Adrian Collins's Blog, page 135

REVIEW: Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

While Miriam Black’s devil-may-care attitude coupled with the wit and ultimate self-destruction would generally appeal to me as a reader, Blackbirds, Chuck Wendig’s uber-popular urban fantasy series, left me flat. Chuck Wendig is a helluva writer if you have read Wanderers or Invasive you know that he has skill in weaving together a story. In Wanderers, Chuck demonstrated his ability to create a plot with a slow burn that comes together with a symphonic crash and  Invasive frankly scared the shit out of me.

Miriam, the protagonist of Blackbirds is a chain-smoking, talking-like-a-sailor, broken person who has a curse of knowing exactly how a person will die. A curse like this would break anyone and it has Miriam cut off from physical contact and intimacy of any kind. I get that. As soon as I understood her predicament in the first chapter of the book, I understood why Miriam is the way she is. This ability needs skin-on-skin contact, and early in when she first got her curse, Miriam attempts to help people. She tries to step in and thwart what amounts to as the reaper. But she can never help. It is as if she is watching horror movies for every person she comes into contact with. Death will come for who they want, and no one will stop it.

While hopping from city to city in a vagrant lifestyle, stealing as she needs to, she comes upon a truck driver named Louis. Louis is a small beacon of light in the shit-storm that is Miriam’s life. He shows her kindness when he doesn’t have to and generosity when he gets nothing out of it. Miriam touches him, and low and behold, Louis is going to die a horrible death very soon. But the real punch to Miriam’s gut is that she will be standing right there watching him die.

This is a real problem for her.

At the start of the novel, I could not put this book down. I plowed through the chapters. Miriam appealed to me. I enjoyed reading someone who was not so perfect and whose actions did not seem so telegraphed. It is a part of why I enjoy horror and grimdark so much. I like my characters coated in a little grime. But, Blackbirds is written with such an unlikeable character that I could not get into it. Sometimes, unlikeable is excellent. It allows the author a chance for the character to have small redeeming qualities, or at the very least make them not suck so much. I waited for the entire novel for Miriam to have that moment, and it did just not come.

About midway through the novel, and with the addition of a few characters, I could not understand the purpose of Miriam’s wanderings. I found myself wanting Wendig to get to the point. Chapters began to slog. Wendig’s usual frenetic writing style I usually enjoy came in bits and pieces. A murder here, a bit of torture there, all for the sake of not pushing the plot along. I could not tell if Wendig was going for edgy rather than purposeful with the violence. I feel like early chapters in the series are setting up the future novels, which now stand at six. But as an entry point into the novel, it left me a bit confused.

I can see Miriam being a great HBO/Netflix tv show. She reminded me a lot of Jessica Jones. Similar snark, attitude about the world, and general lack of ability to take anyone’s crap. But where Jones was noir, Miriam is horror.

While this did not completely do it for me, and I won’t be continuing the series, I know that it will appeal to many people. It is a beloved series. So give it a swing if you like your urban fantasy with a side of horror; Miriam Black might be your gal.

Read Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

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REVIEW: All of Us Are Dead

Korean zombie series All of Us Are Dead is yet another example of brilliant television from South Korea. The 12 episodes follow a group of high school students in Hyosan as they fight to survive in a city overwhelmed by zombies.

All of Us Are Dead doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel. A mysterious science teacher in the school experiments on a rat that bites one of the students and from there, the virus spreads first throughout the school and then throughout the city. The students in the series aren’t oblivious to what is happening. They are aware of zombies and even mention the brilliant Train to Busan. The series works best when it focuses on the relationships between the large cast of characters, something which has been seen from Dawn of the Dead to The Walking Dead. The fast-moving zombies wreak havoc in the school and the grief and despair thrust upon the students draws some together and others apart. The relationship between Cheong-san and On-ra – two long-term friends who have secret feelings for each other – anchors the show. We see how much they care about each other as they struggle through the outbreak and support each other through devastating times. The adults are not forgotten; Cheong-San’s mother fights a desperate battle to get from her restaurant to the school and save her son as the military discuss drastic measures to control the outbreak. Students from different social circles are forced to band together and this creates more friction and more problems for some but also forces some characters together in an effort to see their
similarities instead of their differences. The students’ personalities are all fleshed out well over the course of the series with interesting bonds developing including former bully Su-hyeok and his attraction for Nam-ra – the class president with a perfect record. All of Us Are Dead focuses on these relationships so that when the inevitable virus spreads, the loss is felt that much more.

