Adrian Collins's Blog, page 53

An Interview with Salinee Goldenberg

Salinee Goldenberg has countless merits to her name: author, artist, video producer, editor and mother of two fabulously judgmental cats (scroll down to see!). In this interview, we got to discuss her debut dark fantasy The Last Phi Hunter, Thai and South East Asian folklore, and how her multiple professions bleed into one another to create her engrossing grimdark debut. For the full review of The Last Phi Hunter, click here.

[GdM] Please tell us about your book in a sentence or two.

[SG] The Last Phi Hunter is a mythic dark fantasy inspired by Thai culture and folklore, where Ex, an ambitious young Phi hunter is on his way to slay a legendary demon when he meets Arinya, a pregnant runaway, who hires him for escort through the spirit-filled forest. But she has dangerous secrets, and now he’s fighting not only monsters, but assassins, necromancers and even worse, falling in love.

[GdM] Your book is written in multiple perspectives, namely flitting between Ex the Hunter and Narissa the demon krasue. How did it feel writing characters on opposite ends of the spectrum and switching back and forth – from hunter to hunted?

[SG] Narissa took me by surprise, she popped into my head fully formed and I ran with it. I thought it would be cool to see things from a phi’s perspective, someone who should be the polar opposite of a guy like Ex. But as the story unfolded, I noticed how similar they were. Their self-image is in conflict with how the rest of society wants to categorize them. Both are striving to achieve something everyone else thinks is unlikely, if not impossible. I think they learn a lot from one another. Being able to emphasize with someone you are conditioned to believe is your enemy is an important step in learning to think for yourself.

[GdM] I read online that you’re an artist! It’s insanely cool that you indulge in two forms of art: traditional and writing.  Do you think your experience as an artist has at all shaped your experience as an author? Are there factors that are similar?

[SG] Being an artist has definitely shaped me as a writer, and a human in general. When I sit down to make traditional art like painting or drawing, it becomes a meditative process. I really enjoy getting lost in what I find, making a mess and being unable to CTRL-Z my way out of it. I like seeing the remnants of my mistakes and coming up with solutions, and I think there’s a certain attribute to the tangible that gets lost once it goes digital, or has only existed digitally. Maybe it’s some weird energy manifestation on a quantum level, but it’s something I feel more connected to.

It bleeds into the way I write on a practical level—I write a lot of my first drafts by hand before typing them. I feel freer on paper and it’s easier for me to explore and diverge and not worry so much about the end result. Sure, I try to outline beats like a Responsible Writer, but more often than not it ends up going off the rails. On the other hand, I’m also a video producer and editor, so I’m seeing a lot of the action and setpieces in a cinematic light. It’s useful in revision, where I’ll cut and dice mercilessly. You need to do a lot of revision when you’re a recovering discovery writer prone to relapse.

[GdM] Ex has a great bond with his animal companions. As a cat mum myself, I have to ask if you have any pets and if having a pet made it easier to write companionship between Ex and the Hound, Ramble etc?

[SG] Growing up, I always wanted a dog but my mom said they were “too smelly.” She has a thing about smells, she will let you know if you stink. But I’ve known and loved many dogs, and I wanted to make sure the Hound was his own person, with a history and persona befitting of a magnificent beast and all around guddest boi.

I think I’ve ridden three horses my entire life, but a veterinarian friend told me they had strong personalities, so I made sure they had their own opinions of Ex. Even though Ex sees them as equals, never calling them “his” horses but “the” horses, I imagine Ramble has his own pet names for the heavy human making him carry all his crap and bossing him around.

As a cat lord myself, I know it’s entirely possible your animal friend thinks you’re an idiot. Just look at the way Tzarina Bigface and Yung Lilface are staring at me right now. So full of judgment…

[GdM] Your demons are inspired/originate from Thai mythology, so I wonder if you found inspiration for your protagonist in any Thai folklore too? Were there any particular heroes that you fashioned Ex after? What was the process of building Ex as your protagonist?

[SG] I always let my characters tell me who they are. I’ll frame them up, get an image in my head and sense of their voice, then let their personalities grow from there. I didn’t consciously fashion Ex after another hero, but he does have a playfulness about him which brings to mind Hanuman from the Ramakien (Thai version of the Ramayana.) The khon masks from that traditional play is also what the Phi Hunters masks are inspired by.

