Adrian Collins's Blog, page 146
December 25, 2021
Best dark SFF books of 2021
Well, 2021 was pretty much another bag of sweaty dicks of a year with lockdowns, deaths, separation, isolation, bloody zoom meetings, and dead arms. However, the publishing industry great and small, despite paper shortages, shipping madness, and an industry full of people trying to juggle home schooling and the mental pressure of delivering books despite *waves arms* everything have delivered some epic adventures.
The GdM reviewer team gives you our favourite books of 2021.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay KristoffPicked by Fiona Denton
Empire of the Vampire starts with a simple premise, what happens when the sun stops shining? The world is plunged into near constant darkness, crops fail, and creatures of myth turn out to be real and no longer have the constraints of daylight to hold them back. The vampires in Kristoff’s gothic grindark masterpiece are terrifying predators with preternatural strength and speed. The religious order of the Silversaints make it their lives’ work to keep humanity safe and the novel opens with our morally ambivalent protagonist, Gabriel de Lioncourt, the last Silversaint, recounting the story of his life. The dual narratives following the story of Gabriel’s life from childhood and the catastrophic events of adult hood slowly converging. Empire of the Vampire is a gorgeous book, black edged pages, an embossed cover, and at just shy of a thousand pages it is a very worthwhile long read. If you can imagine the love child of Interview with the Vampire and The Name of the Wind, you’re close to Empire of the Vampire. Gabriel’s coarse dark humour appealed to me and the split narratives were equally as engrossing. Some parts of this novel made me laugh, other parts made me cry. It’s been my favourite read of 2021 and I’m so excited for the second installment.
Read our review of this book, here.
About the book: For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.
Gabriel de León, half man, half monster and last remaining silversaint – a sworn brother of the holy Silver Order dedicated to defending the realm from the creatures of the night – is all that stands between the world and its end.
Now imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:
The Holy Grail.
Read Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
This book knocked my socks off. For the first time in many years, I truly had no idea what was about to happen next as the layers were pulled back, with each revelation further misdirecting my assumptions. It’s safe to say I’ve never read anything like The Last House On Needless Street. Ward has truly achieved something special with this novel and I can’t wait to see what she has in store in the future.
Check out Eugene’s review here.
About the book: This is the story of a murderer. A stolen child. Revenge. This is the story of Ted, who lives with his daughter, Lauren, and his cat, Olivia, in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.
All these things are true. And yet some of them are lies.
You think you know what’s inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you’ve come across this story before. In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, something lies buried. But it’s not what you think….
Read The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward
This book opened a new chapter in the world of Ash and Sand bringing back someone I think is one of the most compelling and iconic dark fantasy protagonists in recent years – Ruka. This time you see him through the eyes of others who see him as a living legend. I could barely put this one down and hope to see more set in this world.
About the book: Feared pirate and scoundrel ‘Lucky’ Chang has a dirty secret: he loves his crew, and would die to protect them. As he’s dragged from prison to face the dark sea and a dangerous new world, he just might have to.
Zaya, warrior and skald from the land of ash, knows she has a destiny. Having left her homeland with only a knife and a dream of adventure, she finds herself captured by pirates. To discover her fate, and become a hero from the book of legends, she must first survive the sea.
With a monstrous pilot as guide, and an ex-assassin as captain, Chang, Zaya, and the crew of the mighty Prince sail into uncharted waters. There they may find new lands and wealth, as well as glory beyond their dreams, or nothing but their doom.
Read Dark Sea’s End by Richard Nell
The exciting sequel to Behind Blue Eyes. A serial killer is targeting the hyper-powerful assassins of the Olympias Corporation and taking them down with no effort. I absolutely loved its action, twists, turns, and allusions to classic literary dystopias.
Read Charles’ review, here.
About the book: Olympias City is shaken by a series of unspeakably brutal murders. No one is allowed to know the shocking truth about who the victims are: Guardian Angels.
Someone is hunting the almost invincible cyborgs with the neon-blue eyes. Someone who knows their secrets and who uses a formerly unknown technology.
Promoted to Archangel, Nephilim is in charge of the investigation. It leads her into the underbelly of Olympias’ most notorious district, Oldtown, and also into the Inner Circle, where the elites reside.
Struggling with memory loss, Nephilim barely survives an attempt on her life.
It seems that the Guardian Angels have some very powerful enemies. If this wasn’t dangerous enough, the two other corporate global players, Rosprom and TogbuaXiang, scheme in the shadows to not only bring down the Angels but the entire city of Olympias.
Everything changes when Nephilim accompanies Metatron on a trip to Olympias City III, formerly Rio de Janeiro. There she discovers that nothing is what it seems and that Metatron is much more cunning and dangerous than anyone suspects.
Things get even more complicated when old friends from Nephilim’s past appear. Nephilim will have to decide on what side she wants to stand …
Read Behind Blue Eyes: Fallen Angels by Anna Mocikat
Krystle Matar’s debut, Legacy of the Brightwash, introduces readers to a well-fleshed out, grim, and bleak world. Her prose interweaves realistic human emotion into her character motivations. Pairing her mastery of tension with a slow build, Matar balances the brutality of the story with quiet moments of hope and love.
Read our review, here.
About the book: Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong?Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions.
Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had she come from? Who would tattoo a child? Was it the same person who killed her? Why was he the only one who cared?
Will Tashué be able to stand against everything he thought he believed in to get the answers he’s looking for?
Read Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar
The first book of the series was outstanding, however the second novel really allowed Call to dive into the darker parts of the characters psyches. By the end you have no idea who is good or bad. It’s outstanding.
Read our review, here.
About the book: Annev has avoided one fate. But a darker path may still claim him . . .
After surviving the destruction of Chaenbalu, new mysteries and greater threats await Annev and his friends in the capital city of Luqura. As they navigate the city’s perilous streets, Annev searches for a way to control his nascent magic and remove the cursed artifact now fused to his body.
But what might removing it cost him?
As Annev grapples with his magic, Fyn joins forces with old enemies and new allies, waging a secret war against Luqura’s corrupt guilds in the hopes of forging his own criminal empire. Deep in the Brakewood, Myjun is learning new skills of her own as apprentice to Oyru, the shadow assassin who attacked the village of Chaenbalu – but the power of revenge comes at a daunting price. And back in Chaenbalu itself, left for dead in the Academy’s ruins, Kenton seeks salvation in the only place he can: the power hoarded in the Vault of Damnation . . .
