Adrian Collins's Blog, page 215

REVIEW: Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade

Kel Kade’s book, Fate of the Fallen, is a book of tropes turned on their head and flipped all around. For example, how many books have you read about a small-town farming boy (and his trusty best friend) that learns that he has a magical destiny and is fated to either destroy or save the world? How about that farming boy that was raised by a wise old man who happens to be a wizard. And that wizard has kept it a secret all these years. These tropes are here, sort of.

Here is where this story gets good…

Kade has taken these time old formulas and flipped them all around. Instead of the small-town boy fulfilling the prophecy, he dies in the second chapter. His best friend has to take his head and do all he can do to help save his friends and family. Imagine if Frodo died, and Samwise Gamgee had to take over his quest alone while carrying Frodo’s magically bespelled. The old male father figure wizard trope is instead replaced by a female who is a witch. It entirely changes the tone of the story, for the better. And the prophecy is going to come true no matter what. No matter what.

I can’t tell you much more about the plot because this is a story that even merely alluding to events in the story that will ruin it. Just know that hackneyed tropes are thrown out the window for fresh and bright storytelling that is enthralling and heartbreaking at the same time. There was more than one time during this story, where I had to put the book down and say out loud, “Damn.” 

The side characters are just as exciting as the main protagonist, and I enjoyed the interactions and reactions that Kade has written. The dialog and prose of the story flow from moment to moment but is not jam-packed with so much action and detail that the reader gets tired. It is just enough to keep you only slightly breathless, but always wanting more. Another thing is this story is funny as hell. It had me guffawing and howling a couple of times. Kade really taps into the snark on this one.

Fate of the Fallen is a story that I just loved. It is everything a reader wants out of a fantasy romp. It has great characters, exciting twists, funny dialog, and a protagonist that you want to know more about. Definitely one of the best books I have read this year and I can’t wait to read more from Kade.

Buy Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade

The post REVIEW: Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Elder Ice and Broken Meats by David Hambling

David Hambling is the author of such Neo-Lovecraft novels as The Dulwich Horror and Tales of the Al-Azif. H.P. Lovecraft is an author who has spawned thousands of novels written in his universe and was notable for having willingly shared his creations with other authors while alive. For Howard Phillips, he believed that there was no harm in sharing his toys and for that I’ll always admire him. Mind you, I’d be an enormous hypocrite if I didn’t admire him for it since I’ve written Neo-Lovecraft novels myself.

The Elder Ice is the first entry in the Harry Stubbs series, which follows a World War 1 veteran and former boxer who finds himself dealing with the occult. It is actually better termed a novella, being just under a hundred pages or so. Indeed, I initially bought this book as part of The Harry Stubbs Adventures Volume 1, which collected The Elder Ice and its sequel Broken Meats. Due to the length of the first volume, I will be revealing the collected both stories as well as the commonalities between them.

David Hambling has a unique take on the Cthulhu Mythos with a much more reserved hand than is typical of Neo-Lovecraftian authors. Most of them assume since you know a work is in the Cthulhu Mythos that you will want to get to the monsters as soon as possible. This is the opposite of the way HPL wrote and removes a lot of the mystery involved. Instead, the monsters usually play only a minor role in the Harry Stubbs book as the majority of danger and threat comes from the implications of the monsters existing. Cultists, madmen, and the threat to the social order that the entire belief system of mankind being wrong are bigger threats than shoggoths.

I actually like this because it also explains why Harry Stubbs can be a protagonist for so many books. Usually, he only comes up against the edge of the Cthulhu Mythos rather than gets exposed to its sanity blasting reality. It prevents him from becoming a two-fisted action hero blowing up byakhee with dynamite and keeps the menace of the creatures intact.

The Elder Ice deals with Harry investigating the estate of a recently deceased explorer who may (or may not have) encountered proof of a prehuman civilization in Antarctica. The possibility for this to destroy Edwardian civilization results in the curious and fearful both to intervene in Harry’s life. Harry, himself, finds himself wondering if it’s lunacy or an opportunity–unaware how much danger he’s putting himself in. This serves as an extensive sequel to At the Mountains of Madness, which is one of Lovecraft’s best works.

Broken Meats takes Harry on an unusual journey as he finds himself serving as tour guide to a guest of the local Theosophical Society. Harry isn’t a dumb man but the esoteric nature of the 19th century occult group goes over his head. He soon finds himself immersed in a plot that involves alchemy, necromancy, a notorious Jack the Ripper suspect, and the Si-Fan of Sax Rohmer (that don’t actually exist). Here, the references are mostly to The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward but include many others to real-life British occultism.

Fans of H.P. Lovecraft’s work will enjoy these volumes and those who are new to the Mythos will still find them comprehensible. I do recommend you pick up the collected volume because I feel like The Elder Ice is more of a teaser than an actual complete story. I also enjoyed listening to all of the books on audio, though some may cite the length of them as a strike against them.

Buy The Elder Ice and Broken Meats by David Hambling

 

The post REVIEW: The Elder Ice and Broken Meats by David Hambling appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Son by Philipp Meyer

The Son is an epic novel that scales the history of the American west over three generations of a family, the McCulloughs. It is an instant classic, a masterpiece and a heartbreaking story that does not shy away from the horrific and honest truth of how America was formed, right from its very bones.

“Follow your footprints long enough and they will turn into those of a beast.”

Philipp Meyer has written a book that immediately captured all of my attention. It follows three POVs of the McCullough family, Eli – born 1836, Peter – born 1874 and Jeannette – born 1934. After reading Cormac McCarthy’s awe-inspiring Blood Meridian I have not been able to get enough of the American West and have been on a reading binge focusing on the real ‘old west’ era. Because of this the thread written around Eli McCullough and his story was my main interest, but much to my surprise the two interweaving storylines of Peter and Jeanette sparked a need to know everything about them and what happens to them.

The prose within The Son is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy. There are subtle differences in the language and a focus on other aspects of story-telling, Phillip Meyer has crafted his own style and it is completely wonderful. If you are a fan of Cormac McCarthy, you’ll be a fan of Meyer. His writing has no pride, no secrets, just brutal honesty and an extremely direct and breathtaking way of writing what happens to our characters.

“My brother began to cry out in his sleep; I started to shake him, then stopped. There wasn’t any dream he could be having that would be as bad as waking up.”

Eli is interweaved throughout all three stories, as he is the oldest and basically the ‘Don Corleone’ character in the Peter and Jeanette sections. However, Eli’s own storyline was my favourite by a long shot, even though there are some absolutely horrific scenes in these parts. Eli’s family are killed by a Comanche tribe when he is a young boy and they take him captive. He then must do all he can to adapt, survive and fight the cruel world into which he has been born.