All of Us Are Dead is refreshing in that it links the effect of the virus to a person’s cruelty and will to survive. Bullies such as Gwi-nam survive death multiple times through their sheer will to be cruel whilst others keep a semblance of their humanity to save those they love. It’s an interesting spin on a genre that we all know so well and adds an extra layer to the series. The series shines a lot on the choices that humans make in times of great distress. There are difficult decisions being made throughout the series and it is tough to separate the show from the recent pandemic. Those in power are given options and know that whichever ones they choose, many people will die. Survivor’s guilt becomes a huge point in the series because of this and it is one that All of Us Are Dead handles better than many shows and it has you feeling sympathy for characters who perhaps made choices that you wouldn’t have agreed with.

All of Us Are Dead is a thrilling zombie series full of brutal and violent scenes involving characters who are all so human. Whilst not hitting the heights of the amazing Squid Game, the series is still an excellent piece of television that fans of the zombie genre will devour like the tastiest of brains. Here’s to hoping that there’s a second season!

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REVIEW: War Games by Anna Mocikat

Behind Blue Eyes: War Games is the third installment of the Behind Blue Eyes series by Anna Mocikat. The Behind Blue Eyes series is a modern neo-cyberpunk novel series that envisions a world dominated by megacorporations that maintain power through the use of death squads of brainwashed cyborgs called Guardian Angels. The protagonist, Nephilim, briefly broke away from her masters in the first books but has since been forced back into the service of her corporate masters.

War Games picks up immediately after the events of Fallen Angels. A serial killer is stalking the cybernetically enhanced super soldiers of Olympias City and torturing them before murdering them. The fact this shouldn’t be possible was the mystery of the second book but has now been revealed to be the result of a heinous alliance between the Rosprom Corporation, a traitorous executive, and sold information by Nephilim’s friend, Finwick.

This book expands a great deal on the world-building as we finally meet the board of directors for the Olympias Corporation and they’re every bit the mouth-breathing decadent psychopaths we always suspected them to be. However, their chief opponent is Metatron, a man who has been willing to brainwash his followers into absolute obedience as well as slaughter in their name for decades. The competing corporations aren’t any better either, wanting to annihilate their enemies versus liberate them.
Nephilim remains brainwashed as Metatron continues to try to manipulate her into both falling in love with him as well as supporting his plan to overthrow the board. He’s given her a limited amount of free will but still controlling all of the information she has about her past as well as the events leading up to her initial rebellion. He’s a very well-written villain and full of charisma but it’s impossible to miss how disgusting it is for him to seduce not only one of his subordinates but someone he’s mentally tampered with.

The funny thing is that War Games actually calls into question just how wrong Metatron is about the “redemption” Nephilim sought in the first book. Jake and she fell in love to the point he was willing to betray his country as well as sabotage their attempt to destroy Olympias City. However, when we get scenes from his perspective, we discover he’s perfectly willing to help in the horrific murder of Guardian Angels that Nephilim considers friends. He’s only interested in her and quite possibly every bit as evil as Metatron. It’s an interesting twist and one I wasn’t expecting.

We also get a lengthy story involving Finwick and his adopted daughter, Sarah. He’s done everything to try to provide for her but what he wants to give her, material goods, isn’t something she cares about since she grew up in a hippie commune outside the city. However, Nephilim has warned him that he’s doomed to be hunted by Metatron no matter where he goes so he has to seek out a new identity again. Unfortunately, the price has gone way-way up. I really liked this storyline and never thought Finwick would become my favorite character in the story.

