In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true.

Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two.

This was a terrible plan.

Contained within this volume is an 1890s America that might have been: a bayou overrun by feral hippos and mercenary hippo wranglers from around the globe. It is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his crew. It is the story of their fortunes. It is the story of his revenge.

I received this one as a review copy a good while ago. Such a while, the sequel already popped up in my inbox. Various reasons, like still not having moved back into my own apartment and all manner of shenanigans around it, among others, have made me delay a lot of reading-for-review in favor of more pleasure reading to de-stress. Thankfully I finally got around to Sarah Gailey's Hippo-Western, though I do have a handful of problems with it.

The Story:

"In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true.
Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two.
This was a terrible plan.

Contained within this volume is an 1890s America that might have been: a bayou overrun by feral hippos and mercenary hippo wranglers from around the globe. It is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his crew. It is the story of their fortunes. It is the story of his revenge."

Disclaimer

I received a review eCopy of this novella, and its sequel, from the publisher.

The Review:

River of Teeth is a novella with a quite frankly amazing premise. A Hippo Western, or rather Southern? Killer Hippos in the swamps? Gambling dens, betrayal, revenge? Awesome! Sign me up.
However, upon actually reading it, I felt noticeably disappointed with the story. Part of that is due to there not being as much focus on the hippo-aspects as expected, part of it because of the way it seemed to be more about having diverse characters than a well-paced story.

I still enjoyed the novella a decent amount, but nowhere near as much as I wanted to. Let me start with probably the most controversial criticism: The diversity of the cast felt needlessly forced and contrived.
That is to say, pretty much the entire cast of relevant characters is either gay/bi, gender-neutral, fat, pregnant-and-gay/bi or, well, a straight white guy who is hated by everybody and not missed by anybody and the butt of jokes.
And I didn't buy that, at all.

This is a story supposedly set in the late nineteenth century. Transferring modern sensibilities about LGBT issues into that time period, especially in the wild US, is anachronistic at best. However, when taken in bulk like this, even excuses like "they're one in a million" go out of the window. To have an entire band of misfits, everybody covering one aspect of the spectrum, just doesn't make much sense. Especially when everybody implicitly understands and respects one character's prefered pronouns without things ever getting specified for them.
On top of that, I felt kinda bludgeoned about the head with it here. I can understand the desire for wide-ranging representation of minorities, of course. In a way, it can be seen as an admirable effort. But I've got to ask myself if it wouldn't have been better to take it easier with this. Have one character be gender-neutral, by any means. But then focus on it a tad more, rather than having to split attention between a full crew of odd characters. I certainly didn't feel like all of them satisfied my curiosity.

It also didn't help that a lot of time is spent on the protagonist, Winslow Houndstooth, blushing and being awkward around his gender-neutral love interest, Hero. Yes, they're called Hero, you read that right. Hero's a genious with explosives and basically everything else and Houndstooth never grows tired of telling everybody they're smarter than everybody anyway, despite a pretty short acquaintance. Hero meanwhile teases him a lot and I actually found them pretty sexually aggressive, all things considered.

Meanwhile, a character gets murdered and all the crew does about it is mock him, disparage him, get upset over a missed opportunity for revenge, or that they now lack a "racist white boy" to buy groceries for them. Multiple crew members have a history with the guy and nobody even showed regret over his death. That really didn't sit well with me.
This character wasn't a good person. Not in any way, shape or form. He screwed things up mightily, but he also went through hell for it, despite it and in general. For all his problems and attitude, I found his role more tragic than offensive. He was used and abused by everyone and shown in no unclear terms that he is worth naught even to his team. Heck, it is even implied that he was raped and thrown away by the woman he loved so she could satisfy her own desire for offspring and then deny him his role as a father.
As a reader, my perspective is obviously going to differ from that of the characters within the story, but seeing the end of the line actually made me angry at the crew.

