Adrian Collins's Blog, page 220

EXCLUSIVE: GdM#22 cover reveal featuring Jeff Salyards Scardevil

Grimdark Magazine #22 is here! We have a brilliant line up of stories, interviews, and articles–but first off, let’s have a look at this amazing cover Carlos Diaz has created based upon Jeff Salyards’ magnificent story, Scardevil–a story about a powerful witch back from the wars trying to eke out a living in a land where her kind’s powers as healers brought many a wounded soldier home, but their reputations as savage butcherers have terrified the people they fought for to the point where they are now outcasts.

Carlos has done a wonderful job of portraying a dank, dark, and explosive scene of the story in his cover below. Read on down past the cover to check out a short excerpt of the story to whet your appetite.

Buy your copy of Grimdark Magazine #22

Get yourself a copy of GdM#22 featuring fiction from Jeff Salyards, Anna Stephens, and Peter McLean. We have interviews with Dyrk Ashton and Alicia Wanstall-Burke, as well as articles by Gareth Ryder Hanrahan and Adrian Collins, and finally a review of The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho.

Excerpt of Scardevil by Jeff Salyards

Some people foolishly insist that a walk in the woods is a lovely thing, a pleasurable thing, even an affirming thing. Which, I concede, could all be possible. Provided you aren’t mauled by four-legged predators or murdered or raped by the two-legged variety, the weather isn’t punishing in one of a hundred ways, you have a sturdy pair of shoes that neither leak nor pinch, and you have a high tolerance for stinging nettles and bloated blood flies and every other manner of thing that might attempt to impede, wound, or poison you.

Which is to say that in my experience a walk in the woods is almost always terrible, but never more so than when accompanied by an unstoppered girl of thirteen summers.

Having once been a young girl, I know that such creatures are routinely impossible, and that alone would have convinced me not to share a journey of more than four strides with one. But the lass beside me was beyond anxious, all jittery twitches and fearful looks as she led me nowhere I wanted to go quicker than I wanted to get there.

Still, my purse was as empty as my stomach, and the promise of coin makes idiots of us all. So, I pulled my cloak tight, grit my teeth, and walked through the damp woods alongside the bothersome girl.

She glanced at me for the thousandth time, face riddled with more freckles than any other three people combined. “You sure you can do this?”

“No,” I said, nearly tripping over a mossy log hidden in the undergrowth of what she insisted was a path, despite all evidence to the contrary. “Certainty is the province of fools and the dead.”

She wide-eyed one of the scars that was slowly slithering across my cheek. Most people couldn’t help looking, especially if one surfaced or slipped under my skin right in front of them, but they generally tried to disguise their revolted fascination. Not so young girls, having not yet mastered perfidy. “But you’re a . . . mender, ain’t you?”

I touched one of the roving scars. “I would have thought that much obvious, girl. Unless you neglected to mention that you’re blind, in which case you’re doing a remarkable job navigating this impassable goat track.”

She pulled her eyes away just in time to duck under a dripping branch. “But you’re a good mender, I mean. Heard tell you was good. And cheap.”

“Ahh, good and cheap—qualities that so rarely sit well together.”

She didn’t know what to do with that. “My da’, he’s in a bad way. Real bad. Told you as much.”

“So, you did,” I said, sidestepping a sinkhole. “Earnestly. Repeatedly. It’s why I am accompanying you, after all.”

Well, that and the coin.

Her chin trembled and her eyes were full of the worst kind of wet longing. “I need to know you can fix him is all. Need to know you can do it.” She sniffed and wiped her face with the back of a ragged sleeve, surely angry for losing what little composure she had. “Are you going to make him right again or ain’t you?”

I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it, nearly swallowing a cloud of gnats. If it had just been her feelings to consider I would have lied. Instantly. But it was also a question of managing expectations, and my livelihood (and quite possibly life) depended on that.

