Adrian Collins's Blog, page 15

REVIEW: Dance of Shadows by Gourav Mohanty

Epic fantasy fans, rejoice! Gourav Mohanty marches back to the world of Aryavrat in Dance of Shadows, the second book in his impressive debut series, The Raag of Rta. If you haven’t read Sons of Darkness yet, I highly recommend it. The series is uniquely based on the Mahabharata, an Indian Vedic epic poem, and this book pulls even more from the deep, deep well of Indian history. It builds on the first book’s strengths, shores up weaknesses, and stretches into new territory, too. 

Instead of a sequel, Dance of Shadows is a parallel story to Sons of Darkness, taking place in the months between the bloody massacre at Princess Draupadi’s Swayamyar and Krishna’s defeat at the battle of Mathura. I was skeptical, but now I see its necessity. The world, plot, and characters were stretched thin at the end of the first book. This book put more meat on their bones, and introduced characters and background information integral to setting up the final conflict. Now there’s even more momentum going into the series finale, and I ended up enjoying this book even more than the first. 

I love the vivid, nuanced voices in this series. From the jump, I hear them like they’re sitting across from me, sharing a drink, or pressing a knife to my throat. Mati, Karna, and Nala return (luckily my favorites from book one), and the new cast of characters are again strongly characterized: Dantavakra, the rakish younger brother of Shishupel; Marzana, a cunning priestess; and Vahura, a booksmart princess sleuthing out forbidden knowledge to save her sister (and the realm). 

The characters are mostly on the move, which kept a refreshing pace, and between the plots in the Rakshasan Tree City, Magadh, Marzana’s temple, and Nala’s bloody journey with Parshuram, Dance of Shadows illuminated some big questions: what’s the deal with the Unni Ethral death priests? Why did Kalyavan and Bhagadatt betray the emperor to attack Krishna? Who really is the Son of Darkness? By the end, my investment in the first book was totally worth it, with plenty answered and more to chew on. 

The first half of Dance of Shadows is more densely plotted than Sons of Darkness—lore drops, desperate choices, and plot twists galore. There were a few narrative deserts in the first book while the different factions plotted, talked, and plotted. This book is more of a jungle, exploring the lush, dangerous world behind all the spider webs spun in the first book. There’s less politics and more worldbuilding, action, and smaller, intimate storylines while characters machete their way through impossible choices. The stakes are still high, and I lost sleep on many “one more chapter” nights. 

The back half of the book has several extended plot sequences. Mohanty sometimes departed from his bread-and-butter political web spinning and dipped his toe into horror, heist and adventure writing. I overall enjoyed the rollicking mix of genres. A new author, testing his range, and relishing the joy of exploration is a big thumbs-up from me, although they weren’t the strongest sections and spread the character development a bit thin. They may fall flat for other readers, but I was here for it. 

A theme in Dance of Shadows is characters being blackmailed, backed into corners, and forced into impossible decisions. Do they follow their heart? Or sacrifice others to protect themselves? The most compelling tensions, heartbreaks and explosive scenes came when characters chose one or the other, often in surprising–or gruesome–moments of character development. I especially enjoyed Marzana’s story. She’s brilliant, streetsmart, conflicted, and the language in her chapters was often achingly moving. Her and Karna’s perilous romance added a lovely, treacherous flavor. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a romance isn’t believable, and I bought into theirs right away. 

One disappointment is a compliment mixed with a critique. The characters are distinct, complicated and entertaining. Mohanty creates exciting foundations for potential character arcs, with textured expositions for the new characters, and then… what’s the literary equivalent of feeling like you’re about to sneeze? They’re all really good characters, but I kept feeling they were just verging on great. Karna’s new Incredible Hulk-esque dual nature, Nala and Masha’s burgeoning romance, and Dantavakra’s maturation were a few arcs that got lost in the plot and were missed opportunities to me. 

Dance of Shadows isn’t drowning in blood, but it is violent–when it is, you better not be squeamish. Mohanty’s talent for visceral, gut-wrenching imagery (which I wish he used more consistently for immersive descriptions of setting) made my face contort into new, exciting expressions of horrified awe. However, for my storytelling tastes, the jarring Mortal Kombat-style fatalities, one which was truly, truly gruesome, obliterated the emotional resonance that makes character deaths powerful plot devices for me. In this book, horror trumped heartbreak. Regardless, these scenes will make even our grimmest grimdark readers grimace. 

I’m most curious about the female character arcs going forward. By the end of Dance of Shadows, the remaining female characters are primarily motivated by revenge. On one hand, I worry this will reduce their characters to one-dimensional arrows flying towards the hearts of their enemies. On the other hand, the story could complicate the notion of revenge and the characters’ relationship to their vengeance. For example, Nala has a fascinating tension. She must unlock her chakras to unleash their power to take revenge, but in order to unlock them she needs to find acceptance and release her anger—what then will happen to her motivation for revenge? Hopefully the third book capitalizes on these nuanced story opportunities. 

Overall, Dance of Shadows was another win for me. Not a masterpiece, but a solid entry into the annals of epic fantasy, and I suspect this young author may write some masterpieces down the line. But Gourav… please give me more chakra magic in the third book. I’m begging you. Go crazy. I’ve been so patient. 

