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REVIEW: The Heron Kings by Eric Lewis

I was sent an ARC of The Heron Kings from Flame Tree Press for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

The Heron Kings is a character-driven story about the horrors of war. Dark, brutal and bloody, Lewis is not afraid to pack a punch (or kick, or stab, or anything else violent).

‘Give my regards to the king.’

Two nations at war and a whole lot of innocent people caught in the middle, this is a tale of the middle side, those not interested in the war, only surviving. I use the word innocent lightly, as Lewis highlights himself through the effect of war, is anyone really innocent? The Heron Kings follows several point of views.

Firstly, Alessia is a physic who leaves the safety of her temple to help to the best of her abilities those caught up in the brutality of war. She is a strong lead who wants to do good but refreshingly wasn’t a saint. Ulnoth is a farmer whose family and village is slaughtered during the war and he decides to take the revenge path. These two carry the bulk of story-time and work well together as two different people going the same direction, just in very opposite ways. Another character, Vivian – ‘Burned Bitch’ / spy for one of the warring nations – played a large role in the story and I enjoyed her chapters the most. She was written well, full of intelligent dialogue and intriguing plot points.

‘All that’s mine is yours to command. Let gods and men witness, from now until death I serve Your Majesty in all things…’

There is a group of secondary characters than to me seemed to blend, each sounding just that bit too similar. They supported the main few and added interest but lacked a certain something to carry themselves to levels that would have made me care about them. Ulnoth’s and Alessia’s relationship, though tropey, was written well and Lewis included wit, banter and depth to both that was one of his strong points.

Lewis’ prose was clear and concise. I wasn’t confused at any point and knew exactly what was going on and what the characters through. Lewis writes in a very dialogue-heavy way, with little to no description of characters appearances and the setting. We find out the world-building and history of the land through conversations and the occasional inside thought. I liked this style as it only added to the strong characters and allowed me to paint for myself the picture of this medieval-fantasy world.

‘May the gods light both our paths… and darken our enemy’s.’

As the story grows there is lots of to-and-fros with the various forces which reminded me of The Patriot (great film, by the way). I really liked how The Heron King’s was focused on the middle side rather than one of the nations. Plotwise, I felt that at times it was a little thin and I did question a lot of tactics/character choices. There were points in the story where events felt forced and unrealistic, or just a little too easy. However, reflecting back on the novel there were enough events and conflicts that kept the story progressing towards the end and had a good ratio of dialogue-action sequences.

Considering the tone of the book, at times it was adult, at times very adult which to me felt sometimes too extreme. Whether it be bursts of swearing, or crude scenes or implied rape, or intense violence that made me squirm, it took me out of the story. (Warning! There are a few scenes that could push people to put it down). I understand why the author used some of this, just to me it felt like it didn’t fit with the overall tone of the book.

‘One spear wound and one dead ex-comrade. Better be worth it.’

3.5/5 – A promising debut from Eric Lewis. The Heron Kings is full of consistent characters that are inspiring and tough. Gruesome at times, this shows the true savagery of war and has enough action and intrigue to keep you on your toes.

Buy The Heron Kings by Eric Lewis

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REVIEW: The Forever House by Tim Waggoner

I received an uncorrected proof copy of The Forever House in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Tim Waggoner and Flame Tree Press for the opportunity.

The Forever House starts with the Eldred family moving into an infamous dwelling in a quiet cul-de-sac in suburban Rockbridge. The house in question was host to four murders and a suicide, and has been given the title the “house of blood”. With such a tragedy having taken place, most normal people wouldn’t consider buying the property. Fortunately for The Forever House, the Eldred family are the opposite of normal. They are akin to a twisted, warped and fiendish version of the Adams family and they feed of dark human emotions such as fear. The family members have names such as Father Hunger, The Werewife, The Low Prince, Grandother, and although these names sound and the characters initially seem, quiet comic, their actions, feelings, and wants are utterly dark.

“The Eldred fall quiet as they breathe deeply, resuming their search for the right scent, the right place. They have no doubt they’ll find their stalking ground. They always do.”