“I’ve been severing or mending flesh and bone for two of your lifetimes, girl, and I’m possessed of considerable healcraft when I have a mind to, at least when not dulled by drink or indifference,” I said. “So I know what I speak of when I say I can’t promise to do this thing before seeing him because it would be either empty or cruel, neither better than the other.” The girl’s face fell further, so I laid a hand on her shoulder. “But I will do my level best to mend your father, that much I can pro—”

“Yeah, well,” she jerked free like I’d branded her, flushing around the freckles, mouth twisting into an ugly curve, “your level best ain’t getting you no kind of nothing, just so we’re clear, not unless you heal him. You get payment after you fix my da’ up. Then and only then. You hear me, witch?”

The post EXCLUSIVE: GdM#22 cover reveal featuring Jeff Salyards Scardevil appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Echo Cycle by Patrick Edwards

A dystopian reimagining of a Europe falling apart, Echo Cycle is a novel in a class of its own. Patrick Edwards draws a vivid image of what could happen to a future after Brexit, the separation of the United Kingdom from the rest of Europe after the crumbling of the European Union. The reader is thrust into the story with a prologue, narrating a school trip to Rome before the borders are fully sealed. Winston Monk, unhappy and bullied, finds out his dreams have been shattered, and runs away, only to find himself in ancient instead of modern Rome.

From that point forward, the narrative springs back and forth between 68 CE and 2070, between the Roman Empire and a new Europe showing eerie similarities to that Empire. Just as the title suggests, Echo Cycle twists around the life and experiences of Winston Monk, both in past and present. Crucially, he is a gay man, and his complicated relationship with his lover, the former slave Sporus, forms the centre of these cycles. While Monk’s life in the past is not easy, his return to the narrative present is harder still. He arrives at a time of diplomatic tension, at the same time as a British mission to reestablish contact. He encounters his school friend, Lindon Banks, now envoy to the mission, and together they inadvertently spark a tinderbox millennia in the making…

One of the best books I’ve read this year, Echo Cycle features a clear and compelling writing style, distinct voices fitting the different points of view. At the start of the book, the switch between points of view did happen rather quickly and without much signposting, but the reader is soon able to find their bearings and get lost in the story. The characters are expertly crafted, nuanced and deliciously morally corrupt. The reader has reason to feel with most of them – Nero is and forever will be a bastard – and the villain figure itself is fighting a greater evil. It is great reading material and these characterisations make it all the more harrowing.

Another great strength of this book is its basis in meticulous research. The elements taken from history are well-embedded and ring true, with ancient Rome being evoked through details interspersed in the narrative. Many novels throw historical elements in the reader’s face, but Patrick Edwards manages to weave them into the story as needed rather than window dressing. The world-building for the narrative present is just as excellent. The Latin-speaking European Confederacy is truly scary, and I personally hope that Europe and Britain get their shit together in time to prevent such fracturing from happening.

If you are looking for a thrilling read, evoking harrowing feelings and surprising you with a not-so-wholesome gay relationship (Well done,

Titan, just letting it stand and not mentioning it in any marketing material, this level of acceptance and matter of course is what we

need!), check out Echo Cycle by Patrick Edwards. A wholehearted five of five stars from me! Many thanks to Sarah Mather and Titan Books for providing me with a free review copy in exchange for this honest review.

Buy Echo Cycle by Patrick Edwards

The post REVIEW: Echo Cycle by Patrick Edwards appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard seems like a straightforward dark magic story, but it is anything but. If you are just reading the description of this story, on the surface it looks like a pretty common plotline about magic users and magic competition. An urban fantasy story set in the already magical New York City. But what you don’t know, and you learn in the first few pages of this novel is that it is so much more than that. This is a dark and nuanced story involving political machinations, abuse of power, and privilege.

Those who have the power abuse those who are considered expendable.

The story opens with a seemingly innocent, but still amazing feat of magic. Sydney, the stories protagonist lifts cars with magic, “The cars around her, as one, lifted gracefully into the air. Sydney held them there, rust-stained taxis and sleek black sedans with tinted windows, courier vans and a tour bus blaring the opening number of the latest Broadway hit. Ten feet above the ground, floating through the intersection like some bizarre migration of birds. A smile stretched, bright and wild, across her face. If the people in the cars could have seen it, they might have called it exhilaration. They might have called it joy.” Was it joy or was it a necessity? We won’t know till the very end of Sydney’s journey.

