Adrian Collins's Blog, page 35

New characters, new map sections, new stories in Vessel of Hatred, the first Diablo 4 expansion

In Vessel of Hatred, the first major expansion for Diablo 4, Nayrelle is on the run and in danger, and you need to find her. In Kyovashad, the glorious few survivors of the incursion into hell have returned, and they are no longer aligned on how to govern their people. There are soldiers in the streets, a new map section to dive in to, a whole new character class to play with, mercenaries, runes, and you, the wanderer, need to find Lorath and Nayrelle before they do. This is everything I’d hoped for from Vessel of Hatred.

Out of everything the Blizzard team is bringing to the table, the new Spiritborn character is likely the part Diablo 4 fans are most looking forward to. A bit like the old Desert Mercenaries in Diablo 2 crossed with a ninja crossed with a culture heavily invested in spirit animals, the Spiritborn class has clear differentiators from the first release classes, making this a fun new experience. There are plenty of skills and spells to invest in, making the playing experience new and fun, and worth the price of adminssion on October 8. Blizzard’s team have also made sure the class doesn’t miss out on key development opportunities that the other classes have had, even including a self discovery quest to power your character up (which has a boss at the end that is an absolute bastard to finish).

The new area of the map, Nahantu, has a Cambodian / Indonesian temple feel to it, with plenty of jungle around its structures, and some grisly scenes to fight through and discover as part of the story. The black sludge in the rotting jungles, the corruption, and a new evil and minions to slaughter in the thousands continues our hack and slash fun, and so I doff my cap to the art team for delivering another unique feeling region. A fair few minion characters from other regions do get shoehorned in to Nahantu, but I can appreciate the effort that went in creating at least some new creatures to butcher and burn.

One of the things I was so, so freaking excited for was the announcement of mercenaries. Thank the gaming gods, Blizzard brought the mercenaries from Diablo 2 back! They have skill trees so you can mod their combat capabilities to support your own build, but you can’t kit them out like you used to. I’d been holding on to some beasty arms and armour for my mercenary, and to discover I couldn’t pass them on was a bit disappointing from this old grey-haired gamer’s perspective.

Also harkening back to the Diablo 2 days is the reintroduction of runes. For items with two sockets you can slot in a whole new slate of powers. Honestly, it’s like they’ve taken a stack of the things we missed from Diablo 2 and popped them into this game. And I am here for it.

From a story perspective, Vessel of Hatred’s opening cinematic is fucking gorgeous. Once again, the team have captured the filthy, bloody, horrific essence of these games so remarkably well in just a few short minutes. Since I was a kid playing Starcraft at my mate’s place, I have been in consistent awe of Blizzard’s dedication to the cut scene as a storytelling tool.

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred is pretty much bang on for what I was hoping for in the first major expansion for this brilliant game. There’s a new class of character that is different and fun to play, a beautifully rendered new map region, the reintroduction of two of the aspects of Diablo 2 that made it one of the best games of its generation, and a storyline that i found fun and engaging. Get your spear and judo kick out, because it’s time to have a bloody great time stabbing and slashing and calling the destructive spirits down on your foes.

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REVIEW: Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer

Last Updated on October 4, 2024

Absolution is the surprise fourth volume of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series, which began with Annihilation and continued with Authority and Acceptance. The original trilogy was published in rapid succession ten years ago, all three volumes appearing in 2014, the same year that Adrian Collins founded Grimdark Magazine. It is thus a special treat to review this fourth volume of VanderMeer’s erstwhile trilogy in our tenth anniversary issue of Grimdark Magazine.

For the uninitiated, the Southern Reach series is a sci-fi horror centered on a mysterious coastal region known as Area X, where biological evolution has been accelerated in unexpected and terrifying ways, presumably due to extraterrestrial interference. Annihilation introduces us to an all-female team of scientists investigating Area X known only by their occupation: a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor. These four women comprise the twelfth expedition into Area X after the successive failures of all the previous missions. The second novel, Authority, turns its attention away from Area X to focus on the Southern Reach, the shady entity responsible for organizing these expeditions into the horrific unknown. The third book, Acceptance, has a broader scope, shifting among several different perspectives and timelines to provide deeper character studies, including that of the mercurial Lowry, sole survivor of the original expedition into Area X.