After they’ve moved into the house of blood the Eldred’s send their neighbours invitations to a house-warming garden party. Although it seems innocent and amiable on paper, the Eldred’s ulterior motives are to lure their unsuspecting neighbours into the nightmare property where they will feed on their emotional turmoil and distress. If they enter the house they will find themselves in one of the Eldred family members domains where their worst fears and nightmares are made real in a distorted and perverted reality. Unlike the Eldred’s, the neighbours are all too human with their ambitions, fears, desires, flaws, opinions, and views of reality.

The neighbours from four of the properties in the cul-de-sac attend the garden party and are transferred into the Eldred’s dark game. We follow the third person viewpoints of and enter the minds of all nine of the neighbours. They are a varied bunch that include a university professor, a father who suffers from gambling addiction, a young, wide-eyed child, a paedophile and also his worried mother. The characters were pretty well crafted and developed when taking into consideration that The Forever House is only 297 pages long.

In the first third of The Forever House, we get to know the characters, being presented with information about their thoughts, views and relationships to their families and also to other people who live in the same street. The final half takes place in the House of Blood where there are few limits to the horrors that are forthcoming. These sections are creepy, intense, disturbing and suspenseful. The Forever House is exquisitely well-written and throughout creates swirling, animated and heightened pictures of harrowing events and encounters. There are numerous horrific deaths, some featuring twisted psychological torment and others that create distressing imagery that will stick with you long after finishing the novel.

I don’t think I’ve read anything like The Forever House before. It weaves horror and suspense in a warped reality with elements of portal fantasy and some Brothers Grimm-esque imagery. Apart from a handful of characters there really isn’t a happy ending here so don’t go expecting for closure or for the good guys to prevail. Often macabre and sometimes terrifying, The Forever House is a ghastly and grim adventure where the humans might as well be puppets for the inhuman puppeteers who feed off their distress, fear and hatred. The novel is extremely adult in nature overall and much of content could be considered graphic.

One aspect of The Forever House that some people might not enjoy that I thought I would mention is the point of view perspective of the paedophile when he thinks in detail about his infatuation with children, one in particular who is a main character here, and reading about it was sometimes very uncomfortable. His overall character arc is interesting though so don’t write him off straight away.

Buy The Forever House by Tim Waggoner

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REVIEW: Misery by Stephen King

Misery by Stephen King is a novel about pain, obsession, and writing. Paul Sheldon, the stories protagonist, is 42. He is a celebrity writer, twice married and divorced, drinker and smoker, and he is in a lot of trouble. So much trouble. “umber whunnnn yerrrnnn umber whunnnn fayunnnn These sounds: even in the haze.” Even through the haze of drugs and pain, he knew something was off; something was wrong. There was pain, so much of it. “The pain was somewhere below the sounds. The pain was east of the sun and south of his ears. That was all he did know.” His memory was hazy. He remembers a crash. He remembers he stopped breathing, then breathing again. A mouth, spitless, dry, and tight had clamped on him like a vice with its breath. It was “a dreadful mixed stench of vanilla cookies and chocolate ice cream and chicken gravy and peanut-butter fudge.” It was awful, Paul begged and pleaded to be left alone. But Annie couldn’t leave him alone.

“Breathe, goddam you!” the unseen voice shrieked”

This was Paul’s introduction to Annie Wilkes, Paul’s number one fan, the stories antagonist and Paul was in a lot of trouble.

Paul was out celebrating the finishing of his newest novel. “Fast Cars.” A story that Paul had written after putting behind him his best-selling romance series staring the heroine Misery Chastain. A story that, to him, was not writterly and deserving of praise. He had drunk champagne, high on the excitement of the victory, and went driving. He crashed his car spectacularly on a snowy road outside Sidewinder, Colorado. A place that many King fans will recognize from Dr. Sleep, American Vampire, and The Shining. He is found broken and twisted amongst the remains of his car by Annie Wilkes. His legs are a badly broken puzzle of bone shards and pain. He awakes in Annie’s farm somewhere outside of Sidewinder with only the sounds from an unhappy cow and a pig that Annie had named Misery to greet him.