Shoutout to Micaela Alcaino for the cover art! 

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REVIEW: Parasitic Omens by Jessica A. McMinn

Okay, I don’t know what I was expecting from a gaslamp fantasy horror novella pitched as Supernatural meets The Witcher meets Bloodborne, but Jessica A. McMinn truly surprised me in all the best ways with Parasitic Omens. It’s unapologetically dark, gruesome and gory, and it packs a way bigger punch than its deceptively short page count might suggest. Talk about a brutal emotional rollercoaster!

Through the eyes of jaded investigator Lawrence Reed, we are drawn into the gritty world of Dallalmar, where fae, vampires, werewolves, warlocks and witches lurk around every dark corner. He thought he had seen it all on his job, but when his latest assignment into the creepy Taschenwilde woods leads him to the corpse of a mutilated girl which is inhabited by a monstrous creature, his entire worldview starts to shatter. Law will stop at nothing to unravel the mystery of the girl’s death, but the more hidden truths he uncovers, the more the lines between monster and man start to blur, and soon he might wish he had stayed blissfully ignorant and in the dark after all.

Now, the opening of Parasitic Omens reminded me heavily of Krystle Matar’s Legacy of the Brightwash (which just so happens to be one of my all-time favourite books), so safe to say that we were off to a strong start. McMinn honestly does a masterful job of setting the scene, and the eerie atmosphere combined with the irresistible air of mystery and intrigue had me locked in from page one.

Although Lawrence didn’t immediately pop off the page for me as a protagonist here, I honestly loved going on this increasingly wild and horrifying investigation with him. The way that McMinn built up the tension and looming sense of dread as Law discovered new and ever more disturbing clues had me glued to the page, and all the shocking twists, turns and revelations were absolutely diabolical in the best way possible.

I mean, I knew from reading McMinn’s works in the Gardens of War and Wastelands series that she is not afraid to go dark, but Parasitic Omens really goes to the next level. Be it the gruesome body horror, the terrifying creatures, or the sheer depravity of humanity; this story just pulls zero punches, and I was so here for it. Themes of religious zealotry, cultism, child abuse, and the ironic injustice of the justice system are all explored with unflinching honesty, which is exactly what makes this novella hit so hard.

Moreover, I loved how McMinn made this vast and darkly alluring world come to life despite the limited scope of the novella with its intimate setting of Coppertown (including the legendary Dripping Bucket Inn), and I think it is nothing short of masterful how much rich world building was packed into so few pages. Especially the rich creature lore and the strong presence of the divine were morbidly fascinating to me, and the enticingly ominous ending has me more than eager to return to this world for more in the upcoming full novels in the Gods of Dallalmar series. Also, I desperately need more of my enigmatic girl Cait, so there’s that.

Parasitic Omens is one of those stories that just creeps under your skin and leaves you wanting more in the best way possible. If you like your fantasy with a good dose of paranormal and horror vibes mixed in, then I can’t recommend this little gem highly enough. It might be a short read, but it will absolutely leave its mark on you, whether you like it or not.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Parasitic Omens is scheduled for release on May 27th, 2025. 

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REVIEW: Rose/House by Arkady Martine

Rose/House was originally published in 2023, and the recent Tordotcom reprint brings new cover art to this novella by Arkady Martine, author of the award-winning Teixcalaan duology. Rose/House is a dystopian-tinged, sci-fi mystery that ushers you through the story of an unexpected corpse within Rose House; itself an AI-infused building designed by man who, upon his death, had himself compressed into a diamond and displayed at the heart of the house.

The story revolves around a small cast of characters in a future where, seemingly, anything that could be AI, is. In Martine’s world, this means animate intelligence and they can be found everywhere: houses can be AI, police precincts, cities, and utilities systems can all be AI. However, not all AI is created equally and Rose House was designed by infamous architect Basit Deniau who created the most sophisticated animate intelligences imbued into the very structure of his houses. Rose House is the pinnacle of his success and only one person is allowed access to it, once a year, for a total of seven days – Dr. Selene Gisil.

Gisil is Deniau’s reluctant guardian and archivist who may enter Rose House and study the wealth of information left behind after his death – and subsequent diamondification. She’s not best pleased with the situation and when the local police call her, she’s quietly hoping it’s to notify her that the house has burnt down. No such luck. Instead there’s an extra dead body turned up inside and no one can get in to investigate.

Upon returning to China Lake (where Rose House is situated), Gisil meets detectives Maritza Smith and Oliver Torres, who escort her up to Rose House to assist with the investigation. Maritza took the creepy death notification call from Rose House and is determined to get inside and solve the case. Life as a detective hasn’t turned out the way she hoped and the first whiff of intrigue has her hooked.

Once Gisil and Maritza enter Rose House, the creep-factor ratchets up a notch or two. Rose/House is almost hallucinatory in its telling, feeling as labyrinthine as the eponymous house itself. There are twists and turns that don’t necessarily seem to lead anywhere, just like the interior of the animate house, and as Maritza tries to unravel the mystery of the additional dead man, she starts to feel as if she’s being infected by the bizarre AI house.