This story has a multiple POV narrative. Often authors fail to write definitive voices when using this narrative style, but Kat Howard’s characters are clear and definable from one another. Sydney goes through a bit of a badass transition into an incredible force of will and magic. She will change society and win The Turning (a magic competition) or die in the process.  The Turning itself, takes on a type of dark mob war mentality. We have Ian formerly of House Merlin, who plays a good counterpart to Sydney. Laurent, the man who is highers Sydney to represent him in The Turning is also a force of good in the story. It is refreshing and wonderful to have a story that is mostly trope free. Sydney is a badass. Just that. She doesn’t need anyone to save her nor make ridiculous mistakes that are out of her character for the sake of literary convention. No. She is just a badass. I loved it, and you will too.

The narrative and plot arc are fast-paced. The story comes at you in the first chapter or so and doesn’t stop. The narrative takes place over a short amount of time so this helps keep up the action.

I’ve read quite a lot of Urban Fantasy and it is one of my favorite genres. I can say this is one of the better books I have read representing the genre. I am certainly looking forward to a second book to continue Sydney’s story. Good characters, great world-building, interesting magic system. You can’t go wrong.

Buy An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard

The post REVIEW: An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Returning by Damien Black

I received a review copy of The Returning: A Cautionary Tale From The Mercenary Realms in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Damien Black.

The Returning is an exciting, bloody and gritty, revenge-focused novella by the talented Damien Black. These 25,000 words follow Yarka Karkov. We join him in revenant/ undead form as he is burying his own corpse. Two nights ago he was betrayed by an innkeeper to Crumlov Silkhand and his gang of outlaws. He was taken unawares and was whipped out of town to an agonising death. His partner and love Jenna also played a part in his downfall. For all who betrayed him, there will be a reckoning.

“The preachermen told how a revenant was a vengeful ghost, sent back to earth by the Unseen to right the imbalance caused by their unjust deaths. But to hell with what the priests said.”

In life, Karkov was a soldier who then became a reeve. He followed certain Dukes’ orders to keep the peace yet was also assigned to hunt down vagabonds and other criminals. He has the necessary talents to track, maim and kill his enemies. Being undead actually enhances Karkov and aids him in his mission. For example, he has double his normal strength in death and in sunlight, he cannot be seen which aids the ease of tracking and stealth. It isn’t all good news for our antihero. He gradually starts to lose his memories, has moments where he completely blacks out yet also has some disturbingly clear flashback segments which can be quite haunting. He’s pretty well crafted with surprising depth to say that this novella is only about 80-pages long.

The majority of the narrative is the shortish journey through this Western-tinted fantasy world to find, and hopefully murder Silkhand and his cronies. The novella is split into about 8 engagements and events along the way. Crossing paths with his former love and conversing with a fellow ghost who seems to know more about Karkov than he is comfortable with, are just a couple of examples.

The ending is fulfilling and was not what I predicted at all. It’s quite fascinating reflecting on The Returning when the novella has been finished and I completely reanalysed certain sections in retrospect. The Returning is a fast-paced and well-written fantasy revenge drama that ranks pretty high on the grimdark scale and was just a fun, quick read. If you decide you may check out this bite-size grimdark tale, I believe The Returning is free if you join the author’s mailing list. Recommended.

Buy The Returning: A Cautionary Tale From The Mercenary Realms

The post REVIEW: The Returning by Damien Black appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Altered Carbon Season 2 from Netflix

Altered Carbon is probably one of my all-time favorite cyberpunk series, both book and television adaptation. I felt the idea of adapting the original novel was impossible given its stunning vision of the future and multiple bodies for a single character yet somehow Netflix managed to prove me wrong. The beautiful and terrifying world of Post-Stack humanity, where everyone can live forever if they can afford it, was amazing to see realized. There was talk that the show was a bit sleazy given its copious nudity, violence, and nihilism but I felt that played into the larger themes of Richard K. Morgan’s seminal work. I was excited about a second season and eager to see how they adapted Broken Angels.