In a way, the crew didn't feel professional enough, though one was back from retirement, one a compulsive gambler and the rest still active scoundrels. There was a great deal of levity in most things, more than I expected to find. Apart from poor "white boy", everybody seemed awfully comfortable around the rest, to the point where I can't even clearly tell who didn't have a romantic interest in Houndstooth at some point. Houndstooth, as the leader, didn't have much visible authority either, and certainly could've been smarter, spending ages on his revenge without pinpointing the real culprit.
It really didn't help that the true villain was so entirely transparent from the first mention on. Considering the cast's reputations, it boggles my mind that nobody figured out who really hurt Houndstooth in the past and that his plans for vengeance were a little off the mark. It is a twist you'll see coming from many, many chapters away and every appearance of the character throughout only cements his role as arch villain further. Though of course, with such a large crew of diverse misfits, the amount of other characters you could comfortably squeeze in was pretty limited anyway.

Pacing-wise, more could have been done. I liked that a good amount of time was spent on introducing Houndstooth, the fat frenchwoman Archie, and Hero by way of Houndstooth going to recruit them. Even Cal Hotchkiss got a good showing of his character flaws in a casino scene. The pregnant killer Adelia Reyes however just... appeared, conveniently. Too conveniently, if you ask me. Considering her pregnancy, she is up to astounding things though. The same goes for Archie, who was probably the most likeable character for me, despite her gravity-defying actions towards the end - you just can't stand on a Hippo charging through the flood, swinging a hammer-on-chain overhead while also being severely overweight, and then make the shot count. I don't know, the scene felt less cool than unbelievable to me.

But I digress, as per usual. The novella dedicates a chapter or two to the characters, with interludes of Houndstooth travelling with Hero and starting (or continuing?) their flirting, brushing arms and blushing. At least this also gave an opportunity to tell of Houndstooth's tragic past - which was pretty damn terrible. In fact, I wouldn't object to a novella about those events back then, with the protagonist still being a hippo rancher. The cornerstones of Houndstooth's past were very intriguing, even if the twist was on-the-nose.
The book though proceeds to talk, flirt and sit planning without getting to the point of the whole escapade. The action comes late, very late, and while it was full of neat setpieces, I can't help but wish there'd been more buildup.

I did however feel that the danger of the feral hippos was expressed rather well. Not only do they fulfill the role of alligators around the gambling den ships, but there's one scene in particular that ends pretty grimly. It was incredibly satisfying, though the casualty was kind of obvious. I was still surprised it happened as early as it did. At least it established the hippos as a legitimate problem that the misfits have to deal with one way or another.

In the end though I wish it had focused more on the Western-aspects than the romance and quirks of the crew. I had a good time seeing Archie con somebody in her introductory chapter, or Cal Hotchkiss cheating at card games. Those scenes got me interested in the setting and felt like what I expected from the time period. Those aspects felt on point for the theme, unlike the content about people's sexual orientations and gender identities. I have a hard time believing that people in that age were as accepting, tolerant, even forthcoming about things like those. It wasn't an enlightened age by any means.
That, along with a too-predictable plot, resulted in a disconnect between me and the story as it unfolded. I wouldn't mind reading more in this alternate history setting with these characters, but hopefully with less of that attention on social aspects and more hippo gunslinging. The strongest point the novella has going for it is, by far, the unique theme. I just feel that more could have been done with it to deliver a thoroughly thrilling and engaging caper.

River of Teeth on Goodreads

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After attacking Devil’s Reef in 1928, the U.S. Government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took them to the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, and they emerged without a past or a future.

The government that stole Aphra's life now needs her help. FBI agent Ron Spector believes that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that could turn the Cold War hot in an instant, and hasten the end of the human race.

Aphra must return to the ruins of her home, gather scraps of her stolen history, and assemble a new family to face the darkness of human nature.

I had been holding on to a review copy of this for months now. Months. I figured I'd best save it for around March, getting the review out shortly before release in early April. Look how that turned out. The release brought with it an audiobook version, which I bought on Audible to make up for the lost time in some fashion, at least. Good reading courtesy of Gabra Zackman, by the way.
I finished the book a few days later, and have been thinking on it since. What do I really want to say about it? I think I've figured it out now, so here's my review.

