Adrian Collins's Blog, page 45

REVIEW: The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song

In The Night Ends with Fire, K. X. Song’s dark adult fantasy debut, inspired by the legend of Mulan, Hai Meilin takes control of her destiny. In an attempt to escape her opium-ridden and abusive father, as well as the arranged marriage forced upon her with an equally abusive nobleman, she takes matters into her own hands and enlists for the war under the guise of her father’s ‘bastard son’. Upon enlisting, Meilin finds her stride. While keeping her secret is a source of constant anxiety, she flourishes without the restrictions previously forced upon her. She develops friendships and camaraderie amongst her platoon, a budding infatuation with her commander and training partner Prince Sky and later, a complicated bond with an enemy Prince. As the war of the Three Kingdoms edges closer, so do the voices in her head. Meilin is confronted by Qinglong, a sea dragon spirit connected to the jade necklace her late mother had left for her. Through dreams, visions and hallucinations, Qinglong offers Meilin unending power – but at what cost?

Meilin’s story begins similar to many female fantasy protagonists – put in a situation that essentially causes them to snap and take matters into their own hands. As the story progresses, so does her character. In assuming the role of Hai Ren, she does not abandon her femininity, but instead embraces the parts of her that were suppressed by the men around her; her rage, her ability to fight, and her want for power. She says,

“I needed to prove that, I as a woman could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free.”

Meilin’s rage was so potent, to the point that I had to question where her thoughts started, and where Qinglong’s ended. The girl at the beginning of the book is vastly different to the one at the end, which made Meilin wildly entertaining to read about, particularly in the second half of the book.

The first half of the novel fell flat for me, and both the tone and the dialogue felt overwhelmingly Young Adult, despite the book being marketed as Adult. But do not be fooled, the book takes a much darker turn in the second half, affording it the label of a dark Adult fantasy. The grimdark aspects are thus heavier in this half. I would recommend The Night Ends with Fire to newcomers of the grimdark genre, as it certainly eases you in. Once I finished, I felt the sense that the writing essentially grew with Meilin; she entered the army unsure of herself, and unaware of her potential. At the end, I could see the power she’s able to hold, and I was constantly at the edge of my seat, waiting to see what she does with it. We do love a woman scorned.

The Night Ends with Fire is a fairly faithful retelling of Mulan, paralleling with a lot of the main components and scenes from the Disney adaptation we are all so familiar with. The difference, however, is that Meilin’s actions are not driven by honour. She is fuelled by ambition, and the desire to make a name for herself against those that society have deemed her lesser than. K. X. Song acknowledges that the story centres on the question: What does our ambition cost us? To which I am intrigued to see how far our protagonist is willing to go, to get what she wants. Hai Meilin is slowly climbing the ranks of my favourite angry, messy and powerful female main characters in fiction, and I am so excited to see the chaos she ensues in the next instalment.

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Grimdark Magazine Issue #39 out now!

Last Updated on July 2, 2024

Welcome to issue #39 of Grimdark Magazine! Grimdark is a state of mind; it is a style of storytelling that finds a home in just about every genre. Knowing this, we dedicate one of our quarterly GdM issues to science fiction, yearly. As a heavy reader of science fiction, I look forward to this issue every year. I enjoy reading stories that bring you into the cold, endless dark of space or the rotten politics of futuristic societies. In this issue, we have a unique collection of stories that range in style and subject, promising to captivate even the most dedicated science fiction reader. So, kick back and let us take you into the vast black.

Happy reading, my friends.

Cover reveal

Carlos Diaz has knocked it out of the park once again! The depth and eeriness he injects into his SF covers is amazing, as is the detail on those ships. This cover is based on Christian Cameron’s story Dead Reckoning Part II (you can find part 1 in Issue #34), an Arcana Imperii story.

The line up for Issue #39

We have ab epic line up for you once again, so come get your teeth into some of the dark stuff!

FICTIONDead Reckoning II by Christian CameronWaiting for Witnesses by Gautam BhatiaThe Skin of Aquila Cadens by Chris PanatierObserver by Eric MalikyteNON-FICTIONGrimdark is a State of Mind by Krystle MatarAn Interview with Ryan Skeffington by John MauroReview: Lost Souls by Ryan Skeffington (John Mauro)The Quest for Transparent Aluminium: Materials Science in Science Fiction by John MauroReview: The Mercy of Gods by S.A. Corey (Adrian Collins)An Interview with Matt Dinniman by Beth TablerReview: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (Beth Tabler)Science Fiction and The Dark Side of the Future by Aaron S. JonesRead Grimdark Magazine Issue #39

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REVIEW: The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde

In K.A. Linde’s The Wren in the Holly Library, a monster-packed New York City provides the backdrop for a heist and a romance with an overlay of Celtic mythology. Unfortunately for me, the action-packed plot and charismatic leads struggled to transcend the novel’s overstuffed, ungrounded worldbuilding.