“This memory circled and circled, maddening, like a sluggish fly. He groped for whatever it might mean, but for a long time the sounds interrupted. fayunnnn red everrrrrythinggg umberrrrr whunnnn Sometimes the sounds stopped. Sometimes he stopped”

Paul realizes that his legs are a broken and splintered mess pretty quickly. Ironic because Annie is an ex-nurse and probably could have set them to rights. He is in excruciating pain and hooked on pain killers, and is entirely at the mercy of his number one fan, and something is not quite right with her. There is something diabolical and insane in Annie Wilkes. Something dark is inside her mind and only comes out sometimes, something that can hurt him, something that will eventually kill him. If he wants to continue his existence, he needs to write a new Misery novel for her, one that revives the protagonist Misery Chastain. Misery is a character that Paul was delighted to kill off and be done with. Otherwise, Annie might kill him; but she might kill him anyway piece by piece.

Much of Stephen King’s Misery is psychological terror and internal turmoil. The psychological terror is palpable. Annie Wilkes might be the scariest villain I have ever read. She is cruel, but her cruelty is unknown to her. “You did this to yourself, Paul!” She is also efficient and diabolical. “Annie was not swayed by pleas. Annie was not swayed by screams. Annie had the courage of her convictions.” When Paul is found to be investigating the farmhouse while Annie is out, Annie decides that he needs to be punished, so she cuts his foot off with an ax and cauterizes the stump with a blow torch. It is brutally efficient, and in its way, Annie thinks she is weirdly kind. She gives Paul a pain killer and a slight sedative beforehand. Much like grounding a wayward child for being naughty, Annie feels she needs to punish Paul. Although her punishment is violent and cruel, she doesn’t know it.

Misery is a spectacularly, cruel novel, and it goes beyond the usual horror that we can expect from King. This novel touches on the psychological horror and self-flagellation of a writer. Paul must create a story that he does not want to tell, then the story takes ahold of him as he begins to tell it, and he must see it to the end. Annie is both a jailer, muse and finally the ultimate critic. She punishes failures by cutting off pieces of him. Deadlines and writerly problems take on whole new meanings for Paul.

The ending is almost anti-climatic. As a reader, I want fire and brimstone to fall upon Annie. She deserves so much comeuppance. But I think the way that King handled it is perfect. A battle between writer and critic needs to happen, and the struggle between jailer and inmate needs to happen. “It was always the same, always the same-like toiling uphill through jungle and breaking out to a clearing at the top after months of hell only to discover nothing more rewarding than a view of a freeway – with a few gas stations and bowling alleys thrown in for good behavior, or something.” And, as King says here, writers plod through, whip themselves, battle their muses, and in the end, it is anti-climactic – a bowling alley and gas station. It is not satisfying, but the ending is right. It is terrifying for Paul and quite disturbing as a metaphor for writing.

Misery is King writing at his finest and possibly most introspective. It is, at times, a painful and terrifying read. I had to put it down a few times to take a breath, pet a dog, and watch some happy youtube video. But it is worth the read, and I am so glad I took it on.

Buy Misery by Stephen King

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REVIEW: Crisis of Fate by Jesse Teller

Crisis of Fate is the latest book from Jesse Teller, who seems to have a knack for telling character-driven tales set in a world that’s often brutal and unforgiving. Perilisc isn’t a land for the fragile, that’s for sure.

While a standalone story at its foundation, Crisis of Fate also serves as a companion novel to the

Madness Wars series, the events of the story occurring after the first book in the main series.

Raendal is having a bad day. Her lover was murdered while having sex with her during a dream rendezvous, her thieves guild is being subverted against her by treason from those she most trusted, an army bent on destruction is on its way to her city, and she can’t sleep for fear of reliving the nightmare of the murder in her bed chambers.

What to do? Well, of course, Raendal wants revenge. She’d like nothing more than to find ad torture to death the man responsible for her world crashing down, if only she can track him down. Oh, and get around the fact that he’s literally unkillable.

One thing to remember is that in Perilisc, the impossible is sometimes possible, at a price. Why, giving up one’s soul is a sure fire way to get what you want, right?

If Crisis of Fate doesn’t meet the definition of grimdark, I don’t know what does. There are lighter moments, believe it or not, and as we delve into the minds of Raendal and others, it’s actually possible to feel empathy for these tortured beings. Teller has a talent for showing the agony that they go through on a human level, as well as the redemption they often crave, whether they’re able to attain it or not.