The Story:

"After attacking Devil’s Reef in 1928, the U.S. Government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and took them to the desert, far from their ocean, their Deep One ancestors, and their sleeping god Cthulhu. Only Aphra and Caleb Marsh survived the camps, and they emerged without a past or a future.

The government that stole Aphra's life now needs her help. FBI agent Ron Spector believes that Communist spies have stolen dangerous magical secrets from Miskatonic University, secrets that could turn the Cold War hot in an instant, and hasten the end of the human race.

Aphra must return to the ruins of her home, gather scraps of her stolen history, and assemble a new family to face the darkness of human nature."

Disclaimer

I received a print ARC from the publisher upon my own request. I love Lovecraft's works, so getting my hands on it was a given. I also picked up the audiobook via Audible.

The Review:

Winter Tide was a great extension of Lovecraft's mythos. Ruthanna Emrys impressed me with the original Aphra short story The Litany of Earth when I read it last year and this sequel novel continues that trend. While not exactly dark and disturbing on Lovecraft's level, the angle Emrys based her approach around is a very satisfying one to see explored.
This novel almost didn't happen. Litany was a stand-alone story with no planned sequels. Thankfully, the author got enough requests and encouragement that she ended up writing this book. For what my opinion is worth, I believe that this was a fantastic thing to happen to fans of Lovecraft and the Mythos as a whole.

Over the years, especially the past five or so, Lovecraft has received a lot of flak from all sides for his personal views on race, sex and the likes. Many of his views are, of course, reflected in his writing. His stories have been taken apart systematically to expose and theorize on his xenophobic tendencies, and sometimes that even resulted into pretty weird new interpretations of his works.

One of these stories is The Thing on the Doorstep. Fun fact: I believe that was the first HPL story I ever read, and I still have a soft spot for it. In the story, the protagonist details the reasons why he supposedly murdered his best friend. It develops into a weird mind-frying body-switching tale full of odd concepts and horrifying ideas. One interpretation of the story comes down to topics of sexual identity. I personally am not a fan of these, because I'm more intrigued by the Cosmic Horror angle, but speculation was rampant for a while. It is an interesting topic to discuss, at any rate.

Now, I'd highly recommend reading The Thing on the Doorstep before you read Winter Tide, because Emrys used it as a somewhat big factor in her novel. To her credit, she combined some of the literal Lovecraft message of the story with the more out-there interpretations and allowed both sides to co-exist within the setting, while maintaining the "canonicity" of the Cosmic Horror angle.
I've seen a lot of attempts to modify the Mythos canon, as far as it can be said to exist, to better suit modern sensibilities, which often makes me want to gouge my eyes out and beg great Cthulhu to take my sanity. I credit Emrys highly for finding her own niche, in a lot of ways, to tell her stories in, all with their own little interpretations, viewpoints and messages, without attempting to reinvent the wheel. It is obvious that she has a lot of respect and passion for HPL's fiction, and while likely very at odds with the man on an "ideological" level, her way of showing that in Winter Tide and Litany is for the most part subtle and effective.
This was very important to me on a personal level, so excuse me for spending so many words on elaborating on that. I believe that the concern is worth addressing, however.

Now on to Winter Tide itself.
Aphra Marsh is a survivor of the Innsmouth raids, which are based around Lovecraft's The Shadow over Innsmouth. Again I would highly recommend reading this one first to get the most out of Emrys' novel. Aphra, as told in Litany, made a contact with the FBI and this time around she is asked to accompany agent Spector to old Arkham to counter a supposed plot by russian agents to learn the art of body-switching magic.
Spector offers her and her brother Caleb the opportunity to study the collection of books taken from Innsmouth during the raids and kept at Miskatonic University. Getting their hands on their family and friends' old books, journals and so on wasn't something Aphra could have passed up on.
Other characters join the trip from San Francisco to Arkham, and yet more get introduced along the way, leading to an unexpectedly large cast to look out for.