Rose/House is a snapshot into a bleak future where people are carjacked for their water rations while crazy rich people build mind bending intelligent houses in the desert. Each character’s POV sections read and feel different; Rose House is cold and off-putting, like the uncanny valley effect in prose; while Maritza is determined, Torres is much warmer but content to pass Rose House off up the chain.

Overall, the novella has the feel of literary fiction woven through it and, while I appreciate the clever way Martine has layered this tale together, it isn’t entirely my thing. It is excellently written, for sure, and there’s plenty of darkness within for you to extrapolate beyond the obvious moral flexibility of Rose House. If you fancy a futuristic take on a haunted house that could be depressingly prescient, Rose/House is waiting for you.

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REVIEW: Conan the Barbarian #19

Two years have passed since Conan’s ill-fated heist with the unreliable thief Tarnasha. He and his pirate queen Bêlit terrorized the high seas, but their journey together has come to an end. Bêlit and her crew is dead (a story originally related in the 1934 Weird Tales story “Queen of the Black Coast”), the beached vessel The Tigress serving as their funeral pyre. Conan finds himself alone in the hostile jungles of the Black Kingdoms. He is left little time to grieve, however, as danger lurks behind every primeval tree. Hornets nearly chase him into the waiting maw of a crocodile, and the human life he encounters is nearly as unfriendly. Suspicious villagers rebuff his attempt to barter for water and directions, flatly stating that he brings danger and is tainted by death. Forced back into the jungle, Conan is stalked by a supernatural presence, its hostility apparent but its motive unknown.

Entitled “Hunted,” this issue is listed as the third part of the Twisting Loyalties story arc that began with Conan the Barbarian #17. Interviews with series writer Jim Zub had given the impression that the previous two issues with artist Danica Brine would comprise a two-part storyline, with this issue and next making a second two-parter with Doug Braithwaite handling art, but the Part III suggest more of a connection than is apparent just yet. Conan’s present jungle survival saga is separated by a significant amount of both time and distance from the events of issue #18, but more than enough unresolved plot threads remain to complicate his current situation.

While I haven’t always been the biggest booster of Doug Braithwaite’s artwork—I find his female characters insufficiently alluring compared to Zub’s breathless prose descriptions, and his depictions of young Conan look prematurely aged—this issue finds Braithwaite firmly in his element. Bereaved and beset, his barbarian looks appropriately haggard. The relentless animal attack scenes also play to Braithwaite’s strengths. And while background art is often overlooked, the dense jungles of the Black Kingdoms looks fantastic here. Diego Rodriguez also deserves special mention for the fine color work. Not only is he working with a vivid, vibrant palette, but his colors effectively communicate the temperature of every scene, from steamy heat to midnight chill.

While I won’t reveal his identity, this issue reintroduces a supporting character created by Roy Thomas in a 1978 issue of the original Marvel Comics Conan the Barbarian. While my memories of this character were foggy, in his essay Jeffrey Shanks helpfully gives readers a detailed profile. Throughout his run on Titan Comics’ Conan the Barbarian, Zub has both proven himself loyal to Conan creator Robert E. Howard’s legacy while simultaneously demonstrating an eagerness to draw inspiration from post-Howard adaptations. Sometimes these references appear as visual Easter Eggs (like the Atlantean Sword first introduced in the 1982 John Milius film), other times in a more involved fashion. Here we have a non-Howard character that originated in a comic book, but he’s being used in a novel way: where originally he journeyed alongside Conan and Bêlit, here his first encounter with the barbarian is after Bêlit’s death. This sort of remixing is commonplace in superhero comics, but it’s fun to see Zub embrace the entirety of the Conan mythos.

The end of the issue suggests that plot threads introduced in previous issues will become more prominent in Conan the Barbarian #20, but issue #19 is a sleek survival tale that features some of Doug Braithwaite’s best artwork on the title to date.

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INTERVIEW: Joe Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie is a celebrated British fantasy author known for his sharp wit and darkly humorous storytelling. He’s particularly skilled at bringing morally ambiguous characters to life—characters filled with cynicism, depth, and a touch of humor that makes them unforgettable. Often called one of the pioneers of grimdark fantasy, Abercrombie has captivated readers worldwide with his acclaimed First Law trilogy, which includes The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and The Last Argument of Kings, as well as compelling standalone novels like Best Served Cold and Red Country. With his work translated into many languages, Joe has undeniably made his mark as an influential voice in modern fantasy. It’s a genuine pleasure to chat with him today about his writing, storytelling, and his latest novel, The Devils.

[GdM] Your characters often navigate the fine line between hero and villain. Do you see them as reflections of reality, where no one is purely good or evil? Or do you just enjoy making your readers question their moral compass?

[JA] I guess a lot of the fantasy I read as a kid was very much in the shadow of Tolkien, and in Lord of the Rings there is an objective right and wrong. You either give in to Sauron or you fight him, and the text leaves no doubt which is good and which evil. Not that I ever lost interest in Gandalf and Aragorn but as the years went on I started to find Saruman and Boromir more interesting. People who fall from grace, or rise to it. Characters in flux, in turmoil, weighing greater good against personal good, with mixed motives, with uncertain outcomes. People who surprise the reader. In our world, everyone thinks they’re in the right. Battles aren’t of good against evil, but one man’s good against another’s.