In conclusion, this is an excellent follow up to the previous book and the series functions as an almost continuous narrative from one volume to the next. Unfortunately, this does mean that the book ends on a cliffhanger and a lot of existing plots aren’t resolved. Still, I think if you liked the previous two books then you will love this.

Read War Games by Anna Mocikat

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REVIEW: The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport is a debut straddling grimdark and epic fantasy in a slightly futuristic world. Set in a world inspired by the rich cultures of the African subcontinent, it tells the story of Ikenna, a young soldier with Blood Magic gifts as she goes through military training. It is full of betrayal, unclear loyalties and a brutal world that makes this an attractive read for our audience. After her grandfather’s assassination, Ikenna changes her plans for her future and decides to pledge to an elite fighting force in order to track down the people who killed him. She undergoes gruelling training while trying to find clues – and working to save her own life.

There are a lot of amazing ideas in The Blood Trials, and there were many parts that had me engrossed and unable to put the story down. However, as a whole, pacing didn’t work out as well as I hoped, and was rather inconsistent. This made The Blood Trials a harder read to get through as I’d initially expected, drawn in by the compelling opening. It felt like the author tried to address too many things at the same time, which lessened tension for the individual elements and the book in its entirety. I did read a proof, so it may be that some of this has been changed in the final copy.

Following on from that, it felt like Ikenna was not as consistent a character as I would have liked – sometimes jumping from trust to distrust very quickly, making her seem younger and more naive than she is intended to be. Similarly, relationships between the characters didn’t read as organically as I would have liked, and I think The Blood Trials as a whole would have benefited from another round of development edits to streamline it. Both friendships and romantic relationships suffered from a case of on-and-off, with characters changing their minds utterly within just a few pages, rather than following a coherent arc. Part of what makes this book hard to situate for me personally is that it has a lot of elements that are far more at home in young adult fiction, whereas others clearly read as adult to me. Just like R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War or Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight, this is not a young adult book at all, but the story isn’t always conscious of that and ends up falling into patterns that are more reminiscent of YA fiction, jarring the reader out of the expected. I am still intrigued enough to want to read the sequel – it is the first in a duology – but on its own, The Blood Trials was a book with strengths and weaknesses, and one that may not click with everyone.

Read The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

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REVIEW: The Thousandfold Thought by R. Scott Bakker

R. Scott Bakker concludes his The Prince of Nothing Trilogy with the final novel, The Thousandfold Thought. As the last part, the book’s tone and pace deviate from its predecessors while reaching toward the story’s conclusion to include pivotal moments we have been waiting for since The Darkness That Comes Before.

In The Thousandfold  Thought, the Holy War makes the final march of its long journey toward the holy city of Shimeh. While the path appears clear and righteous as internal tensions subside, certain kernels of knowledge held as truth begin to fold as twisted reveals take shape. Every decision and action that has taken place before is cast into doubt as the apocalypse’s real face emerges from the victory amassed in death and blood. What you think you know is wholly eclipsed by what has yet to come.

Bakker’s approach to The Thousandfold Thought is a changeup from The Warrior Prophet. Where the previous book had moments of sweeping and immersive action, the finale slows the pace and conveys a deeper emphasis on the philosophy and thought behind the decisions each character makes. Rather than a full-fledged, quick, and bloody venture forward, Bakker makes his readers crawl to the very end, acknowledging everything that came before in a way that only Bakker knows how. This choice may in part cause some divisive reactions to the book’s conclusion, especially concerning the first half’s focus and pacing.

However, in the second half of The Thousandfold Thought, we finally witness some of the key moments Bakker’s spent two books building. He masterfully weaves a sequence of events to heighten the tension between different plot points as they each hit their climax and drop into their denouement. Opinions will differ based on whether Bakker’s conclusion is fulfilling or not, but there is one specific moment where Bakker’s execution was perfect in regard to emotional payoff. While the last book does resolve some of the plot points introduced in the previous books, Bakker leaves some loose threads, which will more than likely be explored in the sequel series: The Aspect-Emperor

The Prince of Nothing Trilogy reads more like one continuous story told in three parts rather than three separate books with an overarching plot to connect them. As such, I would recommend reading them very close together. However, Bakker does provide summaries at the beginning of books two and three to help the reader remember any significant events. The trilogy embodies the elements of the grimdark label and more than earns its place within the fantasy genre as a whole. Bakker achieves what he sets out to do with his unique approach to storytelling: vivid concepts mixed with strong thematic elements that are dipped in philosophy, history, and lore.