Peter, Eli’s son, is at war with his father’s own fame and power, and bears witness to horrors himself that completely misshape his life. Jeanette, Eli’s great-granddaughter is a woman who is in a typically man’s world, who wants to show everyone what she can do and how she is a true McCullough.

“If you hate me it is because I have morals.”

The three characters and three timelines were written so well that it was not difficult to follow whatsoever, and over 561 pages of this epic story there is plenty of time to invest in all three and understand exactly what is underneath their layers. I found myself begging for more chapters of their stories, more depth.

“I might be killed any day, by whites or hostile Indians, I might be run down by a grizzly or a pack of buffalo wolves, but I rarely did anything I didn’t feel like doing, and maybe this was the main difference between the whites and the Comanches, which was the whites were willing to trade all their freedom to live longer and eat better, and the Comanches were not willing to trade any of it.”

There is everything for fans of literature here; the exhilarating gunfights on the Mexican border, the romantic, natural but deadly lifestyle of the Comanche Native American’s, the forbidden love of a rival-family member, a strong female character who is equal in standing to any Colonel, beautiful prose, a sweeping plot that lifts you from your feet and drops you in the saddle of an enthusiastic American Paint Horse. There is so, so much to like, so much to love. It instilled a love within me for the Comanche way of life, and invoked such sadness when characters I grew fond of died, or befell hideous accidents or tragedies.

“It is impossible to believe we are truly in God’s image. Something of the reptile in us yet, the caveman’s allegiance to the spear. A vestige of our time in the swamps. And yet there are those who wish to return. Be more like the reptile, they say. Be more like the snake, lying in wait. Of course, they do not say snake, they say lion, but there is little difference in character between the two, only in appearance.”

5/5 – There’s a lot of tragedy in this book. It is an epic tragedy of the birth of the West, of America and the rise and fall of a family changed by new ways of life. There is little joy or happiness within The Son, but it is an astounding feat of writing. You may read it and instantly want to make a bow out of deer sinew and osage wood, you may want to experience riding a horse in the dry plains of Texas, you may want to never dwell on the horrors that The Son highlights. You may, like me, experience all three.

Buy The Son by Philipp Meyer

The post REVIEW: The Son by Philipp Meyer appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: For The Emperor by Sandy Mitchell

Ciaphas Cain, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!!!

Yes, all three exclamation points are necessary. Combining grimdark and humor is something that is very risky but awesome when done correctly. As Mel Brooks said, “Tragedy is when I prick my finger, comedy is when you fall into a hole and die.” There’s something fundamentally mean spirited and wicked about the best comedy, which is something that I say as a writer of comedic fiction.

The Ciaphas Cain series is easily the most humorous for the Warhammer 40K series, which started as possessing a lot of black comedy, and is all the stronger for it. It also lightly makes fun of the very successful Gaunt’s Ghost series by having its protagonist as almost the polar opposite of Ibram Gaunt.

The premise of the series is that Ciaphas Cain has achieved what most Imperium residents can only dream of: dying in his bed of old age. Post-mortem, his memoirs have fallen into the hands of his on-again, off-again lover Amberly Vail who just so happens to also be an Inquisitor. The memoirs are a lengthy confession of cowardice, double-dealing, and ridiculously successes against the Imperium’s enemies through sheer dumb luck (or is it something more?).

Amberly refuses to release these documents for fear of hurting Imperium morale but decides to edit them for use by the Inquisition. According to the author, it is an adaptation of the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser but the actual humor is more akin to the Blackadder serials starring Rowan Atkinson.

Amusingly, despite being set in the grimdark world of the 40th millennium, Ciaphas Cain is a great deal nicer figure than Flashman. He’s a self-described cowardly lecher who doesn’t want to die and eagerly takes advantage of his unearned fame to achieve this. However, due to his reputation for invincibility, he keeps getting thrown back into the meatgrinder against impossible odds.

Part of the books’ humor is that Ciaphas’ cowardice is more sane jurisprudence and perhaps why he keeps surviving while other “brave” soldiers getting themselves unnecessarily killed. These themes are throughout the book and established in the first volume but never quite lose their charm no matter how many times they’re illustrated.

For the Emperor is the first volume of the series and generally a good place to begin despite its tendency to jump around chronologically. Ciaphas Cain has been assigned to oversee the combining of two units from the planet Valhalla. The problem is that one is a group of hardened chauvinists and the other a group of Amazonian women. They’re also being assigned to a world disputed with the Tau while more sinister forces attempt to take it out from under them.

Ciaphas is an immensely entertaining narrator and I enjoy every single one of his asides. Even though he might not be the coward he thinks he is, his acidic wit and takedown of common elements of Warhammer 40K society would get him shot anyway. They’re also all 100% accurate. Ironically, the one thing he seems to genuinely believe in is the Cult of the God Emperor of Mankind but even then, he has serious issues with the “Emperor botherers” he often bumps into.

The supporting cast is also very entertaining with multiple characters that appealed to me. Ciaphas is grounded by people who don’t quite take him as seriously as others but still have the view he’s a solid and dependable leader. The only one who knows better is Inquisitor Vail and she loves him for who he is as well. For the Emperor is a solid addition to the Warhammer 40K universe and if you enjoy it, I suggest you move onto the rest of the series.

Buy For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell

The post REVIEW: For The Emperor by Sandy Mitchell appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

I received an uncorrected proof copy of The Kingdom of Liars in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Nick Martell and Gollancz for the opportunity.

The Kingdom of Liars, the first entry in The Legacy of the Mercenary King series, is the tale of Michael Kingman. He relays his story to us regarding the events that led him to be on trial as a King Killer, which he rather melodramatically refers to as “the greatest story ever told.” Ten years prior to this, Michael’s father was also tried for regicide and he was executed. He murdered a Prince who was the son of the King that Michael is accused of assassinating. We find out much more about these events throughout the narrative and if/how they are related.

The Kingdom of Liars is told from Michael’s first-person point of view perspective. We get to witness the city of Hollow as it is described by the narrator. As a Kingman – who have for generations acted as Right-Hand Men for the monarchs – Michael has the weight of his family’s name and legacy on his shoulders. This has been made even more complicated as his family were branded traitors following his father’s actions. Michael currently lives a mundane, dull existence. When not looking after his brain-addled mother he cons Low Nobels for whatever profit he can. Towards the beginning of The Kingdom of Liars, Michael crosses paths with two unique and eccentric individuals. An alcoholic yet extremely influential High Noble and a mysterious magic-wielding mercenary. He is offered opportunities to help his family live a stress-free life, and a possibility to investigate the details of his father’s crime to see if he was innocent. Family and Legacy are the most important things to a Kingman.

