Book Review: Sycamore by Ian Rogers
Title: Sycamore
Author: Ian Rogers
Release date: October 29th, 2024
*Huge thanks to Ian for the digital copy of this one!*
Firstly, before we dive into this, I owe Ian an apology. He’d posted a bit ago about looking for reviewers on Facebook and I DM’d him. He kindly sent me a digital copy and I slotted it into my TBR ready to get it done in time for him. Then, when he posted about the release date approaching, I realized that I’d completely messed up on when this was coming out. So, I’m super sorry, Ian. I do my best to try and read and review prior to release date, but that mix up was completely my fault.
Ok, so, the review!
If you’ve read any of Ian’s short fiction (and if not go grab ‘Every House is Haunted’ ASAP), you’ll have come across Felix Renn and The Black Lands. I’ve read a bunch of Rogers’ short fiction (and still have the two chapbooks to get through – ‘Black-Eyed Kids’ and ‘The Ash Angels,’ both referenced within ‘Sycamore’) and the world and the character are very, very engaging. Renn is a private detective, working with his ex wife, a former horror movie actress, based in Toronto. The Black Lands refers to the world on the other side of these portals that have started sprouting up around the world, home to every sort of monster possible.
I was very interested to see ‘the start,’ as Ian has already written an entire mythology and characters. The backwards approach to this character and getting these things out into the world was a very ballsy move by Ian, but one I knew an author of his caliber would have no issue tackling.
What I liked: After getting a frantic phone call from a woman in the town of Sycamore, Felix Renn heads there about a job. He’s excited to take this one on, as it doesn’t appear to be Black Lands related. He’s had his hands full with monsters and events and just wants a straight forward case.
But this is Felix Renn we’re talking about. The most sarcastic and lucky PI out there. Of course The Black Lands are involved.
Rogers does a wonderful job of setting the stage, giving us an intriguing ‘twist,’ one where Renn is hired to find the body of the woman’s husband. Everyone believes he’s been murdered, judging by the amount of blood found in his truck. Everyone except the police, who believe he’s actually the serial killer in town.
Renn partners with an unexpected character, one that works as a similarly acting person, but also one who grounds Renn. Felix can’t get a read on them and this makes for some witty banter, some great team-building and when the portal stuff hits the fan, someone Renn can and should depend on.
Throughout, Rogers utilizes the remote, small town aspect to perfection, giving us readers just enough to deflect things, before rerouting us to the truth. When the house of cards finally collapses, it does so with gusto and we get to learn a ton about the government agency investigating the portals and even more about Renn and his potential future partner.
What I didn’t like: I do think this is a book where you get more oomph if you’ve previously read some of Ian’s Black Lands short fiction. There is a lot of Easter eggs and throw away comments, and if you’ve not read that particular story, it may be a case of leaving you wondering what’s going on. If you have read the short stories, then you’ll be in for a much more fulfilling experience, though I wouldn’t say it’s necessary, based on the strength of the story and the writing.
Why you should buy this: Having shown how phenomenal he is at writing short fiction, Ian has now released two novels, both releasing around the same time, this year. It’s wonderful to see just how seamless he was able to make that leap (though behind the scenes he may say otherwise!). The book doesn’t feel padded or filled with unnecessary verbiage to push this longer. Instead, this feels like a celebration. Of an author fulfilling everything fans of Ian’s and The Black Lands have been looking forward for, after this novel was released. This is a tension-filled mystery, wrapped in a supernatural, detective narrative, that delivers some phenomenal set pieces and action sequences. This is everything and more for fans of what Ian’s created leading up to this and now we all have to collective hold our breath, waiting for when we’ll get another Renn full length offering.
Just phenomenal.
5/5
