of time. Yet, even with its loftier goals of deep discussion and narrative, the story falls bitterly, and entirely flat.

The story involves four different characters over the course of a few weeks.

Cav – Scientist, 84. Cav works on a space station with his wife Gunjita. They study a drug that can halt and reverse aging, but is not successful yet. He has rejuvenated once already and has not rejuvenated the second and final time. Cav has reservations about the rejuvenation process and the socio and psychological ramifications.

“Death was a journey, composed of little deaths, little steps along the way. Sometimes the steps were close together, tightly packed, and death came rapidly.”


Gunjita – Scientist, 82. Cavs newly rejuvenated wife. Also a scientist and working in concert with Cav in zero-g.


Dash – Friend and newly rejuvenated doctor. He has a new special ability in his fingertips.


Asteroid with weird Organic Splatter – This object is a point of contention between Gunjita and Cav. Is it alive, or inert?


Cav and Gunjita work in a space station studying an anti-aging drug that. If they are successful they could roll back death turning humans into Methuselah. If you are rich enough to afford it. Obvious class conflict. Extended life is given only to those born to privilege or circumstance. The repercussions of this are something that Cav struggles with. Cav and Gunijta find an asteroid speckled with what looks like vomit. Cav believes that the speckle could be sentient and Gunjita believes that it is not. This causes a rip in their marriage. This story attempts to speak very plainly about age and marriage. Yet, I found that the marriage depicted in the story lacked realism and edged towards vapid. As a couple that had been married for 50 years as well as two prominent and respected scientists, their discussion of science and relationships are shallow, and at times verged on tedious. This paired with the characterization of youth versus age threw me out of the story many times. The trope of youth as a place of wonder and excitement, while age is the place to be endured till you can afford to be rejuvenated again, is flat and unrealistic. Youth does not make you a magically vibrant person. Nor, does age make you wise.

This story had quite a lot of graphic representations of scientific horrors involving embryos and could be triggering for some. I just found it to be gratuitous on top of the bloated and unrealistic narrative.

This is a bitter story, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. Because in the end, you feel nothing. Nothing towards the story, the characters, their plight. Nothing. Maybe that was Blumlein's intent. Because in the end, it is all nihilism. Although I wanted to like this story, Blumlein is a skilled writer, I didn't. I cannot get behind the sentiment, characterization, pacing, or message. I do not recommend.

I received a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.

This is a slow burn of a story. I read one of the other reviewers describe this story as having its own music. It dances and sways to its own rhythm and prose. Much like the beat of the forest, you get the sense that there is a deep thrumming that exists from page to page. It adds a deep atmospheric quality to the narrative. The only issue is that it is a very specific type of story. It has an almost misty type quality to it that is like viewing a story through a keyhole.

Tesh wove a lovely and romantic but restrained love story around the green man myth. Instead of just a myth steeped in legend, Tesh humanizes the green man with backstory. Tesh explains how the green man experience time, yet tries to humanize himself and not get lost with the woods. And how he deals with dryads and his very fun cat, Pearl.

I don't think that this type of storytelling appeals to the masses. But, if you enjoy fae type quality in storytelling you will enjoy this story. It is beautifully done.

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht starts with a dark promise of scintillation and details so sharp and vivid they slice like a knife. For example, “Thin ice isn't a problem for the sea; it's a problem for the blind idiot who steps out on it. The fool who breaks it gets sucked under; the ice, it mends.” The visual is stunning.

An idiot on unforgiving ice falling through, passing into the icy depths as a relentless and ruthless sheet of ice mends the whole. The idiot disappears as if he never existed. It is gorgeous; it is the type of description that sticks with a reader. Sometime in the future, when a reader is next to a frozen lake, the visual of unforgiving ice will come crashing to the forefront of the reader's mind. It will cause them to take a massive step back from the edge.

The Monster of Elendhaven is brutal and full of passages that evoke such dark imagery. If I was to judge the reading experience of Giesbrecht's use of language and imagery, this is one of the most haunting and atmospheric books I have read in a long while. But a story cannot just be extremely quotable passages, and that is where it ultimately went off the rails for me.

The premise is that there is a town, a dark skulking village on the edge of a seashore where everything is poison. “(it) sulks on the edge of the ocean. Wracked by plague, abandoned by the South, stripped of industry and left to die. But not everything dies so easily.” Many things may kill you in this dark victorian-esque town, most notably is “A thing without a name stalks the city, a thing shaped like a man, with a dark heart and long pale fingers yearning to wrap around throats. A monster who cannot die.” This monster is a man named Johann, a man who remembers nothing of his creation. He is a man who cannot die, and he has tried many times. He has thrown himself off buildings, stabbed himself, poisoned... everything. He will not die.

The other character of the book is a man named Florian, who is a different kind of monster. Florian is an accountant by day but something else entirely by night. Johann becomes infatuated with Florian. These two monsters swirl and dance around each other like leaves caught in a tornado. There is gruesome detail, murder most foul, and a love story that left me a little confused and uncomfortable. Johann almost stalks Florian, but Johann is in for a surprise as Florian is no one's prey.

In the end, though, while the visuals and detailing in this book is spectacular, the plotting felt very shaky. It is a story that needs a nudge in a direction. If it is horror, revel in the spectacle of it. If it is a love story, fabulous. These two characters shall enchant me. But being in the middle left me neither scared nor enchanted with the love between the two main characters.