The magic scheme presented here seemed pretty unique and interesting to learn about. Magic users are referred to as Fabricators. These skills tend to be found in the Royal or the Noble classes. There are many different types including combat, reinforcer, lightning, light, dark, shadow etc… The cost of using these powers is that the wielder will forfeit certain memories. Many magic users keep journals for this reason. Mages who overindulge can become Forgotten. These are zombie-like beings who are hollow shells of their former selves. Although he is uninitiated with his magical abilities, Michael himself has moments when he can’t remember certain details or recall someone who insists that he knows them.

The time of the monarchy is shaky at best here as there is an open rebellion taking place in Hollow. Political unrest is rife. The Queen-in-Waiting is notably absent from court and the Corrupt Prince lives up to his name and has made it no secret he wishes to succeed his father. There are many factions, ranks and organisations in the city such as advocators, ravens, wardens, skeletons, and also mercenaries who are a law to themselves. The world-building is good throughout and Hollow is well-crafted. I’d like to visit more of the world in the following entries as other cities are only briefly mentioned.

The Kingdom of Liars is a pretty impressive debut release. It’s an exciting, action-focused fantasy thriller with intriguing mystery elements included too. Some of the characters were really well realised and great to find out more about. A few, however, don’t seem adequately fleshed out, but hopefully, this will change going forwards. The finale is stunning and I raced through the last eighty or so pages at a manic could-not-put-the-book-down pace. I didn’t predict the outcome, twists, or resolutions at all which is always a plus. It was only during the final few pages that I realised why the series is called The Legacy of the Mercenary King. At the ending, it’s fully revealed who the heroes and the villains are and I’m interested in what will happen next. There are some grand possibilities for this as a series and fine foundations have been set. The Kingdom of Liars isn’t perfect, a lot of what is here you’d have read before but it is an enjoyable take on the genre and I flew through the 600 pages in a handful of days. Martell is an author whose career I’ll be watching.

Buy Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

The post REVIEW: The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

10 Graphic Novels to Get You Started in the Genre

Comic books and, by extension, graphic novels (long-form comic books) were at one time the domain of the great unwashed. They were populated only by the geeks, the nerds, the weirdos, and outcasts. It was for people who lived more in their heads and fantasy lands then they did in real life. Time and perspective have changed how the public at large views comic books. We have The X-Men and The Marvel Universe brought to the forefront of popular culture. Kids en masse are comic book characters instead of ghosts and witches for Halloween. And now more than ever, have comics been seen as a valid form of literary storytelling. It isn’t all superheroes, graphic novels have deep themes of what makes us human, overcoming oppression, defeating the opposition, struggling, and the heroes journey. The only difference between some graphic novels and great literary works of old is that graphic novels use imagery as much as dialog and wordbuilding to build a mental picture in the reader.

It is a legitimate type of storytelling, but it can be overwhelming to someone getting into the genre. I have compiled a list of exceptional works that take reading to a whole new level.

Watchmen

by Alan Moore

“None of you understand. I’m not locked up in here with YOU. You’re locked up in here with ME.”

― Alan Moore, Watchmen

[image error][image error]

Alan Moore’s Watchmen is one of the granddaddies of modern comic storytelling. Watchman is a work of grand ambition and crippling nihilism. The plot, summed up as the “anti-superhero” story, spans decades. The art is beautiful and puts a glossy shine on the intricate storytelling, but this isn’t a fun story. What it is, is a story that rips your soul out and haves you begging for more. By the end of it, you can only ask one question, “Who is watching the Watchman?”

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Superman: Red Son
Marvels by Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross (Illustrator)

Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History

by Art Spiegelman

“To die, it’s easy. But you have to struggle for life.”

― Art Spiegelman, Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History

[image error][image error]

Most graphic novels of substance get compared to Maus at one point in their existence. Maus is quite different than Moore’s Watchman in that Watchman is nihilistic and dark while Maus is dark but tinged with hope. The author Art Spiegelman created Maus in a series of one chapter inserts in his magazine, Raw. It was created as a means for Spiegelman to connect with his father’s history as a survivor of Auschwitz. It is told through mouse anthropomorphization, but don’t let that fool you—this a poignant story of the Jewish people and surviving during the nazi holocaust. There is no cuteness here, just raw storytelling.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Mattias Ripa (Translator, Part 1), Blake Ferris (Translator, Part 2), Anjali Singh (Translator, Parts 3 and 4)
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle

V for Vendetta

by Alan Moore, David Lloyd (Illustrator)

“Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you, and you may call me V.”

― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

[image error] [image error]

V for Vendetta, Another Alan Moore book for the list. “The story depicts a dystopian and post-apocalyptic near-future history version of the United Kingdom in the 1990s, preceded by a nuclear war in the 1980s that devastated most of the rest of the world. The white supremacist, neo-fascist, outwardly Christofascistic, and homophobic fictional Norsefire political party has exterminated its opponents in concentration camps, and now rules the country as a police state.” It is dark, as so much of Moore’s work is. It deals with the oppression of V for Vendetta‘s titular character, V, and his rise and revolution against the police state.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

Sin City Vol. 1 by Frank Miller
300 by Frank Miller
Kick-Ass Vol. 1 by Mark Millar

Preludes & Nocturnes

by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth (Illustrator) Mike Dringenberg (Illustrator) Malcolm Jones III (Illustrator) Todd Klein (Letterer) Karen Berger (Introduction/Editor)

“CHORONZON: I am a dire wolf, prey-stalking, lethal prowler.

MORPHEUS: I am a hunter, horse-mounted, wolf-stabbing.

CHORONZON: I am a horsefly, horse-stinging, hunter-throwing.

MORPHEUS: I am a spider, fly-consuming, eight legged.

CHORONZON: I am a snake, spider-devouring, posion-toothed.

MORPHEUS: I am an ox, snake-crushing, heavy-footed.

CHORONZON: I am an anthrax, butcher bacterium, warm-life destroying.

MORPHEUS: I am a world, space-floating, life-nurturing.

CHORONZON: I am a nova, all-exploding… planet-cremating.

MORPHEUS: I am the Universe — all things encompassing, all life embracing.

CHORONZON: I am Anti-Life, the Beast of Judgment. I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds… of everything. Sss. And what will you be then, Dreamlord?

MORPHEUS: I am hope.” 

― Neil Gaiman, Preludes and Nocturnes

[image error] [image error]

An occultist attempts to capture Death; instead, he captures Dream. The protagonist Dream, also known as Morpheus, is a god, a deity, the personification of hope and despair, and something so much more. Humans have a complicated relationship with their dreams; they are the source of eternal hope and devouring nightmares.

