Adrian Collins's Blog, page 173

REVIEW: Red in Tooth and Claw by Ryan Howse

Red in Tooth and Claw is one of the most tension-filled novels I have ever read. Reading it was like feeling the vibrating inside when you are shaking with fright—being a caged bird bashing itself against the bars. Reading it is when the pit in your stomach drops because you know you are not the badest mofo in the room. Reading this is the psychological dread that you get when you are going to die and the futility of it all. All of these emotions are wrapped up in a story that has echoes of The Revenant but is solidly so much better. 

“The death in those mountains would have been a far worse death. The spirits are obviously malevolent. So are they creating this winter to mess with the rot? Is the rot a different force the spirits hate? Is it a side effect of them trying to kill Chemosh or Agash or anyone else who stumbled into that ruined city? Or is it Mother?”

Emotions aside, what this story is about is a bit more challenging to explain. For one, this story employs ambiguity and an unreliable narrator. Those right from the first gives you a messy set of impressions expressed from both sides of a cultural chasm. This story is about the duality of two cultures represented by two central characters, Chemosh and Agash. We start the story in the cell of prisoner Chemosh. Chemosh is thinking about his hunger, his pain, his loneliness, and the cruelty of it all. Through a series of circumstances, Agash and Chimosh are thrust together to brave the cold, power and harsh forces of a night bent on killing the rot that permeates the land.  

“He moves forward, footsteps crunching on frozen grass, and hears a low, pained bleating. He sees the hart on the ground, obviously injured. A back leg is crushed and bleeding, and there are scrapes and sores across its belly. But there is no other animal around. The hart looks at him with blank eyes. A ring of black around its mouth. The snow stops falling.”

Chemosh is not some unknowledgeable yet quirky heathen which is an insulting and tired trope. Chemosh and his people have a rich language and culture, but Agash does not understand it, so to Agash, it is lesser. Agash, his jailer, similarly has his reasons for things, and there is no moment where Agash will get his comeuppance at being oh so mean to poor Chimosh. This is a much deeper and grittier story than that. It is not about the end goals but the journey. They are two individuals who are about to endure something terrifying. 

This is also a very tight book. It is not a sweeping tale. Instead, it is a story told in a tight place. Everything about this story feels claustrophobic. The shortness of the prose and the prose itself lends to an overall feeling of being in the wrong place. Howse had to consider his page length and space of time to work with, 150 is not a lot of time to tell a story such as this, but he works flawlessly with what he has. 

Red and Tooth and Claw is an excellent book, at least to me. Perspective is key to a book experience. I am claustrophobic, and some of the scenes made me want to throw up in fear. The book practically radiated the tension and anxiety that someone with claustrophobia has. It is that good. 

You really should check this out. It is such a good book, and I hope it finds itself in many great folks’ hands. 

Note: First and foremost, Ryan is a close friend of mine who I work with on both Grimdark Magazine and Beforewegoblog.com. It may seem sketchy that I would give him a five-star rating, it isn’t. I am a merciless reviewer, and if you give me something to read, I am happy to provide you with an objective opinion. Conversely, I will also sing your praises to the heavens and lay my dreams at your feet if you have written something incredible. The latter is what I have in Red in Tooth and Claw. 

Read Red in Tooth and Claw by Ryan Howse

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REVIEW: Kin of Cain by Matthew Harffy

I don’t think I would be doing this little gem of a novella much justice if I described it as follows: a band of five warriors are ordered by their king to hunt down and slay an invincible monster that is killing innocents across Northumberland. I mean, that’s what the story is about, but that high-level description makes it sound so formulaic, like something that’s been done a few times before on tv and in prose.

However this particular book is quite a different prospect, for there is real depth to it. I very much liked the way in which Harffy slowly but surely builds up an immersive and evocative aura of dread around the mission, largely due to his immersive and evocative descriptions. He also gets the balance between archaic and other words just right, which is testament to the painstaking care which he must have employed when putting this book together.

The different personalities of each member of the band are deftly drawn out with each page turned, which is a skilful accomplishment when you consider that a novella does not benefit from the length of a full-scale novel. Harffy has little time and space in which to make his magic work, yet he pulls it all off so well. Fans of the warrior Beobrand, who is the hero of Harffy’s popular Bernicia Chronicles, should note that the protagonist of Kin of Cain is Beobrand’s older brother Octa. Readers who – like me – have not yet read any of Harffy’s acclaimed Bernicia Chronicles, can rest assured that this novella makes for a great standalone read that is easy to follow, even if we have not yet been introduced to Beobrand’s adventures.

I could not but sympathise with Octa’s desire to do the right thing by the people of Northumberland, by tracking down a creature which only appears more invincible and terrifying as the story progresses. Octa’s recollections of the violence he suffered at the hands of his tyrannical father only make his altruistic and courageous intentions to rid the land of the beast more admirable. The band’s leader Bassus has a quiet formidable quality about him, also projecting a seasoned sturdiness which is good foil for Octa’s more emotional reactions.