As with other novels by Jesse Teller, Crisis of Fate is one that will stick with me for a while. I’ve reviewed some of his other books for Grimdark Magazine which can be found on my reviewer profile page here.

Buy Crisis of Fate by Jesse Teller

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REVIEW: Trollslayer by William King

Before I begin this review, I should mention I’m a big fan of the Gotrek and Felix novels for Warhammer Fantasy so this is not an unbiased review. William King is one of my favorite neo-Sword and Sorcery authors. I’ve been a big fan of his work with this series and the Kormak Saga. I’m also a fan of his Space Wolf novels. So, this is going to be from the perspective of someone who already read this book, went on to read the rest of the series, then re-read it for Grimdark Magazine.

Trollslayer is a novel of the Warhammer Fantasy line of books, taking place before the destruction of that world and its recreation as The Age of Sigmar in recent years. The Warhammer Fantasy setting was the precursor to the more popular and more enduring Warhammer 40K universe that has the distinction of being where the term “grimdark” comes from.

Warhammer Fantasy is a land with elves, dwarves, humans, and gods of good. It is also a setting with massively powerful Chaos Gods, orcs, beast men, infestations of skaven, empires of necromancers, and a decidedly more adult interpretation of Medieval classicism’s treatment people.

Trollslayer is far less grandiose than these concepts, though, and centers around a much simpler premise: the seeking of a good death. Gotrek Gurnisson is a dishonored dwarf who has chosen to commit suicide by heroic battle (becoming a “Slayer”). We don’t learn what crime Gotrek has committed in this book or many others down the road but it is so heinous that the only way to regain his honor is to die trying to kill something much nastier than himself.

Usually, this is just a formality given the hostility of the setting but Gotrek is a seasoned warrior that is almost impossible to kill. Indeed, the series central conceit is that he’s too damned skill to die easily and won’t accept anything less than a clean death for his honor to be restored. Trollslayer is still at the beginning of his quest, though, when he has the full belief that his death is right around the corner.

Accompanying Gotrek on this suicidal quest is Felix Jaeger, a university student and bard who agrees to record Gotrek’s adventures. A skilled duelist but far less useful than Gotrek himself, he serves as the everyman sidekick who provides a human’s eye view of Gotrek’s larger-than-life adventures. There is a Sherlock Holmes and John Watson kind of dynamic here as the book is the first of Felix’s in-universe novels about Gotrek.

Rather than a single story, Trollslayer is a collection of several stories that follow the pair as they deal with the dark and violent world surrounding them. The stories contain terrible tales of sorcerers, curses, and the forces of Chaos enacting terrible plans. Despite the fact they are depicted as purely evil, the “good guys” are not much better. Gotrek is honorable but ruthless, killing anything inhuman (or elven or dwarven) without hesitation. The peasantry are superstitious, the nobility corrupt, and many times the supposed allies of the heroes turn on them for petty reasons.

If I had to choose my favorite stories from the work, I’d go with Wolf Riders that deals with the a noble family’s horrible curse and Blood and Darkness that deals with an army of beastmen led by a vengeful young woman out to slay her own daughter. The Mutant Master shows that you should never trust the people you’re rescuing and gradually changes Felix from a trusting noble soul to a more hardened adventurer. Ulric’s Children is another entry that I very much enjoyed as it showed the dark side of Gotrek as well as having one of the grimmest endings of the series. None of the stories are bad, however.

Is it grimdark? It’s dark fantasy and while a bit closer to traditional fantasy than many works, I’d still say there’s a lot of good to be had reading these books. They are the grimdark version of popcorn fiction and quite entertaining. William King has an easygoing and entertaining style that never feels unrealistic despite dealing with such a fantastic world. Recommended if you want to begin new series to devour one after the other. Trollslayer may only be one volume but it is also one of the best overall.

Buy Trollslayer by William King

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REVIEW: Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

The Horus Heresy series is an interesting challenge for a publishing company let alone a writer. It is the attempt to explain how the “Golden Age” of humanity under the Emperor transformed from a mythological utopia of advanced technology to a horrifying fascist Dark Age where humanity is under constant threat of extinction.