Read Master Artificer by Justin Travis Call
Amazing adventure, incredible action, great characters, but the thing Hayes does like the very best of traditionally published fantasy novelists is develop not only the characters but their relationships to one another, which makes this great read emotionally gripping like the best fiction of any genre.
About the book: He’ll die as many times as it takes.
The Ipian Empire was once a land that welcomed dragons and spirits alike, but a century of war and bloodshed saw them all but vanish. Now, the lost things are returning and the Onryo have gathered. Five legendary spirits with mysterious powers, bent on freeing an ancient evil that would wreak havoc on humanity.
Haruto swore his soul to the God of Death for the chance to hunt down the vengeful ghost of his wife. Now an onmyoji, he’s tasked by the Imperial Throne to hunt down monsters and malicious spirits. But he knows not all spirits are evil and not all deserve the peace of the sword.
Kira is a student at Heiwa, an academy for children with dangerous techniques. But she has a secret, she’s not like the other students. When the school is attacked, she flees with one of the tutors, determined to hide both from those who would kill her, and those who would use her.
As a plague of spirits sweeps across the land, the Onryo leave a bloody trail for Haruto to follow. But who’s hunting who?
Read Spirits of Vengeance by Rob Hayes
The Emperor is dead. Long live the Empire.
General Bordan has a lifetime of duty and sacrifice behind him in the service of the Empire. But with rebellion brewing in the countryside, and assassins, thieves and politicians vying for power in the city, it is all Bordan can do to protect the heir to the throne.
The perfect blend of classical fiction and grimdark. Can’t wait for the sequel!
Check out our review, here.
About the book: When the Emperor dies on campaign, destinies clash. Magician Kyron must escort the Emperor’s body back to the Capital through enemy territory; and General Bordan, veteran of many wars, must fight in the political arena for the security of the throne – and the Empire.
Read Seven Deaths of an Empire by G. R. Matthews
Grimdark steampunk Russian influenced fantasy set within an industrial city in Russian flavored fantasy world with mob families competing over magical memory stones…
About the book: Norylska Groans…
with the weight of her crimes. In a city where winter reigns amid the fires of industry and war, soot and snow conspire to conceal centuries of death and deception.
Norylska Groans…
and the weight of a leaden sky threatens to crush her people. Katyusha Leonova, desperate to restore her family name, takes a job with Norylska’s brutal police force. To support his family, Genndy Antonov finds bloody work with a local crime syndicate.
Norylska Groans…
with the weight of her dead. As bodies fall, the two discover a foul truth hidden beneath layers of deception and violence: Come the thaw, what was buried will be revealed.
Read Norylska Groans by Michael R. Fletcher and Clayton W. Snyder
A post-apocalyptic slice of life novel about people living on the remains of what we left behind when we destroyed our planet, with a compelling protagonist who loves her world even as she hates what we did to it. The Past is Red is furious and delightful, bursting with life and voice and setting.
Read our review, here.
About the book: Catherynne M. Valente, the bestselling and award-winning creator of Space Opera and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland returns with The Past Is Red, the enchanting, dark, funny, angry story of a girl who made two terrible mistakes: she told the truth and she dared to love the world.
The future is blue. Endless blue…except for a few small places that float across the hot, drowned world left behind by long-gone fossil fuel-guzzlers. One of those patches is a magical place called Garbagetown.
Tetley Abednego is the most beloved girl in Garbagetown, but she’s the only one who knows it. She’s the only one who knows a lot of things: that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world, that it’s full of hope, that you can love someone and 66% hate them all at the same time.
But Earth is a terrible mess, hope is a fragile thing, and a lot of people are very angry with her. Then Tetley discovers a new friend, a terrible secret, and more to her world than she ever expected.
Read The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente
A thrilling tale which takes a well loved classic and “makes it new.” This is an evocative, rich piece which I particularly enjoyed thanks to the relevance and crisp, fresh voices given to the original characters as their lives and dynamics are reworked. Dark and oozing with menace, I shall certainly look for the next offering from this excellent writer.
Read our review, here.
About the book: Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt’s grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that’s just legend, the village gossips talking.
More than thirty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play Sleepy Hollow boys, reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?
Read Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Cristina Henry
Note: Spoilers for Iconoclasts 1 and 2 ahead!
The epic conclusion to the horror/fantasy Iconoclasts series, Idols Fall follows adventurer Agnes Manteo as she takes up her father’s sentient blade and quests to slay a pantheon of cruel pretender gods. Meanwhile, Countess Ilanda Pavidale struggles to hold the kingdom of Hanifax together with the recent passing of its twisted immortal monarch, a court full of treacherous nobles, and barbarian horde on its borders. Authored by a psychotherapist/tabletop RPG writer, this series is the perfect blend of narrative dread, realistic trauma, and dungeon delving. Idols Fall is everything I hoped for and more in a conclusion to one of my favorite series with a masterfully woven plot and the single most brutal dungeon since Gygax’s Tomb of Horrors.
About this book: “AT LONG LAST, EVEN GODS WILL KNOW REGRET…”Agnes Manteo now bears her father’s sentient Djao sword, along with a terrible revelation—the gods are charlatans, ancient sorcerers who draw their strength from the suffering of humanity. She and her Syraeic companions have but a single duty: to track down those pretenders and end their reign of cruelty and lies. To that end, the magical blade—mighty, single-minded Szaa’da’shaela—won’t allow the slightest waver of their commitment.But the empire is a bubbling cauldron of turmoil with the sudden passing of its undying queen. Nobles clash and threaten civil war, murderous barbarians mass on the frontier in preparation for a bloody invasion, and all feel the aching void left by the clergy, whose temples were consumed by a great fire. How can the empire survive should Agnes succeed in tearing away its very foundations? And if she fails? What might sorcerers with nearly godlike powers do to exact their revenge?
Read Idols Fall by Mike Shel
I have spent the last month residing in Lee’s spectacularly detailed and wonderfully crafted fantasy world. I’m certain that re-reading Jade City and Jade War prior to starting the mammoth-sized yet never dull Jade Legacy heightened my enjoyment of this entry greatly. In Jade Legacy, Lee has perfectly honed her fantasy and gangster thriller experience with more drama, bloodshed, showdowns, political intrigue, and higher costs.
Lee is a fantastic writer and The Green Bone Saga has cemented itself in the top five series that I will recommend when people ask me for the best that I think the fantasy scene has to offer.