I particularly liked the way in which Harffy describes the marshes through which the party must travel in search of the beast, which is but one of the tricky terrains in which Octa and his companions must track down and tackle the intimidating, mysterious creature. All throughout the author cleverly skirts the edge of the realms of both fantasy and horror, sometimes even stepping into them without entirely straying from the story’s historical fiction genre.

The fighting scenes, when they do happen, are not hardboiled or too sparing, so that the warriors’ manful efforts to find and restrain their dangerous prey are rendered all the more plausible. I found the story’s denouement highly satisfying, particularly given the shrewd way in which the author ultimately linked the story to a famous Old English epic poem. It’s a tough ask to end a novella satisfactorily but Harffy also pulled this off with admirable proficiency.

So all in all this was a 5/5 read for me. I’ve heard a lot about Matthew Harffy, and now I know why. Do pick up this read if you’d like to experience the writing abilities of a talented, fast-rising star on the historical fiction circuit.

Read Kin of Cain by Matthew Harffy

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REVIEW: Paternus: Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton

Paternus: Wrath of Gods is a continuation of the epic urban fantasy tale from book 1, Paternus: Rise of the Gods. As many authors suffer a Sophmore slump or a slowing of tone as they fill in the exposition, that is not the case with Dyrk Ashton. Quite the contrary, Dyrk could have coasted a bit into book 2, Took a step back, and slowed the pace down. I honestly, and knowing Dyrk a bit through his hilarious tweet feed, do not think he is capable of such a feat. It is a hell of a ride start to finish. 

To quote the Sound of Music, “Let us start at the very beginning. A very good place to start” The cover art on this is top-notch. I would have bought the entire series in hardback before even reading or knowing anything about the series…oh, wait. I did do that, and sadly there they sat for months on end forlorn and staring me in tone. Secondly, unlike many other series where the overall series is one large arc, Paternus is not really like that. Sure, the kids and mythological creatures/people face issues, old grudges, and waining power. But there wasn’t much of a mini-arc except, “Jesus, we must save Peter.” Then “Jesus, we must save ourselves.” Then “Holy shit, is that Jesus?” I am desperate for a family tree for these books to hang on my wall because it all is muddling together into the epic family genes of awesomeness. 

The story takes off right at the end of the first Paternus book, Paternus: Rise of the Gods. Zeke and Fi (henceforth known as the kids) are attempting to help Peter and Zeke’s uncle Edgar gather the firstborn creatures/folks of legend for an epic battle pitting good against evil. The most fun part of this book is connecting the creatures and deities dot to dot. I love a good a-ha, and these chapters give them to me in spades. And, being that I am an enormous mythological story geek, I ate all of Dyrk’s impeccable research with a spoon.  

In the second book, we are introduced to new creatures/people of power and legend. I especially enjoyed the characters from the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons, specifically Ganesh and Shiva. Although I do not know much about the history and stories, I know the characterizations are spot on from what little I do know. I think, more importantly, I want to learn more. Paternus is a kind of series that makes you want to research and delve deeper into the mythologies of everything. 

In the first book, Paternus: Rise of the Gods, we are introduced to Zeke, Fi, Peter, and Edgar. But, as there are many characters in the Paternus series, some are more fleshed out than others. Now with the second book, we can learn more about the backstory behind the power. Fiona and Zeke are especially fleshed out and focused on. This focus is great because you can see a transition from childhood to adulthood very quickly, and you can also see the inner strength that the two of them have. That strength will be tested as the series goes on, and Ashton did a great job in pushing their stories forward. 

Unlike the first book, Wrath of the gods goes at a steady and exciting clip. It is one of the most compelling books I have ever read. I don’t say that lightly because, at this point, I am practically gushing over this series, and it is slightly embarrassing. But Ashton writes fights very well, and there is a lot of fighting in this book. You can also see Ashton’s comfort in this book. It is as if Ashton sat down, eased in, and wrote. The first book of the series did not seem like he had the same comfort level. 

I do need to comment on the narrative style Paternus is written in. I enjoy it and have no problem with it, but I know that some readers have difficulty with the switching of perspectives. Sometimes on the same page. I found that because each character had such a unique voice, and I listened to part of it as an audiobook, I had no problem staying with it. But your results may vary. My only advice is to stick with it. It pays off highly as we come to the climax of the series.

Dyrk Ashton’s Paternus: Wrath of the Gods is urban fantasy at its best. Urban fantasy gets many naysayers thinking that it is only the realm of sparkly vampires and shirtless werewolves. Now, before I get hate mail, I am not knocking on paranormal urban fantasy. I have read a lot of it and enjoyed it thoroughly. However, Urban fantasy is a vast genre with many facets, and this is one of them. It is an exciting, gritty, and violent fantasy that is well researched and engaging that just happens to take place in our “now.” I believe that if you take on this series, you will be just as excited as I am about it because it is just that good. Now, on to Paternus: War of the Gods. Let’s do this!!

Read Paternus: Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton

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REVIEW: Seven Deaths of an Empire by G. R. Matthews

Seven Deaths of an Empire is a new story from author G. R. Matthews. Matthews weaves a tale of action and intrigue that wears its inspirations on its sleeve for all to see. A classical fantasy story wearing the blood-soaked cloak of grimdark, Seven Deaths of an Empire is a book with mass appeal that fans of Tolkien and Feist through to Joe Abercrombie and Anna Smith-Spark will all enjoy.