What would have been an impressive trilogy or even seven book series became controversial as it blossomed into a fifty-six book series that became the basis for Black Library from January 2011 to its planned finish in April 2020. It is a monumental task to keep track of all these plotlines, ideas, and concepts. The fact it is all pre-ordained to end up in one place makes it harder rather than simpler.

All journeys begin with a first step as the Star Wars Prequels taught us, though, and I was one of the first to pick up a copy of Horus Rising (the first book in the series as well as its title) when it came out. Written by Dan Abnett, Horus Rising remains one of my all-time favorite books in the Warhammer 40K universe (technically Warhammer 30K right now). If you are averse to gushing praise, then this is not the review for you. I have some issues with many of the other volumes in the series and its dizzying side but none of that affects the story here.

The premise is the Emperor of Mankind has launched the Great Crusade to reconquer all human space from where most of them ventured out into the great unknown. The Emperor has retired for reasons unknown and appointed his favored son/clone Horus Lupercal as the new Warmaster. Horus’ legion of Space Marines, the Lunar Wolves, are ecstatic about this but Horus himself is troubled as he wonders why the Emperor has seemingly abandoned them.

The real protagonist of the series is Garviel Loken, who is a recently promoted “from the ranks” Space Marine (which is a bit of a lie since they’re all incredibly powerful super-soldiers infused with the Emperor’s gene seed). Garviel has more compassion than your typical Space Marine, which is to say he has any, and expresses his doubts when they exterminate the local (false) Emperor of Mankind’s forces before subjugating the entire planet.

Slowly, but surely, Garviel starts to see the rot which is afflicting the Imperium. Far from a Golden Age, it is already a fascist tyranny that has substituted blind obedience for all other philosophies. Religion is punishable by death, which has just resulted in people starting to worship the Emperor instead. It is also conquest-minded Empire that destroys tyrannies and utopias alike. Many fans have assumed the Emperor returning would be the start of a utopia for humanity but it’s clear in this book that he was closer to Stalin than Jesus (despite some hints in-canon of being the latter).

This is most illustrated by the Imperium discovering the Interex, which is a fascinating empire that shows what it might have been like if the human race was governed by someone other than an insane bloody-handed tyrant who is (unfortunately) the smartest man in the universe. A Star Trek-esque utopia, it has learned about the dangers of Chaos and making alliances with races like the Eldar. In the end, the Imperium’s complete ignorance about the former as well as passionate hatred of the latter helps result in a totally unnecessary war.

As much as I like Horus, I have to say that Garviel is one of my all-time favorite Warhammer 40K characters and he’s probably one of the best in the setting. Having grown up in a world where brainwashing is common but not all-encompassing, he’s still in a good position to question the morality of the things he does. He’s also someone who has never encountered Chaos before so when he finally meets his first daemon, he’s genuinely horrified by what it is. I liked his relationship to the ordinary human characters, mere mortals as they may be, too. He’s as far above them as the Primarchs are above the Space Marines yet doesn’t disdain them. I think he’s the kind of moral but tainted character that grimdark fans will respond to.

A lot of the book is building up for the later installments of the series, but you can pretty much guess how a lot of it will go down. Horus is arrogant, prideful, and seemingly a master politician as well as a strategist but is secretly terrified of acting on his own. He’s also grossly ignorant of a lot of fundamentals on how the universe works while suspicious the Emperor is not (and he’s not). He’s thus vulnerable to manipulation and having his worldview challenged. The fact he’s already a fascist and war monger just means his fall is more a natural consequence than a tragedy.

Horus Rising is a strong book for treating the Warhammer 40K setting seriously with good characters, foreshadowing, and conflicts. It’s all set up for future books but the look into the past of the Imperium and its “glory days” paints a dark picture and shows that there never was a chance that it wouldn’t be corrupted by Chaos. Indeed, if it hadn’t been, it might have been worse because the Imperium under the Emperor was probably every bit as bad in its own way.

Buy Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

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REVIEW: The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold is a fantasy novel about sin, redemption, and hope. The story follows a man-for-hire named Fetch Phillips. Fetch is a human working in a town full of mystical creatures. Humans are hated, and for a good reason. However, in a redemptive bid to atone for past sins, Fetch’s job and his sole purpose in life are to help non-humans, usually in the form of PI work. Through this work, helping one creature at a time, Fetch seeks to help atone for the wrongdoings in his past, his greatest sin. His sin destroyed the world and magic with it.