Well, unfortunately, they didn’t adapt Broken Angels for the second season. I’m not going to be one of those fans who complains about deviations from the book but it is important to say this is not the fascinating Vietnam in Space-esque story of the second book but a loose adaptation of Woken Furies, the third book. Accent on the loose. I really enjoyed Broken Angels so seeing it skipped was a disappointment. It doesn’t help that I also feel that Woken Furies was the weakest of the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy. This is also going to be only one of several complaints as not only do I feel the second season didn’t live up to the books, but it didn’t live up to the first season either. There’s some good but I should warn people that they need to manage their expectations.

The premise for the second season of the show is that Takeshi Kovacs (Anthony Mackie) is kidnapped from his latest location and transported back to his home world of Harlan’s World. The corporate elite of the planet are feuding with the terrorist remnants of Quellcrist Falconer’s forces but have managed to make an uneasy truce, Takeshi’s employer is killed early but not before he discovers that Quellcrist is still alive, In the show-universe, Qella and Takeshi had an epic romance so he is doing his best to try to track her down in order to reunite. This is a quest that takes him against the local Protectorate forces as well as revolutionaries. His only friends are his Edgar Poe A.I. (Chris Conners) from Season One and a local Yakuza boss.

The biggest issue of the show is the fact that Takeshi Kovac’s character bears little resemblance to the one from Season One. Joel Kinnamen and Anthony Mackie were always going to have different reads on the character but the one in Season Two is just shallower. Season One’s Takeshi was a mixture of charm, cynicism, and sociopathy that still had his own rule. Season Two’s writing emphasizes Takeshi as a brooding angry badass who is utterly in love with a long dead woman. It’s also unfortunate that he’s lost some of his compassion for the little guy as Season Two’s Takeshi treats Edgar as a disposable tool despite the man’s persistent friendship. Rather than a complex series of resentment and envy, Takeshi bluntly says how much he hates Meths. In simple terms, the protagonist is just not nearly as likable or interesting as the first time around.

Another major issue is the fact that the plot changes of Season One from the books have also made the social satire almost absent. In the books, the Quellists are an anti-capitalist anti-authoritarian freedom fighter group that verges on being terrorists. In the series, they are against the immortality of Stack technology and have no stated opinion on capitalism. Much of the social satire of the books survived in the criticism of the Meths’ disgusting wealth in Season One but now it’s just Takeshi hating them for being old rather than old as well as ungodly rich. I never liked Quellcrist Falconer in Season One and making her the central focus of Takeshi’s quest hurt matters since she never approaches Kristen Ortega for chemistry with Takeshi (either version – even a brief dream sequence has Anthony Mackie show much more with Martha Higareda than other characters);.

The atmosphere of Harlan’s World lacks a lot of the description from the previous season. It was supposedly a mixture of Slavic and Japanese culture but there’s not that many Asian characters in this season. While the Yakuza play a role, they seem to be the only source of Asian characters in the show. Season One managed to constantly underline the divide between the super-rich and the super-poor with the working poor caught in the middle. It was a world of decadent excess and monumental suffering that seems to lack all its previous grit. The showrunners have already stated that they cut dramatically back on the nudity and violence for this season–which is just underlining how tame this feels compared to Season One.

The only character I really think manages to shine in this season is Edgar. Cursed with the A.I. equivalent of Alzheimer’s, he’s devoted himself to the service of Takeshi only to start realizing that he’s taken for granted. Edgar has more humanity than most humans and remains the most likable character from the previous season. I cared about what happened to him even though I kind of wanted him to abandon Takeshi to find better friends. That isn’t really a very good attitude to have for your main character.

In conclusion, Altered Carbon Season Two is more miss than hit. Focusing the story on Takeshi’s epic love for Quellcrist Falconer was a mistake. In simple terms, I didn’t care about their relationship and preferred him with the previous season’s love interest. I also don’t buy the show’s politics since Takeshi is against immortality in-universe to the point of becoming a terrorist but uses Stack technology all the time. The show doesn’t have the same grit, violence, or sexuality that made it a budding grimdark classic. I don’t think Mackie does a bad job, but he’s been given a bad script for the season and kept from showing all of Takeshi’s mammoth range. I’d given this one a skip. Which sucks if you’re a cyberpunk fan in general or Altered Carbon fan in particular.

The post REVIEW: Altered Carbon Season 2 from Netflix appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

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.