[GdM] Your writing has been called cynical, but there always seems to be a single ray of reluctant hope shining on the ugly and dark. Do you think of yourself as a cynic at heart, or is that just a symptom of writing about war, politics, and human nature?

[JA] I don’t know that I’m a massive cynic at heart but certainly I’ve always been interested in the contrast between the kind of warfare, politics and human nature which we often witness in real life, and the heroic version on display in a lot of epic fantasy. I think a black and white view of the world is great for entertainment but it can be dangerous in reality. A little cynicism to sit alongside it is a healthy thing.

[GdM] Violence in your books is visceral, unromantic, and often has lasting consequences. What draws you to portraying it in such an unflinching way?

[JA] For me good writing is about putting the reader in the scene, experiencing it along with the characters. I think actual violence is visceral, unromantic, and has lasting consequences, for the victims and perpetrators both. Violent men, after all, are rarely the nicest people to know. As a reader the last thing I want is to feel entirely safe—that I know already who’ll come out on top and how.

[GdM] Have you ever written a scene that was so dark or brutal that you had to step away and take a break, leaving you unnerved that you came up with? Or do you relish putting your characters (and readers) through the wringer?

[JA] Scenes that come as a shock to a reader, that they might spend ten minutes with, the writer spends a lot of time thinking about. You plan it, you draft it over the course of days, you come back to it and rewrite it, reshape it, edit it, over and over, in an effort to create exactly the effect you want and make the maximum impact. I think the aim of a book is to get a strong response out of the reader, and the characters are really tools with which to do that. So there’s not much point pulling your punches.

[GdM] Can you tell us about your upcoming book, The Devils?

[JA] It’s one of those books about a group of monsters, including an oversexed werewolf, an overconfident magician, a geriatric vampire, an invisible elf, and a knight cursed with immortality, led by a monk who never even wanted to be a monk on a fool’s errand to install a thief on the throne of Troy on behalf of the Pope who’s a ten year old girl.

[GdM] After spending years in The First Law universe, what challenges and freedoms did you encounter while crafting a new world in The Devils?

[JA] It’s great to have all that well-established background, old characters and events to draw on writing a First Law book, but it’s also a lot of load to carry, a lot of things to get right, a lot of text to check. And a lot of expectation from readers who want a continuation of this plotline or that, a payoff of one kind or another. There’s definitely freedom in starting something entirely new, especially something that’s meant to be episodic and not especially coherent. I hardly dare say the word fun, but that was what I was after.

[GdM] You mentioned calling the world of The Devils an “alternate history is being too dignified about it.” It is the “stupid version of our world.” How fun was that to write? Did you seek out specific historical events to subvert, or was it throw whatever ideas came to you and see what stuck to the proverbial wall?

Author Joe Abercrombie

[JA] New books are always fun for a while—the glory of new possibilities, the experimenting with new characters, but I find about a quarter of the way through they start to become work again. Then it’s the long grind through a draft, often while cursing god and wishing for ragnarok and pronouncing your career over to anyone who’ll listen, and it’s only towards the end that you start to get the enjoyment back. Then the editing and revising, seeing it all come together is where the fun is. I’ve always been a more character than world-focused writer, and the idea with the Devils was really to make the world as vague and ill considered as possible. This is the opposite of punctilious world-building with lists of dates and carefully drawn maps. I want the world to feel like a vague fever dream against which the characters and events explode with double the impact…

[GdM] You’ve mentioned a conscious effort to include more female perspectives in your work. How did this intention manifest in The Devils, and how does it impact the story?

[JA] The First Law trilogy was very male focused, for sure. I’m proud of the female characters in it but there aren’t many of ’em. There’s nothing wrong with writing about men, and as a man it’s the automatic option, but in general I don’t see much downside to more variety in the cast—different attitudes, different struggles, different types of relationships. It just helps a world feel more vivid, and lived-in, and well, real. The real world’s got lots of women in it, after all. As did the medieval world. Often doing strange, unexpected, interesting things. What happens if you put a woman in the kind of role where you might expect, default, a man? So in the case of The Devils I made the Saviour figure a woman. Female Saviour, therefore female priesthood, female Machiavellian cardinals, ten year old girl for a Pope. The central cast is pretty evenly split and because they’re, you know, actual monsters, you get all types. There are some classically feminine women, like courtier par excellence Lady Severa, but also in some ways some very masculine ones, like explosively violent and aggressively sexual werewolf Vigga. There are some very masculine men, like grizzled warrior Jakob of Thorn, as well as some quite feminine ones, like cloistered monk Brother Diaz. For me it just makes for a richer and more varied tapestry.

[GdM] The Devils is noted for its dark humor, as is most of your work. How did you balance comedic elements and the grim aspects of the narrative?

[JA] I don’t know that it needs much balancing. My approach has always been that there’s never a bad time to be funny, and there’s never a bad time to be horrifying. Often the two work best right up against each other, in the very same scene. Like light and shadow in a painting, they only intensify each other. As you edit and revise you obviously refine things to give a scene the tone you want, but often that’s just about judgement and timing and cutting stuff down to make it as impactful as possible. Very rarely would I think—hmmm, I need to make this scene less funny. Who wants that?