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

Sabbath by Nick Mamatas is a death metal band rolled in a taquito.
It is strange, addictive, probably bad for your arteries, and at times makes you want to headbang to some Slayer. These are the mental images I got while reading this story. If Def Leppard could be condensed down to a single book, this would be it.

Sabbath is the novelization of Sabbath: All Your Sins Reborn by Mathew Tomao. The graphic novel currently has a 2.1 on Goodreads, and from what I can tell reviews wise, it is not well-liked. However, the novelization has quite a lot more meat in the story, then the graphic novel does. Hexen Sabbath (see my Def Leppard comment above) is pulled from hell after dying on the battlefields in the 11th century. He has led a prideful and sinful life. He is removed from hell by the angel of judgment for one reason, and one reason alone, he is to kill the embodiment of the seven deadly sins before they destroy mankind. How they go about destroying humanity is not quite fleshed out, know that they are bad news. He also must sever their heads and carry them around in a duffle bag to present them to Abathar(angel of judgment) upon completion of his quest. In exchange for his successful killing of the sins, he will be granted a reprieve from hell and welcomed in heaven. He agrees because, of course, he does.

Hexen finds himself naked and confused in the year 2016. Thankfully his head is full of information on how to navigate the differences between his own time and now. This is an excellent opt-in by the author to minimalize culture clash in a story this fast-paced. He also has a helpful tattoo that lights up whenever a sin is close. He meets up with a female Russian gallery owner that he connects with, and she becomes a part of his story.

Once he is clothed and donning a new but old sword, Hexen sets out to kill the seven. The battles are entertaining. Lust is a prostitute. Wrath a cage fighter and had some of the most exciting scenes of the book. Envy is a dilettant who is never quite good enough. It is all very grindhouse type dialog and scenes. Matterafact, this book on a whole reminds me of an old grindhouse movie from the seventies, but with better acting. It is a whole lot of sex, violence, and gore, but not in a way that is not disturbing but more of tongue in cheek kind of way. I mean, Hexen walks around with six heads in a duffle bag. You can't take this too seriously.

It is entertaining as hell. Is it perfect? No. The dialog stutters a bit and lost me a few times in the beginning, and there were some pacing issues mid-book. But it is a hell of a lot of fun, and I am just being picky.

If you want to feel completely metal check this out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group - DAW for the opportunity to review this as an eARC in exchange for my open and honest opinion.

The character October Daye comes to you in this novel from a deeply personal place. Unlike other novels in the October Daye series that are typically full of high adventure and blood feuds, in some cases with literal blood, this one speaks to the heart and soul of what makes October, October. Who she is. That is her love of her family. One of the members of her family is the Luidaeg and the Luidaeg has come to finally collect her due.

This book speaks to the softer, more tender, and rawer part of October's personality. The part of her that defines what a family is. In October's world, and I think I can speak for the world in general, a family is not what is defined by birth or blood but what is defined as who becomes apart of our lives in ways that we can not let go. They become a part of who we are. They become a part of our bones, our blood, and our cells. Our very skin. Much like the selkies. October is the embodiment of that. In some ways, I think Mcguire's writing, in general, is much like that. You see examples of that theme in much of her writing. The importance of family and how a family is defined in more ways than just blood. I think it is an important theme to have at the forefront of writing right now with what is going on in the world. It is a positive message to spread.

Long ago The Luidaeg, The Sea Witch made a deal with The Selkies. Some day they had to make a choice, they had to choose whether to live in the sea or live on the land and not all of them would get that choice. October would play a part in the choice, and that is all the reader knew up until this book. We learned this early on in the series and had been dealt bits and pieces of information up until this point that has created a grand story which is this book.

All I can say is that Seanan McGuire nailed it.

The bond of family is held in high esteem. Family in its many forms. The book wraps up that many questions I had but still kept me guessing what is next. Unlike many seasoned series out there that may be getting stale in the narrative, but not this one.

The narrative is still going strong and in some instances better. Pick up the October Daye series. She is a strong female character, great uses of magic, great world-building, diverse characters, and a world that keeps getting better and better.

An eARC of this novel was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to desperately like this book. The cover was cute; the story sounded interesting and enticing, and the character's where culturally diverse, but it didn't sing for me, and that's ok. Not all stories sing for every person who reads them.

The story follows a cast of royalty through an arranged marriage, betrayal, war, unrequited love, and then eventual marriage. There are many bumps on the way, much like a tamer and more kind version of Game of Thrones.

There are some excellent parts of this story. Firstly, Chenelle wrote a very diverse story culturally. The two leads of the novel, Prince Gray and Princess Charlotte are of Asian and African heritage respectively. I like that; I also like how Chenelle wrote the settings, memories, and environments of the characters reflecting those upbringings. It is not something you often see in literature, and it is not something you see done that isn't ham-fisted. The author was not throwing up her diversity flag yelling, “hey look at what I did!” She wrote it with class and sensitivity as is befitting. The characters culture is not a thing, it is a part of who they are, and that is how it should be written.

Secondly, I liked the leads in the story, especially Gray. Gray changed and developed as a character; he became more of himself if that makes sense. I love his progression as a person and leader and felt like he was an exceptional counterpart to Princess Charlotte. Charlotte also demonstrated growth. She started the novel as a typical teenage child with ordinary problems and ended as a scarred, but more emotionally mature adult.

Thirdly, the love story was charming. I don't want to give too much away, but as the story progresses and the characters mature the bond that develops between the personalities is written well and is lovely.