I knew he’d be ultracompetent in his trade, so the goal was to give him enough weaknesses and insecurities to make him relatable, rather than superhuman despite all his powers. He also has a very rigid belief system to start with, and is mostly uncynical. His naivety is one of my favorite things about him. I think the moment it clicked for me is in one of the first chapters, when he’s bragging about being a hunter and ends up getting punched in the face. As a proud young man, he desperately wants to fight back, but is resigned to get his ass beat due to his vows as a hunter and respect for his Order. Part of his story is to examine those beliefs—respecting authority because subservience will keep you safe, when that’s not often the case, no matter how justified you might be.

[GdM] Your book has been described as ‘The Witcher meets Princess Mononoke’. When reading it, the Phi reminded me of the ‘cursed spirits’ from Jujutsu Kaisen. Would you say any other fictional work inspired your world, characters, settings etc?

[SG] I haven’t seen that particular one, but the anime vibes did come to mind, especially in the magic system, the action, and vibrancy of the setting, as well as some of the lighthearted bits. I think a big reason I wrote this was because I haven’t seen anything like it yet, specifically Southeast Asian folklore monster-hunters. Southeast Asia is underrepresented in speculative fiction in general, we see a lot more from East and South Asia, and some people I talk to couldn’t point to SEA on a map.

When I discovered Rebecca Roanhoarse’s work, it finally clicked that if I wanted to see it, I’d have to write it. As for the setting, it mostly came from Ayuttuya-era Siam and the early Rattanakosin period, along with my understanding and experience of Thai culture, filtered through the lens of a farang.

[GdM] The characters in your book are brilliant and so multifaceted, but my favourite had to be The Hound! Who was your favourite character to write and why?

[SG] I enjoyed all of them, but Ex was so natural and fun, I really felt like I was riding shotgun on his journey, laughing maniacally while devising ways to make his life as difficult as possible. I wrote the first draft of this novel in two months, and a lot of that had to do with having a clear sense of the main character and his goals.

[GdM] Amongst the several types of Phi you wrote about, which kind was your favourite, and which one freaks you out the most? (The Pret made me both incredibly sad and super creeped out)

[SG] The krasue is the clear winner! Come on, a disembodied woman’s head that floats through the night, entrails dangling below, while her daytime body sleeps in an underground nest? The legend goes that people used to line their fences with sharpened sticks in order to deter the krasue from eating them in their sleep, as her exposed organs would get tangled in the traps.

The creepiest for me wasn’t actually one of the phi, but the kumon thong; which means “golden boy.” Nowadays it’s a cute little idol you can buy in the store, but back in the day it was a necromantic charm created from an unborn fetus, roasted ceremoniously in a cemetery and lacquered in gold. Pretty metal, if you ask me.

[GdM] Are you able to let us know if you are working on anything else? Can we expect more from this universe?

[SG] I’m always working on several projects in various stages, in different genres, but all in the realm of speculative fiction. I hope I’ll be able to announce something official soon! As for the Last Phi Hunter universe, I wrote it as a standalone, but I do have one more story to tell. We’ll see if that shakes out.

If anyone is interested in the BTS aspect of a struggling writer, I started a patreon at the end of 2018, when I quit my day job and went off on this mad quest to get something published. (Unsurprisingly, part of that quest was having to go back to a day job.) I talk very openly about my process and what I’m working on. Updates are sporadic, but hey, you get a sticker and a button.

[GdM] Finally, what are you reading/enjoying at the moment?

[SG] Of all the books I read last year, Chain Gang All-Stars really blew my mind—I loved that satirical, high concept, scathing take down of the prison industrial complex. I read the entire Expanse series by James SA Corey over the holidays and it’s still living rent free in my head. I then binge re-watched the whole TV series, still recovering from that. Right now I’m reading The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern, which is igniting some severe nostalgia for my punk house days. As for non-books, one of my former colleagues from Bethesda Softworks, Nate Purkeypile, went indie and let me playtest his upcoming game, the Axis Unseen. It’s a heavy metal horror survival game where you hunt creepy monsters, reminds me a little bit of Sons of the Forest. Fun fact, our mutual buddy Ilya Nazarov illustrated the cover art for the game, right before he did the cover for The Last Phi Hunter. Synchronicity.