The Thousandfold Thought leaves a strong and lasting impression while laying the foundation for its sequel series. Bakker challenges his readers’ perspective on what came before while shaping what comes next: “There were two pasts…There was the past that men remembered, and there was the past that determined, and rarely if ever were they the same. All men stood in thrall of the latter. And knowing this made them insane” (105).

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REVIEW: The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish

In The Bladed Faith, book one of David Dalglish’s Vagrant Gods series, a young Prince Cyrus sees his peaceful island kingdom of Thanet invaded by the Everlorn Empire and its monstrous, superhuman Paragon soldiers. At the age of twelve, he is faced with his parents being executed, his throne usurped, and the living, incarnate gods who once protected the people being slaughtered or driven into hiding. As the years pass and Cyrus is kept as a prisoner in his own home, he finally encounters a group of secretive revolutionaries. Seeing the fallen (and supposedly dead) prince as the perfect figurehead to inspire his people and strike terror into his foes, the group trains Cyrus in the arts of stealth, swordplay, and politics, and he dons the persona and grinning skull mask of the Vagrant in his quest for revenge.

The Bladed Faith is a third-person, multi-POV story that switches between viewpoint characters every chapter or two. Cyrus himself acts as the main protagonist, and much of the narrative is devoted to his transformation from deposed monarch to terrifying vigilante. Two other prominent POV characters are the sisters Stasia and Mari Ahlai. Stasia, nicknamed the Ax of Lahareed for her signature weapon, is a savage brawler and one of Cyrus’s primary trainers. Having fought a losing battle against the Empire since her youth, she chafes at the idea of abandoning another nation to its fate and leaving the people she cares about behind—even as she realizes the cost holding her ground might demand. By contrast, Mari is shorter, softer, and kinder than her sister, but these attributes only make her more frightening when she uses her abilities as a god-whisperer to take on the powers of slain divinities. On Thanet, she embraces the fallen lion god Endarius and hunts the empire’s soldiers as a bone-armored feline predator. Readers also get a few chapters from the viewpoints of allies like the aging paladin Rayan, and enemies such as the brutal conquering general, Magus of Eldrid and the Everlorn god-emperor’s own daughter.

Dalglish’s plotting and pacing are top-notch. Outmatched as the revolutionaries are, this book maintains steady tension and exceedingly well-written action. If swordplay and training montages are your cup of tea, the novel has a great one as Cyrus learns the assassin’s trade over course of the story’s first act. On a larger scale, there’s a mythic-level conflict between the polytheistic kingdoms of the land and the monotheistic Empire in a setting where gods take to the battlefield themselves and grant their followers magical abilities. Woven in amongst the bloodshed and divine sorcery, though, there’s also a slower and subtler theme of found family amongst the characters that adds a lot to the narrative and builds a cool dynamic between them that’s very gratifying to follow.

I found the first fifty percent or so of the book to be an enjoyable, if not slightly straightforward, conflict of good vs. evil, but the latter half shakes things up a lot with skillful plot twists and sticks the landing with a top-notch ending. Even if this book isn’t quite Grimdark, it’s a conclusion I still suspect GDM readers in particular will enjoy. In the same manner, the magic system comes into its own in later chapters as Dalglish takes the established rules and implications of his god-centric sorcery and goes in a really cool and interesting direction with them.