The good of the story did not outweigh what did not work for me. I had a difficult time with the points of view changing from chapter to chapter. On the one hand, the multiple points of view were there to lend many voices to the story and/or scene, but they sounded very similar in much of the book. So it became both confusing and repetitious. It did get better as the story progressed, but I found it difficult connecting with any one character aspect because of the shaky beginning.

Also, I found that the story lacked the necessary detail to build a clear picture of events. We hopped from moment to moment before I could get a visual representation of the scene in my head. Again, this led to a disconnection to the characters and the setting.

The plot progression was strange for me also. The events of this story could easily fill three books but are reduced down to a distilled short single book. This seems like an awful missed opportunity. It would have made a killer trilogy.

Brittni Chenelle wrote a solid YA love story. Although the story is plagued with technical problems like pacing, POV, and lack of detail, the central love theme was successful, and the ending comes as quite a shock. Give it a try. It wasn't for me, but maybe it will be for you.

Bury the Lede by Gaby Dunn is a hard biting crime-noir graphic novel. The novel sits high amongst noir graphic novels contemporaries such as Criminal by Ed Brubaker, and Jimmy's Bastards by Garth Ennis. The story holds its own. However, even with the fantastic panels drawn by artist Claire Roe and colored by Miguel Muerto, the tale lacks real cohesion to shine. It just is missing something, some connection between the writing and the reader. 
The story revolves around Madison Jackson, an intrepid intern journalist at the fictionalized newspaper The Boston Lede. Madison is desperate to sink her journalistic incisors into a huge story, something that can put her on the map and prove her chops. Madison follows a police scanner to the murder of a prominent Boston citizen. The sole suspect is a woman named Delilah Kennedy. For some reason, Delilah has claimed the violent crime as her own and will only talk to Madison. The reasons for this are unclear. Delilah dangles tidbits to Madison and riddles. Madison, hungry for a story, tap dances to Delilah's tune. They pace around each other like hungry lionesses verbally sparring and looking for weakness. 
In the meantime, Madison flubs her personal life repeatedly. She starts an intense physical relationship with her co-worker and with a young police officer that has fed her information in the past — each relationship falling to the back seat of Madison's drive as a reporter. The story has a lot of good. First and foremost is the featuring of two intelligent queer women of color, as well as quite a few other characters of various ethnicities. The graphics are well done by Clare Roe and Miguel Muerto. They are stark and dramatic and add to the noir vibe. Often the intensity and skill of the graphics overshadow the story. 
Even though the story is interesting and frequently even compelling, the lack of cohesion and uneven pacing left me unattached and cold. I wanted to become vested in the characters and enthralled with the crime story, but it was so sporadic that part of the time, mainly in the middle, I couldn't tell what was going on. This is especially bad in crime stories where the intensity and building of plot tension are critical. 
I recommend this read for people who love crime stories, but not much more than that. I think there are more engaging stories of this genre out there to start with. Check out Transmetropolitan or Criminal by Ed Brubaker to start. 
3 out of 5 stars

I received a digital edition of this from the publisher as well as a copy from Netgalley. Thank you to both of them for giving me the opportunity to review this in exchange for my open and honest review.


This story isn't Firefly, and it isn't trying to be. But it has bits and pieces of what made Firefly so beloved. This story is a straight-up space opera complete with quipping protagonist and smart and scheming “second in command”(he isn't second yet – but you get the vibe). I love stories like this. Space opera is the guilty pleasure of the sci/fi loving crowd. Action, sex, humor, and excitement all rolled into a little sci/fi package. If Space Opera were a food, it would be a glazed donut.


Who the hell doesn't like a glazed donut?


At least that is how I think about it. It doesn't mean that space opera doesn't have literary value or merit, quite the opposite. Star Wars is a space opera and where would we be without that. It just a genre type like anything else.

There are a few things (according to Wikipedia) that define what a space opera is. I am going to relate a few of them to Vagrant Queen.

“Colorful” – This story is colorful, both in dialog and commentary as well as the cast of characters. Multi-humanoid races are represented as well a smattering of alien races. It all makes for a rich stew of characters.


“Dramatic” – “Former child queen Elida was driven from her throne at age ten and forced to wander the galaxy, evading the revolutionary forces that wanted her dead.” Does this not sound like high drama to you?

“Large-scale science fiction adventure” – Again, multi-planet conquests spanning an entire generation searching for child queen Elida.

“Competently and sometimes beautifully written” – This written well. I enjoyed Elida quite a bit. She had a definite Han Solo/Malcolm Reynolds vibe to her. Being that I am a ride or die Firefly fan, this appealed to me.

“Usually focused on a sympathetic, heroic central character and plot action” – Elida is a sympathetic character without appearing weak. She can't be weak; everyone is coming to get her. She needs to be wily, strong and intelligent – and she is. It is such a refreshing thing to see in graphic novels. Elida needs no one to save her; she can save her damn self.

“Characteristically optimistic in tone” – This isn't a dystopia. The narrative of the story is not about the overarching problems of society and how they relate to Elida. It is about how Elida is going to escape past gunships that are blocking her way.

“Large stakes” – Elida is a former child queen being chased across the galaxy. The stakes are high.

See you should read this! Action, adventure, power struggles, history, it is all here. Is it perfect? Not yet. The story just started, and the writing and art are getting their proverbial feet under them. But it has a ton of promise.