Dream is all of this. Dream’s tale is part gothic, part horror, and part fantasy. It is beautifully rendered and shows what a fantastic writer Gaiman always has been. It, in turn, has inspired an entire generation of fantasy writers and is worth the read.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

Lucifer Vol. 1 Devil in the Gateway by Mike Carey
Preacher Vol. 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon (Illustrator) Joe R. Lansdale (Introduction)
The Books of Magic, Volume 1: Bindings by John Ney Rieber (Writer), Gary Amaro (Illustrator) Peter Gross (Illustrator) Jane Yolen (Introduction)

Saga, Vol. 1

by Brian K. Vaughan (Writer), Fiona Staples (Artist)

“Once upon a time, each of us was somebody’s kid.

Everyone had a father, even if he never provided anything more than his seed.

Everyone had a mother, even if she had to leave us on a stranger’s doorstep.

No matter how we’re eventually raised, all of our stories begin the exact same way.

They all end the same, too.”

― Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples (Artist), Saga, Vol. 1

[image error] [image error]

Saga is the Romeo and Juliet of the modern age because Alana and Marko must die for the crime of loving each other.

The planet Landfall is at war with the Moon Wreath and has been for generations. It has been at war so long that the reasons for the war are muddy. These two lovers from different sides of the battleline seek to escape the war and start a new life elsewhere. All they have is hope, their wits, and their infant daughter. But is escape is never easy, and they will have to fight an entirely different war if they want to keep their family alive.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodríguez (Artist)
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
The Walking Dead, Issue #1 by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore (Illustrator)

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned

by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (Illustrator) José Marzán Jr. (Illustrator) Jose Marzan (Illustrator) Goran Sudžuka (Illustrator)

“I’m not afraid of the world. I’m afraid of a world without you.”

― Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (Illustrator) José Marzán Jr. (Illustrator) Jose Marzan (Illustrator) Goran Sudžuka (Illustrator)

[image error] [image error]

Yorrick Brown, or as he is later called Y, is the only man left in a world of women after a mysterious plague has destroyed all of the world’s Y chromosomes. It is an apocalyptic scenario that has you turning page to page. Come for the excellent graphics, but stay for Vaughn’s poignant and sometimes heartbreaking writing.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Writer, Artist)
Sass & Sorcery – Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe, Roc Upchurch (Artist)
Chew, Vol. 1: Taster’s Choice by John Layman, Rob Guillory (Illustrator)

Transmetropolitan, Vol. 1: Back on the Street

by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson, Rodney Ramos (Illustrator)

Garth Ennis (Introduction) Nathan Eyring (Illustrator)

Patrick Stewart (Introduction)

“Journalism is just a gun. It’s only got one bullet in it, but if you aim right, that’s all you need. Aim it right, and you can blow a kneecap off the world.” 

― Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson, Rodney Ramos (Illustrator) Garth Ennis (Introduction) Nathan Eyring (Illustrator)

[image error] [image error]

Patrick Stewart (Introduction)

Spider Jerusalem is a gonzo journalist based loosely on a combination of Hunter S. Thompson, and H. L. Mencken. In Transmetropolitan, there is drug use, murder, and the mafia, but also there is an insatiable quest for the truth from Spider. He digs and digs until he hits proverbial bone, and when he does, he brings that truth kicking and screaming to the world. Damn the costs.

Spider has a particular hatred towards people and the public at large. He destroys himself to bring the truth to the public and is pissed off by how blindly people accept falsehoods. Transmetropolitan is intense and funny at times; however, what this story nails is why people love reporters like Hunter S. Thomspon. There is an absolute authenticity to Hunter, and by extension, Spider. He is his most authentic self, and that can be both a refreshing thing to read and bring a little hope for tomorrow.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

100 Bullets, Vol. 1: First Shot, Last Call by Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso (Illustrator)
Sex Criminals: Volume One: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky (Illustrator)
Ex Machina, Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris (Illustrator) Tom Feister (Illustrator) J.D. Mettler (Illustrator)

The Arrival

by Shaun Tan

[image error] [image error]

There are no words in The Arrival. There doesn’t need to be. Shaun Tan has crafted a narrative that is visually compelling and wholly original. He captures the surreal experience of being a stranger in a strange land, and the fears and intense joys it brings. It is an essential and universal story that should be savored panel to panel.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

Habibi by Craig Thompson
The Rabbits by John Marsden, Shaun Tan
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Daytripper

by Fábio Moon, Gabriel Ba, Craig Thompson (Introduction), Dave Stewart (Colours), Sean Knot (Lettering)

“Only when you accept that one day you’ll die can you let go, and make the best out of life. And that’s the big secret. That’s the miracle.”

― Gabriel Bá, Daytripper

[image error] [image error]

What is the most important moment of your life?

When does your life begin?

When does it end?

Every day of Brás de Oliva Domingos, life is a series of collected moments, like all of us. We, the protagonists in our personal narratives are shaped by small moments. These small moments, innocuous as they were, could change our destiny and fundamentally alter who we are as people. This is Daytripper, a collection of moments in the life of Brás de Oliva Domingos, where a small change, an alteration, changes his future. He becomes something else.

Each day ends with twists you aren’t expecting.

Daytripper is one of the few novels that understands the human condition and the fragility of life. It is the kind of book that reminds us that we may all be the lead protagonists in our own stories, but to someone else’s life, we might be the catalyst that changes their path from one way to another.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan, Niko Henrichon (Illustrator)

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening

by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda (Illustrator)

“To quote the poets… we’re fucked.”

― Marjorie M. Liu, Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening

[image error] [image error]

Monstress covers a lot of ground. It is a set in a gorgeous alternative 1900’s Asia with elements of steampunk and dark fantasy. The world is wracked with war, and a young girl who has survived the trauma of war now has a psychic link with a monster of high power that can destroy them all.

The artwork is beautiful; the story is rich and dark. What Monstress does is an attempt to find a path towards redemption and fighting for inner peace. If inner peace is to be achieved, one must battle and find a balance with your inner monster, even if it is in the literal sense.

If you like this, read these graphic novels:

The Faust Act – The Wicked and the Divine by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie (Illustrations), Matt Wilson (Colorist), Clayton Cowles
Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang (Illustrator) Matthew Wilson (Colorist) Jared K. Fletcher (Lettering)
Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

The post 10 Graphic Novels to Get You Started in the Genre appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel takes the best parts of the dystopian science fiction and fantasy genre and does one thing most books can’t, give the reader hope. Generally, In speculative fiction, I think we as readers forget that to survive humans must do more than living, humans need to thrive. Humans need to explore and challenge ourselves, to watch sunsets, be moved, and feel joy. Humans need more than to breathe. Good fiction knows this but great fiction, like Station Eleven, explores this.