Abandoned on the streets of a New York City decimated by monsters, Kierse is a skilled thief with a reckless streak. A robbery gone awry draws the attention of handsome, broody warlock Graves. Intrigued by Kierse’s apparent ability to evade his magical home security system, Graves hires her to steal a powerful spear from the vampire king of the monster underworld at a Winter Solstice party. As the solstice approaches and Kierse and Graves grow closer, his true motivations and Kierse’s true heritage are brought to light, both of which are intimately bound up in the thread of Celtic mythology that runs throughout the book. Slow to start, The Wren in the Holly Library gathers speed as it moves towards climax, with ample detours through rival gang wars, a sex pollen-fueled orgy, vampire brothels, and a trip to the Met.

No doubt there are plenty of readers who will revel in The Wren in the Holly Library’s maximalism. But although I admire the novel’s ambitious scope, Linde’s New York felt like a grab-bag of disparate tropes, rather than a three-dimensional world whose fantastical elements internally cohere.

The Wren in the Holly Library takes a “the more the merrier” approach to its monstrous bestiary, where wraiths and werewolves rub shoulders with Celtic gods and will-o-the-wisps. Linde’s approach works so long as the focus remains on Kierse and Graves, with all those assorted creatures and magic serving as a fantastical backdrop. There’s a great scene where Kierse cases a black market, packed with goblin bartenders and vampire heavies. Linde immerses us in an underworld teeming with magic and menace. It’s tense and effective, and it works best when we don’t linger too long on the details.

Where The Wren in the Holly Library flounders is in the moments when it moves beyond the personal and tries to give the larger monster-human conflict heft and consequence. Kierse has an appealingly eat-the-rich anger towards the upper classes whose lives have remained unchanged after the devastation of the Monster Wars. As a character note, her fury is compelling. But the longer I lingered on the details of the Monster Wars and its aftermath, the flimsier they became. The have-nots, those whose lives and livelihoods were devastated by the wars, have been essentially shunted into a Gangs of New York-style alternate reality where basically everyone works in a brothel and no one can afford a cellphone. It’s a world that exists to provide access to a cast of stock characters—the gruff madam with a heart of gold, the protective gang leader, the humans forced into vampiric sex work to pay their debts—and plot architecture rather than one that grows immanently from the circumstances that supposedly birthed it.

All of this added up to grittiness without a root cause, like a texture applied in Photoshop after the fact. I did find myself scratching my head less as Kierse became more fully ensconced in Graves’s world and the Celtic folklore began to take precedence over the urban fantasy. There’s something in the way of commentary there, though I don’t know if it’s on purpose: it’s amazing how much less the world’s problems bother you when you have ready access to money, magic, sex, or a combination of all three.

I suspect that many of The Wren in the Holly Library’s readers—especially those who look to worldbuilding for texture, rather than architecture—won’t be put off by the book’s moments of flimsy excess. They will appreciate Kierse as a dynamic character whose love for her friends and chosen family felt true-to-life. Linde’s handling of her trauma and difficulty trusting others is also well done. The relationship between Kierse and Graves is also well-handled. Though she’s a newcomer to his world, she isn’t treated as passive nor a wide-eyed naïf. Rather, Graves respects her as someone with her own set of unique skills and talents. Plus, the sex is pretty hot, and for a certain percentage of readers that’ll probably be enough in itself.

Ultimately, I suspect that The Wren in the Holly Library will rise or fall in its reader’s estimation depending almost entirely on whether they’re in it for the roman- or the -antasy. But Grimdark fans who prefer a little more grounding with their grit may find it hard going.

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REVIEW: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler’s been on my TBR forever, so I jumped at the chance to review Headline’s beautiful new editions. Parable of the Sower hits the spot perfectly, balancing social criticism and complex characters with a timeless story. Set distinctly within the tradition of Afrofuturism, Parable of the Sower introduces the reader to a world ravaged by climate change, a world in which the lack of natural resources has driven society into small communities. As small, isolated communities tend to, they have regressed in mindset, growing more rigid in what they accept. And with that, Butler holds a mirror up to our collective faces.