[GdM] The Devils feature characters reminiscent of classic horror figures like vampires, werewolves, and elves. What drew you to integrate these archetypes into your story, and how did you approach making them unique to your world?

[JA] People often celebrate originality as some kind of absolute good but I’ve always felt a little of it goes a very long way. I’ve always loved stories like Unforgiven, which takes a new look at some very classic, beloved genre, and serves as both a great example of the form and a comment on the form at the same time. That was really the approach to fantasy I took with The First Law. So with the Devils, which obviously has some horror elements to it, centred on a group of monsters, I wanted to include the classics. Suave vampire, uncontrollable werewolf, sneering magician. These things become archetypes because they work. It’s all in the application, really.

[GdM] Which of the main characters—Vigga, Sunny, Barron, Rikard, Balthazar, Jacob, or Baptiste—did you have the most fun writing? Which was the most challenging?

[JA] Well they all offer different challenges and serve different purposes. It’s like the ingredients in a cake—the project doesn’t work without all the elements. But I generally find characters with a very strong but quite one-noted personality, who often don’t carry a lot of the plot on their shoulders, are easy to write, while those who are more at the heart of things and therefore steer the plot and perhaps change over time themselves are more of a challenge. So Vigga was a lot of fun to write, for sure. But then she works because of the contrasts with and the interactions with the others. You need some more ‘normal’ people for her to knock against. And kill.

[GdM] If you, our liege and Lord Grimdark, could bestow an honorary title of Duke/Duchess of Grimdark to another writer, whom would it be and why?

[JA] Oh, titles such as that can never be bestowed, only won for oneself, preferably standing atop a mountain of skulls.

[GdM] Who would you choose if you could collaborate with any author, living or dead? What kind of book would you write together?

[JA] I work quite a lot in the film and tv world these days, and those projects are by nature a collaboration with a whole ensemble of different talented people of one kind or another. There’s a lot of reward in that way of working. Lots to learn, lots of ideas to absorb, and it’s sometimes great to be part of something bigger. But I think that work satisfies my need for collaboration, and there are frustrations too. It’s sometimes great to have the final say, and not have to make compromises. So though I love working with editors, fiction writing for me is really quite a personal thing—can’t imagine doing it with someone else. Although obviously a dead writer wouldn’t offer much criticism…

This interview was first published in Grimdark Magazine Issue #42

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REVIEW: Attack on Titan Season 1

Vicious. Bleak. Blood and loss. Characters carving their way out of hopeless situation through swords and sacrifice. Attack on Titan is not only a grimdark masterpiece, it’s the finest written T.V. show I’ve ever seen.

“It Doesn’t Matter How Strong The Opposition Is. It Doesn’t Matter How Fearsome The World Is, It Doesn’t Matter How Cruel The World Is. Fight!”

Season one of Attack on Titan sets the pace, establishes the world, and foreshadows future events with a fine touch. We’re introduced to a medieveal-ish world where citizens live in cities behind looming walls in fear. Outside those walls live “titans”, fleshy, naked, humanoid giants. These titans range, on average, from 20-40 feet tall and operate on one instinct and one instinct alone: eat humans.

While the titans are a threat and the people are trapped in cities, life is relatively peaceful, for the first fifteen minutes of Attack on Titan, at least. The walls keep the citizens safe, and on the rare occurrence that a titan needs to be dealt with, humanity has developed an invention called “ODM gear” or “Omni-Directional Mobility Gear,” a device that allows soldiers to swing around in a spiderman-esque fashion, and the city has soldiers available to deal with them.

Until an intelligent, armored titan and a colossal titan break open the gate to the city.

Titans flood the city, eating as many humans as they can get their hands on. Our main character, Eren Yaegar, watches his house collapse on his mother, leaving her paralyzed and defenseless. Titans descend on her. With a smile, one eats Eren’s mother, spraying blood and viscera as Eren watches helplessly.

And that’s only episode one of Attack on Titan.

Fueled by hate for titans and a desire to reclaim the outside world, Eren, his friends Mikasa & Armin, and a collection of other recruits join a military training program. They train in ODM gear, nape slicing (the only way to kill a titan–slicing the back of its neck), and martial training. When they graduate the academy, they’re allowed three options: join the military police, an elite force that protects the highest ranking citizens and sees little active duty, the Garrison, a force that watches the walls and lives in the city, or the Scouts, a force that goes into the wild and into Titan captured lands, looking to bring humanity forward.

Eren and his friends have a decision to make, but little do they know that Eren has a power. A secret that he doesn’t know he’s keeping. When things look the most dire, it’s revealed, but it leads to more questions than answers. Especially when a traitor with a similar power is discovered…

A game of cat and mouse develops. People play chess with human lives. Intelligent characters duke it out with gambits, plans, and deception. I’m a slut for smart characters actually being smart, and Attack on Titan has that in spades.

We’re born free. All of us. Free. Some don’t believe it, some try to take it away.

The premise of Attack on Titan is strong. You can feel the amount of planning that Hajime Isayama, the author of the manga, spent on crafting it. Everything, from large concerns to small, is thought out.