Read our review, here.
About the book: The Kaul siblings battle their rival clans for honour and control over an East Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis in Jade Legacy, the page-turning conclusion to the Green Bone Saga.
Read Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
I chose this for our first roundup in the middle of the year and my love for it still runs strong. Sistersong is one of those special books that doesn’t come along all too often, and I adore it. Retelling the English folk ballad “The Twa Sisters”, it is both rooted in folklore and mythology, but also in medieval history and culture. The book combines my passions for diverse and queer stories and all things medieval, and introduces the reader to a wonderful cast of characters. I am particularly taken by Lucy Holland’s take on Merlin – without spoiling anything more – and loved Keyne most out of the siblings. At once haunting and lyrical, Sistersong is nevertheless dark and macabre (just go and check out the bone harp from the story that Lucy crafted with artist Becky Pepperdine).Read The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie.
About the book: My sister’s heart broke on the river—and the river took it and bore it away.
In the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia, there is old magic to be found in the whisper of the wind, the roots of the trees, and the curl of the grass. King Cador knew this once, but now the land has turned from him, calling instead to his three children. Riva can cure others, but can’t seem to heal her own deep scars. Keyne battles to be accepted for who he truly is—the king’s son. And Sinne dreams of seeing the world, of finding adventure.
All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold, their people’s last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky. It brings with it Myrdhin, meddler and magician. And Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear them apart.
Riva, Keyne and Sinne—three siblings entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, who must fight to forge their own paths.
Their story will shape the destiny of Britain.
Read Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Having absolutely loved A Little Hatred and The Trouble with Peace, my expectations for The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie were absolutely sky high. With this gritty and fun book full of civil unrest, backstabbing, butchery, and even a little bit of love, Joe Abercrombie did not disappoint.
Read our review, here.
About the book: Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.
With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies . . . while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance.
The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver’s ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together . . .
Read The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie
Then check out our previous best of lists for:
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December 24, 2021
REVIEW: Crimson Thaw #2
World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw #2 is the second installment of the sequel to Vampire: The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth. Unlike the first ten issues of the comic, it follows vampires and werewolves. Both of comic book series are in White Wolf’s World of Darkness, though, and specifically the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Crimson Thaw is set directly after the events of Winter’s Teeth, though, and not something you want to read on its own.
Cecily Bain is no longer the central character but part of an ensemble that consists of herself, the Anarchs, Calder Wendt, and a group of werewolves that believe the former to be pure evil. Which, given they’re vampires, is not an entirely unreasonable assumption. The previous book ended with the seeming death of Mitch Pendergrass and a declaration of war by the
I particularly liked this comic because it has a kind of black humor element to it that provides a lot of information regarding the Garou (werewolves). The Garou were depicted as hyper-competant and ruthless in the previous book but now we get to find out just how utterly they’ve misread the situation. The story is actually a comedy of errors based around the fact the two races have almost nothing in common or no point of reference.
The vampires are primarily motivated by self-interest and a very materialist existence where only their needs matter. They are spiritually dead and what little religion they do possess is usually based around a corruption of Judeao-Christian mythology with Caine as their Dark Father. Werewolves are very spiritual, suicidally self-sacrificing, and worship the Earth Mother Gaia that they know to be literally true.
I won’t spoil the plot of the book but, essentially, one of the vampires in Saint Minneapolis buys a business for his girlfriend/vessel and puts up some magical protections on it. The business is on Garou land, and they take this as a masterful power move to show their dominance over the region. What is a completely unrelated act by a single vampire becomes part of a vast conspiracy because the idea the vampires aren’t some hostile force always plotting against them doesn’t fit into their worldview.
It’s doubly funny because the vampires, for once, aren’t up to any evil and have no interest in starting a conflict with the Garou. Because vampires don’t become involved in conflicts for evil’s sake. They do it because it benefits them and starting a war for no reason isn’t their style. The Garou believe everything is a conflict between good vs. evil, though, so the vampires don’t need a motive in their view.
The art is very good in these books and manages to be a lot more grounded than typical comic book action scenes. The expressions on everyone and designs are well done, fully bringing out the urban fantasy/horror mixture that characterizes the series. Sadly, the comic feels like its been truncated from a six issue story to a three issue story and that seriously is hurting its pacing.
Read Crimson Thaw #2
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December 23, 2021
REVIEW: The Matrix Resurrections
The Matrix was never a movie that needed a sequel and the Wachowski sisters originally wanted to do a prequel that eventually became The Animatrix “Second Renaissance” shorts. Instead, we got the controversial Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions. I personally loved the movies more for their world-building than their actual content. I was very excited but somewhat iffy about a fourth movie in the franchise since I wasn’t sure where the movie could possibly go.
Hilariously, the first thirty minutes of The Matrix Resurrections is pretty much an extended commentary on how the Matrix trilogy stands alone and doesn’t need a sequel. There’s literally a scene where Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves), now trapped in the mundane life of a video game designer (Jonathan Groff), meets with his business partner who informs him that they’re making a fourth installment with or without him.
Thomas is thus forced into dealing with a much younger crew of people who loved The Matrix (here a popular series of video games) in junior high and proceed to lecture him on what made the series work. They talk about trans allegory, crypto-fascism, bullet-time, and armchair philosophy while Thomas just stares blankly forward. This isn’t so much subtext as clearly text of Lana Wachowski’s feelings on being paid gobs of money to return to a project they feel they’ve done all they can with. It’s hilarious, almost like Galaxy Quest really, but doesn’t bode well for the rest of the movie.
Subtextually, the movie is about retelling and restructuring stories in the same way Scream 2 was about sequels. The Matrix meant a lot of things to a lot of people in RL, and Thomas Anderson finds himself surrounded by the descendants of those he freed who want to pull him out of the Matrix again. Bug (Jessica Henwick) and Morpheus II (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) are actors trying to fill big shoes but give a game performance.
The real stars are Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss, though, and why we’re here in the first place. The lack of Lawrence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving is felt considerably, though. Putting Jade Pinkett Smith in old age makeup also detracted from her own efforts. Priyanka Chopra Jonas made a surprising appearance as Sati (the now-adult little girl program from Revolutions) and while distracting, did a decent job. Note, I keep using somewhat guarded descriptions. No one is terrible but no one is really standing out except for our returning heroes.