Jeff VanderMeer makes a welcome return to Area X with Absolution. This fourth volume of the series is divided into three parts, each leaning heavily into the cosmic horror aspects of the story. The first part of Absolution, called “Dead Town,” can be read as a standalone novella and takes place about twenty years before the formation of Area X. A team of biologists are reintroducing alligators to a region known as the Forgotten Coast. As in Annihilation, the scientists are unnamed, defined only by their professional roles within the team. The biologists take residence at an abandoned village known as Dead Town, their fate becoming inexorably linked to that of the town itself. Meanwhile, the horror elements of the story ramp up with the appearance of carnivorous white rabbits, which give a terrifying twist to classic imagery from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

In my mind, I had always considered the Southern Reach trilogy to take place on the American west coast, viz., southern California. Although the location of Area X is still unspecified in Absolution, given the strong Karen Russell-style Swamplandia! vibes of “Dead Town,” I believe the Gulf coast of Florida is the more likely setting.

The second part of Absolution, titled “The False Daughter,” takes place about eighteen months before the formation of Area X and concerns the aftermath of the alligator experiment from “Dead Town.” The horrors from the first story come back to haunt characters in unexpected ways. “The False Daughter” features excellent use of the doppelgänger motif, as in Annihilation, and there is also an event known as the House Centipede Incident, which I will not soon forget.

The third and final part of Absolution, “The First and the Last,” recounts the first formal expedition into Area X eighteen months after its formation. The original expedition team has twenty-four members and is told from the perspective of Lowry, the self-described “hero” of the group who is already well-known to readers of Acceptance. The group is woefully unprepared for the journey into Area X, with a lack of professionalism that belies the gravity of the situation. “The First and the Last” is the most interesting story in Absolution, but also the most confounding due to Lowry’s expletive-ridden narrative style, which seems to be competing for gold medal in highest concentration of f-bombs in a work of fiction. In several places, the oversaturation of obscenities gets in the way of telling a comprehensible story.

Altogether, Absolution is the best entry in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach series since he first introduced the world to Area X in Annihilation. I especially love seeing the many connections between Absolution and the other three books of the series. For readers new to Area X, I recommend reading Annihilation first and then jumping to Absolution. In between, be sure to reserve time for watching the excellent 2018 movie version of Annihilation starring Natalie Portman.

This review is published in Grimdark Magazine #40.

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REVIEW: The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne

The Fury of the Gods is the third and final book in John Gwynne’s The Bloodsworn Saga, a Norse-inspired epic fantasy set in the fictional lands of Vigrið. Beginning with The Shadow of the Gods, building with The Hunger of the Gods, and now finishing with this battle filled conclusion, this series has hooked thousands of readers and this book is on many a grimdark fan’s TBR for October. And there’s no doubt that those looking for a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy will find it here, with a side helping of distress and death, of course.

The Fury of the Gods is time for the final showdown. Lik-Rifa has gathered her forces and is so close to making the world hers that she can taste it. Desperate to rid herself of her sibling (and enemy) gods as well any pathetic humans still resisting her charms (her charms being brutal violence and an all consuming need for domination), she’s set for Snakavik, where those ranged against her are assembling. After all, it’s going to take more than a few swords to kill a dragon god. Most importantly though, the snivelling, snotty Gudvarr is still alive and kicking, hoping to rise in Lik-Rifa’s favour, hovering in the background, trying to be useful to those in power, hungry for personal gain, while also continuing to be utterly contemptible and unjustifiably lucky. Those who know Gwynne know that he would never let that stand forever – watching Gudvarr escape justice repeatedly has felt like an eternal torture – but I knew it would come to an end at some point. Likewise, for all those wronged over the first two books – they have their time. I’m telling you now that it’s worth the wait, but I also come with a warning: not every character you love will come out of these clashes alive…