And ultimately, that level of world-building pales in comparison to the amount of plot building and foreshadowing established in Attack on Titan. The show will put blatant hints of twists in front of your face, say “you’re too dumb to know what this means, but it will make sense”, and then be proven right. From a plotting and planning perspective, the only piece of media that rivals that level of care and foresight would be Malazan. Attack on Titan is that intense.

The animation is fucking incredible. The ODM gear, comprised of iron wires and grappling hooks attached to the hip, creates some of the coolest scenes in anime. Shot after shot of action and loss is depicted both beautifully and brutally. Some scenes will make you cringe with its brutality, some will make you cheer at seeing the characters finally carve out a victory.

Listen, it’s a perfect show. I used to hate anime, outside of the original Naruto series I caught on Cartoon Network as a kid, and then I saw this. I’m now a full on weeb who is ready to kill for Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 and Chainsaw Man season 2. I’m embarrassed to admit that, and it’s all Attack on Titan’s fault.

If you want the finest written T.V. show of all time, brutality and sick world-building, mysteries and twists, intelligent characters, or just some fucking cool action, close this review and go pick up Attack on Titan.

 

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REVIEW: Cold Silver for Souls by Tori Tecken

You know, I honestly just about died from excitement when Tori Tecken announced Cold Silver for Souls. Just hear me out, a necromancer bounty hunter fantasy western with a lone wolf and cub dynamic and the best found family vibes, all set in a world inspired by the wild west and the Yukon Gold Rush? Say no more. It’s dark, it’s gritty, it’s so darn cool, but most of all, it’s a soul-stirring tale of growth, change, connection, healing and the unimaginable resilience of the human spirit.

“It’s not as bad as Paradise, but even here, I’m still the necromancer. The corpse raiser. The northerner. It’s like they’re never quite sure if I am human or not.”

From the moment I met my girl Hunter, I was completely in love. Okay, in love and maybe also slightly intimidated, because she more than lives up to her fearsome name and she’s honestly so much cooler than I ever could be. I mean, she’s a fierce redhead born and bred in the merciless northern winters who spends her days collecting bounties by hunting down thieves and murderers together with her animated corpse, Rip. In a way, she could so easily have fallen into the ‘not like other girls’ strong female character archetype, and yet she totally doesn’t. She’s a complicated woman who contains multitudes, and I absolutely loved peeling back a few of her layers as her latest mission goes a bit off the rails and turns her entire world upside down.

“It’s never too late to start a new life. You’ll never run so far that you can’t come back.”

Now, in her previous works The Blood Stones and Phased, Tecken already showcased and proved her exceptional skill at writing complex characters with real human emotions and the most complicated interpersonal relationships, but I feel like she took that to the next level in Cold Silver for Souls. See, much as Hunter likes to pretend she is a cold-hearted outcast with a lot of swagger who totally thrives on wandering the cold plains all by her lonesome, she is honestly a really tender soul with a heart of gold (or should I say silver?) who will do anything to protect the ones who have earned her love, loyalty and affection. I mean, I am always a sucker for some good unexpected found family vibes, and this book delivers on that in spades. 

Especially the lone wolf and cub dynamic between Hunter and Johnny, a young boy with budding necromancer powers who she somewhat reluctantly takes under her wing, gave this dark and gritty story so much heart, and the tentative blossoming of their relationship tugged on my heartstrings in all the most unexpected ways. But then we also have Addy with her irresistible Charm (what a hoot!), the kind Reverend Ambrose, the badass Jo Farstep, and of course the gentle queen of the kitchen, Kay (this book made me way more hungry than it had any right to!). While most of them are not (yet) as three-dimensional as Hunter, they each pop off the page with personality (even the horses, much to Hunter’s dismay) and add so much heart to the story.

“If there’s something people fear more than death, it’s being forgotten. Of being insignificant like the dirt somewhere underneath the snow. But I figure sticks tied to a cross aren’t much of a remembering. If there aren’t people living and breathing who remember you fondly, well then, I guess you might not be worth remembering much.”

Moreover, I loved how their unwavering support and little gestures of kindness towards Hunter shone all the brighter in contrast to the cold cruelties that she has to endure in this unforgiving world day in and day out. The way that Tecken interweaves the internal and external conflicts and explores themes of trauma, loss, othering, morality, humanity, faith, exploitation, the fear of the unknown, and the dangerously thin line between justice and vengeance is extremely powerful to me, and I think that is exactly what makes Cold Silver for Souls such a gripping and unforgettable tale despite its shorter page count.

“It’s the easiest thing in the world for a person to let go of something that wasn’t done to them. They’ll tell you what would be best, and how you can live for more. But it’s not their wound that’s bleeding out.”

Yes, we hit the ground running and just keep moving along at a steady pace as both old and new threats emerge around every corner, but I never felt like the development of the world or the characters suffered for it. Hunter’s intimate and increasingly vulnerable first person (present tense) narration was just so immersive to me, and I soon felt like I was transported straight into the wild Territories myself; I felt the biting cold of the North, I was overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring beauty and power of mother nature, and I just revelled in all the intense emotional turmoil that these characters experienced as their past came back to haunt them.