And here lies one of the problems I have with the novel. There's just so many intriguing little bits that I wanted more from some than the book could realistically deliver. Neko, Aphra's "sister" of her adopted japanese family that she and Caleb met during her time in the camps over the course of the second World War, could have used more of a role here. I loved the scenes involving her, and her relationship with Aphra was beautifully explored, but for large sections her role in the ongoing events was very negligible. As new characters got introduced, old ones were sidelined more and more. Of course, the new characters can join Aphra's growing circle of students; it was nice to see her own little family growing, but some of it happened a little too fast and easily here.

That is not to say I didn't also appreciate the new characters that appeared. Not at all! Audrey, one of Aphra's new students, was one of the most exciting and dynamic parts of the book. She was clever, had depth and saved some butts. Professor Trumbull too added a LOT to the book that I didn't expect. It just bugs me a little that some of the early themes from closer to home had to make way for emergent themes to the degree that they did.

This also includes the initial contrivance for Aphra going to Arkham and Innsmouth: To find out about the russian spy plot and foil it. Less than halfway through, I was feeling like nobody really cared about this point anymore. Other things took center stage easily and unopposed, and the way this plotpoint was resolved in the book felt... weak. It really felt more like a MacGuffin than a vital part of the book.

Much of the narrative is spent commuting between Professor Trumbull's home, two universities, Innsmouth and even a museum. There are a lot of sections where Aphra and co are simply researching texts and finding familiar handwriting in journals. Introspection and musings on the future of the Deep Ones are prominent, whereas action is left by the wayside. The novel has a lot to say, whether through dialogue or Aphra's narration, so at times it could be considered a little slow. When the climax appears on the page, things get a bit frantic but damn exciting, however. That, too, strikes me as pretty lovecraftian.

I'm aware that this may seem very negative. Please don't take it that way. The book as a whole was insanely enjoyable to me. There were so many little nuggets for Mythos fans, so many very human moments and relationship developments, I got deeply invested in Aphra's journey and the people in her life. For all the cosmic horror and magic, at the core Emrys has written a strong, human novel that bridges cultural differences easily but not cheaply. It was very charming.
Not exactly as dark and desperate as Lovecraft's works would be. Not nearly as cynical and nihilistic (though definitely not weak on it either), but full of relatable feelings and invitations to take a different approach to people's differences. It is also very pro-family, which is to say it triple-underlines the importance of having a home and people to rely on and trust. In that, it is very different from HPL, who would usually write stories about suspicion, distrust and doubt. His narrators are unreliable, whereas Aphra is very honest and caring under all the painful experiences.

It is a strange thing that a book that is in many ways almost antithetical to Howard's works can feel so familiar and respectful while shifting the perspective on the Mythos as a whole in such a profound way. It didn't contradict the horror inherent in HPL's cosmos, but it added a layer of understanding that Lovecraft himself would likely never have offered. It maintains the dangers and risks while establishing a level of control.

Honestly, this is very tough for me to put into words. I adored Winter Tide. It has problems. But it also has a certain charme that pulled me in and makes me ask for more. Emrys wrote many characters I cared for, and if one of my biggest complaints is that I didn't get to see enough of every single one of them to satisfy my curiosity, then that seems more good than bad to me. They all appealed to me for one reason or another.
As a fan of cosmic horror, I am pleased. I want to read more about Aphra Marsh and her Confluence.

Winter Tide feels like a journey of discovering one's place in a ever-changing world full of mystery and the mundane. It defies many expectations while fulfilling a lot of hopes I had for it. Despite a few nitpicks, it feels like a logical and passionate extension of the Mythos and incorporated many elements thereof while adding much of its own to it. It can't have been an easy task, but it was one Ruthanna Emrys nonetheless succeeded in.

Winter Tide on Goodreads

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Death and destruction follow the demon wherever he treads, and Gabriel is rarely far behind, waiting for his chance to extinguish the creature known as Temple once and for all.