“Survival is insufficient.”

The story of Station eleven starts with multiple endings.

A play of King Lear at a Toronto Theater where 51-year-old Arthur Leander has his final moments on stage after suffering a major heart attack. That was his end.


A man runs on to the stage and attempts to save Arthur. In this moment of heroism, his wandering has ceased. It has ended. He has found his calling.


A little girl watches the death of Arthur followed by the end of life as she knows it. Her childhood has ended.


The first cases of superflu affect people. This ends in a worldwide pandemic that decimates that human population, cities, culture, and infrastructure. This is the end of human civilization as we know it.

The world ends, not with a bang but a cough.

“Of all of them there at the bar that night, the bartender was the one who survived the longest. He died three weeks later on the road out of the city.”

Endings are important in fiction, they are the culmination of something. But, an ending is only a moment, a person dying on stage, a man running to save him, a little girl weeping in the wings, and the two weeks that followed. These moments are like stones dropped into a pond. It isn’t so much about the stones as it is about all the ripples sent out from it. The endings are the springboards for beginnings and that in this novel is the important part.

We move forward twenty years and meet Kirsten who was the little girl who witnessed the death of Arthur. She is now a 28-year-old actor and part of the Traveling Symphony. A group of artists dedicated to performing Shakespeare and traveling around from city to city. They sing for their supper, but more than that they give a peek into something that is more than the drudgery of day to day. What in the world is more magnificent and resembles the height of human culture than Shakespeare?

I will not say any more about the plot. First, this is an intricately woven plot and surmising it any further than the blurb does the story injustice. There are too many small pieces. Second, this is a highly atmospheric novel. It is not so much about the words themselves, but the mental image the excellent storytelling it evokes. I couldn’t do it justice in a paragraph about plot highlights even if I wanted to.

Here is where I think this story is brilliant and surpasses many other speculative stories and should be read. It is the celebration of art and humanities. Art is such a human thing and it shines a light on the darkness of an apocalypse. There is so much dark, and drudgery in surviving. Find food and shelter… repeat. That isn’t important. It is the moments of joy and bliss that should be celebrated. Find hope amongst the shadows, find light in the dark. Celebrate that joy and write a story about that. That is what Station Eleven is. It is a light on the darkness. I hope you read it and are as moved as I was.

Buy Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The post REVIEW: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

MOVIE REVIEW: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Horror is the sister genre of grimdark. Some have suggested that fantasy and science fiction become grimdark when combined with horror. The world of horror invokes most of the feelings of nihilism, dread, and inhumanity that make the genre distinct from traditional escapist fiction. The two genres are very distinct with grimdark having a much more distinctive tone, however. The big thing lacking from most horror found in grimdark is the moral relativism and ambiguity. In most horror there are innocent victims and monsters. In most grimdark, the heroes themselves are compromised. One movie that straddles the line is, unusually, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, a comedy horror film that deconstructs the concept of the movie slasher.

The concept of Behind the Mast: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is that a group of grad students are working on their thesis with the premise of, “how do slashers do what they do?” In this movie, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers are all real serial killers who have terrorized the United States. While they are rumored to be supernatural, it’s speculated they may just be people using special effects. The grad students then get invited to learn the “secrets” of slashers by an affable man named Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) who claims to be a local urban legend.

The movie’s central conceit is the grad students don’t buy for a second that Leslie Vernon is dangerous. He looks and acts a bit like you’d expect Jim Carey to in real-life. He’s pleasant, charming, and a little goofy. Having come here expecting someone much more sinister, they swiftly decide just to go along with his detailed explanations of how to plan a spree murder while treating it more like he’s teaching them how to flip a house. Leslie explains everything from how to lure a bunch of victims to an isolated location, rig blackouts, disable cars, stalk people while not looking you’re running, and other “tricks of the trade.”

The heart of the movie is the idea that your typical stock slasher plot of beautiful people getting trapped and murdered by a deranged serial killer is the result of careful planning rather than bad writing. Leslie Vernon is a wonderful anti-hero in that he uses his moderate knowledge of special effects, theatricality, and planning to become the slasher movie equivalent of Batman. He doesn’t have any superpowers and is an imposter but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. Indeed, he is more dangerous because even those people he tells he’s going to go on a killing spree like the documentary crew are lured into a false sense of security by his charisma.

Two-thirds of the movie is nothing more than Leslie Vernon’s preparation for his killing spree and how much effort he puts into it. An interesting part of the movie is the apathetic and unconcerned tone of the grad students. Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) and the others don’t believe Leslie is dangerous but the fact that they ignore all the signs he is as well as were planning to meet with an “actual” serial killer shows they put their careers ahead of people’s safety. Even when they’re confronted by a Doctor Loomis-esque psychologist (played none other than Robert Englund) who tries to warn them of how dangerous Leslie Vernon is, they shrug him off because he’s spoiling their fun.

The final third of the film is a more traditional slasher movie, essentially presenting the “best parts” of a typical one. Having had all the preparations explained to us, it’s a wonderful collection of grizzly deaths and shocking twists. One of these twists is one that was obvious in retrospect and makes the movie significantly more sinister on a second watch. The ending of the movie also includes the awesome song “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads. I give any movie props when they have classic rock songs like that as their theme.

The dark and nihilistic feel of the movie is quite interesting. Leslie Vernon’s craves meaning in his life and wishes to create a conflict of good vs. evil by embodying the evil while trying to force his “Survivor Girl” to be his good. It’s a high concept that I really enjoyed. Not only does it provide an explanation for how a “normal” person could pull off most of the tricks of a slasher, but it goes into the psychology of a person who would want to stalk and kill a bunch of people but give them a decent chance of fighting back. It makes sense in this world at least.

The humor in Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a delightfully black one as Leslie Vernon’s sardonic, affable nature contrasts with his plans for a killing spree. There are hundreds of in-jokes ranging from the huge (like Robert Englund’s appearance) to the blink-and-miss-it like Vernon’s turtle being named after characters from Pet Semetary. I got a lot of laughs out of the fact that one of the characters is a reference to Black Christmas and the Toolbox Murders, two movies you don’t normally see cited in this kind of story. As Friday the 13th‘s gravedigger would say, “Some folk have a very strange idea of entertainment.”

The movie is fairly low budget with much of it being treated as documentary “filmed footage” that is lower quality than the actual “live” footage of our characters interacting. There’s not much in the way of action sequences either or gory special effects. This was made on a show-string budget but that adds a weird sense of realism to the whole thing. There’s precious little gore or nudity so it’s the kind of slasher film that you can watch with the whole family (of adults).