Read The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg

Read on Amazon

The post An Interview with Salinee Goldenberg appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Troop by Nick Cutter

Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are natural human responses to threats. The possibility of outrunning the bogeyman, fighting off the rapid animal, or seeking shelter during a tornado; all these defenses mean hope. The ability to act is a chance to survive. But some horrors cannot be fought. Some are too small and so they slip in and consume. Nick Cutter’s The Troop proves that nightmares come in all sizes.

Tim Riggs and the five 14-year-old boys of Scout Troop 52 had everything prepped for their annual camping trip. The three-day trip on Falstaff Island was their sanctuary away from modern life, no phones, no video games permitted. Far removed from civilization, they didn’t expect a starved man to stumble upon them. He was far too thin, too inhumanely sick. Something moved under his skin. Tim and the troops soon learn starvation was only part of the man’s affliction. Too late do they discover the man wasn’t the horror, he was the host and his infection will spread.

The Troop is a prime and time-honored take on body horror. Its story is told through newspaper clippings, interviews, and from the perspectives of each member of Scout Troop 52. It is reminiscent of stories like It by Stephen King. Nick Cutter’s story flow nourishes a compounding sense of dread. His word choice is calculated and quietly induces suspense. The imagery Nick Cutter invokes is disturbing. The Troop proves Nick Cutter is intimately aware of what triggers fear.

At first glance, the characters in The Troop are widely recognizable. The scoutmaster Tim Riggs is the knowledgeable and confident leader. Kent Jenks is a popular jock and a bully. Newton Thornton is nerdy. While Maximillian Kirkwood and Ephraim Elliot represent average teenage boys, their perspectives are engaging. Shelley is…something other. While these characters may seem stereotypical, Nick Cutter brings them to life. Their thoughts and motivations, how they perceive danger, are the foundation on which Cutter builds fear. The character developments throughout the novel are compelling.

As their bodies succumb to the infection, so do their minds. The Troop delves into the psyche of traumatized victims with each character submitting to their own unique stages of fear. How their minds cope with unrelenting horror elevates the story.

The Troop is a dark story without hope. No detail is spared in describing mutilated bodies or gore. The deterioration of sanity is cruelly detailed. Nick Cutter aims to make his readers squeamish.

Read The Troop by Nick Cutter

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: The Troop by Nick Cutter appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg

Wildly entertaining, The Last Phi Hunter is Salinee Goldenberg’s Thai-inspired debut fantasy. The story follows Ex, the youngest member of the Phi Hunters Order, who is set out on the road to glory in hopes to slay the infamous Shar-Ala, a demon of nightmares. His journey is abruptly interrupted when he becomes an unwitting escort for a pregnant runaway who desperately needs to get through a spirit-infested forest. On this journey, the two become entangled in a complicated web of demons, assassins, and nefarious political schemes. Goldenberg’s writing is vibrant and refreshing, balancing the humour of her characters with the darkness of the lore, which provides readers with a truly engrossing experience. The story is gory and visceral in its descriptions, whilst also charming and humorous, perfect for fans who enjoy their grimdark books with a certain aspect of lightness to it.

Goldenberg’s characters are brilliant. The narrative in The Last Phi Hunter is told through multiple point of views, but the most frequent is Ex’s. He is incredibly endearing and a very easy character to root for. His humour throughout the book was a true gem, cutting through the gritty settings and gruesome creatures. The parallel worked well in balancing the story, allowing us to see Ex as both a feared hunter, as well as a bashful young man, watching him fumble his words around his pretty ward. He was truly an entertaining protagonist to follow, and I found myself laughing constantly at his naïvety and sly remarks. The character connections in the book are another aspect that I adored. Ex has multiple animal companions, who may not seem like major characters in the book, but who are always lurking around and ready for whatever insane adventure Ex has planned next. The romance is a sub-plot that has been woven into the story quite well, although I personally felt like the chemistry between Ex and Arinya felt more like a connection of friendship, rather than a romantic one.