“A good man is made through a lifetime of work. Great men are made by their monsters.”

The world now no longer runs on magic. There used to be a great river of magic that flowed underground and seeped out to all the various creatures of the world. Thus, the world used to be full of magical creatures, mystical entities, as well as joy and pain. The world and the creatures in it had purpose and drive, glory, and beauty. Now that magic has been ripped from the world; it is a sad shadow of its former self. Magical creatures who used to stand tall and shimmer in the glory of the magic that infused them, are rotting. Dragons fall from the sky in dusty, scaled heaps. Trolls that had been made of as much soil as magic have stopped moving and ceased to exist. Elves that used to live forever, either fall to dust from rapid aging or now have to look mortality in the face as they know they are going to die.

The day the magic stopped was the day that hope and the future inexorably changed. Magic was ripped from the world by jealous humans, and it is a sin that humanity will live with for the entirety of their existence.

“I’d seen plenty of things break in my lifetime: bones, hearts, and promises. This woman was breaking right in front of me. I watched as she somehow vacated her own eyes. The waves of hatred lulled to nothing. The door closed.”

Now Fetch has been given a job, find a missing vampire. Vampires have been withering away to dust since the Coda (the day the magic stopped).

However, this vampire is much beloved and missed by the magical community. Fetch’s patron wants to know what happened to his friend. As Fetch delves deeper into the case, he discovers that the vampire might have disappeared due to something nefarious. It is Fetch’s job to figure it out.

Through a series of interactions, Fetch begins to piece together the timeline and what might have happened; things become so much bigger than a missing vampire. And, in doing so, maybe help find a small grain of piece for himself. Maybe give himself a little hope in this tortured and busted world.

“He was three times my age and starting over. I don’t think I ever got started in the first place.”

The story is told through a series of interactions, both now and in the past. These interactions in the past created Fetch in the present, and we slowly understand why. Arnold did a great job showing how different Fetch was before and after the Coda. Before the Coda, Fetch was wide-eyed and naive, dealing with his strange upbringing and marveling at this world full of monsters. After the Coda, Fetch is a broken man. He nurses a deep wound and is wracked with guilt that is slowly disintegrating him, much like vampires slowly sloughing away. There is a dark melancholy in the way that Arnold writes this story. Often when authors attempt to use this type of tone, it can come off as trite. Trite and pretentious, but Arnold used it as a means of showing the desperation of the situations that Fetch and by extension Sunder City are in, and it is a useful way of communicating it. The Last Smile in Sunder City is a sad Sam Spade type story, but underneath all that sadness is a small gem of hope. This hope allows the reader to feel something aside from the grief and inevitability at the destruction of magical life. At the beginning of the story, the little light of hope is seen flashing briefly in the characters from page to page. Always other characters than Fetch. Fetch is fully immersed in his mental anguish. But by the end, and through some excellent writing, hope the most elusive of emotions comes shining through for a few moments. Things might not be ok. Matter-a-fact, they probably won’t be. But, there are things to be hopeful about. There are things to find a small bit of joy in even if it is something as little as a good cup of coffee.

There are good things, and The Last Smile in Sunder City demonstrates that. It is a great read, sad at times, and hopeless, but it still propels the reader page to page with hope for the future. Arnold has demonstrated great skill in weaving an emotionally realistic tale, and I am looking forward to the next one.

Buy The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold

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REVIEW: True Grit by Charles Portis

True Grit is a spectacular western that is full of heart with genuinely delightful characters that you instantly connect with. Charles Portis has created a wonderful tale of the west that will go down in my all-time favourites.

“Fill your hand you son of a bitch!”

True Grit follows a young girl full of ‘grit’, setting out to bring her father’s murderer to justice. Mattie Ross in the year 1878 is searching for Tom Chaney, the man who worked for her father then shot him. Mattie is 14 years old but is a fantastic character with as much gravitas as quippy remarks. She is straight to the point and one tough girl who does not mess around and will not rest until Tom Chaney has either been shot by her dragoon pistol or hung from the noose.