As always with Gwynne’s work, his most effective scenes in The Fury of the Gods are also the biggest – the set piece battles where everything is at stake and every move is perfectly choreographed – and the smallest – the intimate moments between two characters, where the slightest word or gesture can resonate through the rest of the story. For all that the epic contests are brutal and bloody here, the scenes that hit harder were those with quiet, emotional exchanges. I’ve had a soft spot for Varg throughout and his storyline never ceased to entertain and move. Something about his voice, his love for his sister and his soul-deep desire to avenge her murder, settled into my core and watching how this played out for him was the most tension filled and emotive aspect of this novel. I loved his friendship with his comrades, the growing relationship with one in particular, and felt it hard when he suffered setbacks. He is the epitome of Gwynne’s hero character – determined, brave, thoughtful, caring. I will add him to my growing list of treasured friends, alongside Corban, Storm, Veradis, Drem, and Orka. In a grim world, characters like these, who rise above the petty selfishness, greed, and all the other ugliness of the human condition, offer the light in the dark and they stay bright in the memory as a result.

Finally, I have to say that for me, The Fury of the Gods did not meet the heights of A Time of Courage, the final book in the Of Blood and Bone series, but then, that’s one of my all time favourite finishers. Even so, The Fury of the Gods offers a fun-filled, rewarding finale that grimdark readers will enjoy.

This review is published in Grimdark Magazine #40.

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REVIEW: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

Joe Abercrombie is back, folks, with his highly anticipated historical fantasy horror romp, The Devils— his most action-packed novel to date and the first in a brand new series.

Europe is in turmoil: the Eastern and Western Churches are in schism and the usurper Empress Eudoxia is dead. Only one thing is certain: the elves are coming and they will eat everyone.

In a bid to consolidate power in the East, Her Holiness, Pope Benedicta the First, commands the hapless Brother Diaz to lead a ragtag bunch of ne’er do wells to install a thief upon the Serpent Throne of Troy. Comprised of a self-important necromancer, a geriatric vampire, an undead knight, an ex-pirate, an oversexed werewolf, and a vanishing elf, the Church of Holy Expediency makes haste towards its destination. But Eudoxia’s sons are closing in, and they have their mother’s hideous experiments in tow. To fight devils, one must be prepared to use devils…

Clocking in at well over 500 pages, The Devils makes for a fine bludgeoning weapon in-hand, but whips along at a rapid, raucous pace that had this reviewer devouring it in the space of just 48 hours. Veteran fans will be no strangers to Joe Abercrombie’s beautifully crafted battle scenes and cinematic set-pieces, and I’m pleased to report they feature in abundance here. From a creepy haunted house to the swashbuckling high seas, to a battlefield atop an ancient tomb filled with decaying corpses, the Church of Holy Expediency give us a whistle-stop tour around an absolutely bonkers alternative medieval Europe sure to have the history buffs chuckling knowingly and laughing at an in-joke or two.

At times the fast-paced action sequences and abrupt location changes feel a little too whirlwind—in fact, combined with an ensemble cast and an abundance of new world-building information to absorb, it often feels downright chaotic. However, overall, The Devils’ chaos is enormous fun, and although the break-neck pace may come as something of a disappointment to those who adore the slower, deeper political machinations and character work present in Joe’s The First Law series, it simply cannot be denied that no one writes action as beautifully and as viscerally as Joe:

“He came open like an old coat, insides sliding out in a red-black slurry.”

Pure poetry.

Speaking of character work, Joe’s, as always, is unmatched. In the case of The Devils, it’s the glue holding all the aforementioned chaos together. Although he doesn’t quite plumb the deep dark depths of the human condition as much as he’s done in the past, it’s no small feat that every single one of The Devils’ characters has their own highly distinctive, unique voice—even those who turn up for a chapter or two only to then immediately die (often horribly).