But in Singapore during the Second World War, a lone soldier in possession of a shattering secret gets caught up in their battle. The knowledge he holds could change the course of their ancient conflict… and the fate of the world.

I've been meaning to get around to this for a while, and figured I'd try to start 2017 with another run of novella reads. Due to being sick and getting deep into Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy for most of the month, I didn't quite manage to get as much done as I was hoping, so expect more on that in February and March.

The Story:

"Death and destruction follow the demon wherever he treads, and Gabriel is rarely far behind, waiting for his chance to extinguish the creature known as Temple once and for all.

But in Singapore during the Second World War, a lone soldier in possession of a shattering secret gets caught up in their battle. The knowledge he holds could change the course of their ancient conflict… and the fate of the world."

Disclaimer

The publisher sent me a print ARC of this one last year, along with a book I had requested specifically.

The Review:

A Whisper of Southern Lights is billed as a stand-alone entry in Tim Lebbon's The Assassin series. However, I would still recommend reading the first installment first. While you can read this individually, things make a lot more sense with the things you learn in Pieces of Hate.

The previous book, Pieces of Hate, struck me as a good horror novella. The book actually consisted of two stories, however, the first being a short story called Dead Man's Hand. The difference between both of them was that DMH was narrated from the perspective of an outsider getting caught up with the protagonist, Gabriel, whereas Pieces of Hate gave us a story through Gabriel's own eyes.

A Whisper of Southern Lights mixes both perspectives, varying between the outsider's perspective and Gabriel from chapter to chapter. This works very well in my opinion, especially since I was more fond of the way Dead Man's Hand achieved its air of dark mystery and horror. Here, Tim Lebbon was able to intertwine the supernatural existence of his "hero" with that of a down on his luck war prisoner who just happened to stumble into events larger than himself and getting between Gabriel and his quarry, the assassin Temple. This even led to some cool misdirection as you follow the two characters, which was pulled off nicely in my eyes.

Plot-wise, things are similar enough to the previous book; Gabriel is still hunting Temple, still trying to get his revenge. This time they've ended up in Singapore during World War II, with the secondary protagonist being a soldier facing the japanese invasion. We get scenes in the jungles, in prison camps, and more background on Gabriel, more cool showings from our antagonist Temple, and even some overarching plot progression that has me curious for what's next for this series. While the general idea behind the story follows a similar formula to the other two stories before it, I don't think that's a bad thing. It keeps the feel of the series consistent while allowing Lebbon to provide more set-up and focus on the various settings in greater detail. It is a good compromise in my opinion, though I assume that the chase will come to a stop eventually, as hinted here.

I have to say, though: Where the first book wasn't pretty in any way, and especially gruesome in places, this one could be considered even nastier. The horrors of war are laid on thickly, and the japanese soldiers don't treat their prisoners of war well by any means. If you're a hygiene-freak, this book probably isn't for you, especially when it comes to one section about halfway through. Be prepared to feel grossed out. However, I appreciate that Lebbon did these things. War isn't clean, or pretty, and usually not even glorious. It is a miserable business of dealing death and being dealt your own in return. Where a lot of authors romanticize war, cowboys or pirates in fiction, Lebbon pays great attention to the more vile aspects of it all. Nobody is really a hero in this series, and things can always get a tad worse. I love that.

While A Whisper of Southern Lights isn't as bone-chilling as Dead Man's Hand was for me, it was a solid read that I enjoyed a great deal once I got to it. The author nailed the themes he was trying to gun for, and the feeling of utter misery that struck me with the first book is still as strong as ever. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series, whenever it sees the light of day.

A Whisper of Southern Lights on Goodreads

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Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has taken control of the fortress at Drassil and three of the Seven Treasures are in his possession. And together with Calidus and his ally Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the remaining Treasures. With all seven under his command, he can open a portal to the Otherworld. Then Asroth and his demon-horde will finally break into the Banished Lands and become flesh.

Meanwhile Corban has been taken prisoner by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride their enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies if he hopes to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, if he's to counter the threat Nathair represents.