Mattie searches for a U.S. Marshall to assist her with the capture of Tom Chaney and eventually finds one in the rugged and experienced Rooster Cogburn, a Marshall who is known more for how many outlaws he has put bullets into rather than delivered alive. Cogburn’s relationship with Mattie is instantly enjoyable and they have some fantastic dialogue, Cogburn’s no-nonsense approach almost a match for Mattie’s hardy outlook. Once Mattie hires her whiskey-loving Marhsall she meets another man on Chaney’s trail – a Texas Ranger called Laboeuf. Laboeuf is of a different disposition to Mattie and Cogburn, with alternate plans for Chaney.

“Who is the best marshal they have?’

The sheriff thought on it for a minute. He said, ‘I would have to weigh that proposition. There is near about two hundred of them. I reckon William Waters is the best tracker. He is a half-breed Comanche and it is something to see, watching him cut for sign. The meanest one is Rooster Cogburn. He is a pitiless man, double-tough, and fear don’t enter into his thinking. He loves to pull a cork. Now L.T. Quinn, he brings his prisoners in alive. He may let one get by now and then but he believes even the worst of men is entitled to a fair shake. Also the court does not pay any fees for dead men. Quinn is a good peace officer and a lay preacher to boot. He will not plant evidence or abuse a prisoner. He is straight as a string. Yes, I will say Quinn is about the best they have.’

I said, ‘Where can I find this Rooster?’”

In no time the three ride out on their quest to bring in the outlaw. I had never read a western before 2020, but this was my fourth and I just don’t know what it is about the genre but the writing is magical. There is a poetic and lyrical style to these stories, and especially in True Grit the dialogue is close to genius. It never feels overdone at all and the language is extremely compelling. It has an honesty to it that I have rarely found in other styles of storytelling.

Also, it has plenty of revolvers and six-shooters and repeating rifles and horse rides over the plain. True Grit is packed with everyone’s favourite and typical western components and feels extraordinarily realistic. The relationship between the three justice-seekers is well-done, the description and scene setting is beautiful and honest and the plot is simple but very fun to read.

“You must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it.”

It is a short story at just over 230 pages long, I was able to read it in an evening. It is easy going and natural and I can see this being a feel-good read of mine for many years to come. If you’ve seen the film(s) of True Grit you’ll soon see that they are extremely faithful to the book. No wonder the films were so good if they had some awesome material to use. Both John Wayne and Jeff Bridges are sublime as Rooster Cogburn.

“That’s bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.”

5/5 – A superb story of justice, the resilience of a 14-year-old girl and cowboy classics. SO easy to read and so easy to enjoy, I would recommend this to everyone who reads! Cowboy hats off to Charles Portis.

Buy True Grit by Charles Portis

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EXCLUSIVE: Cover reveal Black Stone Heart by Michael R. Fletcher

Much as parents deny having a favourite child, authors are hesitant to declare a favourite book. I understand that. What if it flops? What if everyone hates it? What if you like your next book even more? Are you really going to say, This is my best book yet! every damned time you write a book?

Luckily, I’m not saying that.

I should prolly explain.

Is this the best book I’ve ever written?

I dunno.

Is this the best written book I’ve ever written?

Not a fucking clue.

Is it my favourite?

Fuck, yes.

This was the first story I ever wanted to tell. This was the first novel I tried to write. Way back in the 90s, I was a long-haired metalhead with dreams of becoming an author. I got about thirty thousand words into the book before realizing just how hard writing a novel was. Being averse to effort and colossally lazy, I gave up and moved to Toronto to be a rock star. Which would clearly be easier.

I still have the original file, written in WinWord2.0, as I recall. It has been glaring hate and disgust at me for over twenty years. But no matter how I approached the damned book, I couldn’t write it! And then, an amazing thing happened. I read Brian Staveley’s Skullsworn. The way he handled the first person POV was amazing. The whole book was a gut-punch. Like any hack who doesn’t know what he’s doing, I thought, I am totally stealing this!

I talked to Brian about his experiences writing Skullsworn, and he said the POV was surprisingly easy. Later, when I was struggling, he laughed and admitted he’d been lying. As I recall there was much evil cackling. Fucker! Anyway, by then it was too late, and I had to write the rest of the damned book.

This isn’t what I wanted to talk about.

What I’m trying to explain here, is how important this book is to me.