Indeed, the biggest problem of the movie is the fact it plays it safe and feels like a tamer watered down version of the Matrix. None of the action scenes feel like they have any real weight to them and none of the characters feel like they are in any real danger. The original The Matrix killed the entirety of the Nebekenezer‘s crew to let you know how serious the bad guys were. Here, the “Bots” are unable to do any damage whatsoever. I was surprised Zion was destroyed (replaced by Io) because the new villains seemed so lacking in menace.
I got some serious Star Wars sequel trilogy vibes from the setting as well, which I wouldn’t put past Lana having done deliberately. The First Order Suits rise to power and overthrows the New Republic Machine-Human Alliance after blowing up Hosnian Prime Zion to restore the old status quo. Perhaps the worst part of it is that Neil Patrick Harris’ Analyst lacks even General Hux’s menace and comes across more like his Barney character griefing noobs in online multiplayer than the master of a vast electric fascist empire.
The movie is not bad, certainly, but the action feels tepid and danger-less while no one has much meat to their performances. It feels less offensive than The Last Jedi but it also doesn’t take the sort of risks that actually elevated that material to have a decent commentary on sequels as well as fan expectation. Really, the weirdest thing I can say for the movie is I was most interested in the mundane lives of Thomas Anderson and “Tiffany.” Why make Neo rich and famous rather than just miserable all the time? Were Tiffany’s kids computer programs or reprogrammed children? Are they children made from her DNA in the real world? Was her husband an Agent? I would have preferred that movie and I love Jessica Henwick.
In conclusion, I am going to give this movie a 6.5 out of 10 or maybe a 7 because it revives a franchise that didn’t need reviving as well as has some decent things to say. I think I might have actually preferred they do it full Galaxy Quest with deranged Matrix fans kidnapping Thomas Anderson for comedy for the first hour. Either that or lean hard into the R-rated action, cursing, anarchist sentiment, and scariness of the machines that made the originals so good. On the other hand, unlike a few other reboots, this is neither a shameless cash crab nor something that completely ruins the franchise. It’s just kind of there and mostly amusing.
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December 22, 2021
REVIEW: Nectar for the God by Patrick Samphire
It took exactly four sentences for me to become so engrossed in Nectar for the God that I was annoyed by any interruptions to my reading. Once again, author Patrick Samphire crafted a book that is impossible to put down.
“With a smile and a nod to the other customers, Etta Mirian left the bakery, crossed Long Step Avenue, and stabbed Peyt Jyston three times in the neck. She then turned the knife on herself and, still smiling all the time, opened her throat from side to side.”
The reader finds Mennik Thorn slightly the worst for wear after the events in Shadow of a Dead God. He’s been avoiding both his mother (who has far more power, and far fewer scruples than is ever good), and her rival Wren, with varying levels of nonsuccess. While Mennik is realizing that he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, a case drops into his lap that is far above his skill level, and much more complicated than it looks. From there, it’s a non-stop adrenaline rush which somehow manages to also have a complex and incredibly clever mystery involved.
In between traipsing through sewers and attracting the attention of something rather terrifying, Mennik’s character also continues to grow. Through his interactions with his mother, his sister, his thieving friend, Benny, and Benny’s murderous daughter, we are given a more complicated picture of who Mennik is and why he acts the way he does. He never seems to end up on top. The most he can hope for is to break even, and that’s an ambitious goal. Mennik is the sort of character who gets kicked around by life, although in many instances he walks right into trouble. This juxtaposition between the desire to survive and a complete lack of caution leads to all kinds of problems. Mennik’s slightly skewed moral compass shifts continues to intrigue and delight, and his inner dialogue is absolutely brilliant. Author Patrick Samphire takes the smallest of details and makes them fascinating with his incredibly descriptive writing.
The world is gritty and messy, teeming with the equivalent of magical gangsters, meddling gods, and–even worse–politicians. It constantly grows, tantalizing the reader with details and mysteries that have yet to be solved. The dreaded info dump is nowhere to be found, with history and mythology being given naturally throughout the book. While Mennik is juggling multiple disasters, I could see they were puzzle pieces waiting to be fit together. Watching the seemingly disparate parts of Nectar for the God meld into a complete whole is a joy, and the final product is an entertaining romp that will draw you in and captivate you.
Read Nectar for the God by Patrick Samphire
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December 21, 2021
REVIEW: The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller
The Bone Orchard follows the story of Charm, mistress of the Emperor and keeper of the local tea house – a cross between inn and brothel. Her free will limited through a mindlock, the Emperor offers her a chance at freedom if she manages to solve a murder and bring the culprit to justice. There’s just one snag in the plan: the murder Charm needs to solve is the Emperor’s own, as he has been poisoned and is dying imminently. In terms of how the story is told, it is probably most reminiscent of a less out-there Gideon the Ninth, in some ways very fragmented and leaving the reader to figure much of the detail out for themselves. There is a sort of necromancy too, which strengthens the similarities (more on that later), and I feel like the very slow dripping of lore and backstory made me make the connection. That being said, liking or disliking the one won’t necessarily mean the same for the other, I think.
What I enjoyed most about The Bone Orchard was it’s magic system. Sitting somewhere between necromancy and Frankenstein-style science, it allows Charm to grow companions in vats, who act almost as extensions of her own personality and staff the tea house. This is pretty unique and I found it quite interesting to read, and see how these characters interacted with each other. I did feel like they didn’t become as plastic as I would have liked – the book definitely puts style over substance in that regard. The Bone Orchard is reminiscent of a puzzle where pieces need to be slotted together, of a game of chess where the figures start out as pawns and take the shape of the more complex figures as the game goes on and they move across the board. But nevertheless, they conform to archetypes more than truly human characters.
Ultimately I did find The Bone Orchard a very satisfying read, even if I’m not sure what to make of it in many ways. It is not the sort of book that is so compelling that you read it in a single setting, more one that you read slowly, savour and brood over. The prose is delectable but, and I’m curious to follow the author’s future career and read more of her writing, even if this particular book won’t make the list of my favourite books. The mystery is one that isn’t easy to guess and does keep the reader on their toes until very late in the story, which is something I really appreciated – and the way the climax and ending played out really did make a huge difference in my final verdict on the book as a whole.