The titular Devils themselves are of course the crowning glory, each of them riffing on a different classic horror monster such as the Wolfman, Dracula, the Invisible Man and many more (there’s even a whiff of the Island of Dr Moreau around some of Eudoxia’s sons’ henchmen). Whilst I’m certain many Grimdark Magazine readers will absolutely love the ridiculously crass and hyper-violent werewolf, Vigga, it’s the necromantic sorcerer—sorry, magician—Balthazar who takes the cake for my personal favourite. His too-high opinion of himself combined with his increasingly desperate, hilarious attempts to remove Benedicta’s papal binding are an absolute joy to read, and a scene in which a Duke is summoned from the depths of Hell legitimately had me laughing out loud for several minutes.

Overall The Devils is fast, furious, and an absolutely rollicking good time. The cast is wonderful, the plot fast-paced and action-packed, and it’s easily Joe’s funniest work to date. It marks Lord Grimdark’s triumphant return to the fantasy genre, and here at Grimdark Magazine, we’re already clawing at the bars and slathering for the sequel.

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Celebrate ten years of Grimdark Magazine with Issue #40!

Last Updated on October 1, 2024

Ten years. Forty Issues. Grimdark Magazine has come a long, long way since being an idea I used to help a mate practice doing business consulting work way back in 2013. A whiteboard, a six pack of beer, and an afternoon stuck in a room working through templates and client engagement practices is where this ezine started. A BFSA nominated, Reddit Stabby and Aurealis award-winning publication that is the stalwart of grimdark fiction is where we now stand, ten years later.

There is no way to thank our team members past and present, our subscribers, and our readers for getting us to this point … except with a MASSIVE tenth anniversary issue. So, read on!

The cover

After we asked Carlos Diaz to create a cover based on Scott Lynch’s first ever Gentleman Bastards short story, we had to chase him on email, phone, and messenger just to make sure he was still alive. While we all thought he’d potentially kicked the bucket with excitement, he was actually already playing with ideas and getting stuck in. Eventually, he pinged us over the below artwork for Pen Astridge to put our lovely logo on, and voila!

The line-up

Honestly, take a deep breath and a seat before you read on. Maybe grab a beer, a scotch, a wine, maybe a strong tea … whatever your poison … because we have the most epic lineup of our ten year history laid out before you. This issue has everything we’re about: grimdark community favourite characters like Locke Lamora and Jorg Ancrath, massive dark and grimdark fantasy authors, indie authors, Aussie authors, an author from our open window, articles about our space, interviews with industry giants, and reviews of the most epic books coming onto the market.

Original and reprint fiction:

Little Mermaid, In Passing by Angela SlatterLock and Key by Wendy NikelUnholy Ghost by Mark LawrenceAll the Riches of Suffering by Ben GalleyThe Absolute by Aaron DriesUnder Furious Skies by Christopher BuehlmanThe Dreams of Wan Li by Andrea StewartThe Subtler Art by Cat RamboStones by Anna Smith SparkLocke Lamora and the Bottled Serpent by Scott Lynch

Articles, interviews, and reviews:

Grimdark, Home of the Other by Krystle MatarAn Interview with Shauna Lawless (Fiona Denton)Review: Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer (John Mauro)Project Starship: Materials Engineering Challenges in Dark Science Fiction Featuring Graham McNeill, Richard Swan, and Essa Hansen by John MauroReview: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie (Sally Berrow)An Interview with J. Michael Straczynski by Beth TablerReview: The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne (Emma Davis)Mental Health in Fantasy and Science Fiction: A Changing Landscape by Aaron S. JonesRead Grimdark Magazine Issue #40

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REVIEW: Deep Black by Miles Cameron

Last Updated on September 28, 2024

Miles Cameron ratchets up the space opera adventure in Deep Black, the sequel to his highly acclaimed sci-fi debut, Artifact Space, and the second volume in his Arcana Imperii series.

The Arcana Imperii Universe teems with trade, and the most precious commodity is xenoglas, a seemingly supernatural material that originates from an alien race known as the Starfish. Of course, the desire for xenoglas brings out the worst among some people. Technology advances but human nature remains the same, even after colonizing the greater cosmos.