Amongst the multiple narratives was Narissa, a krasue – a demon whose head detaches from her body and wanders around with her entrails hanging below her, whilst her human vessel slumbers underground. I enjoyed flitting from Ex’s perspective to Narissa’s, and finding more similarities between them than the obvious differences. Both are loners, and thriving for an end goal that feels impossible: Ex’s capture of Shar-Ala, and Narissa’s desire for redemption.  Readers witness many interactions between Ex and other phi too. Ex is able to enter the spirit world (known as the Everpresent, a realm between the real world and the deva’s), and communicate with the phi. Giving voice to the phi was insightful yet grim, especially when you consider the karmic element to their being. All phi were once human, who indulged in vices to such an extreme they they were then forced to live out their lives as demons. The book begins as so:

“No two phi were ever alike, but every Hungry Ghost and demon in old Suyoram shared one thing in common – they had all been human once. And that made them more dangerous than any other creature, dead or alive.”

The humanisation of the demons is particularly grimdark in itself, as emphasising their past human lives brings about a dire and bleak resolution to their current existence; they now exist to haunt, attack and essentially be hunted for the rest of their lives.

It would be impossible to write about The Last Phi Hunter and not mention Goldenberg’s sensational depiction of Thai and South East Asian inspired settings. Not only were the details of the phi and various other creatures so vivid, but any mention of food, clothing and architecture were sublime. These are all aspects that hold a great amount of weight in many Asian cultures, and so reading such detailed accounts of each felt like a welcoming embrace against the backdrop of the terrifying tale being told. The immense detail in the world-building is applaudable, painting a clear picture of the settings and characters so well. This was my first foray into the darker lore of South East Asian mythology, and it certainly will not be the last!

With The Last Phi Hunter, Goldenberg has written a fantasy world that satisfyingly concludes in and of itself. Whether she decides to add more to the universe or not, she has certainly left her mark on the dark-fantasy genre. She explores themes of identity and loneliness, companionship and community, all with a seamless grace. The story was captivating and unique. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future!

Read The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

GdM Issue #38 featuring South Asian authors is here!

Last Updated on April 15, 2024

Grimdark Magazine Issue #38 is finally here! This is an issue that I am massively excited about as we try to push your boundaries as a reader through focussing on South Asian SFF. In Mihir Wanchoo’s introduction, he sums up the appeal of stories from South Asia when he says that the stories are “laced with magic, gods, rakshasas, mythical creatures, non-human races, prophecies, and more.” I think he nails the feel of what Beth has put together, perfectly.

Note from Editor Beth Tabler

This issue developed over lengthy conversations with my good friend Mihir Wanchoo; Mihir is one of the lead voices from the famous review blog, Fantasy Book Critic. In the last few years, I have developed an insatiable love for the vibrancy of South Asian literature. This love is coupled with an interview with Gourav Mohanty, author of Sons of Darkness, where he talked about it being the first Indian grimdark novel. I knew that I could bring dark stories from South Asian writers to our readers and get them as enthralled with the storytelling as I am currently. I cannot wait for readers to dive into the stories of R.R Virdi, whose Reed Lions is our cover image, or the stories of Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, Vajra Chandrasekera, Gautam Bhatia, and Gourav Mohanty.

We also have two excellent interviews, one with the author of The Ten Percent Thief, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, and Mihir Wanchoo interviewing desi readers of the Booktube and the blogging community about how South Asian literature has influenced them and the changes they see happening in the publishing world.

As I say every issue, perfect chance to kick back, pop a beer, and get ready to dive into some deliciously dark short stories. We hope you love them as much as we do.

Cover reveal for Grimdark Magazine Issue #38

Carlos Diaz of Kamyu Digital Arts has one again knocked this cover out of the park. His art is based upon Reed Lions by R.R. Virdi.

Read Grimdark Magazine Issue #38

Read on Amazon

Prefer to subscribe and get every issue?

If you’d like to subscribe to get your quarterly issues of Grimdark Magazine, please join our Patreon community, here.

The post GdM Issue #38 featuring South Asian authors is here! appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Gernsback Continuum by William Gibson

“The Gernsback Continuum” is William Gibson of 1981, looking back forty years to the the Golden Age of Science Fiction from the 1920s to the 1930s. While not quite as long from the Nineteen Eighties to the Twenty-Twenties, it’s pretty close and interesting to note that the same wistful nostalgia filter we have regarding cyberpunk as envisioned by Gibson and his contemporaries is the same that he was undoubtedly feeling when he wrote this story.