Seven Deaths of an Empire opens with the death of the emperor. This is the catalyst for a tale told through the differing perspectives of General Bordan and the magician, Kyron. Limiting the story’s perspective to these two protagonists allows Matthews to write a tight tale that really draws the reader into the mind of those characters and grow with both as they journey on their differing paths. General Bordan must deal with turmoil and chaos of life in the empire following the death of its leader and the political upheaval caused after such a lengthy period of the emperor’s rule. Enemies both in and outside of the empire look to climb the ladder of chaos caused by the emperor’s death and Bordan struggles to ensure that his beloved empire does not crumble. It is through Bordan’s eyes that the reader is able to witness the warring elements within the empire and see the struggles that face an old empire filled with many moving parts and individuals who each want to keep hold of the power they crave. He is the one who stands firm in the face of the storm whipping around him as he does everything that he can to ensure that the emperor’s body makes it back to the capital so that his Flame (soul and memories) may be passed onto the next in line.

Meanwhile, the young apprentice magician, Kyron, is part of the group tasked with ensuring that the emperor’s body makes it back to the capital in one piece. The problem: they must pass through enemy territory to make it and their numbers are dwindling with each battle. In Seven Deaths of an Empire, it is Kyron that Matthews uses to fill the reader in with the history of the empire and its relentless view of progression as it battles to against the tribes of the forest. Kyron’s ignorance and bias at the start of the story allows him to grow throughout the book and the scenes with his master Padarn, as well as forest guide Emlyn are some of the best in Seven Deaths of an Empire. Matthews’ message of growth and wanderlust and the will to open one’s eyes to a wider world are much needed at this time. Kyron views the world as black and white to begin with but as his understanding of both the empire and the tribes grows, he sees the patch of grey in the world that blurs the lines of good and bad. Not unlike Uhtred in The Last Kingdom, he starts to see both the good and bad on both sides of the line that has been drawn in between two factions.

With a title like Seven Deaths of an Empire, it was clear that this would be a bloody affair. The deaths come thick and fast and Matthews writes the battles with a keen eye on the perspective of those involved. General Bordan views the battles with a strategic slant through the eyes of an experienced yet weary soldier. Alternatively, Kyron sees the chaos of the battle and must work hard to find his place as the bodies begin to fall. Each chapter alternates between the two perspectives and due to the brevity of most chapters, it took me a bit of time to get a feel for the characters but it wasn’t long before the Seven Deaths of an Empire became a book I was unable to put down.

Seven Deaths of an Empire is the perfect blend of classical fiction and grimdark. Matthews has crafted a fast-paced novel full of so many shocking moments my jaw began to ache from dropping so often. Inspired by the masters of the fantasy genre as well periods of political upheaval throughout history (watch Netflix’s Barbarians – the Roman Empire halted by the union of Germanic tribes in a forest), this is fantasy at its finest. A magnificent, bloody beginning to the series and I cannot to read more. Five Stars.

Read Seven Deaths of an Empire by G. R. Matthews

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An Interview with Marina Lostetter

Marina Lostetter, author of the space opera series Noumenon is releasing a new series, The Five Penalties, with the first book Helm of Midnight in April. Grimdark Magazine had the great fortune of chatting with Marina about her love of games, science fiction, and the new series. If you are looking for a story that is a combination of Hannibal and Mistborn, then her new story Helm of Midnight is perfect for you.

GdM: Hi Marina, thank you for doing this interview with me! Firstly, please tell me a bit about yourself and your writing.

Thanks for having me!

I’m originally from Oregon, but live in Arkansas with my spouse Alex, two cats, and way, waaaaay too many aloe plants (seriously, it’s Area X over here). I write both science fiction and fantasy, usually about people trying their best–even when their best is truly awful.

GdM: I have found that most writers are also readers and start reading early. Were you a big reader as a kid? When did you first discover SFF, and what was your gateway drug?

I was a big reader from an early age, and I mostly devoured things like Nancy Drew when I was young. In the fourth grade my dad gave me The Hobbit, and even though it was really above my reading level at the time, I was sold. I’ve been and SFF lover ever since.

GdM: I had read from a previous interview that you are a fan of the Final Fantasy Games. What about them draws you to them? Is it the narrative, graphics, depth of story? Or is it all of the above?

Definitely all of the above. I think they also hit some of my player/reader/writer cookies world-building wise. I really like stories that have a world-based mystery, where what’s seen on the surface drastically contradicts the real mechanics of the universe. The Final Fantasy games are constantly inverting the rules mid-story, which reflects a lot of my own narrative philosophies. I like to present a world and then try to make the audience question what they think they understand about it. I often world build with the explicit intent to break my own world building.

GdM: Do you also play tabletop?

I do! I love table top games. I’ve recently enjoyed Scythe and Mysterium.

GdM: Before The Helm of Midnight, you had delved deeply into the science fiction genre with your space opera Noumenon series. Can you tell me a bit about the series?