While the book was initially published in 1993, the story starts in 2024 – and is no less relevant to this 2024. We meet Lauren, the story’s protagonist, as a teen chafing against society. Her role as a young woman is heavily regimented – until disaster hits. Having lost her home, Lauren and her companions set out to find safety in the north. The world is hostile, in terms of human dangers just as much as the lack of resources. The story takes place over a longer period of time, echoing the Canterbury Tales in their itinerant manner. The destination isn’t all that important, it is the journey that matters. This means Parable of the Sower isn’t fast-paced or stuffed with plot. The reader gets time to really get to know the characters, an aspect in which Butler’s work shines.

There is no such thing as a good person in this world. Survival being uncertain doesn’t lend itself to caring about others. The characters are inherently selfish – as we all would be likely to be. And that’s part of what makes Parable of the Sower so compelling and keeps it relevant thirty years on. There are elements that didn’t quite work for me, though, despite loving the book as a whole. I struggled with the deeply entrenched gender roles (which made sense in the context of the world!) and with one relationship in particular. Age gap romance is something that’s a hard sell – for me – in the best of cases. Here, it’s interwoven with hierarchy and power, making it a very uncomfortable situation. This does stem from conversations moving on in the last three decades, showing perhaps not something that doesn’t exist, but something that doesn’t get as much traction in fiction these days. In any case, this is a tiny gripe with the book as a whole.

I don’t think I will stop thinking about Parable of the Sower anytime soon. Octavia E. Butler has created one of the great (foundational, even) works of speculative fiction and lives up to her stellar reputation. With these stunning new editions, there has never been a better time to pick up her books.

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REVIEW: House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1

House of the Dragon 2×1 “A Son for A Son” is the season premiere of the second season of House of the Dragon. The series, for those unfamiliar, a sequel to the immensely popular Game of Thrones series and deals with the events of “The Dance of the Dragons” that was a civil war between the Targaryen household of dragon-riders over who would be king of Westeros: Rhaenyra the King’s beloved daughter or his disliked male heir, Aegon.

While a big supporter of this series and a believer that it has done a lot to wipe the sour taste of Game of Thrones‘ season eight from viewers’ mouths, I have a lot of criticisms of season one. Simply put, the ten episodes jumped around one way too much and at least two seasons of story were crammed into one season in hopes of getting to the “good stuff” faster. Unfortunately, this severely impacted the pacing of the show as well as its characterization, which are the things that GOT fans love most.

House of the Dragon is a series that is generally lighter and softer than Game of Thrones with much less nudity and onscreen violence. However, it still maintains its incredibly dark themes as well as maintains antihero (verging on villainous) protagonists on both sides. The moral ambiguity that grimdark fans love will be notable throughout.

House of the Dragon begins with a new opening as we replace the dripping blood down a stone family tree of the Targaryens to, instead, be a tapestry that is woven with the stories of the Dance of the Dragon. I think this works very well as a visually distinct metaphor for the setting and better than the previous season. Still, it’s a surprising change and I wonder why they decided to make it given the stone family tree and blood one wasn’t bad.

House of the Dragon’s previous season ended with the death of Lucerys, one of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s children. Killed in an accident by Aemond Targaryen and his dragon, the result is that the Blacks and Greens are going to have a war no matter what. Kinslaying is the vilest taboo in Westeros, and no one would believe that he didn’t do it deliberately. I was waiting to see how Alicent and Otto Hightower would react to this stunning development. Well, I will have to keep waiting because it skips right past that.

We get a glimpse of the North that so far has played little role in the conflict. Still, we get some nice backstory about the past relationship between the Sarks and Targaryens. Also, a plot hole about how the dragons refuse to cross the Wall comes up because they didn’t make this a thing in Game of Thrones and the opposite being an actual plot point. Still, it’s nice to see the Wall again and a reminder of the importance of the struggle against the White Walkers.

Much of the episode deals with the aftermath of Aemond killing Lucerys despite the fact that we don’t see everyone’s immediate reaction. Rhaenyra is beside herself with grief and Daemon sees an opportunity to assert his position once more by promising vengeance. Fans of the book, Fire and Blood, will know who “Blood and Cheese” but newcomers will probably be shocked. Sadly, it lacks the power of the scene in the book because we haven’t had the characters developed enough to truly bond with them before things go horribly south.

There are some interesting developments in the characterization that I would have wanted more examination of as well. Aegon II is an utterly inept king and his brother is much better suited, which both brothers know. We also have Mysaria drop her godawful fake accent. House of the Dragon definitely has improved in several areas.

Overall, I think this was a solid episode, but I foresee this season suffering again from the fact that it is going to be an abbreviated season. Perhaps even worse because there will only be eight episodes this season. Really, I think House of the Dragon needed twelve-episode seasons, and it still feels like we’re running ahead past more character seasons. Still, I think it’s the best fantasy currently on television right now.