And so, when it came time to find a cover artist, I wanted someone who would capture the feel I wanted. This book is, in some ways, a salute to the fantasy I read as a teen. Don’t get me wrong. This ain’t for kids. I mean, I kinda thought it might be YA, but my test-readers stared at me with such shock and horror that I figure it’s probably not. I think Petros’ words were, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Books are weird beasts. Sometimes, as with Ghosts of Tomorrow, I know exactly what I want on the cover. Sometimes, as with Beyond Redemption, the choice isn’t mine to make.

And sometimes, as with Smoke and Stone, the choice is mine, but I don’t have a clear image in mind. This was one of those times. I chatted with a few friends about scenes for the cover. As I recall, it was David Walters (fanfiaddict.com) who suggested the scene we eventually used.

Felix Ortiz, having just completed the work on the Smoke and Stone cover, was my first thought. With almost no art direction from me, he’d somehow miraculously pulled together a stunning cover. This time it would be different! I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew I’d be able to give him exacting details on every aspect. I contacted Felix and, being a skilled writer and communicator, proceeded to scream colours and adverbs at him in ALL-CAPS.

In all seriousness, Felix is an absolute pleasure to work with. He has the patience of mountains. I know, because I did my best to break him, and he only threatened to murder me a couple of times. The work he put into this piece went above and beyond my expectations. His unwillingness to let “good enough” be good enough is something I truly appreciate. When you pour yourself into a novel, spend years writing and rewriting and editing, you want an artist who is going to bring that same dedication.

Felix Ortiz is that man.

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REVIEW: They Mostly Come Out at Night by Benedict Patrick

Reading They Mostly Come Out at Night was my fourth time venturing into Patrick’s enchanting, fantastical and haunting Yarnsworld. His stories are as enriching as they are captivating with stunning imagery, likeable lead characters and they are extremely addictive. They Mostly Come Out at Night has been my favourite reading experience that Patrick has presented me so far and I consider him as one of my favourite self-published authors alongside Rob J. Hayes.

They Mostly Come Out at Night is presented in two distinct ways. Firstly we follow Lonan. He is a young gentleman who lives in Smithtown which is found in the middle of the forest. He is a forager and lives a simple life. He is hated by almost everyone from the village. This is because eight years ago the grotesque creatures that haunt the forest attacked the settlement. There was much havoc, Lonan’s father was murdered, the lady he was besotted with at the time was disfigured and all blame Lonan. When Lonan sleeps he dreams about a Prince called Adahy. Adahy is the son of The Magpie King – a legendary character who is the protector of the forest. Events take place and it transpires that Adahy has to embark on a quest for the Kingdom and Lonan hitches a ride in his mind whilst he sleeps.

The second distinct style is standalone fairy tales that take place in between chapters. These were often bewitching, atmospheric and had a distinct European/ Brother Grimm fairy stories vibe. In the current day world, these are the myths and tales that villagers repeat to their children. Examples including The Magpie King and The Black Squirrel, and Artemis and Mother Web. These acted as picturesque, enjoyable and interesting interludes and they add extra depth to Yarnsworld.

“Because I am overcome with you. You are in every thought that invades my mind. Even if you forced me to chase you until the ends of my days, growing to hate me as I hate death itself, I would still continue to pursue you.”

They Mostly Come Out at Night is well written. It is pretty short at approximately 200 pages and I raced through this narrative within a couple of days. Although it isn’t that long, the main characters are pretty well developed. My favourite segments to follow were interactions between Lonan and the scarred Branwen, Lonan and the healer he boards with, and finally Adahy and The Magpie King. The Magpie King is a legendary figure in the mythology of the forest and it was great to see both sides of the gentleman who is King of the Eyrie. The tale features some unpredictable twists, gruesome moments aplenty and there quite possibly might not be a happy ever after. It was an extremely enjoyable read and I can’t wait to jump back into Yarnsworld again although I might not quite have the epic and extraordinary grace of the Magpie King. Highly recommended.

Finally, I have to comment on how amazing the cover art is for They Mostly Come Out at Night and all the Yarnsworld novels. The artist is Jennifer Zemanek and her work can be seen at www.seedlingsonline.com

Buy They Mostly Come Out at Night by Benedict Patrick

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