The Noumenon series is an epic interstellar adventure featuring clones, rogue AIs, alien artifacts, ancient sentients, and dubious signals from far-off stars. The trilogy takes place over one hundred thousand years, with a focus on societal changes as seen through the eyes of several ‘immortal’ characters.

GdM: As a prolific short story author, how does plotting a short story differ from planning a three-book arc such as Noumenon? Obviously, you have only so many words to work within short stories, but what else?

I think it’s like the difference between a song and an album, right? A song is a mood. An album is a journey.

Short stories usually focus in on a single, definitive event in a character’s life, and often try to convey one lone, strong emotion. A novel is just an expansion into a set of emotions, where events get to breathe and there can be more contrast over-all. A novel can be more dynamic than a short story, and a series can be more dynamic than a novel.

GdM: What does the writing process look like for you? I read that you were a plotter; how do you keep track of all of the story angles?

I think when people learn that a writer is a plotter they think the writer must be really organized and have a strict plan that they follow, but I don’t. My plotting is very stream-of-consciousness and contradictory. Early in the process, I have a file where I just write all my ideas as they come to me. It’s actually my favorite part of writing, because it’s purely playful and creative. It doesn’t have to make sense yet, it doesn’t have to be good yet, I just have to please myself. After, I mold that file into a rough shape that resembles a real narrative. I find I can’t write unless I have a direction to write in, and this process provides that direction. But it’s not exactly efficient, and I work 99% in Microsoft word, so most of the story angles are just intuitively tracked in my own mind. I wouldn’t actually recommend my methodology to anyone–there are much smarter ways to keep track of structure.

GdM: You have a new release dropping in April, The Helm of Midnight. Tell me all about it. You pretty much had me at, “Evil blooms in darkness.”

My husband actually came up with the tagline, so all related kudos should be directed to him.

I like to bill the novel as Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn meets Hannibal. It’s secondary-world epic fantasy with highly structured magic, featuring a truly creepy serial killer. The murder, Charbon, kills at night, and molds his victims’ bodies into sculptures of flowers he calls blooms. Thus, “Evil blooms in darkness.”

Nothing is as it seems in the story. There’s a lot of hidden history and magic gone awry.

GdM: The worldbuilding is unique in The Helm of Midnight, gods, emotions, and evil masks. What inspired you for its creation?

The Helm of Midnight is an expansion of my short story Master Belladino’s Mask, which was one of the first short stories I ever sold. When I sat down to write the short story, I was casting around for elements to include and just happened to glance at the Boruca masks we’d brought home from our honeymoon (in 2020 we celebrated our ten-year wedding anniversary, so this story has been in the works for a long time). The masks themselves are very expressive–created by exceptionally skilled artists–and filled with a lot of personality, so I started to imagine that maybe they’d been carved to match the personalities of real people. The world-building really spiraled from there, but they provided the initial story seed.

GdM: You write compelling evil and violence in this story, was that emotionally draining to write?

Yes. Looking at the end product, it might be hard to believe, but I have a very hard time hurting my characters. I frequently get first draft critiques that amount to “everyone is being way too reasonable” or “they shouldn’t just be able to talk their way out of this” or “there should be more stabbing.” I’m the type of person who takes spiders outside and reloads videogames if I accidentally step on Thumbelina (shout out to Witcher 3). So I really have to push myself to go raw, to go dark. And it is very draining sometimes.

GdM: Tell me about the characters Krona Hirvath, Melanie, and Chabon? Was their specific inspiration for their personalities?

Krona Hirvath, the main character, is on the hunt for the stolen death mask of Louis Charbon, one of her city’s most notorious serial killers. Charbon was hanged ten years previous, but the mask was magically–and illegally–imbued with his knowledge and his memories. Melanie Dupont is a young apprentice healer who gets caught up in a magical accident which threatens to turn her into a tool of the state or an object for experimentation. The thrust of each character’s story takes place in a different time line, but they all twist together in the end.

Character is something I have to discover as I write, and I often feel like I don’t really know my characters until I’ve finished a complete draft, so there was no specific inspiration for these characters’ personalities–rather, I subconsciously built them as I went.

GdM: 2020 was a tumultuous year, to put it lightly. As an author, how did the lockdowns affect you personally? Do current events find their way into your writing, or do you have a line of demarcation separating your story life and real life?

I’m a full-time writer who works from home, and I don’t have any kids, so I’ll admit that for the most part, my life continued on pretty much as normal. The hardest part has been not being able to see friends and family, and I really miss eating out and going to the movies.

GdM: What are you reading right now?

Fanfiction. I read a lot of fan fiction as an easy escape these days. I probably read more fan fiction in 2020 than I had in the entire previous decade. It’s been a year of comfort reading.

Recently a book that blew me away was Bo-Young Kim’s I’m Waiting for You and Other Stories, which comes out April 6th. It’s a really beautiful, heart-felt collection of interconnected sci-fi stories.

GdM: Lastly, what do you have going on in 2021, aside from the release of Helm of Midnight?

Believe it or not, I have another book coming out in September. Activation Degredation is a thriller-paced space opera, featuring biological soft robots, queer space pirates, and unreliable narration. I’m really excited for it.