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REVIEW: Craft by Ananda Lima

Last Updated on June 28, 2024

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil is Ananda Lima’s fiction debut. Craft is billed as a collection of short fiction, though I would argue it is more of a fragmentary novel. The collection’s hook is an unnamed author who has slept with the devil, their future interactions and how this impacted her. The named stories are interspersed with notes from the fictional author’s life, giving a sense of why these stories are as they are. Lima has previously published poetry, including the collection Mother/land and her background in poetry permeates her fiction, just as much as her Brazilian upbringing and life as an emigrant does.

Craft is certainly very far down the literary end of genre fiction. If that’s not your cup of tea, this isn’t the book for you. It is weird, experimental and unique, and ultimately, I came down on the side of really liking Craft. Early on, I did consider not finishing it as I was struggling to get invested, but for me it was well worth persevering with this special book – and just letting it do its thing rather than dwell on my expectations. The publisher compares this to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, but I would add one big caveat to that: as written by James Joyce. To me, that’s the literary heritage of Craft, a book that gives the reader a lot of food for thought, that changes vastly between chapters and unashamedly experiments with voice and perspective.

I particularly enjoyed two of the stories, “Antropógaga” and “Idle Hands”, stories that epitomize the range of writing in Craft. The first, “Antropógaga” is an absurdist tale, reminiscent of early Russian fantasists, in which a woman gets addicted to a vending machine at work. Sounds fine, except what she eats are tiny humans, packaged in plastic. The story touches on the impact of perception and mass consumerism. dehumanizing to discuss humanity. “Idle Hands” on the other hand is one of the more experimental tales in Craft. This story consists of a series of peer-reviews of one of the fictional author’s stories in the context of a writing workshop. The reader doesn’t ever see the original story but learns much about the peers who write the notes. To me, these two stories really show off how Lima plays with structure and expectation, how she crafts a setting that comes alive. The stories themselves are connected through notes about the fictional author told in third person – like Lima, she is Brazilian, but has been in the US for years. With these interludes, Lima manages to interweave the stories with reflections on emigrant life, the demands of family and complications following your own destiny brings.

I found Craft to be weird and wonderful, a book that demands trust from the reader and rewards that trust. Lima is an author to watch, I’m very curious to read what she writes next.

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REVIEW: A Poisoner’s Tale by Cathryn Kemp

With A Poisoner’s Tale, Cathryn Kemp whisks the reader to seventeenth century Rome. Giulia Tofana is a historical figure – a woman of myth and dark legend. She supposedly sold and distributed a poison to women suffering at the hand of their husbands, killing hundreds by proxy. I would argue that juggling murder with a perhaps greater positive impact makes her one of the most grimdark characters out there. Kemp’s historical novel puts the focus exactly there, smack on her moral greyness, to create a compelling narrative of a semi-fictional life.

There isn’t much known about the historical Giulia. Kemp takes that little information and weaves it into a story about poison, feminine rage and friendship. We follow Giulia from childhood through to middle age, to having an adult daughter. She learns how to brew acqua, the poison she distributes, from her mother in Sicily and takes that knowledge on to Naples and Rome, sharing it with a few trusted companions – and teaching her own daughter. Acqua is a family legacy. It’s not seen as a dangerous weapon, but as a way to liberate women. Of course, the number of men dropping dead with similar symptoms means Giulia gains quite the reputation… And attention from all the wrong places.

A Poisoner’s Tale is incredibly compelling. I kept going back to sneak just one more chapter (or ten, if we’re being honest). Despite knowing how the story ends, the tension stays high throughout, making the reader root for a doomed cause. It has something of a trainwreck (in the very best way!) where you can see what will happen, how the story will go but you can’t look away despite your sense of impending doom. To me, that shows great mastery of craft – and I look forward to checking out whatever Kemp writes next.

I found Giulia to be an interesting character to follow. She is certainly flawed, and she’s aware of it. We see her make decisions that are based on emotions rather than logic quite a few times. To me, that makes her stand out. She strictly follows her own moral compass, even when it doesn’t quite fit society’s expectations. In a D&D universe, I’d call her lawful evil. And she cares. For her, it’s about helping women, the act of making poison a statement against the patriarchy. It was interesting to read about Giulia’s relationship with her own mother in contrast to Giulia’s relationship to her daughter. Her friends have become a family – though her role as a single mother, a woman without a husband is not something that comes up in the story.