The premise is pretty simple, a photographer is sent to take photos of art deco architecture of a futuristic kind. Said photographer starts hallucinating an alternate 1980s with flying cars, massive highways, and people dressed like they’re from the planet Krypton. Anyone who has played Fallout has an idea of what this looks like as there’s the Red Rocket stations and Robbie the Robot-esque machines. His agent is surprisingly sympathetic to his losing his mind and says to basically “cool down” by watching a lot of porn and bad TV to shock his system back to normal.

The actual meaning of the story is debatable and has, indeed, been debated for decades. For most people, it’s a straight up ode to the classic science fiction world as envisioned by the early Pulp writers that never came to exist. There’s no Jetsons, Flash Gordon, or Buck Rogers-esque future. Life became far more mundane and there’s a wistful nostalgia for a world where UFOs and crystal spires might have replaced skyscrapers or planes.

I maintain that Gibson was far more critical in his short story of the world as it might have been and recognized the darker undercurrent that was lurking beneath the mind of many Pulp writers. People who were as often as not reactionary as progressive. For modern day fans, we can look back to Deep Space Nine’s “Far Beyond the Stars” to see how Pulp writers of the time period were really with all of the racism and sexism (arguably pretty toned down). Every HP Lovecraft fan certainly has to deal with the fact their author probably would have found some reason to hate them.

The Gernsback Continuum has a particularly haunting scene where the protagonist comes across a couple of Aryan superman looking folk staring at one of their cities. White, CIS, het, and vaguely fascist in a way the Pulps envisioned because they didn’t see anyone outside of those norms having a place in the future. It becomes interesting to contrast cyberpunk, so-called dystopian fiction, as very much having a place for queer or people of color among it. William Gibson’s writing alone for example.

Indeed, “The Gernsback Continuum” is a story that unwittingly sets itself up as the perfect metaphor for the current ongoing culture war between the Golden Age of Science Fiction and cyberpunk that it is a gateway story. The internet is absolutely filled with so-called speculative fiction fans that are furious at the inclusion of “woke” elements that represent the kind of reactionary future that cyberpunk challenged the assumptions of. To believe in a utopia in the 1930s was far easier for people who saw it as an extension of imperialist dreams and the status quo versus a dystopia that, ironically, promised an overthrow of the present order in the 1980s.

I’ve unironically had conversations with people who state that dystopian and post-apocalypse fiction was anti-progressive. The Disney movie Tomorrowland is based around the idea that refusing to believe things are getting better was somehow antithetical to it happening. That always brings me back to this short story and what I think the real message of cyberpunk is: recognizing the systemic flaws so that they can be corrected.

Writing my own cyberpunk, I think of it as a wistful nostalgia-filled dream of motorcycles, cybernetics, and katana. It is stuff from my childhood when I watched Ghost in the Shell, Akira, and Bubblegum Crisis. Sadly, the modern day is a place where we’ve got micro-computers, the internet, megacorps, computer criminals, and the massive wealth disparity but very few of the people rising up to cast down the man. I wonder what the next age looking back on us will be.

Read The Gernsback Continuum by William Gibson

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: The Gernsback Continuum by William Gibson appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Straight Razor Cure (Low Town) by Daniel Polansky

Having absolutely adored Polansky’s The Builders, Those Below, Those Above, and Tomorrow’s Children, I knew it was time to go back to where it began and read The Straight Razor Cure (published as Low Town in the American market). Like a mash up of if you unleashed Pierce Brown’s Effram from Iron Gold into the world of Peter McLean’s Priest of Bones, The Straight Razor Cure is a magnificent read.

Set in Low Town, the dingiest part of a post-war city much like London at the turn of the previous century, The Warden is an ex-soldier with a big cupboard of horrid memories from a war that stretched on for years and chewed through a few generations of people. Having then worked for the Special Operations of the police force straddling the line between murderer and investigator he now runs the local drug trade from a pub his friend from the war owns. He thinks he doesn’t care about people anymore—between becoming an orphan thanks to the great plague and witnessing the war from start to horror occult finish, he’s just about done caring about more than a few people—but when children start going missing on his turf, it’s time to do something about it.