Blackbird Vol. 1 was a decent comic. It is visually well put together. The story is interesting but I felt it was rough and flat in sections. More detail could be added to flush out the characters and back stories. Substance abuse was represented in the story, but that did not feel authentic. “I need my pills. I need my pills.” Then now what? It felt as if it was a side note, and not a major part of the characters life. As the issues progressed, the story and writing became better and more coherent.

The visuals were very well put together. Often when looking at the page it seemed like the colors would pop out at you and start blinking like a neon sign would. The character design and aesthetics had a manga vibe for me which was interesting. Over the top and over saturated. I will be looking into the next issues to see what happens with the characters if I happen upon the books. Otherwise I might give future reading a pass.

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

I have been a fan of the Takeshi Kovacs universe since Morgan wrote the original Altered Carbon in 2002. Not only that, I find the “Land Fit For Heroes' world to be some of the best fantasy written in the last twenty years. All that being said, I found this to be a mediocre adaptation of the source material. The fundamental problem is that the artwork did not flow well with the dialog, that in turn led to stunted panels. I don't think this is either Morgan or Hoskin's fault. Hoskin is an excellent artist. Check out his work in The Red Rising adaptation. I thought the art was very well done there. But for some reason, Altered Carbon and his style did not mesh well. Hoskin's artwork is too angular and stocky to fit Kovacs predator personality. it came off as more He-Man then I would have liked. I will continue to read this universe because Morgan's writing is always top-notch. But I won't seek it out like I usually would have.

Edit - I have since been contacted by Ferran Sellares who informed me that Hoskin and Morgan wrote the script while Sellares and Vinicius Andrade are the ones who did the artwork. I apologize I misunderstood. Considering most of my original review is talking about the artwork I am going to rewrite a bit of it here. Basically, Sellares artwork is quite good. I don't think it fits with the writing and Kovacs personality. But, that is really my personal preference and how I view the character.

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

This is a deliciously dark PI crime novel that is a perfect combination of strong but damaged heroine and PI cases. Rucka delivers a story that has all the right parts to make it interesting: Great dialog, a heroine that you cheer on, a “not everything is what you think it is” crime to solve and effective graphics. In the first installment of the Stumptown series, PI protagonist Dexedrine “Dex” Parios has a drinking and gambling problem. The owner of a local Native casino asks her to find her missing granddaughter in exchange for clearing her debt. What is Dex to do but say yes? What follows has her digging up the lives of multiple crime lords, getting shot at, beat up, stealing cars and more. It is exciting and I wholeheartedly recommend this series.

Mark Lawrence, the author of the grimdark series “Broken Empire,” said of Rob Hayes's writing ability, “(he) is one of self-publishing rising stars.” Mark Lawrence is unquestionably right. This story is the epitome of fantasy; it pits dark against light, has epic fighting scenes, heroes that are not quite perfect, and a subtle undercurrent of rye humor.

“Never Die” is centered around Ein. A boy who is not quite right and has been sent on a quest from God, a death God. For Ein's mission to succeed the mysterious and powerful Emperor of Ten Kings must fall. Also, to succeed in his quest Ein must walk barefoot across the cities, mountains, and rivers of the countryside and never don footwear. Ein must select champions to fight the Emporer for him, and these champions must die first so that their souls are tethered to Ein.

The champions are where Hayes really excelled in his story writing. Often when reading fantasy characters, an author tends to muddle together different character tropes to be some kind of quasi trope hybrid. But usually, they are similar from story to story. That isn't the case here. First of the champions is Itami Cho, AKA Whispering Blade the fastest and quietest warrior in the kingdoms. A spoken word from her can shatter walls and tear apart bodies. Secondly, Emerald Wind is a bandit who is the real self-centered bastard most of the story. He is able to blink in and out of existence moving from place to place. I find that his unabashedly disreputable character is refreshing and adds an excellent counter-balance to Itami Cho because not all heroes are good people. Thirdly we have Iron Gut Chen. He has an impenetrable skin and an impenetrable ego. He needs to consume massive amounts of wine to be happy and reminds me of a jolly sumo wrestler. Lastly, Bingwei Ma rounds out Ein's literal dream team. Bingwei is the greatest living master of wushu ever to live. He uses no weapons and has never lost a fight.

As you can see, this is a team of heroes not cut from the traditional cloth. Each also has a weakness one is good but tortured, in the case of Ikami. One is gregarious but full of himself in the case of Chen, and you have one that is chaotic with a streak of goodness, buried deeply. During the journey of the story, there is the day to day peril of existing, not enough food to eat or angry villagers, punctuated with bouts of violence and battles. This keeps the frenetic pace of the story plausible and comfortable. Hayes knows as a writer how vital pacing is, that the slow moments in a story are just as important as the wild crazy ones. As these heroes move towards their overall goal of slaying the Emporer, I found myself cheering for this band of miscreants and heroes. Will they succeed in their quest? Will they tear themselves apart first. Can Ein keep the band together through the threat of not giving them a full life again? The questions are answered beautifully in the denouement of the novel. It takes the reader to places that I had no idea where coming. I absolutely loved and appreciated the ending.

I am new to the worlds of Rob Hayes and his wonderful fantasy novels. But I am sure as hell going to stay around and make myself comfortable. If his other books are one-tenth as good as this one is, I am in for a treat. Come for the story of “Never Die” but stay for the heroes. You will be happy you did.