This interview with Marina Lostetter was originally published in Grimdark Magazine #26.

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REVIEW: The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me…

So begins the tale of Kvothe, and Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle, the life story of a young boy from a group of traveling performers called the Edema Ruh. His group picks up an arcanist along the way early on, and that arcanist teaches Kvothe some of the fundamentals of magic.

His parents and everyone he knows are killed by beings called the Chandrian, mostly believed to be fairy tale monsters for children—killed because his father was trying to write a song about their real history. Kvothe survives and spends several years growing up as a street urchin in the nearby metropolis, and then finally enters the University to learn magic.

However, by the time we get to Kvothe telling his tale, we’re several chapters into the frame story, in which we’ve learned that the world is a mess, and much of it is Kvothe’s fault. His heroic exploits are constantly at odds with the end result of what happened.

A common refrain of critics of the Kingkiller Chronicle is that Kvothe is too good at everything he tries. That always struck me as odd, considering the genre is full of powerful protagonists, but it’s also odd because we know from the first chapter that for all of Kvothe’s skills, he caused a tragedy. Kvothe is a gifted musician and magician, but he’s also hot-headed, impetuous, and has no patience. And as we go along we learn the truth behind many of those exploits—luck, exaggeration, and trickery are integral behind most of those stories.

Finding the truth behind all the exaggeration is also a part of the hunt for the Chandrian as well, and their nemeses, the Amyr. There are multiple stories of various myths of the setting that tie in with both groups. There are commonalities, but the thought of how stories transmute depending on time and distance and who’s telling it is key to the series. Much of the main plot of the book comes from puzzling out what each of them really mean.

Children’s rhymes are a good source of mythic information as well. In addition to the rhymes about the Chandrian, there are two separate rhymes, one about Lady Lackless’s dress and one about the Lackless door, that clearly originated from the same source. In addition to giving both Kvothe and the readers much-needed information, that linguistic drift gives the world a very lived-in feeling.

Then there’s the unreliable narration of Kvothe himself. The frame story has him telling his life story to someone known as the Chronicler, while his student Bast listens in. We know Kvothe is a storyteller. He does say this is his attempt to put down the truth as best he can—but it’s also his point of view of that truth, and he admits several times that sometimes factuality will get in the way of a good story. He outright skips over both a huge trial and a boat adventure while spending an inordinate amount of time on how he pays tuition each semester and evenings drinking with his friends.

Reading the Kingkiller Chronicle is good, but it’s a series that works even better on re-reads. There are numerous small hints that couldn’t possibly be noted on a single read-through. Sometimes the information is broken up by hundreds of pages, or mentioned off-handedly in the midst of something else. Sometimes it’s even hidden in the made-up languages used. Sometimes the information is straightforward—I feel fairly confident in my guess as to who the Penitent King is, for example. Often it’s a fair bit more ambiguous. While I have my suspicions as to which king Kvothe will kill, the evidence is far more circumstantial, and built around metaphor.

The Kingkiller Chronicle has two side stories as well. The Lightning Tree shows Bast helping out the children of the town he lives in, and The Slow Regard of Silent Things shows Auri’s daily life as she prepares for a weekly meeting with Kvothe.

The Kingkiller Chronicle books are well worth a read, or a re-read. Rothfuss’s prose is consistently clear yet full of multiple meanings. There are countless plot points to be resolved in The Doors of Stone. Since no one knows when it’ll come out, there’ll be lots of time to make your best theories and see how right you are.

Start reading the Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

 

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REVIEW: Vampire: The Masquerade – Winter’s Teeth Vol.1

Vampire: The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth volume 1 is the collected first five issues of the titular comic. Grimdark Magazine was gracious enough to review all five individually and it’s now available to purchase as a whole. Honestly, I think this is one of the stories that is best read as one single large TPB versus individual issues. There’s a lot of story here and while the authors (Tim Seeley and Tini Howard) spruce it up with action, it’s something I think would have benefited from the Netflix binge equivalent.

The premise is that vampires are real and exist as a hidden society among us mere mortals. They constantly feud for territory, power, and over petty grudges. Because vampires. The most hierarchal and powerful of them are the Camarilla. The more anarchic and punk-ish are the, well, Anarchs. Fans of the books will get more out of this but the comic is specifically designed to be friendly to those who only know that the book has vampires in it.

In the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, there is a conflict between those who want the cities to be one domain. Cecily Bain is a former Anarch turned Camarilla enforcer (called a “dirty boot”) who has betrayed her former cause in exchange for territory that she can keep her elderly mortal sister in. She’s cynical and a murderer with one of her first acts being to taunt a fellow vampire after murdering his lover to protect “The Masquerade.”

Cecily is lacking for companionship and finding a newly-created orphaned vampire named Alejandra, she adopts her as a pseudo-childe. Unfortunately, Alejandra is more than she seems and the city is about to erupt into chaos. Cecily finds herself at the center of a complicated political plot and without allies due to her horrific attitude as well as lack of friends.