Told in a gritty, grungy first-person style with more moral greyness than you could stab a trench blade at, The Straight Razor Cure is the perfect book for grimdark fantasy fans. The protagonist’s point of view is sad, and brutal, and horrifying, and yet also funny, cynical, and poignant, with on point social commentary ringing true to this day. I love the way his friends both bring out the best and worst in The Warden, with their own goals well told through their actions within his perspective. The world is well-lived in and thought out—something I think is one of Polansky’s well-established strengths. There is true depth there, despite us only getting to really see Low Town (with glimpses into a couple of timelines there), the trench lined battlefields from the war with the Dren, and one mansion in a richer area of the city. Leaning on the reader’s knowledge of WW1, The Black Death, and a few other parts of European history makes The Straight Razor Cure very easy to lean into and lose yourself in the story as you’re not trying to constantly map an completely unfamiliar world.

The Straight Razor Cure by Daniel Polansky is exactly what you need to read if you’re a fan of grimdark. If the gruff investigation into a seedy underworld where the rich treat those below them like animals to be used and tossed away while the poor scrap to survive, and seeing a smidge of light and laughter amongst the grit, is your reading jam, then I absolutely, unashamedly, cannot express how much this book needs to be in your TBR if it is already not so.

Read The Straight Razor Cure (Low Town) by Daniel Polansky

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: The Straight Razor Cure (Low Town) by Daniel Polansky appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Conan the Barbarian #9 by Jim Zub (W) and Roberto De La Torre (A)

As the “Thrice Marked for Death!” story came to its sudden conclusion (Conan the Barbarian issue #8), Conan had found himself under the sway of a trio of specters that had invaded his body and mind. Rather than allow himself to be reduced to a mindless puppet for their master Thulsa Doom, Conan marshaled one final burst of strength to turn his ancient Pictish blade on himself. The instant the sword pierced his flesh lightning struck, transporting Conan 80,000 years into the past. As issue #9 begins, a groggy and injured Conan immediately comes face to face with the fierce Pictish warrior Brule. While Conan and Brule once shared a brief otherworldly encounter during a desperate moment (Conan the Barbarian issue #4), neither have any memory of each other beyond a vague sense of familiarity. Unsure of how to handle the dangerous stranger, Brule escorts Conan to see his king in Valusia. While another familiar face awaits in Valusia, City of Wonder, so does a deadly confrontation with an unexpected opponent.

Conan the Barbarian issue #9 launches a new story arc, “The Age Unconquered,” and also marks the return of artist Roberto De La Torre. While Doug Braithwaite’s turned in solid work for the “Thrice Marked for Death!” story arc, I suspect many readers from the Marvel Comics era of Conan the Barbarian will be pleased to see the return of De La Torre’s more classic style. Jim Zub’s narration meets the high standard set in his previous issues, but without drawing too much attention to itself this time around.

Appropriately, this month’s companion essay by Robert E. Howard scholar Jeffrey Shanks details the ancient Thurian Age in which Conan has found himself, epochs before his own native Hyborean Age. Home to Howard’s King Kull and Brule the Spear-Slayer, the Thurian Age is a pre-cataclysmic era dating back to before the fall of Atlantis. Shanks covers both the setting and its inspirations, and also provides a brief introduction to the King Kull cycle of stories. While not as widely known as Conan, King Kull was actually an older character. As Shanks points out, the very first Conan story was actually a re-written version of an unpublished Kull tale.

The abrupt and inconclusive finale to the “Thrice Marked for Death!” story arc left a sour taste in my mouth, but this issue left me feeling more optimistic about the direction of the story. It has been a pleasure to see Zub introducing references to other works by Conan creator Robert E. Howard, with cameos or dialogue relating to non-Hyborean heroes and villains. Readers who enjoy Conan’s adventures are likely to enjoy Howard’s other literary creations as well, perhaps they just need a slight push. In fact, Conan the Barbarian issue #9 feels like a “backdoor pilot” to a stand-alone King Kull comic title. That being said, part of me feels it is still a bit early in the Titan Comics run to dwell so much on other Howard characters and settings when new readers have spent so little time with Conan and his Hyborean Age. Crossovers, throwbacks, and referential Easter Eggs are fun for veteran readers, I just hope new fans aren’t overlooked in the apparent push towards a Robert E. Howard-based Titan/Heroic Signatures comic universe. That concern aside, Conan the Barbarian issue #9 delivers the thrills, plunging Conan into a desperate new situation in a vibrant and exciting setting.