People love fantasy stories; they love the heroism of it, the sheer thrill of being the rogue stealing, the wizard whipping spells from their arsenal, the pure glory of winning. But life is not like that. Real-life is full of heartbreak, addiction, pain, love, and loss. These aspects can either break you upon the wheel or help make who you are. Anyone who is involved in fantasy or RPG has imagined themselves in a game or book at one point or another. Especially when we are young, you wish to be transported to that world to cause mischief or seek great glory for yourself. But in Die by Kieron Gillen, he took that thought a few steps further. Your thoughts and deeds within this world have real consequences.

“This isn't a conversation. This is the sort of monologue you run in your head with lovers you'll never speak to again. This is what happens when thoughts curdle.”

Seven friends embark on a DND game, not just any DND game, a game where they are sucked into it and have to become the characters that they chose for fun. It is Jumanji but in dark fantasy. Very dark fantasy. These kids get sucked away in this world for two years. They disappeared, but when they returned, a geas had been put on them that they could never speak of their experiences of this world, less other people get sucked into it. Twenty-five years later, one of the remaining five that made it out of the world receives a care package containing one bloody 20 sided die. They know they need to gather together, combine forces, and enter this world again. This time though, they are broken, middle-aged people, not children. Some with families, others with serious careers but all have something to lose.

“As he rode off, he said he would not rest until he had gazed upon my perfection once more. He dared me to use my power to make his words binding. I laughed, so I did. The oath holds. There has been no rest.I died three years after we met. Three years after that, my eyes rotted. My oath will never be fulfilled.”

Die is a dark story. It is not for the light-hearted fantasy fan, because these powers they have in the game do not come with ease. For example, one of the characters is a grief knight. The only way that he can come into power and protect the group is for him to experience a profound wave of grief. Experiencing intense emotional pain is not something sane people want to do. Enter the powers of the Diplomat. She is described as “kind of a diplomat with teeth. She's like a cross between Cleopatra and Machiavelli.” Whenever the need arises, The Diplomat plucks terrible memories from The Grief Knight. The thief, a cyberpunk, can use her powers but only at a cost. Gold. Once the gold is used up, it disintegrates, leaving the user desperately craving for more. She has become a junky for gold. You can see how this story plays out; normal people broken by their past must make choices to save their future. Decisions that will haunt their future and again change who they are. It is an excellent story and an interesting take on DND and the realities of slaying armies, defying gods, and breaking the will of people with your powers. Also, the graphics are very well done. They embody the feel of gaming and the misty quality of a dream world that is made real.

“Angela is a Neo. Her artifacts are gifts from the Fair. The Fair are...“What if William Gibson designed elves” It is complicated. It's a fairy pact. Every morning, her equipment is dead. Until she pays the tithe.”

It is worth the read, Gillan, Hans, and Cowles have written a remarkable Jumanji-esque story for fantasy fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my open and honest review.

The Prince of Air and Darkness is a book with a lot of promise. It felt like in much of the story the author was getting a feel for their characters and the story up unto the end where it all fused into a coherent story.
The story centers around two men at a college for otherworldy non-humans. Both the fairy courts young people attend this college in hopes of making friends and fostering diplomacy. The first man is named Phineas; he is a rare person indeed. He is one of the few humans in history who can channel a ley line though himself and wield power, or die trying. Previous humans that could use a ley line snuffed themselves out like a roman candle. His roommate and frenemy is Prince Roark, son of Queen Mab and all around pain in Phineas's ass. Phineas has lived longer than all of his predecessors but is starting to wear down from the barrage of attacks from supernatural beings and the strain of the simmering energy always coursing through his veins. After six years of sharing a space, the men have come to a bit of a detent, although Roark feels compelled to save Finn repeatedly from monsters frequently putting himself at significant personal risk. Finn feels compelled to be around Roark as much as he can. Their back and forth and sexual tension culminates in a great love story between the two of them.

On a very positive note, I love that the writer wrote the two lead gentlemen as people rather than stereotypes or tropes. The Author's attention to detail about their personality shaped the two leads and built them as well-rounded people which helped solidify their relationship for me. Also, The authors use of dialog was well done. It helped with the plodding pacing and kept the story moving forward. Additionally, I enjoyed the supporting characters and would like to see more of them; the leads' roommates included a sensitive bridge troll and a satyr. That is fun! I hope that in the future the author gives them more story time. I think it would enrich the often confusing setting and pacing.

I found myself getting lost often in the beginning to the middle of the story. The jumping back and forth through personal past moments betwixt both main characters was difficult to understand in parts. As the story progressed, though, it smoothed itself out as the reader obtained more background information. The pacing was also languid and plodding in the beginning and middle of the story, and it felt too drawn out — too much dancing around each other. Many times I felt like shaking the damn characters and shouting at them. The dancing around each other did add a certain degree of tension between the two leads that eventually led to a beautifully done romance, but till that point it was frustrating. Because of this, I lost my connection to the characters at a few points.

M/M romance is not often written, should be written more, and should be done this well. Pacing and point of view issues notwithstanding this is a well-done love story. It is an excellent first book that is shaping up to be an even better series.

You never know the journey someone has walked until you hear their story. At best, you can empathize with their journey, but you will honestly never know what someone has felt or gone through unless you have walked in their shoes. This story comes as close as one could get to walking in someone's shoes. That someone is George Takai of Star Trek fame. Here are the superficial things you know about George Takai. Firstly, George stared in Star Trek as ensign turned captain in Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek franchise. You also probably know that George Takai has a wicked sense of humor, having turned the phrase “oh my” into an art form. You may even know that George is a massive defender of LGTBQI rights. Takei currently serves as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign “Coming Out Project.” What you probably don't know is that George was an internee of the Japanese internment camps during world war 2. A dark stain on America's history. And this is the crux of George's very personal memoir; They Called us Enemy.