In that regard, A Poisoner’s Tale feels a touch too modern. It is very rooted in its seventeenth century setting, but divorces the main characters’ outlook from it. Religion plays a big role in the novel, we are dealing with the (Spanish) inquisition after all. It feels like the way faith affects society, the belief in damnation, is passed over for the sake of telling a story. There are priests engaged in carnal activity, priests who get involved in the distribution of Giulia’s aqua. The pope himself is a significant character. There is no interrogation of these behaviours. The novel keeps “the behaviour and belief of the religious” completely apart from the women’s outlook on the world. And I feel adding a bit more nuance in this regard would have hugely strengthened the book as a whole.

Still, I’m picking at absolute details. I really enjoyed my time reading A Poisoner’s Tale and particularly how it blended a rich historical setting with a story that speaks to twenty-first century audiences. It doesn’t overload the reader with details, but makes the historical Giulia Tofana come to life, and imagines her as a person rather than the legendary murderer. Let’s raise a glass of acqua in Giulia’s honour.

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An Interview with Jenn Lyons

Coming off the massive (yes, literally) A Chorus of Dragons series, Jenn Lyons is back with the standalone dragon fantasy The Sky on Fire. She plays with expectations and tropes, giving us a rich and detailed world in which dragons are not creatures softened and turned loyal. She was twice-nominated for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and is a geek through and through, having a background in graphic design and video games. Her new book The Sky on Fire is great fun to read – and it was great to catch up with Jenn ahead of publication and talk dragons, mature characters and writing.

[GdM] Can you give our readers an elevator pitch for The Sky on Fire, please?

[JL] It’s Dragonriders of Pern meets Ocean’s 11. Probably the easiest elevator pitch I’ve ever done.

[GdM] Dragons are having a huge moment. What’s your impression of the trend and where does your fascination with dragons stem from?

[JL] My obsession with dragons probably stems from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, which I saw as a small child. I was very taken with Maleficent, and it’s a feeling that’s never gone away. I’ve been obsessed with dragons for my entire life. So for me, this is less of a ‘moment’ than ‘just normal.’ Dragons have always been part of fantasy, though, so I don’t really see the current popularity as anything special, except that it’s being labeled as such.

[GdM] One of the things that has really made The Sky on Fire stand out is how dragons are not tools for human power struggles. The dragons are those who lead society. Can you talk a bit more about your ideas behind this?

[JL] – When I sat down to write this book, I was thinking quite a lot about its inspiration, of which the Ann MacCaffery books were a large part, and themes of dragonrider books in general. And one of the things that struck me is how in most books where dragons have riders (as opposed to the ones who go terrorizing the countryside until one sacrifices a virgin to them) the dragons are so loyal. So incredibly loyal and subservient. Often, they’re downright dog-like in their loyalty, even if they’re intelligent. So, a thought occurred to me: what if that wasn’t true? In most depictions, dragons are more powerful than their riders by significant degrees, so what would happen if the dragons knew that? It would turn the dynamic on its head, and I found that appealed to me a great deal.

[GdM] One last dragon question, then I’ll pester you with a new topic, I promise. I wanted to know more about the naming conventions of dragons. There’s such a range, from Overbite to Neveranimas. Is there a logic to it?

[JL] I created a language for the dragons, although it is, by nature of being something that humans don’t have the vocal capacity to pronounce, incomplete. In the case of Overbite, well, she’s not a dragon. She is an animal, just as T-Rex would be an animal, and her name as such was given by the person who raised her—Anahrod. The other names are a combination of the conlang and me sounding out syllables until I had something that I felt sounded sufficiently draconic.

[GdM] You introduce the reader to the concept of status/identity rings that show others who they are – and with them a queer-norm society. I found these fascinating – can you tell us a bit more about them and their use?

[JL] I will admit that the garden rings partly from my own frustration with dating. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone just wore a little sign with their preferences? That way you’d know not to start flirting with someone who wasn’t interested, who was, or perhaps more significantly, be able to put a giant ‘keep away’ sign on oneself, no explanation required. As the ring concept developed, I was surprised to realize that I had, quite without meaning to, created a society that wasn’t heteronormative. That’s just another ring, after all.

(c) Mike Lyons

[GdM] I love a good heist, and so do these characters – and I expect you too. I’d love to hear about your ideas for the ideal heist you’d like to commit!

[JL] When I was a teenager, I used to concoct these rather elaborate fantasies about being a jewel thief. The problem, of course, is that the fantasy is very sexy, but the reality very different…

…which is not an admission. I’ve never committed a heist, just done a lot of research. In any event, the best heist…would probably need to have been committed forty years ago. They’ve gotten a lot harder to pull off in the 21st century. 