Other than other vampires, the book makes a point that vampires have to face each Hunters on a regular basis. Fans of 5th Edition will note that the Masquerade has been weakened in the 21st century and there’s a lot more Van Helsing types out and about. There’s even an issue that deals with an organ-harvesting group of cyborgs that feel like they came from an entirely different gameline.

The back of the books follow a completely different group of Kindred. Basically, a group of Anarchs and cast-offs are living a life of poverty outside the city. Receiving a secret command to come to the Twin Cities, they attempt to make the journey but both logistical concerns as well as Hunters make it far more difficult than it should be. I was especially fond of Colleen, a Thin Blood Embraced by her husband against her will and forced to abandon her children. I actually kind of enjoyed their story more than Cecily’s.

The in art in Vampire: The Masquerade – Winter’s Teeth Vol.1 is fantastic for the book and is very realistic. There’s surprisingly little cheesecake given that Tim Seeley’s other famous series, Hack/Slash is among the sexiest and goriest comics ever made. Instead, Cecily and company look appealing but not unrealistically so. Even more so than most of tha adonises and Helens of Troy in regular comics. Overall, I strongly recommend this book to both fans of the franchise and newcomers. The former will definitely appreciate it more, though.

Read Vampire: The Masquerade – Winter’s Teeth Vol.1

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REVIEW: The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes

The Last Watch is the debut novel from author, cinematographer, and video editor J.S. Dewes and is the first book in a new series called, The Divide. It tells the story of the crew of The Argus, a spaceship at the edge of the universe, part of a fleet of Sentinels standing guard against the inevitable return of the enemy Viators from beyond the blackness. However, their problems begin without the Viators as they find that the universe is crashing in on them, and somehow they must stop it despite being alone on the far edge of space with no communications and no help from the empire. The story combines likeable rogue characters, interesting scientific speculation, and some subtly great, unpretentious writing into a very entertaining space opera. Although the publishers have humbly billed it as Game of Thrones meets The Expanse, what will come of the series remains to be seen, but it seems to be off to a great start.

Perhaps the most endearing aspect of The Last Watch is the story’s characters. Dewes has smartly limited the cast of this sprawling novel to just a few very important characters, whom the reader will have a hard time not empathizing with. Perhaps it is not the first time that a cast of blackguards has been sent off into space for one reason or another, but the two main characters in this adventure, Cavalon Mercer and Adequin Rake, are very nicely drawn both deep and wide. Cavalon Mercer is the heir to the empire, which he tries to keep secret because everyone else on board The Argus has been sent out to the edge of the universe for crimes against the empire of one sort or another. The story starts with Cavalon’s imprisonment on the ship in lieu of a death sentence after he rebels against his grandfather, the emperor. He is quiet about his crime but eventually reveals what he’s done, and as an example of the author’s dexterity in plotting, his crime is intimately tied to the duty of The Argus, to keep Viators out of the human-dominated universe. Rake also has a past that she slowly reveals to Cavalon, and the stories they tell each other not only reveal their inner humanity and fallibility, but are also very successfully plotted into slower-paced sections of the story as a great contrast to the fast-paced action. Complicating their growing relationship is the return of Rake’s beloved Griffith, whose ship seems to have been lost to the encroaching edge of the universe. But Rake has been keeping a secret from him that could throw their whole lives into hell and take several others down with them. It’s a really well done, deep, and human problem, and it creeps out of the background to throw a spanner in the works.

The other aspect of this novel that I enjoyed quite a bit was the author’s use of scientific speculation. (I use the term specifically because this is not a hard science fiction book.) The science becomes the integral to the plot, which I think is missing in some science fiction. For example, this is not a gang crime story or a war that happens to be set in space.  The universes is collapsing—big science problem. Equally important, though, is how Dewes uses the science to create a good ol’ fashioned sense of wonder that harkens back to classic speculative fiction. As the edge of the universe creeps closer, time starts to slip a little, forward and backward, which Dewes deftly shows instead of having her narrator explain it in boring, abstract exposition. Likewise, the characters have certain active tattoos embedded mostly on their arms, according to their class and rank and other societal categories. This idea leans more toward fantasy than science fiction, but it is beautifully done. The concept is intriguing at first, but when Dewes puts it into action, it is surprising and very well thought out.  There are other science fiction tropes in the novel that readers of the genre will recognize such as abandoned spaceships, communications units that fail, characters that age differently according to where and how fast they travel, etc., and they all seem quite well done to me, especially when the characters get to the massive space buoy at the edge of the universe. Dewes does a fantastic job of immersing the reader in this giant mechanical construct, which I think many writers would find difficult to translate into words on the page.

And words on the page is really what swept me through this fine novel. The writing is completely unpretentious, sharp, occasionally witty, and everything comes through the characters, not the narrator. The third-person narrator facilitates the story in such a way the narration is nearly invisible, allowing the characters to always be in the forefront of the action and dialogue.