While I did enjoy elements of moral ambiguity that came into play later in the book, if I had one small complaint, it would be that there weren’t more of these themes throughout the story. Sometimes, the ethicality of Cyrus and company feels a little glossed over as they fight a guerrilla war against an empire.  In one scene, for instance, the rebels need to create a distraction to get out of a desperate situation and set a large number of houses on fire. The houses are empty, but there’s still no question of what will happen if the flames get out of control, who they’ll be leaving destitute, etc.

If I had to sum up The Bladed Faith, this book is Arkane Studio’s Dishonored meets D&D’s divine magic. Reading this novel took me back to my college years—a time when I was studying English and buried alive in assigned reading. Even after a long week of textbooks and classic literature, though, I could always count on one of Dalglish’s Shadowdance books to pull me out of a slump and keep me turning pages all weekend. They were simply that readable, and Bladed Faith has the same quality (refined, if anything by the passage of time since then). The author has stated that this book feels like something of a “homecoming” to him, combining many of the best aspects of his previous works (the religious conflict and magic of Paladins, the assassins and found family of Shadowdance, etc.), and I’m inclined to agree. In all, I would give Bladed Faith a 4.5-star rating. In the meantime, I think I’ll take on a level of priest or paladin and hope that the higher powers in publishing answer my prayers for an early release of book two.

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Religion in Fantasy: Finding Meaning in the Madness

Conversations about religion can be difficult. It is a subject that tends to evoke great passion and strong opinions. From a staunch atheist to the most extreme believer and everyone in between, religion touches on nerves like nothing else. There is no denying the way it has shaped life on this planet and the way we interact with one another.

With that in mind, it is easy to see why fantasy writers have often used religion to explore the human condition and shine a light on both its positive and negative aspects. We have used religion to find meaning in the wondrous and make sense of the mysterious. Throughout history, religion has been used as a way to make sense of the world around us. Fantasy writers have used religion, in the same way, to give life to their own worlds. Some authors create alternative versions of real religions whilst others have created whole new secondary religions. Fantasy’s development from its beginnings has been intertwined with mythology and folklore and its links with religion are impossible to ignore. Religion can often be used as a way of developing a shorthand with the reader for certain races or species, just look at the differing gods and religions within the World of Warhammer as examples. It is easy to get a clear understanding of what to expect from those who worship Gork and Mork, the twin gods of the Greenskin races. They are gods of brutal cunning and cunning brutality. Straight away, it is clear that those who worship these deities are up for a fight and chaos may follow.

One of the earliest forms of western literature is attributed to Homer: The Iliad and Odyssey. Along with the Epic of Gilgamesh, these texts set a template that many adventure stories follow. They each involve gods meddling in the world of man. When reading about characters such as Achilles, Hector, Paris, and Agamemnon, it is easy to see the parallels with the popular superheroes of today from Marvel and DC. In Ancient Greece, these stories were used for entertainment but also as a cautionary warning (Icarus flying too close to the sun and Pandora’s Box unleashing suffering into the world due to the curiosity of one person). The Gods were used to explain things that science had not yet been able to touch upon. Zeus threw lightning bolts and that explained the storms raging over the Aegean Sea. Soldiers would ensure fallen warriors were left with coins over their eyes as payment for the boatman as they passed into the underworld ruled by Hades. William Shakespeare, one of the biggest influences on literature, built on the tragedies and comedies of Ancient Greece, using the tragic nature of texts such as Oedipus Rex and Antigone when adapting his own plays such as The Tempest, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare had to be careful with his writing as the Elizabethan era was one of great conflict between Catholics and Protestants in England. Due to this, witches and monsters were used metaphorically in place of some prominent religious members of society to ensure that Old Bill wouldn’t lose his head like some of his peers. The stories of his time still had that supernatural and fantastical element to them, but writers needed to be careful when commenting on religion. The King James Bible, published in 1611, is the only text to have contributed more phrases to the English language than Shakespeare’s works. Phrases such as ‘a fly in the ointment’ and ‘do we see eye to eye’ originated in this version of the Bible and is proof of the influence of religion on literature throughout the ages.