[GdM] I found Anahrod to be a great leading character – she’s complex, she’s villainized, she’s going on middle-aged. What drew you to write The Sky on Fire about her specifically?

[JL] I must protest: she’s not really going on middle-aged, is she? I mean, she was fifteen when everything went to hell and it’s seventeen years later, so you do the math. (Editor’s note: to my great shame I did not do the math!) It is interesting to me to see that comparison used, however, because I think it says quite a lot about how fantasy is fixated on youth. It’s like the way Hollywood likes to cast actresses as mothers to stars that are the same age (or older) or the way everyone assumes that a fantasy book written by a woman must by YA.

To answer the actual question, though, I didn’t know I wanted to write about Anahrod specifically. She developed with the plot. If I was going to create a story about a rejected dragonrider, and as the background evolved, I had to ask myself what her experiences would’ve done to her. What I ended up with was this delightfully bitter and surly woman who’d had her dreams shattered and had been betrayed by everyone she loved. And now, years later, was finally being forced to confront her ghosts…and maybe get a little revenge, as a treat.

[GdM] That feeds into my next question: what do you see as the appeal of writing about mature characters, of stepping away from the naïve young protagonist we see so often?

[JL] I think it’s lovely to be able to write a main character who isn’t the ingenue or the chosen one. Something who has some dirt (and blood) under their nails, knows what they like, has seen things. We need more adults in fantasy who exist to be something other than the villain or the mentor who dies at the end of Act 1.

[GdM] You’ve come to The Sky on Fire after completing a massive epic fantasy series. What’s been your experience writing in a completely new setting? And what have you perhaps learned from your first series?

[JL] What can I say? It was a delight. You have to understand: I adore worldbuilding. So the chance to develop a new world from the ground up (or the solar system up, in this case) was a real treat. Obviously, the worldbuilding on The Sky on Fire couldn’t be as complete as what I did for A Chorus of Dragons, but then again, I didn’t have thirty years this time.

I think probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that I have an extraordinarily high tolerance for complexity, and so what is obvious to me is not obvious to virtually anyone else. I don’t have any regrets about how A Chorus of Dragons turned out, but if I had to do it again, I would have been a little more ruthless in eliminating some of the extraneous details that didn’t necessarily serve to further the main plot. I’ve learned to have a better appreciation for the negative spaces in my work.

[GdM] Romantasy is all the rage right now—but The Sky on Fire refuses to fit into the trend. Where do you see its role in the genre and how do you feel as an author who writes differently?

[JL] It’s like dragons: I think the only thing that’s new about romantasy is the label (and I know Jacqueline Carey has my back on this one) since romance has always been a commonly seen element of the fantasy genre. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have the label if it makes it easier for readers to find the sorts of books they want. Certainly ‘Romance’ as a category is so large that it can be extremely intimidating for people trying to just dip in a toe, so from that point of view, being able to tell that a given book sits on the venn diagram overlap between the two genres is helpful. I just didn’t write The Sky on Fire to be that (although it has plenty of romance in it).

[GdM] I’d love to end with a fun question. Given it’s Pride Month and The Sky on Fire is a queer book, do you have any queer book recommendations for our readers?

[JL] John Wiswell’s Someone to Build a Nest In is delightful and highly recommended. As is Alexandra Rowland’s Running Close to the Wind (which I think comes out on June 11th). Freya Marske also has a book coming out this Fall called Swordcrossed—that one probably qualifies solidly as romantasy, and it’s great.

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EXCLUSIVE first look at Elric the Necromancer by Jean-Luc Cano and Julien Blondel

For the first time, Elric the Necromancer will be printed in English! Adapted from the stories by, and with approval from, Michael Moorcock, this features his character Elric – who must face an epic threat without his legendary Stormbringer. Originally published in French, this is the first time the tale has been translated into English.

Written by Jean-Luc Cano and Julien Blondel, and with art from Valentin Secher, this gorgeous book is something you need to check out. This is the second of Titan Comic’s translations of Blondel and Cano’s Moorcock-approved works we’ve reviewed, having also reviewed Dreaming City.

For fans of Moorcock’s albino Eternal Champion, this is an adaptation that cannot be missed.

We have the blurb and a sneak peek into the first pages of the comic, below, thanks to publisher Titan Comics.

About Elric the Necromancer

Two years after the sack of the great city of Imrryr, Elric wanders across the land as a mercenary, still grieving the death of his beloved Cymoril.

But a new danger is not far away-Queen Yishana has a quest for the White Wolf, a journey into another dimension where elemental magic nor the enchantment of his mighty sword Stormbringer seems to function.

Without his powers, how will Elric face down the old threat that lingers there?