Read The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller
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December 20, 2021
Blade Runner: The importance of not being special
Blade Runner 2049 is a movie I very much enjoyed (you can read my review here) but it’s an interesting film for me because I realized it nicely inverts a lot of what was inherent to the original movie. I disliked The Last Jedi for having what I felt was a message that didn’t fit with the Star Wars universe that is somewhat reflected in this film but worked better in the last one. Specifically, it’s the somewhat family unfriendly aesop that nobody is actually important and it’s the freedom of recognizing this fact which will set you free.
The premise of the movie is K (Ryan Gosling) finds evidence of a Replicant who gave birth to a child, which his superior, Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright), finds to be an existential threat to their society. It also is something that appeals to corporate demagogue Niander Wallace who wants to breed a new race of Replicants, so he sends his favorite “angel” Luv to recover this child. Along the way, K starts to believe he’s the Replicant child and possibly a messianic figure to his race. At the end of the movie, K is killed rescuing Rick Deckard and reuniting him with his daughter who turns out to be a corporate drone with an immune disorder.
I didn’t think much of the plot initially until it occurred to me that not only did the movie subvert the fact the protagonist wasn’t the “Chosen One” but it turned out the actual Chosen One is not special in any way shape or form. Doctor Ana Stelline (Carla Juri) designs memories for the Nexus-9 Replicants but is forced to live in a bubble because of her condition. She’s in no condition to lead any sort of revolution or lead her “people.” In fact, she’s a key point in the machinery that allows them to be produced and enslaved.
Indeed, Doctor Stelline is useless even for the bad guys’ desires for her. Niander Wallace wants to create Replicants who can reproduce on their own and be used to colonize the rest of the galaxy–which can’t be done due to all the sensitive equipment needs. Doctor Stelline, as someone suffering a crippling immune disorder, is not the kind of Master Race superhuman which would allow that dream to come to pass. Replicant children, like real life clones turned out to be, are very likely people who suffer serious birth defects and conditions that need the technology of society to live healthy satisfying lives.
Even Doctor Stelline’s role as a symbol of human-Replicant equality is something that may not be all that threatening. While Lieutenant Joshi says it will “break down the wall”, it’s not like humanity has ever had much difficulty dehumanizing people that they can breed with. Mixed populations have existed throughout history and often get spit on from both sides of their heritage. They may eventually rise high but Replicants are already human in every way that matters. Adding another humanized element to them isn’t going to convince most racists to stop treating them like garbage.
A large part of the movie is removing the romanticism of Replicants as a persecuted minority in some ways too. Yes, they’re slaves produced by the system to live and die at the hands of their corporate masters. It’s a life that absolutely sucks. However, the movie takes the curious stance of noting their position is actually better than quite a few humans. The horror of human oppression against Replicants is awful but it’s not limited to them. The old evils of human on human oppression haven’t gone away in the slightest.
In the year 2049, Replicants have grown in number and rights enough that Nexus-9 are allowed to live on Earth and hold jobs they’re paid for. They can be killed at any time by their masters but they are considered valuable property by all but Niander Wallace (who kills humans with equal ruthlessness as Replicants). This is a sharp contrast to the destitute who are left to die in the streets or chained together in horrific sweatshop conditions. The poor thus hate Replicants even more while the Replicants see nothing in common with the destitute in their struggle for freedom.
One of the most fascinating elements of the movie is the twisted relationship between Niander Wallace and his favorite slave Luv. Wallace calls his creations his children as well as “angels” but treats them as disposable commodities. Luv yearns for his praise and adoration like a daughter but, ultimately, isn’t any more important to him than anyone else. She isn’t more important or irreplaceable than anyone else and dies trying to win the affection of a man who is incapable of giving it.
Niander Wallace has saved the world from starvation, reintroduced Replicants, and colonized six worlds but remains an ultimately impotent figure. His delusions of godhood with millions of Replicant “children” don’t change the fact he’s just a man. He is a man surrounded by slaves but seems to lack even Tyrell’s humanity. He is only able to relate to individuals around him as master and slave, leaving him in a lonely but gilded cage.
Deckard’s reaction to meeting him is first fear and bewilderment but soon a kind of pity as he realizes the man has no knowledge of what it means to be appreciated as a person or do things for others. He is, in simple terms, not special despite having done more than any other human being in history because it’s impossible to be special in this movie’s universe. Rich, powerful, and famous? Yes. However, special implies one is different from the rest of the world and no one really is.
This depressing message is even located in the central “romance” between K and Joi. K adores Joi, his Siri-like A.I. companion, and treats her as a real girlfriend in all respects. He brings her presents, tries to give her freedom, and holds lengthy conversations with her. However, Joi is a product produced to give their owners the experience they desire. Which, in K’s case, is a constant reminder he is special and unique despite this being manifestly untrue.
There’s an interesting lesson that K gives up opportunities to forge relationships with real women like Marienette, Luv, and even Lieutenant Joshi to experience what passes for love with his machine. K tries very hard to get a special relationship from a person who is utterly devoted to him but that may simply be another form of illusion. He only really becomes special when he realizes he’s not and chooses to act as an individual who is just one of many. In this case, it’s the Resistance who all wish they were Chosen Ones but are truly free only when they work as one part in a far greater machine.
I should note Joi a character who adds her own influence on this theme whether you view her as sentient or not. As a facilitator of unearned self-image, she makes her lonely heterosexual men (or homosexual women) owners feel great about themselves no matter what their actual qualities. However, if you view her as a sentient being, she also is someone who willingly sacrifices and gives to the point of self-destruction. It’s perhaps why K loves her as she is someone who represents selflessness in a world completely absent these qualities (even in himself). It might be an illusion that she’s a real person but her example inspired him.
Ironically, it is Deckard who manages to escape the prevalent unhappiness and sorrow around the film by choosing to live as a person who is completely anonymous. He identifies himself as a former cop but he makes no pretense of being anything other than a former cop and a father. Wallace attempts to transform into a Joseph figure for his mythology, claim everything about his life may have been planned, but Deckard rejects this reality. By not trying to be special, he’s the only one other than K who ever escapes the system entirely.
One area which does go against my interpretation of the film, though, is the fact Deckard rejects the Second Rachel on the grounds of her being a poor imitation of his wife. Deckard rejects the clone of her because while individuals may not be of any grand importance to the universe, they are certainly so to him. His memories and experiences with his wife would be sullied by accepting a replacement copy. In that respect, I feel for the Second Rachel because she was judged by an impossible standard and no more guilty of being there to seduce Deckard than the original probably was. So even a movie about how we’re all just cogs in an impossibly large machine refuses to argue against personal importance. Indeed, that is the only kind it seems to acknowledge exists.