The 1600s was an important century for the development of language and literature in the West. Eastern texts progressed greatly during the Golden Age of Islam, as well as the growth of Baghdad and its Great Library centred on the Silk Road. The East had thrived with texts such as One Thousand and One Nights (including tales stories involving Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad) whilst the West was lost in the Dark Ages. Finally, however, there were sparks of light.

John Milton, a blind, religious writer produced his greatest work, the epic poem titled Paradise Lost. Milton took the story of the fall of man from the Bible and explored it from the perspective of the greatest villain of his time: Lucifer himself, Satan. Grimdark is known for its love of anti-heroes and the genre owes a debt of gratitude to Milton and his epic poem. The blind writer used Tiresias like wisdom and foresight to dive deep into the mind of one of the most hated characters from all of literature and explore why he may have acted that way. Feeling betrayed that God would hand over a paradise to puny humans, Lucifer acts out and takes the lead of his own army of disgruntled angels in defiance of their creator. Paradise Lost is a tale of rebellion and of longing and a need for redemption. Many great tales have been written since but not many touches on the emotion and the feeling imbued in Milton’s greatest work.

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials builds on the foundation set by Milton and continues the fall of man story as Pullman draws on his own beliefs to portray a world in which religion is abused in that those in power use it as an instrument of control rather than for the betterment of the world. The Amber Spyglass involves a scene where a withered and frail God is killed in a holy war to end the corruption of the Church-like organisation and ensure freedom for all. Such texts would have led to beheading in Elizabethan England!

There’s no use in discussing religion in fantasy without mentioning the daddy of it all: JRR Tolkien. Though works such as Oscar Wilde’s The Fisherman and his Soul were written before Tolkien’s masterpiece Lord of the Rings, it is the adventure of hobbits, elves, men, and dwarves that is seen as the beginning of modern fantasy. Tolkien’s works include religion mainly in the appendices and in his unfinished The Silmarillion. Elves and wizards are nearly immortal beings doing their best in Middle-earth before sailing away to a Heaven-like dwelling. They carried dreadful burdens and sacrificed much for the greater good to reach this plane. It is in moments like these that Tolkien’s faith can be found. More subtle and focused on themes than C. S Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia where the allegory is front and centre as Aslan the Lion plays the role of Jesus as he dies and returns to save his people.

Modern fantasy and grimdark in particular have used religion as part of the worldbuilding process and as a way of commenting on the use of power, both for good and bad. Game of Thrones shows the dangers of cults and especially the danger in believing charismatic figures. The books and the TV series do not shy away from the pain and suffering caused by those with blind faith, or how people with nothing to hold on to can be so easily manipulated. The rise of extremism in such stories reflects history and shines a light on the dangers caused by a cult of personality. In The First Law trilogy, Abercrombie has a monotheistic religion that has been corrupted by Khalul, who is now called The Prophet. In a genre that is known for its focus on the human condition and the fallibility of man, grimdark is perfect for exploring religion in its blood-soaked pages. Last year alone provided books such as Stephen Aryan’s The Coward and G R Matthews Seven Deaths of an Empire look at how religion can be exploited by individuals for their own gain and the way in which it can both drive people and nations apart or bring them together.

Religion can be divisive and spark uncomfortable conversations but that is what fantasy, and in particular grimdark, does so well. It gets people talking. It opens a platform for discussion and allows readers to study who we are as humans living on this big rock that is hurtling through space at an unfathomable speed. Fantasy, and literature in general, throughout the ages has allowed a safe (most of the time) space to comment on the world and the mysteries around us and allows readers the opportunity to reflect on their place and what it means to be human, long may that continue.

This article was originally published in Grimdark Magazine #29.

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REVIEW – Crowbones by Anne Bishop

Crowbones by Anne Bishop is another excellent addition to The Others series.

I have read my fair share of urban fantasy, romantic, tragic, or otherwise. As a reader and reviewer, it has become a challenge for me to seek out series in that elusive “other” category, ones that straddle a line of horror and urban fantasy such as Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and American Gods or A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. These books are different. They excel in bringing something fresh to the reader. The Others series by Anne Bishop has brought life to the tired genre of the supernatural urban fantasy genre with her brilliant take on the relationships between humans and the Terre Indigene in Crowbones.  