Read Conan the Barbarian #9

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: Conan the Barbarian #9 by Jim Zub (W) and Roberto De La Torre (A) appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Dead Tide by Stephen Alexander North

Saint Petersburg, FL is filled with hungry soulless monsters. Also, zombies. This isn’t just me being flippant. Dead Tide by Stephen Alexander North is one of those uncommon, if not rare, zombie books which remembers the creatures were created (or, if you desire, adapted) for the purposes of social commentary. Modern adaptations of the zombie often forget the metaphor and simply make them a Macguffin for exploring the effects of trauma on humans.

Dead Tide is more akin to the original George Romero use of zombies as Saint Petersburg, FL is used as the backdrop for an exploration of the simmering tensions existing in the United States today. When all hell breaks loose during your otherwise-typical zombie uprising (which is an odd sentence now that I think about it), Stephen A. North takes the time to examine how it impacts various classes of people. White, black, rich, poor, classy, and trashy all get their reactions gauged as things go to hell around them.

The city of Saint Petersburg is done no favors by Stephen A. North as the RL vacation spot is shown to be a place with a lot of ugly lying just beneath the surface of its glitzy atmosphere. In this respect, he successfully replicates what I liked so much about Dead Rising 2. In that video game, our heroes were forced to try and rescue greedy-stupid people from a zombie apocalypse happening in a Faux-Las Vegas. Here, the many protagonists struggle to survive a seemingly glamorous town where everyone is ready to throw each other under the bus when the crap hits the fan.

Stephen A. North deserves credit for also handling the misogyny criticism of so-much post-apocalyptic fiction with a deft hand. At first, it seems like he uses several viewpoint characters to put female characters in typical “damsel in distress” situations but I was surprised to find these are subverted. For one, the men ogling the female characters and thinking how they’re all “bitches” for ignoring them under other circumstances are portrayed as the creepy weirdos they are. Likewise, when a person is stalked by those self-same weirdos, it’s portrayed as a dangerous situation which they have to escape on their own rather than be protected from via a male protagonist. The passive sexism of many citizens is examined and condemned, which I liked.

One of the more memorable sequences in the book is where a fireman and his female associate come across a man who has apparently killed two jewelry store clerks. He’s clearly unhinged and babbling in a way which leaves it unclear whether he murdered the two women or if he just put down their zombies. Either way, the man enjoyed it because they treated him poorly because of his clothes and were attractive women. It leaves our two heroes in a precarious position about what to do since he wants to go with them.

In fact, the book is filled with memorable apocalypse moments. Other favorites included the suicidal last stand of a cop confronted with a classicist Senator, the accidental shooting of a child during a vigilante killing spree, and the only people who have a grasp on what the hell is going on being individuals who have seen a zombie movie before. The latter adds a bit of much-needed levity as it’s my own personal bugbear to have zombies always be something “new and unexpected” in fiction.

My favorite scene in the book? A terrible moment where a child is revealed to have been bitten and the people who want to put him down find those who love him willing to protect him with lethal force–a perfect tragedy for a zombie apocalypse. Is the book flawless? Sorry, no. Readers should be warned the book takes a little time to get heated up and skips around too much at the beginning. Only a few pages are spent every chapter before switching perspectives to another character. While the book helpfully marks whose perspective is being moved to at the beginning of each chapter, it still was very confusing at the start. I would have preferred if Stephen A. North had done longer chapters, so we knew each protagonist very well before moving back and forth.

Nevertheless, I am going to say Dead Tide ranks up there with the early The Walking Dead issues for my favorite zombie apocalypse story.  The characters are likable, the storytelling tight, the body-count high, and there’s something said about real-life (specifically, class and race relations in America). What more could I ask for?

Read Dead Tide by Stephen Alexander North

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: Dead Tide by Stephen Alexander North appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Fallout

Last Updated on April 11, 2024

Fallout is the latest TV series from Amazon Prime Video and is the streaming giant’s attempt to cash in on the success of the videogame series from Bethesda which has sold millions of copies across the world and achieved critical acclaim. With HBO’s The Last of Us, and Netflix’s Arcane proving that videogame adaptions can be some of the best shows out there, will Amazon’s shiny, new show hang with the big guns or wilt in the light of a nuclear bomb? Fans of the game can breathe a sigh of relief and newcomers need to prepare to be entertained – this will be your new favourite post-apocalyptic show.