Blade Runner was a movie which had the essential core of being about how we can refuse to recognize the humanity of our fellow beings. However, too often, we try to make ourselves more than we are. We make people better than others and try to raise ourselves up by putting others down. Blade Runner 2049 shows the other half of that coin. Whereas the first implored us to recognize humanity in others, the second asks us to not try and think anyone is better than anyone else. We’re all just part of the multitude and that’s special enough.
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December 19, 2021
REVIEW: The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield
Kate Heartfield’s The Embroidered Book is a massive tome – the ARC’s page count comes in around 650 pages – but it feels far less daunting while reading. The story is so captivating and the prose so immersive that I devoured it in a mere day. It follows the story of Antoine – Marie Antoinette – and her sister Charlotte – Maria Carolina of Naples – from childhood through to Marie Antoinette’s premature death at the hands of the French revolutionaries and Madame Guillotine. But this isn’t a mere historical novel – it heavily spins a fantasy element into this story, through a magic book that came into the hands of Antoine and Charlotte as children.
However, while this is the story of two queens, it is not a story about royalty. It is a story about two women, about sisterhood, about finding your own power within the constraints of society, about carving out a space for yourself. Setting The Embroidered Book within this royal family, within these powerful courts in a time where Europe – and many other places, for that matter – were in upheaval, mainly does one thing: it gives Kate Heartfield a bigger and more fun playground to play on. A similar story, a similar magic system might have worked just as well if based around two sisters born to paupers – but the impact that their actions and their experiments with the magic spells have on the world around them would have been less grand in scale. Still, ultimately, this is a character-driven story about the women Antoine and Charlotte more than it is about the Queens Marie Antoinette and Maria Carolina.
There is always something exciting going on and tension is kept high throughout. Despite the book’s length, it never felt like it dragged on or would have needed cutting down, which to me feels like a huge achievement (pun absolutely intended). And this despite The Embroidered Book being far more character-driven than plot-heavy. This really goes to show how stellar the writing that went into the story is. It is poetic without feeling overly descriptive and it is full of historical detail without overloading the reader with trivia. One of my favourite details was that I got to learn about eighteenth century orthodontristy, which was not something I knew existed in the period.
Readers who are wondering why we’re reviewing this on Grimdark Magazine, rest assured that The Embroidered Book is full of delightfully morally grey characters, twisty backstabbing and betrayals. Also, spoiler, the main character dies at the end. And that is pretty grimdark in my book. So really something for both you and your slightly less dead-on-the-inside fantasy loving friends.
Read The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield
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December 18, 2021
Cyberpunk 2077: One Year Later
This article is being written on December 10th, 2021 and exactly one year after the release of Cyberpunk 2077. For those of you who read the original Grimdark Magazine review, you’ll know we viewed the game as hopelessly bugged and unworthy of buying at this time. This was especially true with a last generation console as the game was hit and miss for being unplayable versus something that could run just fine.
Since that time, CD_Projekt Red has released multiple game patches and spent the majority of 2021 patching it in order to get it playable. Indeed, the Playstation Store took the game off the market for a time until it was operating within acceptable limits. The company’s share value took a 40% hit, it was sued by investors, and it was the subject of investigations due to the amount of false advertising done about its capacity.
So what is it like now? That is an interesting question and one that will require a bit of time to answer. I should note that I upgraded to a PS4 Pro during this time and it isn’t on a base console. Is the game now bug free? No, not even close. During my replay of the game, I would frequently have minor bugs spread throughout the game. Dialogue subtitles would get stuck on screen, animations would flicker, and characters would pop into existence in very obvious ways. Immersion was affected by this significantly.
On the other hand, I have to state a few of the gamebreaking bugs that existed before have been patched, like quests I couldn’t complete as well as the frequent crashing I had in certain parts of the story. Night City is a far emptier place than it was in 2020 and the hardware is no longer straining under the power of the game to function. The lists of bug fixes have also been in the thousands and it seems very likely this is closer to what a properly functional Cyberpunk 2077 was meant to be. It’s just buggy to a “normal” level now versus a ridiculous degree.
This is a shame because Cyberpunk 2077 is still a game and setting that I am very positively disposed to. Cyberpunk 2020 and its sequel, Cyberpunk Red, are two of my favorite tabletop RPGs of all time. I absolutely love its retrofuture vision of the 1980s and story of capitalism gone horribly wrong with a corporate run city-state as well as the hellish badlands that surrounds it. Night City is a little Blade Runner, a lot of Hardwired, and a good amount of Mad Max thrown in for good measure.
Night City is full of fascinating characters like Panam, Judy, River, Kerry Eurodyne, Johnny Silverhand, and the Arasakas. Unfortunately, even this isn’t as deep as it should be. The story feels like it is a mile long and a foot deep. Artificial tension is generated by V’s struggle to heal himself from a faulty cybernetic chip that’s killing him but we never see enough consequences from previous actions in the story to really explore what this means. The most interesting part of the game is the early Watson section where you are just a carefree mercenary with your friend, Jackie, trying to make it big in Night City.
Unfortunately, a lot of the plotlines are underdeveloped and do not feel like they reach their natural conclusion. This includes the main story. The main story is about V trying to find a cure for their condition and the endings are unsatisfying narratively, even the happier ones.
However, the side quests also feel like they needed more work. The Voodoo Boys and Netwatch show up for a major story arc but then disappear from the game. Trauma Team and Max-TAC both have big introductiuons but never really get any follow-up. Plots like the investigation of the cyberpsycho phenomenon and NightCorp’s brainwashing of politicians just sort of stop rather than reaching conclusions.
There’s not much to do in Night City either. Much of the game is based around fighting random gangs in the streets with the occassional reward from the police. Given V, themselves, is a criminal and most of their friends are criminals–it feels like a very strange dissonance to have him acting like the Punisher on behalf of the NCPD. It doesn’t help the police system isn’t very well done either as the cops will show up to try to murder you but can’t be bribed and won’t chase you.
It’s weird to have Skyrim have a better, more intricate police system. This game could have benefited from a lot more minigames like karoake, poker, darts, pool, or gambling. There’s a boxing and street racing plotline but it’s fairly minor compared to the endless number of gang fights. The combat itself is fine with the hacking system being nerfed for better game balance.