In conclusion, this is a fantastic movie and the more you like slasher movies the more you’ll enjoy this film. It’s a solid and underrated movie available on Amazon Prime, BluRay, and Shudder. It was supposed to have a sequel but due to financing issues, it seems like it will be a one and done special. That’s fine by me as it’s a pretty awesome story by itself. I don’t think there’s anywhere they could go in the story that wasn’t already covered. If you like Scream or other deconstructive parodies that still work as an example of the genre then this is for you.

 

9/10

Buy Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

The post MOVIE REVIEW: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Valdor: Birth of the Imperium by Chris Wraight

Black Library’s books chronicling life in the grim darkness of the future usually fall under two basic timelines: the traditional 40th millennium of Warhammer 40K, and the 30th millennium, during which the tragedy of the Horus Heresy unfolded. However, we also know that the timeline of the Imperium is a richly developed treasure trove of lore; a fertile ground of stories waiting to be told. In his new book, Valdor: Birth of the Imperium, Chris Wraight tells a tale from a critical time in the Imperium’s growth – the bridge between the Wars for Unity and the time of venturing to the stars and bringing other planets into the Emperor’s Light. The book focuses on Constantin Valdor, the first Captain-General of the Legio Custodes; those greatest of genetically-enhanced warriors, charged with protecting the growing Palace on Terra, as well as the Emperor Himself.

This is a chapter in the Imperium’s history that many fans have desired getting the attention it deserves for a long time. Valdor is a cool, enigmatic, stalwart warrior who has long deserved a book of his own. Chris Wraight is, by and far, one of the top-tier authors in the Black Library stable. By any given metric, Valdor should have been a grand slam home-run.

Unfortunately, Valdor: Birth of the Imperium ends up as a glorious misfire; both bolstered by excellent writing, yet confounded by ill-conceived lore changes and painful lapses in logic and concept of basic military tactics.

Before we commence the dissection, let’s take a look at the blurb:

Constantin Valdor. It is a name that brings forth images of heroism, honour and peerless duty. For it is he who commands the will of the Legio Custodes that most esteemed and dedicated cadre of elite warriors. He is the Emperor’s sword, His shield, His banner and he knows no equal. Clad in shining auramite, his fist clenched around the haft of his Guardian Spear, he is the bulwark against all enemies of the throne, within or without.

Nearing the end of the wars of Unity, Valdor’s courage and purpose is put to the test as never before. The petty warlords and tyrants of Old Earth have been all but vanquished, and the Emperor’s armies are triumphant. What now for the nascent Imperium and what fate its forgotten soldiers, its Thunder Warriors and armies of Unity? A new force is rising, one which shall eclipse all others and open the way to the stars. But change on Terra is seldom bloodless and for progress to be ensured darker deeds are necessary.

First things first; let’s take a look at the book itself. The initial release of Valdor is a snazzy hardback (a paperback edition will be released in a few months), and it is graced by a gorgeous image of Valdor by Aaron Griffith. It also bears noting that Valdor: Birth of the Imperium is not so much a novel as it is a novella. The book comes in at a trim 190 pages; and although I don’t know the official word count, I’d guess the total length to be more around 150 pages. It is a release similar to the Primarchs series; although, of course, despite his significance as a hero of the Imperium, Valdor is not in that club. Oddly enough, the book is branded under the “Horus Heresy” umbrella, which just underscores the need on Black Library’s part for a “30K” or such segment, to cover historical stories outside of the Heresy itself. Again, it’s a neat volume.

Second, let me lay out a bit of a note on the historical timeline, for those who might be newer to the setting. This is an extreme oversimplification; so for the more lore-savvy, please don’t come after me for inaccuracies. As mentioned, Valdor takes place after the Wars of Unification; during which the Emperor solidified Himself as the ruler of Terra. This involved seemingly endless wars against minor kings and warlords, as well as agents those who’d aligned themselves with darker powers (Chaos). The premiere troops of this time were the first legions of genetically-enhanced soldiers, the Thunder Warriors. The Thunder Warriors were frightening in their martial prowess, yet mentally (and sometimes genetically) unstable, prone to outbursts of unmitigated, uncontrollable violence. As the Emperor set his sights upon the stars, he began work on another group of genetically-engineered soldiers to replace the Thunder Warriors; the Adeptus Astartes, aka the Space Marines everyone knows and loves. The Thunder Warriors were, ummm, ‘retired’ in a massacre at Mt. Ararat.

Now, back to the review.

Story

I’ve often mentioned that stories about Space Marines (and in this case, the Custodes), often work better when they are seen through the eyes of a human witness. Why? Because, all of these genetically enhanced soldiers have had their emotional palettes modified, truncated, and/or neutered. It is extremely difficult for even the best of authors to effectively put to paper what is going on in their heads. Ergo, it’s better to witness their magnitude from a distance. Usually. Such is not the case here. Wraight has a good bead on what makes Valdor tick; so I would’ve loved if he spent the whole novella inside of the Captain-General’s head.

Alas, a good chunk of the book is told through the eyes of Uwoma Kandawire, Provost Marshal of the High Lords of Terra (the Imperium has a Senatorum, head by High Lords, which oversee the largest branches of the Empire. The Provost Marshal heads up the Adeptus Arbites – the Terran police force). Kandawire isn’t a bad character, per se. Wraight makes her intentionally flawed but idealistic. Her part in the story boils down to realizing that something is rotten in Denmark; and as the High Lords are supposed to provide checks and balances, it’s up to her to see what’s going on. The Thunder Warriors were slaughtered without them knowing; and there are rumors that another army is being brewed up in ultimate secrecy. Kandawire dispatches her agents to investigate the latter; and decides to deposition Valdor himself to ascertain answers on the former.

I really can’t divulge too much without veering into spoiler territory (remember this is a pretty short book), but a lot of the story boils down to the mental chess being played back and forth between the two of them; Valdor misleading with cherry-picked tidbits of information and misinformation; and Kandawire attempting to separate truths from untruths as she prepares to act on her findings.

Also jammed into the proceedings is another storyline focusing on a genewright named Amar Astarte (more on her later), and her role in the genetically-engineered soldiers being vat-grown in the bowels of the Imperial Palace (currently under construction).

Characters

As mentioned above, Wraight nails his portrayal of Valdor. Stoic, melancholic, dry. A consummate warrior. One for whom duty is paramount. There were a few slips during the end where he came off a bit too sappy, but that is fine. Wraight understands that these characters are not overwhelmed by emotion; but hints at things like personal pride, etc., dance on the periphery of their being. Even though they are memory-wiped, ghosts of things remembered flash briefly in the mind. It is such a hard balance to strike; which makes it regrettable that Valdor is relegated to being a supporting actor in his own show (heck, he is not even seen until almost 30 pages in).