When reading a story with the gravitas of Japanese internment, the holocaust, or something of the same ilk, there are two ways a story could go. Both are equally accurate, but they have very different effects on the audience. Firstly, a writer can present facts and tragedies, much like a history book. Some historical graphic novels do this. Or, you can offer the history and story with a personal twist to it. A la Maus and now, They Called Us Enemy. I find the historical graphic memoir a very personal way to present someone's history and a much more engaging read when paired with the graphic novel format.

They Called Us Enemy is the story of how a young George Takai and his family were given no notice, nor judicial recourse and taken and put into mandatory custody in Arkansas based on the color of their skin. George was locked in multiple detainment camps in Arkansas. All of their parent's assets, including a home and dry cleaning business, were unduly ceased, and their bank accounts were frozen. They were isolated from society, told that they could not be loyal to anyone but the Emporer because of their racial bias. They were put into a small barrack in the hot Arkansas swampland and told to live. George recounts his early memories of him and his brother and young baby sister playing in the dirt. Of how his mother had tried to make this barrack a home and keep their family together and healthy. The thing I was taken within this story was that a story such as this could get maudlin. This is not at all. It is a truthful accounting of events as George lived them and how those events affected who he was then and who he became. It is hard to read because we as a country were so blind then, but George always tinges the story with hope. There is still hope. Hope for better things and by the better angels of man's nature. It was uplifting, and I couldn't put it down once I started it.

Graphically, this is simple. The pictures help tell a story but are not there to completely distract you from the importance and gravity of the words, much like icing on a cake.

I recommend this for a multitude of reasons. It is one of the best graphic novels I have read this year. It is on a topic that is seldom talked about but should be and because I am a fan of George Takai, and I want to know more about the exciting life that he has lived.

Ragged Alice, a novella by author Gareth L. Powell is a whole lot of information in a tiny package. It is one of the novellas that had me shouting, “why aren't you a full novel?” A problem that novellas and short stories can run into is trying to do too much in a small amount of narrative time. When doing too much, and covering to much ground, it can come off flat because of the lack of character definition, exposition, and world-building. Powell's novel is such a good premise but comes off as rushed because there is not enough of it to connect thoroughly to everything.

The premise is thus, “Orphaned at an early age, DCI Holly Craig grew up in the small Welsh coastal town of Pontyrhudd.” Holly is a damaged inspector type character. She has been broken by her past and is held together with tea and whiskey in equal parts. After fifteen years in London, Holly is back on assignment in Pontyrhudd. A town full of all sorts of ghosts, both literal and figurative. Holly has a peculiar “gift” that helps her solve cases and determine the innocence of suspects, and now she gets to use this gift on a hit and run case in her hometown.

Ragged Alice is a good story, Powell is an excellent author but try as I might this story came off as midgrade. Enjoyable, but didn't stay with me. I did not care as much about Holly as I wanted to, and due to the format of a novella, there wasn't enough meat to bring more story elements in that would allow me to connect. Don't let this put you off this story or Powell in general. He is a killer author, but this book didn't allow him to shine.

Thank you to The_WriteReads and the author for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review. Please check out my other reviews at www.beforewegoblog.com

Phillip's life is the pits. He is 13 years old, which let's be frank, is no good for anyone. On top of that, he is the frequent target of a vicious school bully who takes bullying to a whole new level, he is a genuinely kind person, and most of all, he is dead. Even worse, is that upon dying he finds himself in the fiery pits of hell instead of heaven and he is confused. And, so are all the demons around him.

There has been a grave mistake.

Thus starts Phillip's adventure, which is part Dante's Inferno and part Percy Jackson. Lucifer is dying, and he needs an heir. Is it Phillip? Can Phillip look past all his good ways to be the bad boy that he might be inside? It is a fun and smart thought. Most novels are always on the side of good and looking down their nose at the bad. But not this one. It is fun! Everyone is bad, wrong. Demons, tempters, ghosts, the devil - this story has it all in spades.

Phillip is also a very likable character. His goodness could come off as a goody-goody character with a less skilled writer, but in the hands of Anderson, Phillip is a recognizable and empathetic character. You like him, and you root for him. Plus, the twist at the ending of the story kept this from being predictable.

Overall this is an enjoyable read. I can see it being engaging for a 12-year-old or an adult. It was absolutely engaging for this adult. There are themes in the story that is understandable for everyone. Give this story a try. It will be well worth the read.

Black Badge is an intriguing series. It is a combination of the down and dirty black OPS type narrative against the wholesomeness of the Boy Scouts. It makes sense when you think about it. It takes an amazing amount of dedication to get your badges, and it is in a variety of fields. What better way to find the perfect type recruits than to recruit from a pool of characters that do it for self-betterment. The writing is excellent and the graphics are top notch. I would expect nothing less than great from Tyler Jenkins. (I dug Grass Kings) I definitely think if you love espionage stories with a twist, this is the right thing to read. Check it out!

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

I loved this story. Mafia meets magic. The story begins with a man in the street under the influence of a necromantic drug that allows you to see or live the life of the dead body the drug is made out of. The drugs are created with different purposes, so the family needs different bodies with a different background to make them. The story is dark and gloomy, albeit a typical story arc. Family with a heart of gold has a tragedy, strikes revenge, sniffs the charred remains of their enemies as they are driven before them, and tacos. Just kidding, no tacos.