Miles Cameron again shines with his expertly drawn characters, who spring to life led by the spirited Marca Nbaro, an orphan who forges paperwork to become a midshipman on the Greatship Athens. I love Marca’s character growth over the course of both novels, and I especially enjoyed how the relationships with her friends develop and mature in Deep Black. There is also a romantic subplot, which I didn’t particularly appreciate in Artifact Space but found both more believable and enjoyable in Deep Black.

The worldbuilding all feels very natural in Deep Black, without any awkward info dumps. My favorite part of the Arcana Imperii Universe are the Greatships themselves, enormous sword-shaped spacecraft that are large enough to house the population of an entire city.

Deep Black delves deeper into the alien races of the Arcana Imperii Universe and the behind-the-scenes politics driving their conflicts and alliances. With its focus on both interpersonal relationships and deepening knowledge of alien races, Deep Black has strong Star Trek: The Next Generation vibes, except faster paced and a lot more fun.

My only minor quibble with Deep Black is the mystery surrounding the nature of xenoglas. Even today, all of the materials characterization tools exist to determine the composition, structure, and properties of any unknown material. It therefore seems odd that these tools weren’t applied to xenoglas, leading some characters to believe that it has almost magical properties. Anyway, this is just a slight criticism in a novel that was otherwise thoroughly enjoyable.

Overall, Deep Black delivers a highly satisfying conclusion to the current story arc while also leaving the door open for new adventures.

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REVIEW: Gladiator

Released in 2000, Ridley Scott’s masterpiece is set in ancient Rome and follows a general who falls out of favour and ends up fighting in the great Colosseum as a gladiator, battling for his pride, honour, and revenge. The thrilling journey of redemption spearheaded by Russell Crowe in a star-making role as Maximus Decimus Meridius is considered one of the greatest films of all time and with a long-delayed sequel on the way, it is time to give Gladiator another watch and see its appeal for the grimdark audience.

Ridley Scott opens the film setting the high standards with both a visual and auditory spectacle as with a battle against Germanic tribes and a directing masterclass with the large-scale action sequences. The direction brings you into combat and it feels raw and visceral. Russell Crowe produces a career best performance with his portrayal of the fallen warrior turned slave and eventual gladiator allowing him to showcase his range as he fights against those who have turned on him and vows revenge against Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix proving early on just how great of an actor he would be before further brilliance in films such as Joker and You Were Never Really Here). A good revenge tale with a hero with nothing more to lose is an easy sell but with great writing and a cast giving their all, Gladiator rises to levels of greatness that make it an instant classic. The writing in swords and sandals epics can sometimes be a let-down but Gladiator is a film that knows when to keep things short and sweet and when to play the epic card – “On my signal, unleash hell.” and “Brothers, what we do in life, echoes in eternity.” are two lines in the opening scene alone that made me want to get off my seat and dive into battle alongside Maximus. He is a general who you can believe inspires warriors to face their death with a smile on their faces and adds to the grounded realism and brutality of the epic story and makes you eager for him to get his revenge when he does fall. His quiet determination and unyielding resolve – “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. And I will have my vengeance, in this life, or the next” is incredibly powerful and works perfectly alongside Phoenix’s jealous, chilling portrayal of a man obsessed with power who is deeply insecure and a tyrannical ruler. Every scene they share is full of tension and feels as though things may explode at any given moment.

The action in Gladiator still holds to this day. Both the large-scale battles and intimate gladiatorial combat are choreographed to perfection and developed in ways to make the audience truly care about who lives and who dies. It all feels real with consequences shown for every mistake or misstep and that goes for those in the highest seat to those staring up at the world above them. Death comes for all and Gladiator is a film that truly encapsulates that. The reliance on practical effects has meant that the film has aged well and it will be interested to compare the sequel when it arrives. The story is full of political intrigue and the tale of revenge is timeless, driven by the great performance of Crowe and masterful direction of Scott. The tale of a weary Maximus driven by revenge even reminded me of great recent literary grimdark warriors such as Logen Ninefingers and Monza Murcatto from Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world and had me salivating at the potential for such tales to arrive on screens with the right people involved.