Kandawire, as mentioned, is interesting in concept, but deeply flawed in execution. One can understand her motives, and appreciate her intelligence-gathering network, but once her ‘plan’ is put into motion – sorry, it is beyond ridiculous. It simply makes no sense whatsoever.

As for Amar Astarte, I am willing to bet that her entire existence was shoe-horned into the narrative at the last moment. Her existence here contributes absolutely nothing. It is as though GW decided that one of the lore changes was going to be that she was the genius scientist who made the Space Marines, and we need to fit her in the book as well. Astarte has her own plan to set in motion; which by rules of narrative convenience coincide with the execution of Kandawire’s plan, and….ugh. It all culminates with action sequences that are beautifully written, yet completely arbitrary.

The rest of the cast list is pretty small, and they do their parts admirably. Samonas, the only other Custodes to get significant page time, is a nice addition; I really would have liked to have seen more of him. Kandawire’s agents are an interesting, diverse crew and made for compelling reading. And finally, the real show-stealer is Ushotan, one of the Thunder Warrior Primarchs (yes, you read that right….more in a bit). Every appearance by him is a welcome addition.

So, what went wrong with Valdor: Birth of the Imperium?

Well, first and foremost, Kandawire’s awful ‘plan’ is a huge misstep. Again, to avoid spoilers, I won’t get into the logistics (or lack of) surrounding it.

Now, we can talk about the lore changes. Just to put it out there; I’m not one of those fans who balk at any new lore. The Warhammer universe has grown exponentially over the past 30 years, so a lot of lore had to be developed, re-visited, nuked, etc. However, a good rule of thumb is that lore should enhance, not detract from, the overall IP. Also, you should really evaluate as to whether the lore added makes sense when added to the bigger picture.

Let’s start with the Thunder Warriors. First of all, they now have (had) an official name; the Legio Cataegis. This is fine. However, according to the new lore, they were also broken down into 20 legions, like the Space Marines, each of it with its own Primarch, like the Space Marines. And each legion also has a speciality. The IV Legion is skilled in siegecraft (like the Iron Warriors, the IV Legion of Space Marines), and it is of this legion that Ushotan is the primarch. Call me crazy; but it seems a bit of an oxymoron to have ‘specialists’ that are also immensely emotionally unstable. Also, Ushotan is supposed to have at least some aptitude in the art of the siege; which renders the climactic battle even more ridiculous.

Then, we get to our new character, Amar Astarte. Remember, in the previous lore, the Space Marines were called the Adeptus Astartes because they were adepts of the stars (their core focus to go to the other worlds and rope them into the Emperor’s fold). Using the term Astartes in favor of Space Marines also coincided with the failure of Games Workshop in their attempt to copyright the term “Space Marine”. No one is complaining that we get the chance to meet the genewright who was instrumental in creating them; it is just silly to now say that they were named after her in a casual display of irony. The folly is compounded by the fact that Astarte is such a poorly developed character; we are simply told that she is ‘the greatest genewright ever’, although nothing is posited to underpin this claim. We are even told that the bulk of her younger life was punctuated by creating failed genetically-engineered troops for myriad warlords. It makes no sense. It would’ve worked much better if we could really see or feel the ‘why’ behind her actions; alas, like everything revolving around her, it all feels tacked on.

In Closing

Not to sound like a broken record, but Valdor: Birth of the Imperium would have been a classic if it tightened its focus on what the title promised – the titular hero, and his place (as well as that of his Legio) in the drastically evolving Imperium). There was enough of that to fill a whole novel; rather than focusing on hare-brained schemes and rewriting the history of the naming of the most popular faction in the Warhammer universe.

Again, kudos at least to Wraight for making Valdor truly compelling, for giving us breathtaking views of the Palace under construction, and making even the ill-conceived battle scenes exhilarating.

To paraphrase Shakespeare: “I have come to bury Valdor, not to praise him.”

Buy Valdor: Birth of the Imperium by Chris Wraight

The post REVIEW: Valdor: Birth of the Imperium by Chris Wraight appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

EXCLUSIVE: The Magpie King and the Black Squirrel by Benedict Patrick

The following tale is The Magpie King and the Black Squirrel. The Yarnsworld is a land in which stories are important, and in no part of the world is that more true than the Magpie King’s forest – knowing your folktales, and heeding the warnings in them, can save your life under those dark boughs.

This is one of the oldest tales of the forest, harking back to the first days of the Magpie King’s reign. The further back in time these stories go, the less familiar they feel – in The Magpie King and the Black Squirrel animals talk to humans, and a small mammal can kidnap the sun.

If this sounds familiar to you, there might be a good reason – like many of the Yarnsworld folktales, this one has roots in our own world, in this case based on one of the tales told by the Wabanaki in North American, respun slightly to fit the Magpie King’s narrative.

It is one of my favourite tales from They Mostly Come Out At Night, and based on feedback I’ve received over the years, I am not alone in that sentiment.

 

The Magpie King and the Black Squirrel
An extract from the teachings of the High Corvae

It was in the early days of the forest, long before the outsiders arrived. The world was still new, and would look strange to your eyes if you saw it now. Cat and mouse would walk together through the leaves, chatting abouta joke a human had told them earlier that morning. Rabbits sneered rudely at passersby, concerned that everyone was after their patches of clover. Strange creatures that you cannot imagine shared these trees as their home, such as mammoths, bears and dragons.

The Magpie King was young, and was still becoming accustomed to his power. He viewed every feature of his forest with wonder and delight, and found great joy in taking the opportunity to pass the time of day with every deer, leopard or wolf.

This idyllic paradise was shattered when a great darkness enveloped the sky above the forest. Man, woman, fox and frog alike threw themselves to the dirt and wailed for the Magpie King to protect them.

“What is causing this?” the Magpie King demanded of his subjects. “What is happening to the sun?”

“It is Mikweh, the black squirrel,” they responded, writhing in unison into the dirt at the thought of the world ending. “He is eating the sun to teach us a lesson.”

The Magpie King shielded his eyes with his hand and raised them up to the sun. Sure enough, there was Mikweh, balancing high on a fir tree, with the sun in his paws and daylight dripping like syrup from his mouth.

I should tell you now that squirrels back then were not like squirrels are now. For a start, there was only one of them – Mikweh – and he was in a permanent state of anger, for he believed that the other animals were constantly laughing at his bushy tail. Our squirrels in the forest, when they appear, are small and weak, and frightened of their own shadows. Not so was Mikweh, in the dawn of the world. He was huge – taller than three stags perched atop one another – and incredibly strong. The Magpie King was still learning about his own abilities, but even then he knew he was no match for Mikweh, at least physically. Unlike the fiery red coats of the squirrels of our forest, Mikweh’s coat was a wiry black. Black as the anger that gnawed at his soul.