This is a winner of a book, good story, great art, interesting and inventive take on mafia families. Check it out.

Walking to Aldebaran, Adrian Tchaikovsky's deeply disturbing novella that hearkens back to Phillip K. Dick's mind-bending science fiction, Lovecraftian cosmic horror, and the comedy of Andy Weir's The Martian. While each of these genre types: psychological horror/science fiction, cosmic horror, or comedic horror/science fiction, would work in the setting of this story, a space artifact of massive proportions named the Frog God after its amphibians features, the combination of all three types allows the story to hit all the buttons. 

As a reader, you are mesmerized and transported by the intense attention to detail Tchaikovsky displays in his worldbuilding. You are made to laugh at Gary Randall, possibly the only survivor of his crew, as he quips and makes jokes about the aliens he meets, Star Trek, and having to eat the random creatures he finds amongst the tombs. This humor lulls the reader into a false sense of normalcy, all is right in Gary's head, or so we think. Finally, Tchaikovsky brings out the existential Lovecraft-type terror of Cthulu monsters of unknowable cosmic origins that are hunting and being hunted by Gary. This combination of pacing and types makes Walking to Aldebaran both hilarious, unsettling, and horrifying in equal measures.

“Captain Kirk would have thought of something by now, I'm sure, but I have no red-shirted confederates to feed to it.”

Walking to Aldebaran's premiss is thus, Gary is an astronaut and in combination with many national space agencies who put together a crew to investigate an object that was found in deep space. This is a decade's long voyage to the thing deemed The Frog God, as Rocky McRockface had already been taken. It has a large orifice, about the size of the moon sitting in its “face.” It also had smaller orifices, some conveniently man-sized. All very enticing for a world desperate to see something alien. 

Gary and his crew set off on the long journey, sleeping in shifts. Gary is one of four pilots. All hail government redundancy. Three pilots will rest while one of the other pilots looks around nervously and touches nothing. 

“I was also one of the pilots, although space piloting is one of those situations where they should really equip you with a dog, so your job is to feed the dog and the dog's job is to bite you if you touch any of the expensive equipment.”

Finally, after a long space flight equalling years, the crew arrives at the Frog God. After sending in most of the probes and had them immediately disappear or stop working entirely, it is decided a human team is necessary. They drive a vehicle aptly named Quixote through one of the many odd-shaped orifices. Once the team drives Quixote into the oddly human-sized-shaped hole, they discover and are either delighted or are suspicious tinged with terror. This particular hole has an excellent combination of blended oxygen, a nitrogen atmosphere with a comfortable .91G, and slightly under one pressure atmosphere. Almost as if it had been designed for them. That is a chilling thought; if there is a human-shaped hole, what goes in all these other holes?

“We weren't prepared,” Gary extols. They had no idea what was ahead of them once they went into the oddly shaped human-sized hole. “We labored off into the dark, the beams of our lamps seeming more and more inadequate as the shadows gathered in front of us.” The team found in those first few long moments of discovery in the crypts' bowels were pain and destruction. Astronaut Gary Randall, the creme of the top of human ingenuity and education, did the only thing he could do.

He ran like his ass was on fire, and eventually got lost. 

The crypts are very outside of the human understanding of physics and nature, those will be understood through a human lens. We humans, and Gary specifically, cannot fathom the purpose of what he was exposed to inside the crypt. Rooms with different pressure and atmosphere, and rooms that had no gravity. Pits, traps, creatures made of glass, ones made of intestines, all who want to kill Gary. No light, mostly no sound. Just Gary alone in the most foreign lands, in the blackest dark, with no hope, mentally dealing with things no human should or probably can. Gary's proverbial cheese slowly slides off its cracker. He knows he is losing it. He doesn't care; he is embracing the crazy. He is internalizing it and using it as a weapon. If he is crazy, maybe nothing crazy will upset him anymore. Gary finally cracks. 

Walking to Aldebaran's chapters swing back and forth between the beginning and middle of the story and show the changes in Gary's mental state. His altered state is funny, he cracks jokes constantly, and it is calming. You might think that his situation is funny. Until you remember the context of what he is living through. I liked how Tchaikovsky handled this. Instead of powering through Walking to Aldebaran from beginning to end, offsetting the chapters adds to the narrative's wobbliness. Gary is off his damn rocker, and so is the way the story is being told. 

The ending of the story is terrifying. It is in line with how Gary progresses mentally, but the way that Tchaikovsky wrote it made it all the scarier. 

Walking to Aldebaran is a fine example of Adrian Tchaikovsky and why he is becoming such a force in Science Fiction/Horror/Fantasy writing. It is examples like this and how he can pack so much terror into such a short story that shows his skill—the story clocks in around 130 pages. Also, I recommend listening to this on audio. I had the fortune of listening to this and reading it simultaneously, and Tchaikovsky does the voice for it and does it well. I recommend it, and I know many readers looking for a little horror flavored science fiction would enjoy it. 

There once was a girl that lived in a deep and damp and dark celler...

Caroll has crafted another beautifully atmospheric and decadent novel that skirts the line of horror and the gothic. A curious and courageous cat-eared girl braves the castle of a vampiric countess with plans to destroy her. Plans change and go pear-shaped when the strange catgirl instead finds that the countess is waiting for her. Soon, the girl is sent into a maze of tragic fairy tales and stories that she must claw her way through holding as best she can on to her purpose and sanity. The tales trapped behind red doors, the house, countess, and her; all is not what it seems.