Variant covers

Titan Comics have done a brilliant job bringing this cover to life with three other variant covers by (in order) Paolo Grella, Valentin Secher, and Pierre-Denis Goux.

Introduction and first three pages of Elric the Necromancer

I love the art style of Elric the Necromancer, with it’s dark, shady feel putting us right into the mood for a gritty, bloody adventure. Our experience reading Moorcock and Titan Comic’s reimagining of Dreaming City lets us know that these are the kinds of characters who play on the grey scales or morality, and will very likely appeal to our gridmark-loving crowd.

 

 

 

To find out what happens next in Elric the Necromancer, you’ll have to grab a copy, below!

Read Elric the Necromancer by Jean-Luc Cano and Julien Blondel

You can pre-order issue #1 from Titan directly, here, or gt a bundled issue #1 and Issue #2 below through Amazon.

Read on Amazon

The post EXCLUSIVE first look at Elric the Necromancer by Jean-Luc Cano and Julien Blondel appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

An Interview with O.O. Sangoyomi

O.O. Sangoyomi is set to dazzle the literary world with Masquerade in July. A story that is tender and slow just as much as it is dark and thrilling, the novel weaves historical West Africa with that of myth. The novel focuses on betrayal and politics, so it is a great fit for us at Grimdark Magazine. It was great to chat with her about debuting, complex relationships and power ahead of the book’s publication.

[GdM] Congratulations on your debut novel, Masquerade. Can you introduce Masquerade in a sentence or two for our readers?

[OOS] Masquerade is a historical fiction novel in which a young Yorùbá woman climbs through the ranks of a Medieval West African warrior society. Loosely based on the myth of Persephone, the novel explores the cost of power and the lengths people will go to secure it.

[GdM] I’d love to know more about the inspiration for Masquerade. The story of Hades and Persephone for one, the Yoruba traditions another. How do you see yourself in the storytelling tradition(s)?

[OOS] I wrote Masquerade my sophomore year of college. It stemmed from my frustration about being unable to find classes related to Africa at my school, especially classes about pre-colonial Africa. I was born to Nigerian immigrants, so I’m passionate about the history of West Africa in particular. That interest inspired me to research Medieval West Africa in my own time. The more that I read about the richness of this historical era, the more inspired I became to write a story set within this time period. Especially because storytelling plays such an important role in Yorùbá culture in terms of preserving histories and memories, it was important to me to try fighting against the kind of death that comes when a culture or a history is no longer talked about.

[GdM] Can you talk a bit about the blacksmiths and why they occupy such a focal position in Masquerade?

[OOS] In Yorùbá culture, artisans are held in very high esteem. Not just blacksmiths, but also sculptors, weavers, carvers. In general, the act of creation is a revered endeavor. In regards to blacksmithing, that profession has always held a particular place of fascination in the imagination of the Yorùbá people. For a long time, the technicalities of blacksmithing were kept secret from the general public, making blacksmiths their own kind of closed guild. And because no one knew how they transformed metal, many people believed that the process was magical.

Historically, Yorùbá blacksmiths were men, and because of their abilities, they were highly respected in society. In Masquerade, I reimagined this position as one that is instead occupied by women. I wondered, if the same, seemingly mystical abilities of a blacksmith were in the hands of women, would it be as positively received? Probably not. Throughout history, witch-hunts have occurred in many parts of the world to whatever degree. They all derived from the same thing: the majority group in a society believing the minority group was becoming too powerful, and fearing how that power might be used against them. So it made sense to me that a group of women on whose abilities the empire is dependent would be highly resented.

[GdM] Òdòdó goes through a lot in Masquerade. Throughout, her resilience and cunning stand out. What do you hope the reader takes from her?

[OOS] Unlike most strong female protagonists, Òdódó has neither a fierce personality nor does she blatantly speak her mind. She tends to keep her cards close to her chest, and because of her quieter disposition, most characters who meet Òdódó in the book do not think much of her. Òdódó is aware of how people regard her, and she learns to use this against them. She does things like asking intrusive questions while knowing she can get away with it because no one believes her smart enough to use the information, and she is not afraid to lean into her perceived naivety if it helps her avoid suspicion. She is a fast learner, but she does not let on to just how much she has learned, and her enemies do not realize what a formidable opponent they have created in her until it is too late. So, if readers take anything from her, it can be that there is power to be had in being underestimated.

[GdM] I particularly enjoyed Òdòdó’s complicated relationships with her mother, as well as with the twins. What drew you to focus on these imbalances of power?