“Raise yourselves, gentle creatures,” the Magpie King bade the mourning animals. “I shall seek an audience with our friend squirrel and see if he cannot be appeased.” So the Magpie King set off to meet with Mikweh, the black squirrel.

It was a journey that itself is worth many stories. Mikweh had made his home deep in the forest, at the top of the tallest tree. It took many years for the Magpie King to find and reach his quarry. In that time, he learnt how to sing, found and then lost a dear friend, and forgot how to smile. The dark figure who finally reached the top of that fir tree was an uncanny shade of the man he had been when his journey had begun.

“Mikweh,” the Magpie King bellowed, a cloak of black and white feathers that had been gifted to him by the Great Magpie during the previous winter flowing behind him in the strong wind. “Put down the sun and speak with me.”

Mikweh still had the sun in his grasp, but that once-fiery orb had diminished greatly in size and its juices stained the squirrel’s maw. The black squirrel turned to the Magpie King to regard him with its red eyes, and the creature simply opened its jaw to scream at the man who had dared to disturb him.

“Mine. Sun belongs to Mikweh. Animals not laugh at Mikweh any more. Too busy screaming.”

The Magpie King’s lip curled and he took a leap closer to his target. He nodded in agreement with the squirrel. “Yes, oh great squirrel, you have truly shown us the error of our ways. Won’t you come down to the forest with me so that all creatures can beg your forgiveness?”

The beast snarled again at the Magpie King, and turned back to the sun to sink his teeth into it once more. The sun did its best to pull away from its attacker, straining to lift itself back onto its celestial path, but the muscles in the squirrel’s forearms bulged and the sun was held firm.

An almighty rumbling grew the Magpie King’s attention to its source, and as his eyes fell upon Mikweh’s distended belly, a plan formed in his mind.

“Oh, great Mikweh,” he began humbly, “it pains me you have dedicated yourself so passionately to our deserved education that you have neglected your own needs. We all know that feasting only on the sun for the past year and five days will not have satisfied your hunger. A sun is composed of warmth and light, and not much else – hardly a fitting meal for one of your stature. Please, allow me to seek out more adequate food for one such as yourself while you continue to chastise the rest of the forest.”

The black squirrel turned to snarl again at the Magpie King, and returned to gnaw on his sun. But the creature’s belly rumbled and its red eyes darted to regard the Magpie King, and as they did so a flicker of hope rippled through them. A smile threatened to break on the Magpie King’s lips at that moment, but he forced it into hiding and disappeared back down the fir tree.

The Magpie King’s journey to locate food for Mikweh would take more time than we have now to recount. Save to say it was a perilous one, taking him to depths of the forest he had never ventured into before. He lost the ring finger of his left hand to an army of red ants. He found a wooden earring he would treasure forever, and he awoke a new enemy that would eventually be his bloodline’s doom. Finally, he was able to return to Mikweh with an armful of red berries he had found within sight of the Lion’s mountains, each fruit as large as a man’s head, each containing a stone that was the size of a clenched fist.

“Here, good Mikweh. I have brought nourishment to fuel your great endeavours.”

On sight of the red bounty the black squirrel leapt from its perch, dragging the mutilated sun with him. He slavered over the gifts from the Magpie King, sucking on the red flesh of the berries and crunching into the stones until all were gone, and his belly gave a soft rumble of contentment. The squirrel lay there for a moment in front of the Magpie King, one hand still clutching the dying star to his breast and the other cradling his satisfied gut. With a trembling hand, the Magpie King reached forth and patted Mikweh on his head. As he did so, the squirrel gave a whimper of contentment, shuddered, and then visibly reduced in size. The Magpie King smiled as this happened, and at that moment, the sun made another pull away from its captor’s claws, but to no avail. The squirrel remained the size of a large horse, and anger still fuelled its powerful claws.

“You are much stronger now,” the Magpie King complimented Mikweh, “yet I feel I have not been equal to the task I had set myself. Forgive me, almighty black squirrel, I shall away to find more to sustain you with.” With that, the Magpie King leapt from the top of the fir. Once again, the details of his journey could entertain a mind for a lifetime. He stepped on a snake and had his face spat in. He met an owl and fell painfully in love. He was watched the whole time by a single mouse, but failed to pay it any attention.

Finally, the Magpie King returned with a single branch of blue flowers. Each flower was closed tight, as the petals were holding jealously to the rich nectar that was within. At the sight of the food, the black squirrel leapt down again, taking care to pull the sun with him, and gorged himself on the Magpie King’s find. He burst through the cocoon of leaves to the amber liquid contained within, and the Magpie King could clearly hear the splash of the nectar hitting the walls of the squirrel’s gut. Once again, the squirrel curled up in contentment, and once again, the Magpie King gave Mikweh a pat on the head. Anger draining out of him, the black squirrel diminished once more, down to the size of a wolf. However, it still snarled mightily at the Magpie King when it regained its senses, and quickly took up position again gnawing on the sun.

And so the Magpie King took a final journey down the fir tree. No records exist of what took place during this final trip. All that is known is that the journey took exactly three months and a day, and that when the Magpie King returned to the top of the tree once more, his hair was shaved off and he wept openly.

“Here, great Mikweh,” the Magpie King offered, bringing forth a tiny golden egg for the squirrel. The black creature scurried down from his perch, forcing the sun to follow, and eyed the egg greedily. With great reluctance, the Magpie King passed it to the beast, who cracked it open and gorged on the purple contents within. The Magpie King could not bear to watch this sight, but closed his eyes and reached out his hand to pat Mikweh one last time on the head. When the Magpie King opened his eyes, the squirrel was finally diminished to the size we know today. Indeed, so drained of anger and strength was Mikweh that he could no longer hold on to the sun, and it returned to the sky. In time, the sun regained its health and brought heat and light to the forest once more.

The black squirrel withdrew to the high branches of his tree and propagated more of his kind. The Magpie King had drained the squirrel of the rage that had allowed him to pluck the sun from the sky, but those flames came from a fire that can never be extinguished. To this day, when we meet Mikweh’s children in the forest, they shake their fists at us and chatter angrily, giving voice to their irritation. Dimly they recall their original greatness, and until they fade from the forest they will blame people for taking it from them.

Buy They Mostly Come Out at Night by Benedict Patrick

The post EXCLUSIVE: The Magpie King and the Black Squirrel by Benedict Patrick appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.