In conclusion, Cyberpunk 2077 has gone from being a broken unplayable mess to an undercooked playable mess. As a huge fan of the cyberpunk genre, the game has definitely benefited from a year of bug fixes but I feel like the result is still not great. It’s an above average game with a fantastic premise.
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December 17, 2021
SFF books We Are Excited About for 2022
With the nightmare of 2020 and 2021 starting to recede into our rear view vision mirror, SFF in 2022 is looking very exciting and folks, it is time to start adding to those already huge TBR piles. To help make those bookshelves start straining (after all, if the shelves aren’t bendin’, you’re just pretendin’) the GdM team got together and discussed some of the most exciting books they can’t wait to read for 2022.
Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya DeanePicked by Fabienne Schwizer[image error] Blurb: Drawing on ancient texts and modern archeology to reveal the trans woman’s story hidden underneath the well-known myths of The Iliad, Maya Deane’s Wrath Goddess Sing weaves a compelling, pitilessly beautiful vision of Achilles’ vanished world, perfect for fans of Song of Achilles and the Inheritance trilogy.
The gods wanted blood. She fought for love.
Achilles has fled her home and her vicious Myrmidon clan to live as a woman with the kallai, the transgender priestesses of Great Mother Aphrodite. When Odysseus comes to recruit the “prince” Achilles for a war against the Hittites, she prepares to die rather than fight as a man. However, her divine mother, Athena, intervenes, transforming her body into the woman’s body she always longed for, and promises her everything: glory, power, fame, victory in war, and, most importantly, a child born of her own body. Reunited with her beloved cousin, Patroklos, and his brilliant wife, the sorceress Meryapi, Achilles sets out to war with a vengeance.
But the gods—a dysfunctional family of abusive immortals that have glutted on human sacrifices for centuries—have woven ancient schemes more blood-soaked and nightmarish than Achilles can imagine. At the center of it all is the cruel, immortal Helen, who sees Achilles as a worthy enemy after millennia of ennui and emptiness. In love with her newfound nemesis, Helen sets out to destroy everything and everyone Achilles cherishes, seeking a battle to the death.
An innovative spin on a familiar tale, this is the Trojan War unlike anything ever told, and an Achilles whose vulnerability is revealed by the people she chooses to fight…and chooses to trust.
Read Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane
Blurb:
This epic fantasy tells the tales of clashing Guilds, magic-fueled machines, intrigue and revolution—and the one family that stands between an empire’s salvation or destruction.
The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, and their responsibility is to keep the gears of the empire turning. It’s exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation.
Conall, the eldest son, is sent to the distant frontier to earn his stripes in the military. It is here that he faces a threat he could have never seen coming: the first rumblings of revolution.
Tyreta’s sorcerous connection to the magical resource of pyrstone that fuels the empire’s machines makes her a perfect heir–in theory. While Tyreta hopes that she might shirk her responsibilities during her journey one of Torwyn’s most important pyrestone mines, she instead finds the dark horrors of industry that the empire would prefer to keep hidden.
The youngest, Fulren, is a talented artificer, and finds himself acting as consort to a foreign emissary. Soon after, he is framed for a crime he never committed. A crime that could start a war.
As each of the Hawkspurs grapple with the many threats that face the nation within and without, they must finally prove themselves worthy–or their empire will fall apart.
Read Engines of Empire by R.S. FordYou can check out our review, here, and an excerpt, here.
Blurb: The Locked Tomb series—Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and Alecto the Ninth—is an epic science fantasy that blends necromantic theory and thrilling swordplay with a wicked, sacrilegious sense of humor; a modern mix of Dune, Riddick, and Gormenghast.
Read Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
[image error] Blurb: ‘Praise be to Our Lady of Eternal Sorrows, and blessed be the Ascended Martyr.’ Those were the words on lips of the faithful: Blessed be the Ascended Martyr, and woe betide you if you thought otherwise. The word Unbeliever had become a death sentence on the streets in those days.
Gangster, soldier, priest. Governor, knight, and above all, Queen’s Man.
Once, Tomas Piety looked after his men, body and soul, as best he could. Then those who ran his country decided his dark talents would better serve in the corridors of power.
Crushed by the power of the Queen’s Men and with the Skanian menace rising once more on the streets of Ellinburg, Tomas Piety is forced to turn to old friends, old debts and untrustworthy alliances.
Meanwhile in the capital city of Dannsburg, Dieter Vogel is beginning to wonder if the horror he has unleashed in the Martyr’s Disciples might be getting out of control.
With revolution brewing and tragedy and terrorism running rife in the cities, Piety and Vogel must each weigh the cost of a crown.
Read Priest Of Crowns by Peter McLean
[image error] Blurb: From New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of The Expanse , comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all.
“An atmospheric and fascinating tapestry, woven with skill and patience.” –Joe Abercrombie, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Hatred
Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories unfold.
This is Alys’s.
When her brother is murdered, a petty thief from the slums of Longhill sets out to discover who killed him and why. But the more she discovers about him, the more she learns about herself, and the truths she finds are more dangerous than knives.
Swept up in an intrigue as deep as the roots of Kithamar, where the secrets of the lowest born can sometimes topple thrones, the story Alys chooses will have the power to change everything.
Read Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
Blurb: Set 14 years after Bloody Rose. Blurb to come.
Check out our reviews for Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose.
Read books 1 and 2 while waiting for Outlaw Empire by Nicholas Eames
Blurb:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black makes her stunning adult debut with Book of Night, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies in the vein of Ninth House and The Night Circus
In Charlie Hall’s world, shadows can be altered, for entertainment and cosmetic preferences—but also to increase power and influence. You can alter someone’s feelings—and memories—but manipulating shadows has a cost, with the potential to take hours or days from your life. Your shadow holds all the parts of you that you want to keep hidden—a second self, standing just to your left, walking behind you into lit rooms. And sometimes, it has a life of its own.
Charlie is a low-level con artist, working as a bartender while trying to distance herself from the powerful and dangerous underground world of shadow trading. She gets by doing odd jobs for her patrons and the naive new money in her town at the edge of the Berkshires. But when a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie’s present life is thrown into chaos, and her future seems at best, unclear—and at worst, non-existent. Determined to survive, Charlie throws herself into a maelstrom of secrets and murder, setting her against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, shadow thieves, and her own sister—all desperate to control the magic of the shadows.
With sharp angles and prose, and a sinister bent, Holly Black is a master of shadow and story stitching. Remember while you read, light isn’t playing tricks in Book of Night, the people are.