[OOS] A common theme in Masquerade is that of convoluted love. Òdódó has a complicated relationship with the king she is being forced to marry, but she also has a complicated relationship with her mother. I think the manner in which people love tends to be the same with how they conduct themselves in every other aspect of their lives. So, as a pessimistic and brutally honest person, Òdódó’s mother cannot help but love Òdódó in a way that seems quite negative and almost more like hatred. It was interesting to explore the concept of a love that, as twisted as it is, is at the same time deep and genuine.

The twins’ role in Masquerade was also interesting to explore. Throughout the novel, in order to get what she wants, Òdódó leans more and more into the strengths that women have and that men do not. She then takes that a step further by also including children in her schemes—which is another group that, like women, tend to have their intelligence and skills be overlooked. It is a mark of Òdódó’s patience and determination that she learns how to utilize the small but unique access that women and children each have to certain facets of life. Over time that gradual collection of power accumulates into a greater one that cannot be challenged, and it is all built on the strengths of underestimated groups.

[GdM] Can you talk a bit about your approach to disability and prosthetics in the story and how it connects to power?

[OOS] In the book, Òdódó is surrounded by powerful men who have, for the most part, obtained their repute through war. Because that is the most overt display of power, at first it seems that if Òdódó is to have any power herself, she must learn to fight like a man. But after Òdódó barely survives a situation that leaves her disabled, she begins to lean into methods of power other than physical fighting. She learns how to filter through gossip for valuable information, how to manipulate others with just her words, and how to use her beauty to win allies. In other words, she uses tactics that are typically dismissed or overlooked by men, but that end up getting her much further than brute strength would have. So ultimately, Òdódó learns that she does not need to learn how to fight like a man; it is much better to fight like a woman.

[GdM] Following on from that, I felt like the loneliness of power, the segregation it brings with it, was core to Masquerade. I’d love to hear more about your intentions in this regard.

[OOS] When Òdódó first arrives at the king’s residence, she is enchanted by the life of luxury that is to be found there. She takes everything in, not just the sights but the people as well, accepting every offer of friendship that comes her way. But what Òdódó learns the hard way is that she has just entered a world in which everyone has their own motives, and to them, Òdódó’s arrival is nothing more than a new opportunity to use her in advancing their individual plans. Throughout the novel, as Òdódó faces betrayal in different ways, she comes to realize that if she is going to make it to the top of the social ladder, she is going to have to play the same games that everyone else does. She learns that she can only put her faith in people, not based on friendship, but based on a partnership that is mutually beneficial. Ultimately, Òdódó comes to have a handful of people in her circle, but none whom she allows herself to trust implicitly again, and that is the sacrifice she makes to hold onto her power.

[GdM] One thing I particularly enjoyed about Masquerade is how the story dares to be slow. A lot happens, but to me, it felt like characters had time to develop rather than jumping from action to action. Was this a deliberate choice?

[OOS] Immersion was a priority for me while writing Masquerade. Especially because this is a time period with which many readers will likely be unfamiliar, it was important to me to paint a vivid picture of the richness this region of the world has had. Careful detail was paid toward building the setting, but also toward building the plot. In order to create a tension that only increases as the book goes on, the groundwork for multiple pieces needed to be firmly established and have room to develop. That way, when it all comes together at the end, it can do so at a fever pitch.

[GdM] With Masquerade so grounded in history, you must have done a lot of research. Can you talk about about the process and the challenges?

[OOS] In order to construct the world of Masquerade, I drew from the three most notable empires of Medieval West Africa: the Mali Empire, the Songhai Empire, and the Kingdom of Ghana. Elements of the Ọ̀yọ́ empire and Yorùbá history in general are also woven into the story. In terms of my approach to this, I would start out with a specific topic, such as the gold trade in 15th century West Africa, then branch out into similar topics from there. I read a number of sources, ranging from history books to written accounts by European explorers who visited the region at that time, and I was also able to speak with Nigerian scholars who could elaborate on aspects of Yorùbá culture.

Undoubtedly, the most frustrating part of my research process was the sheer lack of sources available about pre-colonial Africa. For every one source I was able to find, there were ten more available for a different part of the world during the same time period. And it does not escape me that, of what little information there is available, most of it comes from the pens of Europeans. It is devastating to think about how many details have been destroyed because a group of people have been prevented from preserving their own history.

[GdM] Do you have any (book) recommendations for readers who need to get over the emotional hangover caused by finishing Masquerade?

[OOS] For more historical fiction: The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham or The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope. For more feminist journeys that incorporate mythology: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel or Daughter of Fire by Sofia Robleda. For more stories rooted in West African culture: Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko or The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna.

Read Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

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The post An Interview with O.O. Sangoyomi appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.