Fallout is brought to us by Jonathan Nolan (Westworld, The Dark Knight, Interstellar) so it’s in steady hands and the Amazon budget allows the series to match the tone, visuals, and general feeling of the games. Based in a world decimated by a nuclear holocaust, some humans dwell in vaults, beneath the surface in Los Angeles 2296 and our protagonist, Lucy, needs to head to the surface to find her father. This starts her on a journey of discovery with the R-rating well-earned as she faces the horrors of the surface world and begins to understand some of the horrors of her own. One of the best things about the games is being able to control the character’s behaviour and it is interesting to see Lucy develop throughout the series as she starts off innocent and is slowly shaped in different ways by her environment and her discoveries. She meets some incredible characters and the standout is The Ghoul played by Walton Goggins. There is more to his character than seen in the trailers and his story is one of the best pieces of the series.

The world of Fallout looks stunning. It stands up there with the best of them and is money well spent by Amazon. We are used to see wastelands and post-apocalyptic settings (The Last of Us, Mad Max, Silo) and the environment is incredibly designed to represent the games with recognisable weapons, stimpacks, and more for the superfans to spot and beauty in decay for newcomers. Like the games, the world is full of interesting characters with their own motives and the series earns its R-rating with gore, swearing, despicable characters and more to appeal to our grimdark fans. It’s not quite mind-blowing madness like The Boys but they certainly nailed the tone of the series for fans of the game. The joy of the game is exploring the world and following mysteries and that’s what happens here through multiple threads and the series gets better as it goes on.

Fallout is sure to be a nuclear hit with audiences. It’s dark, funny, gory, and an absolute treat for sci-fi fans who like a bit of gore and nightmares in their future. It is another example of stories from games being developed with true care and attention and whether you are a gamer or not, Fallout is a series well worth getting out of your vault for and enjoying the ride. It won’t be a waste of your time and it already looks like a second series is on the way!

Watch Fallout on Amazon Prime

Watch on Amazon Prime

The post REVIEW: Fallout appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

Veris Thorn has seen death. She had survived the war and the tyranny that never ended. As a woman nearing forty, she knows suffering. It is why she cherishes her remaining family and keeps a low profile. However, the tyrant king has called upon her. As the sole person to have entered the forest of Elmever and survived, Veris is tasked with rescuing the tyrant’s lost children. But these woods hide more than monsters. The woods itself possess a power to expose fear and spawn nightmares. To save her family, Veris will enter these woods and face hell once more. Premee Mohamed unleashes a startling and tragic tale in The Butcher of the Forest.

Veris Thorn in The Butcher of the Forest is an excellent portrayal of a traumatized character. The story of her past is slowly and almost sparsely revealed throughout the novella. Each fragment of her life is like finding a clue and unlocking a mystery. She is a character a reader wants to know more about.

The strong characterization in Veris Thorn intensifies the horror elements in The Butcher of the Forest. Since the reader is provided snippets of Veris’s first time in Elmever, we get to know both the younger and present-day Veris. Back then, she was stronger and braver. Present-day Veris has lived through more trauma and developed different fears. The woods is unsettling in both timelines.

“I am no adventurer, no warrior, no soldier. The tyrant should have sent some giant in his employ.

Ah, but the giant would never have returned.”

Premee Mohamed lightly scatters backflashes of when the Tyrant King first invaded Veris’s home. How the tyrant stole power deserves its own full story. The Tyrant’s rule portrayed in The Butcher of the Forest is its own nightmare.

The worldbuilding in The Butcher of the Forest is vivid. In many ways, Veris is a prisoner to her own culture. She is an example of what guilt feels like for not complying to social expectations. The magic system is clever and adaptive. The book could have been longer.

The Butcher of the Forest is largely psychological horror with atmospheric elements. It is a swift and dark narrative of Veris Thorn’s life. She offers a unique perspective of a traumatized character. The woods has a dominating presence. The Butcher of the Forest never quite crosses the absolutely terrifying threshold but is a captivating story all the same.

Read The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.