Read Book of Night by Holly Black
Blurb:
Scott Drakeford’s epic fantasy debut, Rise of the Mages combines gripping, personal vengeance with compelling characters for an action packed first book in a trilogy.
Emrael Ire wants nothing more than to test to be a weapons master. His final exam will be a bloody insurrection, staged by corrupt nobles and priests, that enslaves his brother.
With the aid of his War Master tutor, herself an undercover mage, Emrael discovers his own latent and powerful talents.
To rescue his brother, Emrael must embrace not only his abilities as a warrior but also his place as last of the ancient Mage Kings—for the Fallen God has returned.
And he is hungry.
Read Rise of the Mages by Scott Drakeford
Blurb: Blurb to come. Book #2 in the Bloodlands series, and a follow up to Seraphina’s Lament which our reviewer said, “… an apocalyptic dark fantasy that uses elementalist magic, a fantasy version of Stalin’s oppression of the Ukraine, and a zombie apocalypse to tell a diverse LGBT+ friendly story.”
Read an Elegy for Hope by Sarah Chorn
Blurb: A wild land. A lethal fanatic. A violent revolt.
Northumbria, AD 794.
Those who rule the seas, rule the land. None know the truth of this more than the Vikings. To compete with the sea-faring, violent raiders, the king of Northumbria orders the construction of his own longships under the command of oath-sworn Norseman, Runolf.
When the Northern sea wolves attack for the second year, the king sends cleric turned warrior, Hunlaf, on a mission across the Whale Road to persuade the king of Rogaland into an alliance. But Runolf and Hunlaf have other plans; old scores to settle, kin to seek out, and a heretical tome to find in the wild lands of the Norse.
Their voyage takes them into the centre of a violent uprising. A slave has broken free of his captors, and, with religious fervour, he is leading his fanatical followers on a rampage – burning all in his path.
Hunlaf must brave the Norse wilderness, and overcome deadly foes to stop this madman. To fail would see too many die…
Read A Night of Flames by Matthew Harffy
Blurb:
Following Nophek Gloss comes the second book in this highly imaginative new space opera trilogy by debut author Essa Hansen – an action-packed adventure perfect for fans of Star Wars, Children of Time and A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.
Caiden has been on the run for ten years with his unique starship in order to keep his adversary, Threi, imprisoned. But when an old friend he’d once thought dead reappears, he is lured into a game of cat and mouse with the one person whose powers rival Threi’s: Threi’s sister Abriss.
Now with both siblings on the hunt for Caiden and his ship, Caiden must rescue his long-lost friend from their clutches and uncover the source of both his ship’s power and his own origins in order to stop Abriss’s plan to collapse the multiverse.
Read Azura Ghost by Essa Hansen
Blurb: Altered Carbon and The Wind-Up Girl meet Apocalypse Now in this fast-paced, intelligent, action-driven cyberpunk, probing questions of memory, identity and the power of narratives.
Lin ‘The Silent One’ Vu is a gangster and sometime private investigator living in Chinese-occupied Hanoi, in the steaming, paranoid alleyways of the 36 Streets. Born in Vietnam, raised in Australia, everywhere she is an outsider.
Through grit and courage Lin has carved a place for herself in the Vietnamese underworld where Hanoi’s crime boss, Bao Nguyen, is training her to fight and lead. Bao drives her hard; on the streets there are no second chances. Meanwhile the people of Hanoi are succumbing to Fat Victory – a dangerously addictive immersive simulation of the US-Vietnam war.
When an Englishman comes to Hanoi on the trail of his friend’s murderer, Lin’s life is turned upside down. She is drawn into the grand conspiracies of the neon gods – of regimes and mega-corporations – as they unleash dangerous new technologies.
Lin must confront the immutable moral calculus of unjust wars. She must choose: family, country, or gang. Blood, truth, or redemption. No choice is easy on the 36 Streets.
Read 36 Streets by T.R. Napper
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December 16, 2021
REVIEW: Cyberpunk City: The Machine Killer by D.L. Young
Cyberpunk City: The Machine Killer by D.L. Young is an indie cyberpunk adventure novel taking place in the City. The City is a megapolis arcology that is built on the remains of New York and is a combination of every cyberpunk dystopia ever made. It has a little Blade Runner, a little Neuromancer, and a little Snow Crash for good measure. It’s part of an episodic series about a hacker named Blackburn Maddox and his adventures in virtual space. Maddox is a datajack, a hacker, and just wants to make a buck but events keep conspiring to keep him neck deep in conspiracies.
Maddox begins his adventure, ironically, retired from datajacking. Having secured himself a cushy job as a cyber-security expert, he is mostly content with his steady paycheck even if his bosses are a bunch of psychopaths. Unfortunately, his newfound security comes with a price as he discovers the only reason you hire a criminal is you want to do a crime in the future. Blackmailed into doing a “information retrieval”, he is given a heist crew and told to come back with the information or lose everything.
I really liked this classic cyberpunk set up as the heist is only the beginning of Maddox’s adventure. He becomes acquainted with a beautiful cyborg bodyguard named Beatrice, a scummy black marketeer named Lorenzo, and a wannabe datajack teenager named Tommy. They are an odd group for a theft but manage to work it out. Unfortunately, as anyone familiar with cyberpunk should know, getting the goods is the easy part. What follows is a fascinating story of double crosses, conspiracies, AI, and manipulation that culminates in an epic showdown.
I like the protagonists in Maddox and Beatrice. Both of them are a little nicer than your typical cyberpunk antiheroes with Maddox wanting to go legit and Beatrice being less corporate samurai than dedicated professional. Ironically, it’s Tommy AKA The Kid who is the absolute worst of the group and it’s hilarious how little he cares about collateral damage or shooting his way out. I was also fascinated by the concept of Marionettes–i.e. people who entrust the entirety of their lives to be run by AI in lieu of making their own decisions.
The book is a bit on the short side at 260 pages but not exceptionally so. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and while it has a happier ending than most cyberpunk books, its bittersweet enough that I felt it worked well. I also appreciated that it didn’t go over-the-top with its technology so you understood the rules of what was or was not possible within the setting. The action was decently written too with Maddox not being an action hero but Beatrice able to handle most of what came after them.
I got this book on Kindle Unlimited but it’s worth the cost at 3.99 too.
Read Cyberpunk City: The Machine Killer by D.L. Young
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