Gladiator is a timeless classic. This film is truly one that echoes throughout eternity and is one of the greatest action films ever made with a cast full of career-best efforts and a story that has inspired the direction and action of many since (Game of Thrones, Those About to Die, Spartacus to name a few). With a sequel on the way, now is the time to give the Maximus Decimus Meridius another watch – press play, and unleash hell!

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REVIEW: Necrology by Meg Ripley

Necrology by Meg Ripley is a debut dark fantasy novel about the fantastical alternate history of the Salem Witch trials. Set in the 1800s – two hundred years after the events in Salem – Magical women called the Dirty have sworn off their innate magic (Dirt) in exchange for peace from non-magical men called the Freemen. But peace is never an option where a man’s power is threatened. Necrology explores a gloomy world built on petrifyingly deep-rooted male supremacy.

Necrology is the first book in the Dirty duology, following an 8-year-old orphan girl named Rabbit as she navigates a harsh new reality after her world is shattered. When the matron of her orphanage, Whitetail, is arrested and sentenced to death for the murder of her ward and her suitor ‘Beard’ who is also the Supreme Leader’s heir, Rabbit is abruptly taken to his home. There, she is groomed to become his ‘star witness’ under the pretense of saving her family and innocents from an impending war. Here, we see glimpses of Salem’s dark history repeating itself – false confessions with the promise of redemption, and women ripped and isolated from their communities.

Ripley’s narrative deftly explores Rabbit’s struggle for identity amidst chaos, as she grapples with the truth about her circumstances and the motives of those around her. As her understanding of goodness is challenged, readers are drawn into a dark, thought-provoking exploration of morality and survival. Rabbit is a resilient character, and her determination to do what’s right puts her in a moral dilemma. Should she lie to get what she wants? Or simply tell the truth and leave being good up to the people with power?

I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Whitetail, a majestic and stoic witch descended from Mad Dog—the original Dirty Woman who signed the pact with the Freemen two centuries ago. Standing over six feet tall and flaunting antlers due to a rebounding curse, she embodies both power and tragedy. What truly captivated me, though, was her chilling decision to swallow her twin sister to safeguard the secrets of the murdered held in the Necrology (a rock), that could ignite a war. Her pregnant belly is a sickeningly good twist that adds layers to her character and raises the stakes in the story.

I found the use of the word “Dirty” in reference to witches and “Dirt” in reference to magic incredibly witty. Ripley doesn’t shy away from depicting the contempt the Freemen have for women in general—not just witches. However, I should caution that the writing style may not appeal to everyone; it often reads like a screenplay, complete with detailed character directions. That said, I would be first in line if Necrology were ever adapted into a film. I desperately want to see Whitetail brought to life on screen!

Overall, Necrology has brought the war on witches to a darker level, and I cannot wait for the release of the second book, Woodfeast. If you are a fan of the madness that was the Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible and Weyward, you are going to love this imaginative retelling that even Reverend Parris would approve of.

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REVIEW: The Boodless Princes by Charlotte Bond

The Bloodless Princes feels like a very different novella compared to to The Fireborne Blade, with a move away from the focus on dragons and their magic and towards the magic of human mages and the battle between the two lords of the underworld (the gravelands).

The mage Hosh attempts to swap his place in the gravelands with Saralene by taking over her body. In a desperate bid to save her partner, Saralene’s champion knight, Sir Maddileh, finds a very unlikely ally–one who was assumed to be dead. Together they must venture to the gravelands to request the aid of one of the Bloodless Princes, the rulers of the gravelands with one controlling the day and the other the night.

Bond continues to showcase the more experimental allowances that I feel come with writing shorter form fiction. The Bloodless Princes could almost be a stand alone novella, the feel of it is so different to The Fireborne Blade, and I think that’s a good thing. The same familiar bones of the world are there, but this read is a very different (and still great) experience to its predecessor, and I think those differences and new ideas and concepts are so easy to take on because she has such mastery of story construction in under 40,000 words.