This story is a rich work that you need to read a few times to get all the meanings. It is beautifully executed, much is conveyed in the simple palette of three colors; bone white, black, and blood red. It is gothic; ornate when it needs to be and simple when it doesn't. The backgrounds are simple with repeating patterns, but still very useful. It is a hauntingly scary work for a short graphic novella much in the style of her other novels (Out of Skin, Through The Woods) and shouldn't be missed.

An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka was a wonderful surprise, as his “Alex Verus” series is a tough act to follow. But An Inheritance of Magic has the base to be a fascinating world with a magic system that can expand as the books continue to be released.

On top of the struggle and toil of the average working-class person lay a glittering, secretive world of magic and magical families. Empires rise and fall at the behest of heads of family. It is cutthroat, and unforgiving, and if you do not have the right blood or relations, you will be swept under the rug like errant dust. Our protagonist, Stephen Oakwood, is the embodiment of dust to these people.

Stephen Oakwood, 22, works and lives paycheck to paycheck in London. It wasn't always like this. A few years ago, Stephen's Father had to disappear in a hurry with the promise of returning, but young Stephen struggled to keep a roof over his head and food in his mouth. At this point in the story, I appreciated and enjoyed how Jacka addressed the economic divide between classes, seen not just in food eaten and clothes worn but in the ability to have spare time. If you are constantly hustling, with one accident, doctor's appointment, or unexpected repair away from debt and financial ruin, you do not have time to lift yourself from your current situation. The time you do have is when you attempt to create a buffer. “He has talent and potential, but turning that potential into magical power takes money, opportunity, and training. All Stephen has is a minimum-wage job and a cat.” It is unnerving and wholly accurate. And as someone who has had to use government assistance to keep themselves fed at one point, I get it. I not only get it, but while reading this section of the story, I felt low thrumming anxiety wash over me like a cicada buzzing in my ear. It is an exceptionally clever piece of writing.

Right away, Stephen has one strike against him in this upper-crust world of magic: he is poor. The second thing he has is that he is formally untrained. Stephen is, for lack of a better word, “plucky.” He has much pluck. While his friends are dating, drinking beer, and doing what most men his age do, Stephen works harder and longer than anyone. This world of magic is closed to him; his father is gone, and there is very little info on the internet. If he learns anything about this incredible spark of “something” called Drucraft, it will be by the grit of his mind and the blood of his hands.

Suffice it to say that Stephen is driven by both practicalities, being able to support himself enough to have time to study and passion. This story is the epitome of the underdog trope. You want him to succeed if for no other reason than Hobbes, Stephen's cat who acts as Stephen's constant companion. But the world seems to be against Stephen with insurmountable odds from mighty people. Watching everyone who has wronged Stephen fall to their ruin as the books continue will be fun.

Weakness-wise, the first story of an extensive series like this with a large world has a lot to cover. It needs to drop the information about Stephen's living environment, the rules of magic, who is the story's antagonist, and lead us to the next book. Because of this, some parts felt wordy, with a lot of information dumped on the reader at once. I understand the necessity of this and tend to look past that entirely when reading. But it may be a factor for some readers that could take them out of the story.

When I heard that there was a new urban fantasy series from Jacka, I was elated. I adored his previous one and was a long-time fan, and his second foray into urban fantasy is no “sophomore slump,” quite the contrary I think. Inheritance of Magic takes some of the best aspects of the urban fantasy genre and mixes them with Jacka's well-honed craft, and we are left with excitement now and hopefully for years to come.

This is short, silly, and really fun. Colbert is king. The sad thing is there were enough comments to make a little book out of it though. Sigh.

I wasn't quite sure what to think upon picking this up from Vault. I adore Vault's catalog. They combine two of my favorite things, sci-fi/fantasy, and comics. Previously, I read The Vagrant Queen and loved it. It had a definite space opera vibe to it, which I appreciate. Submerged, however, started confusing, and I realized pretty early on that the confusion was purposeful. I believe that the story was written that way to set the reader off balance. Ayala is throwing odd and fanciful situations at Elysia that verge on realistic. But, something is off in every scene. You feel like Elysia is on a journey to an unknown destination in the search for her brother, but you can't understand what is going on. As the story progresses, you discover that Elysia is on a journey into the underworld to liberate her brother from its clutches.

The imagery is vivid, almost to the point of beautiful. But tempering that beauty is an undercurrent of pain and fear that penetrates the panels. Elysia is in pain. She is terrified of not finding her brother and failing him, terrified of the creatures and images she has to face, and most of all she is terrified of meeting the inner darker parts of herself and her history. It is a journey of self discovery, but it is a journey of forgiveness. We, as readers, become invested in this tale. We want to know what is going to happen. Ayala drops bits and pieces of the narrative as the story progresses, the tension from panel to panel ratchets up as she fights not only the environment, cleverly a flood instead of fire, but parts of herself. The story is chock full of imagery from different pantheons, mainly Egyptian and greek, and I found myself googling description from the various panels to delve into the deeper meaning that Ayala was shooting for.

Overall, Submerged was a beautiful story to read. It wasn't perfect for me. There were pacing issues that I struggled with, but overall, I found myself going back to different panels and rereading. It is a dark and deep story. That is well drawn and well executed. It has Latinx representation that you do not often find in stories of this type. It is a story of love, loss, beauty, and what it means to be human. It is well worth the read.