“Don’t matter if you caw, Don’t matter if you shout. Crowbones will gitcha If you don’t watch out! —Crowgard rhyme”

Every culture, human or other, has a boogeyman. A creature that will come to getcha if you aren’t a good kid. Bishop explores that idea in Crowbones. Vicki Devine, whom we met in book 6 of The Others series, Lake Silence, is back again as the central figure of Crowbones. Vicki, the owner of the Jumble, a resort that does some light tourism around folks wanting to interact with The Others, is hosting a gathering to celebrate Trickster Night, The Others form of Halloween. There are some funny antics and miscommunication between the humans and the terre indigene. What kind of costume is scary but not too frightening to become other. 

We first meet Vickie in a previous novel, Lake Silence. In that novel, she is a woman recovering from a traumatic relationship and divorce and attempting to start a new life in a new town. I find her a compelling character, that while she is broken and worn down from hardship, Vickie manages to have inner strength. Enough that the Others understand that she is special and a cut above other humans. 

“He wasn’t sure what disturbed him more—that the Others were able to excavate that much dirt from either side of the road and pile it into a hill that quickly . . . or the smiley face made out of boulders that was pressed into this side of the mound.”

Each of the stories in this series of books revolves around a mystery. This one isn’t an exception. Something rotten is affecting the terre indigene, and individuals who act as judges have come to bring sentences on human and terre indigene alike. Office Wayne Grimshaw, Julian Farrow, and Ilya Sanguinati have to work together before judgment is cast on all of them. 

The plotting and pacing are tight; it keeps you going. You know from the first few pages that this will be a mystery story, but it lacks the tropey feel of a “who done it” story. Vickie is someone trying to keep the crows safe, and the three individuals, Wayne, Julian, and Ilya, are trying to do the same. There are certainly some bloody and violent scenes. Bishop has never shied away from the darker side of things, which works for me as a lover of horror and grimdark. Crows are picking at eyeballs, basically doing what crows do. 

Crowbones is another exciting addition to the world of The Others that continues to be interesting. We learn that even the strongest and wildest predators of the terre indigene have boogeymen that go bump in the night. Check it out. 

Read Crowbones by Anne Bishop

 

 

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REVIEW: The Last Kingdom Season 5

The excellent adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s The Saxon Stories comes to an end (as a TV series at least) in thrilling style. The Last Kingdom has been a bloody joy to watch since 2015 and has always been nothing short of brilliant. Like the seasons before it, The Last Kingdom S5 perfectly blends the history of the birth of England with thrilling entertainment and memorable characters.

The Last Kingdom S5 finds Uhtred son of Uhtred worrying about his old friend Brida. Travelling from Iceland to York, Brida brings along an army of warriors and her daughter (a Seer) to disrupt Uhtred’s life in Runcorn as he attempts to care for young Aethelstan. Brida’s attack disrupts the relative peace in the land and threatens to tear apart the idea of a united kingdom that Alfred dreamt of before his death. Through it all, the devious Lord Aethelhelm is scheming to seize the power of the throne from King Edward for his grandson and his actions set in motion a battle for the very heart of England, one that Uhtred has to once again play a big part in.

As shows like Game of Thrones have shown us, it is often difficult to stick the landing for a successful series. Thankfully, The Last Kingdom S5 is able to close the story off by linking back to the various threads that have appeared throughout the show since The Last Kingdom S1. The Last Kingdom is at its best when it twists the political intrigue together with personal tales of a man who is trying to find himself and care for those he loves. There is a clear bond between Uhtred and the various people who he has fought with and defended over the years. This makes it even more gut-wrenching when Uhtred suffers a loss as we can truly feel the pain that he is in after losing a loved one. It also helps that Uhtred is a character whose journey makes sense. He started as a brash, often arrogant but skilled warrior and has developed into a more cautious, thoughtful man who thinks about the effects that his actions may have on those around him. At one time, he yearned for nothing more than to take back his home of Bebbanburg, but in The Last Kingdom S5, he cares more about the people he is with than where he is and needs to be convinced by others about the importance of his destiny.