“You don’t mess around with things up here. If it’s not the cold that gets you, its teeth and claws. And if it ain’t either of those two things… it’s the Shades. When you’ve met a Shade face to face, getting eaten by a mountain bear doesn’t sound all that bad.”

Similarly to in Sarah Chorn’s Of Honey and Wildfires, this fantasy western world feels both terrifyingly realistic and excitingly strange and miraculous, and I loved how Tecken evoked the wild west vibes of the Gold Rush Era but put her own fantastical spin on it all. To me, Tecken does a masterful job of scattering in just enough little nuggets of history (be that personal history or world history) to breathe so much life into the world and the characters, while also keeping certain details shrouded in mystery for now to maintain an addictive level of tension and intrigue that had me ripping through the pages. What is up with the Shades and Shadesilver? What exactly happened to Hunter’s Pops? How did Rip end up being tethered to her and why does she harbour so much resentment towards him? Is Rip gaining sentience and autonomy? I am dying of curiosity and would honestly sell my soul for the next instalment now!

“Sometimes I wonder how much he does feel, connected to me the way he is through that tiny splinter of soul. He might get a little of whatever I experience, tiny wisps of emotions through the magic linking us. If that’s all he gets, held in the Between, then that’s fine by me. He was damned long before I found him.”

With the Shadesilver series being inspired by the episodic storytelling style of the 60s and 70s, it really feels like we have only barely scratched the surface here and I am so ready to mine even deeper to uncover all the treasures that this world and these characters have to offer. Cold Silver for Souls is honestly everything I didn’t know I needed in my life, and I can’t recommend it highly enough if you like the sound of a necromancer bounty hunter adventure with a fantasy western twist, a deadly high cool-factor, and equal parts action, grit, emotion and heart.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Cold Silver for Souls is scheduled for release on May 27th.

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REVIEW: Tyrant’s Throne by Sebastien de Castell

Tyrant’s Throne—Sebastien de Castell’s finale in the Greatcoats Quartet—is a bittersweet ending that lands the plane and serves as a triumphant capstone of an incredible series. Witty, epic, rapidly paced, dark, and with the highest stakes that de Castell has given, Tyrant’s Trone sees Falcio off with an ending that delights.

“Any man who uses the words ‘politics’ and ‘trust’ in the same sentence has disqualified himself from talking about either.”

No one in the world makes me smile quite like Sebastien de Castell. His pacing is set so that you fly through the pages, his banter is laugh out loud funny, and his characters—despite facing immense odds in a dark world—have so much heart and grit that you can’t help but root for them.Tyrant’s Throne feels like all of those skills have been sharpened to a knife point and paint de Castell at the height of his powers.

Before digging into the contents of Tyrant’s Throne, I wanted to give a special shout out to the antagonist of the book. He’s so fresh and feels alive. I was looking over my shoulder as I wrote this review, expecting him to be in my shadow. While de Castell has always had exceptionally good character work, the antagonist of this one may be his best, most nuanced character to date.

Now, the journey of Tyrant’s Throne is classic de Castell. Twists, intelligent characters, two-to-three page chapters, and an avalanche of fun. There’s also some themes of depression and self hate, which, if you know Falcio, is also classic de Castell. The Greatcoats has gotten better with each book, and Tyrant’s Throne is a well done finale. If you’re reading this review because you found the first three decent-to-good, I highly recommend finishing the series.

Every de Castell book I’ve picked up ended up being read in under 48 hours, and Tyrant’s Throne was no different. He’s an absolute master at lacing humor into his dialogue and prose, as well as pacing the book to keeping readers invested. A personal inspiration to me as an author, he once again displays mastery of the quill, wit, and imagination.

“If they like stories about seven fearless warriors facing a thousand enemies, maybe they’ll appreciate one suicidal idiot running at them while screaming like a maniac.”

With the good parts handled, I did have one nagging issue: the climax. Of all four books, Tyrant’s Throne does have the weakest climax, which is a shame, considering it’s the finale. A lot of the cloying issues that you’d see in something like Dragon Age: Inquisition are on display for the last bit. The epilogue is rather nice and serves excellently as a good-bye to Falcio and his friends, but still, the after-taste of the climax is present.

Overall, Tyrant’s Throne sticks the landing to standing applause. Sebastien de Castell confirmed that The Greatcoats is always going to be one of the best, and most fun, fantasy series published this century.

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REVIEW: The Sins of Steel and Shadow by Steve Pannett

Two years ago Steve Pannett impressed with his self-published debut The Hunter’s Lament, a grim fantasy with a tense and addictive plot, full of brilliant close-quarters action and subtle character work. Now Pannett has sought to build on that formula but, Spinal Tap-style, cranked the ambition up to eleven by presenting the first in a new (grim?)dark series The Turned, full of assassination, politics, vampires, humans, and things in between. The Sins of Steel and Shadow is a cracking first instalment that shows his ambition was not misplaced.

The plot concerns the Turned: half-human, half vampires, hated by everyone. Bail, a Turned, survives by selling human military secrets to the vampires in return for valuable relics. But when an emissary of the human king summons him and several other Turned for a mission—assassinate four key figures of a plot to overthrow the King—in return for the cure to his condition, he sees the opportunity to be human and no longer loathed.