But is it grimdark? I always like to ask myself this question near the end of my reviews because we are, after all, Grimdark Magazine. However, when I come across a book that cannot be locked down to grimdark, I am still mostly concerned about whether or not I enjoyed the story. The Last Watch contains nice grim settings that show the desolation of outer space, with its space junk and abandoned ships. In this particular story, there has been a movement to retrieve personnel from the edges of the universe, but no one has told the rogues aboard The Argus, which is a pretty grim situation. The characters all have criminal or transgressive backgrounds that have led them to be outcast at the edge of the universe, which I enjoy in grimdark fiction. Both Cavalon and Rake have made decision in their pasts that society has deemed morally wrong. So in that way, The Last Watch should be very appealing to grimdark readers. Overall, I am more inclined to think of The Last Watch as less a grimdark story than a story of unlikely heroes. Nevertheless, it is very well executed and beautifully written in a way that doesn’t call attention to itself. I enjoyed it very much, and I highly recommend it to readers of space opera and other character-driven science fiction. I look forward to reading book two in The Divide Series, The Exiled Fleet, which is currently scheduled for August 2021.

The Last Watch is scheduled for release on 20 April 2021 in the US by Tor Books.

Read The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes

This review was originally published in Grimdark Magazine Issue #26.

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The Forgotten Realms: Where to Start Reading

The Forgotten Realms are the most popular setting for Dungeons and Dragons, home to almost 300 novels in addition to the countless associated tabletop role-playing materials, video games, and comic books. There’s no fantasy setting with more information on it, anywhere.

That can seem daunting, but most of the books are designed to be stand-alone, or in a smaller series. There are a few major upheavals to the setting but even those rarely affect the stand-alone nature of the books too much.

But where to start?

Don’t worry. I’m here to help. Keep reading for the best jumping in points for The Forgotten Realms.

The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore

R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt is by far the setting’s most popular character. The drow with the soul of a ranger was originally meant to be a sidekick and mentor to Wulfgar, the young barbarian that Salvatore had originally conceived of as the protagonist. But it didn’t take long before Drizzt became the protagonist, and he was never better than in this trilogy exploring his history in his homeland of Menzoberranzan, his exile in the Underdark, and his sojourn among the surface races.

Songs and Swords by Elaine Cunningham

Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms, had this to say about Cunningham’s books:

“When I first read Elaine Cunningham’s first Realms novel, ELFSHADOW, I thought: this lady has been reading my mind. This IS Waterdeep; she’s seeing it through my mind’s eye! It’s PERFECT!”

Elaine Cunningham has always felt like The Realms’ secret weapon. She never got the fame that Salvatore achieved, but her books were always some of the best.

Songs and Swords follows Arilyn Moonblade, a half-elf who despite her low birth was capable of wielding the powerful elven Moonblade, and the fop Danilo Thann. Thann is secretly a brilliant bard, but he puts on the role of a dilettante and a fool so that people let their guard down around him. Rounding out the group is Elaith Craulnober, a crime lord elf whose downfall was directly related to being rejected by his own moonblade. Cunningham injects real pathos and humour from these characters, better than anyone else writing in the setting.

The Harpers by Troy Denning, Elaine Cunningham, Jean Rabe, and more

The longest series in the Forgotten Realms follows the Harpers, a secret organization dedicated to freedom, foiling the plans of the Zhentarim, and preserving ancient art and lore. They are, at their core, a very easy way to put a Dungeons and Dragons party together in the setting.

These books were largely stand-alone. The Ring of Winter followed one Artus Cimber as he investigated the dinosaur-infested land of Chult to find the artifact The Ring of Winter capable of creating endless, magical ice. Crown of Fire followed a woman named Shandril with a strange kind of magic almost unheard of. Thornhold, the final book in the series, explored the prejudices of paladins and how easy it is to weaponize.

The Avatar Series by Scott Ciencin, Troy Denning, and James Lowder

The first major plot-line of the Forgotten Realms was the Time of Troubles, when the gods were forcibly turned mortal and reality itself shifted. Priests lost their powers and wizards’ spells no longer functioned reliably.

Originally this was a trilogy written by Scott Ciencin and Troy Denning under the joint pen name Richard Awlinson. While the original trilogy had some great moments, it also had some haphazard plotting. It’s hard to up the stakes in a plot once you’ve declared reality itself isn’t working.

That said, the two follow-up sequels, Prince of Lies and Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad, were exemplary. They followed the new political balance of the gods after the Time of Troubles, and how the gods would manipulate mortals and each other to improve their own standing. It was a kind of story I’ve never read elsewhere, the kind of story that only works in this kind of grand setting.

The Cleric Quintet by R.A. Salvatore

While Salvatore is best known for Drizzt, his Cleric Quintet even better. It follows the young priest of the god of knowledge, Cadderly Bonaduce, as he foils the plots of Castle Trinity and goes from being a curious, well-meaning skeptic to the most devout priest.

There’s a fantastic romance between Cadderly and the monk Danica, and some solid comedy with the Bouldershoulder brothers, dwarven cooks who tag along with Cadderly. But the real core of this book is Cadderly’s arc as he goes from hapless innocent to one of the most powerful priests in the Forgotten Realms.

The Moonshae Trilogy by Douglas Niles

The first book in the Moonshae series by Douglas Niles was the first Forgotten Realms novel. In fact, R.A. Salvatore had originally pitched his own book in the Moonshae Isles, but once he found out they were being used, changed his to Icewind Dale.