The bloody battles are still thrilling to watch and the writing excellently balances the large cast of characters throughout the ten episodes of The Last Kingdom S5. One complaint would be that at this point in the series, the age of the characters becomes quite muddled. Uhtred has lived through the rise of Alfred’s son and grandson but doesn’t appear to be much older than King Edward. Aelswith has a few scenes with her on screen daughter and granddaughter and all the actresses are in their twenties and this does create a bit of a disconnect for the audience but not enough to run any particular episode thankfully. However, it would have been an injustice to recast any of the actors in the series as they are all played to perfection. From the charismatic lead of Uhtred to my favourite returning Dane Haesten, every performance is played to perfection.

The Last Kingdom S5 is another stunning piece of television. If you like shows with battles full of grit and blood, with interesting characters that make up a grand historical epic, then The Last Kingdom is as good as it gets.  All that is left to finish off the story is a final film titled: Seven Kings Must Die. If the high standards of the TV series are met, then we are all in for a thrilling finale. Destiny is all!

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REVIEW: The City of Dusk by Tara Sim

The City of Dusk is the debut adult fantasy novel from Tara Sim. It is the first instalment of The Dark Gods trilogy and is published by Orbit. I would like to thank Orbit for sending me an eARC of the novel to be able to provide my review for Grimdark Magazine.

In The City of Dusk we follow the four heirs of the four noble houses in the city of Nexus. The families of Lastrider, Vakara, Mordova, and Cyr have kept the city running for over five centuries. Each family represents a different deity and holds different divine skills to help the city run smoothly. But their gods no longer favour Nexus, and the heirs of the families must work together to save their kingdom.

As this is a review for that corner of the internet dedicated to getting knee deep in grit, I need to say from the get go that The City of Dusk is not the darkest of dark fantasy novels. Although it has a lot of dark elements, there are not enough consistently grim features to make it grimdark. It is, however, a good fantasy, with a cracking ensemble cast and a wonderful world.

In fact, the world of The City of Dusk is my favourite aspect of Sim’s novel. It is a gorgeously crafted realm where each of the main characters, and their magics, are believable. From necromancy, to wielding shadows or wings of light Sim has created a unique magic system that is easy to follow and understand. The history of the different religions and their feuding noble families is also well built, where all relevant information is shared without ever feeling like it is bogging down the narrative. I also loved that The City of Dusk is a world without the prejudices and biases of our society. There are a range of sexualities, races, and religions in Sim’s world with no stereotyping or token inclusion. This is a very refreshing feature for a fantasy world to have! It also focuses on some deep emotional issues, such as grief, in a careful and considered way.

However, although there were many things that I enjoyed about The City of Dusk I did struggle in some places. The denouement was fantastic, but the slow and steady pace of the rest of the novel made those final few chapters feel almost too quick. I also think that Sim’s writing style is more juvenile than I expected from a book being billed as an adult dark epic fantasy. The City of Dusk has all the ingredients to make it that, but to me it felt like I was reading a very long young adult novel and I took a while to get into the swing of it. Although I liked all of the characters, I often perceived them as younger than the narrative states them to be which also added to my sense that this is more of a crossover fantasy novel than an adult one. I do not mean this as a huge criticism; I have read and liked Sim’s young adult novels. But I do think readers who do not also enjoy “new adult” writing may struggle with the style of The City of Dusk.

Overall I think that The City of Dusk is a good read. It will appeal to the fans of fantasy who prefer a less grim world whilst still being a dark novel. It is a novel with violence, sex, swearing, political intrigue, and characters with some moral ambiguity. These traits just are not quite as explicit or harsh as grimdark readers would be used to or might be expecting from it. The cliff hanger of The City of Dusk has kept me interested and I am invested enough in the characters and this world to continue with the next instalment of The Dark Gods when it comes out. 3 / 5

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