There’s a lot to love in The Sins of Steel and Shadow. The worldbuilding—a vampire kingdom balancing a fragile peace with the neighbouring human kingdom—intrigues, although a lot is clearly being held back for the sequels, and the plot is addictively readable. There’s few things more fun than a bunch of assassins and a kill list, and Pannett uses this to his advantage, introducing a series of grim and conniving characters, all anchored on the central character of Bail, who’s a fascinating character to read not just because of his inner turmoil about being a Turned and his smart skillsets, but because he’s a refreshingly thoughtful character, which is helpful given his team include a permanently furious dagger-wielding woman with a tragic backstory and a tendency for literally burning everything down. There’s a bit of a slow start as the plot is established, but once the kill mission begins, it’s non stop, grim entertainment.

Then there’s the fight scenes. These are violent, engrossing action set pieces full of vicious injuries and kinetic, simple, yet effectively choreographed encounters. These violent blitzes that frame the finales of each assassination mission won’t just make you wince at the wanton bodily destruction (fans of daggers in faces, your time is now) but will suck you in with the careful, blow-by-blow narration. There is a true art to this kind of fight-write, and Pannett has it. One particular nasty set piece involving some forest traps laid down for some unsuspecting hunters galloping past is utter carnage in a can’t-look-away variety and one of the most brutally memorable scenes you’ll read in a fantasy this year.

But although the action is a headline reason to read, Pannett has more to his bow than that. There’s some meaty themes about discrimination and self-hatred in The Sins of Steel and Shadow. What makes a person and what makes a monster? Is it really important if the Turned get “cured” and get their humanity back? Or is it more important how you act, whether your ears are pointy or rounded? Pannett isn’t one to hammer themes over your head, but he does like his characters to chew over them. Just as impressive is his character development. Although there’s still a lot to come from these characters and it does feel like they’re just getting warmed up in the series, there is some subtle emotion and character development here, one of Pannett’s strengths. Oh and some great twists, as you’d expect from a tale like this full of connivers and spies.

Sins of Steel and Shadow is a great start to a promising new fantasy epic: an action-packed, bloody, character-driven fantasy ride in a fascinating, gritty world. The real sin is leaving this on the shelf.

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REVIEW: Atacama by Jendia Gammon

Last Updated on May 1, 2025

Expanding upon an idea first introduced in her short story collection, The Shadow Galaxy, Jendia Gammon’s cosmic horror thriller, Atacama, takes readers on a chilling journey that begins with a seemingly innocuous sample taken from the Atacama Desert by a university research team.

The specimen’s nature quickly becomes the central mystery, as a professor and a student’s initial encounter with it yields dire consequences. Atacama’s opening chapter introduces the novel’s most fascinating element: its ability to create a genuinely unsettling experience.

It’s always exciting to see an author extending a preamble, especially one cloaked in impending doom.

The uncanny atmosphere of Atacama’s opening chapters permeates both the novel’s cosmic horror elements and its protagonist, Fiona Hawthorne, a research student grappling with her best friend’s recent death and the gradual dissolution of her engagement.

Seeking to find the truth behind this sudden death, Fiona begins her journey as isolated as the desert the novel is named after, but with help from a long-absent university friend, she evolves alongside her grief. Her personal experience complements the otherworldliness of the alien elements, touching on that intersection of self, intimacy, and the preternatural that is so intrinsic to the horror genre.

Gammon excels at portraying the encounters with the alien entity with creativity and an authentic sense of wrongness. Its peculiar characteristics also added an eerie dimension to the narrative that kept me on edge.

Sudden and forced interactions with the alien and the horrific repercussions of its behavior highlight its profound otherness, making each confrontation deliciously creepy, but my appetite for these moments wasn’t fully satisfied.

Atacama focuses on character development, crafting a personal story about coping with sudden grief and moving forward—albeit with a terrifying alien complication. The protagonist’s emotional journey forms the narrative’s backbone, giving weight to the supernatural elements before eventually overshadowing them until they feel secondary.

As the novel progresses, the narrative imbalance between the more mundane, personal scenes versus the alien encounters creates an uneven reading experience. Additionally, the romantic subplot unfolds too quickly—Fiona’s abrupt transition from a broken engagement to a new relationship with said friend she recently reconnected with feels rushed and undermines the emotional authenticity established by the other elements of the story. Although this plot point does get addressed in the endgame, and its existence does make a case for the difficulty we have putting our first foot forwards by ourselves when dealing with our grief, it does stand in the spotlight for enough time to slow down everything else around it.

Moreover, despite the title’s implication, the Atacama Desert only appears in the final stages, with Fiona spending minimal time in this expectedly central location, one whose predominance I hoped would add to the uncanniness of the story and play with more than one kind of horror of isolation.

Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the alien aspects of this novel, smartly crafted, making Atacama a compelling read for fans of sci-fi horror.

Although I wished for better pacing and deeper romantic development, Atacama delivers an unsettling exploration of grief through a distinctly extra-terrestrial lens, and Gammon’s talent for crafting alien entities and exploring their interaction with human vulnerability makes the novel an entertaining addition to the cosmic horror genre.

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