Once again, I really enjoyed Bond’s use of book chapters from the in-world mages’ non-fiction library to provide extra context and detail. This time Bond uses a dragon history juxtaposed against a human history to showcase two sides of the same coin.

Compared to The Fireborne Blade, this felt less dark and a little more focussed on the burgeoning love between Maddileh and Saralene. That’s not really where my areas of interest in reading lay, so I didn’t enjoy that aspect of the story so much, when I consider it against what I loved about The Fireborne Blade.

What I did massively enjoy was the character of Mienylyth and the perspective provided on the dragons. I also like Bond’s depiction of the two underworlds, and her playing with the mythology versus the fantastical reality. These two aspects alone made it worth the short time investment to read The Bloodless Princes.

While the shift in feel and themes probably wasn’t my favourite thing ever, this is why I love novellas so much. Authors have the freedom to experiment more with less risk to a reader should it not work out for their reading experience. The Bloodless Princes delivers more of  the wonderful fantasy duo of Sir Maddileh and Saralene, and I’m hoping to read more about them the years to come.

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REVIEW: The Book of Witches ed. by Jonathan Strahan

Depending on your tastes, the spooky season is in full swing or about to descend. Either way, if seasonal reading is your thing, it is the best time of the year to pick up The Book of Witches. The latest spellbinding anthology to be edited by Jonathan Strahan, The Book of Witches, has just under 30 short story and poetry contributions from a host of speculative fiction writers. Each piece also has its own illustration from Hugo-nominated artist Alyssa Winans, which was an additional touch that I really enjoyed in this collection.

Not every tale in The Book of Witches will appeal to the Grimdark Magazine crowd; it is a very varied anthology in terms of writing style. Although each story has fantastical elements and at least one witch, they range from dark and disturbing to funny and folksy. Overall, it was an excellent read for this time of year. Some of these authors were new to me, but many were ones I had already read or had been recommended to me by fellow members of team GdM, such as P. Djèlí Clark, Cassandra Khaw, Premee Mohamed, Angela Slatter, Andrea Stewart, C. L. Clark, and Fonda Lee.

In this review, I will not touch on all the stories in The Book of Witches, but I will highlight my personal favourite, which was Cassandra Khaw’s “Met Swallow.” It was the eighth entry in the collection, and by this point, I had given up trying to guess what each story would be about. Khaw has been an author on my radar for years since John Mauro described her The Salt Grows Heavy as a “darkly beautiful nightmare brought to life,” and every team member who has reviewed her work has had good things to say about it. I am just a bit of a scaredy cat; frankly, I find the covers terrifying.

“Met Swallow” was not as frightening as I thought a Khaw short story would be. It was not even the most unnerving story in the whole collection. But I was thoroughly impressed with how Khaw crafted a narrative that spanned years into only fifteen pages and still evoked an emotional response about Amaranth’s life and death. Khaw touched on love, life, family, and all that might mean, and finally ended “Met Swallow” in a way that was quite gruesome but also made me laugh out loud with the last line. Which is sometimes exactly what you want from a bed time story!

I only loved some stories in The Book of Witches. However, with such a varied collection, not all are expected to hit the sweet spot for me. I would say, though, that I enjoyed the vast majority of them. They are all well-written and good examples of short fiction. I found The Book of Witches a literary equivalent of liquorice all sorts. I like them enough to buy a pack, but while snacking, some are better than others, and some I only eat because they are there. One personal gripe I had is that I found the text in the paperback small. It’s not often that I need to search for reading glasses, but I did with this, and it was a slight annoyance. So, this might be worth noting if you consider picking up a physical copy of The Book of Witches.

I enjoyed being able to sample such a range of authors and I have found some new names to keep an eye out for. Also, I really enjoy short fiction and feeling like I have finished something without it taking me an age to read. I got that sense of satisfaction with this book, as even the longer pieces can be read in around half an hour. For my vote, The Book of Witches is worth the reading time and is a perfect choice for a witchy read. After all, as the dedication says, “There’s a little witch in all of us.’ Thank you to the team at Harper Voyager for sending us a review copy.

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