The Moonshae series feels closest to the epic fantasy series of the time period. Well-meaning nobles fight valiantly against encroaching evil. Druidic nature magic is a last desperate hope. Much of the Forgotten Realms novels have a very pulp, sword and sorcery vibe to them, and this is one of very few exceptions.

There was also a sequel series, taking place a generation later, called Druidhome, that maintained a very similar tone.

Once Around the Realms by Brian Thomsen

Many of the RPG books involving the Forgotten Realms include Volo, world-traveling explorer. Well, this romp of a novel features him being cursed to go around the Realms with an annoying thespian companion who bears a striking resemblance to another author of Forgotten Realms novels. The breakneck pace means there’s always something fun happening, from playing magical sports the dragon-filled Chult to uncovering doppleganger plots.

The Lost Library of Cormanthyr by Mel Odom

This is basically Indiana Jones in a magical world, and it is exactly as fun as that sounds. A human explorer attempts to discover the secrets of an ancient elven library. Globe-trotting, perusing ancient texts, and a non-stop plot make this book fly by.

Realms of Infamy edited by James Lowder

The Forgotten Realms has plenty of anthologies, and Realms of Infamy, the second, is the strongest of them. It takes the numerous villains who make up the fabric of the setting and shows us their point of view. The Salvatore story explains how Artemis Entreri became such a high-ranking assassin at such a young age, while the Cunningham shows Elaith Craulnober, the elven crime lord, accepting his fate but hoping for a better future.

Elminster: The Making of A Mage by Ed Greenwood

Ed Greenwood created the Forgotten Realms, so it feels right that he should get the final spot on this list. Elminster is the only character who comes even close in notoriety from the Forgotten Realms to Drizzt. He’s the Chosen of Mystra, goddess of magic, one of the most important Harpers, and the person who knows just how to nudge fledgling heroes in the right direction. The Making of A Mage shows his early life and explores how he became the Archmage of the Realms.

Want to know where to dive into other major SFF worlds and books? Check out more of our Where to Start Reading series.

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REVIEW: Psycho Killers In Love by C.T. Phipps

Have you heard of C.T. Phipps and Psycho Killers in Love? No? How about Straight out of Fangton and I was a Teenage Weredeer? If not, you are in for a treat because let me tell you about some very original and wild fiction by Phipps. And, when I say wild, the premise of Psycho Killers in Love is set in a world called The United States of Monsters. 

 Psycho Killers in Love" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I read this novel a couple of months ago and was tickled by it, but I had been holding off on writing a review because honestly, how do you write a review for a book titled Psycho Killers in Love and sum up everything? You should know a couple of things right off the start; Phipps appreciates puns and a bit on the nose kitsch. This greatly appeals to me as a reader. But, if that isn’t your style, don’t let that turn you off thinking that this will be a silly book; it isn’t. Quite the contrary, it is a straight-up horror novel with great characters that pay homage to psycho killer movies of the 1980s but has a fresh modern feel to it. 

The story is about the main brother and sister protagonists, William and Carrie England. If you know your horror lore, we have a nod to Carrie from King’s Carrie and a nod to Robert England of Freddy Kreuger fame. Will and Carrie grew up in a slasher family, it is the family industry, and their father, Billy Jones Patrick, was a famous slasher who specialized in the 80’s type slasher haunts. Killing in sororities, camps, and slumber parties is hard, but someone has to do it. After their father’s death, William and Carrie were put into an insane asylum to languish drugs and electroshock treatments. We start the story with the two of them being on the run from authorities after their escaping government lockdown. 

Instead of being psychologically off your rocker and being a slasher, you have the slasher gene, and it is innate. It is embedded in your DNA as much as blue eyes and height. Monsters, while not wholly outed to the public, are real. Ghosts, demons, zombies all have a part to play in Phipps’s The United States of Monsters. And, of course, where you have zombies, and demons you have violence. The opening scene in a diner is worth buying the book to read. 

With the embedded DNA, there are perks and pitfalls. They have supernatural abilities but also a thirst for blood, figuratively. However, I wouldn’t put a literal thirst for blood past Carrie, who reminded me quite a bit of deranged Harley Quinn. Instead of being true psycho slashers, they exercise their slasher gene with vigilante-type killing.

Another main character, and important one, is that of the Artemis Nancy. We meet her a bit into the story, and she is the counterpart and love interest to the psycho killer, William. An Artemis is a person with the genetic makeup to kill the slasher gene. And, since we are talking homages here, Nancy (Nancy, the last girl from Freddy Kreuger movies) is an extension of the last girl idea. Slasher movies usually had one girl left after the killing who would defeat the psycho killer. She was typically virginal, kind, and mild until pushed too far. Nancy is none of those things. 

The three of them come together for some Scooby-Doo type fun, involving some Cthulu style psychological horror as well as monster baddies. It is great fun with exciting action and memorable characters. 

There is a lot to unpack with this story, and much of it would spoil the fun. But if you enjoy excellent writing and things with the 80s horror vibe to them, you will like this. Come for the title, but stay for the characters and world-building.

Read Psycho Killers In Love by C.T. Phipps

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