His life hangs in the balance - and with it, the fate of the Banished Lands

Finishing a series of books you enjoyed is always a bittersweet experience. Sometimes more so than other times. Wrath is definitely that. I was deeply invested in this series once I realized how moving it was, and this is the perfect book to end 2016 on, both on my list on Goodreads and as far as reviews go. There's a few left that didn't quite make it in time for December 31st, but I'm happy to say that this did. Let me preface my swooning with a simple statement: Buy this series, it is amazing.

The Story:

"Events are coming to a climax in the Banished Lands, as the war reaches new heights. King Nathair has taken control of the fortress at Drassil and three of the Seven Treasures are in his possession. And together with Calidus and his ally Queen Rhin, Nathair will do anything to obtain the remaining Treasures. With all seven under his command, he can open a portal to the Otherworld. Then Asroth and his demon-horde will finally break into the Banished Lands and become flesh.

Meanwhile Corban has been taken prisoner by the Jotun, warrior giants who ride their enormous bears into battle. His warband scattered, Corban must make new allies if he hopes to survive. But can he bond with competing factions of warlike giants? Somehow he must, if he's to counter the threat Nathair represents.

His life hangs in the balance - and with it, the fate of the Banished Lands"

The Review:

Wrath is, with no real doubt, my favorite novel of 2016. It is the perfect book to end the year on for me. I was worried that the final book in the series would end with an unsatisfying conclusion or wouldn't wrap things up neatly enough, but oh boy were those fears unfounded. Wrath is an incredibly strong close to what has become one of my favorite Fantasy series in recent years.

The story picks right back up from where Ruin left off - Drassil has fallen to Nathair and Calidus, Corban's diverse warband of men and giants scattered in Forn Forest. Immediately things kick off again, giving the reader opportunities to refamiliarize themselves with the characters and their griefs. I was worried that I might have lost track somewhere, since I read books one to three over the course of a month at the start of 2016, but it pulled me right back in within a few chapters and I was on top of events once more.

Every single plotline in the book felt valuable to me. I cannot claim that I didn't enjoy any one of them. John Gwynne did an amazing job splitting the plotlines while having them all contribute somehow. More than in the previous novels, paths cross here and many strings turn into one. Of course, the story centers in and around Drassil, but we still get glimpses from outside Forn, including the journey of Edana and Camlin, and their resistance against Queen Rhin. The tension all across the Banished Lands is palpable, even though everything runs right back to Drassil for the grand finale. And what a finale it was!

I'll be honest. I cried many times throughout the book. I cheered just as often if not more, and I ended up shouting "No! No! No!" in disbelief in instances. The book made me happy, it made me incredibly sad, and it had me excited all the way through. John Gwynne's a bastard for writing this book, but damn me if I don't love him for it. Wrath is the epitome of an emotional rollercoaster, just that instead of a boring, abrupt end to the ride, everything felt settled and satisfying here. Everything is in its place by the end, whether directly stated or implied, and the story of Corban and the rest ends on the best possible note - looking back to what was, yet also towards the future. It is a bittersweet end, for sure, but one that had me emotionally invested and happy.

But getting there wasn't easy. There is a lot of action here. The God War is presented as brutal, visceral, full of grief and wrath, but Gwynne manages to still focus on the men behind the shield walls, or wielding the axes and swords, and give us genuine looks on their beliefs, their fears and their valour. A bunch of you reading this will probably be aware that, while I read a lot of action-heavy books (40k says Hi), it is the characters, the drama between them, and the dialogue which keep me invested - and Wrath, like the entire series, nails those aspects. Personal drama is at an all time high here, especially as some heroes catch up to their nemeses and things get bloody. Seeing the Old Wolf in action once more was glorious, for example, yet also struck me with a lot of grief for what humanity he has lost since the early books. Seeing other characters fight with their own demons and making their final choices was incredible. Honestly, there are more characters in here that I cared about and came to love since the first book than I can count here.

In places, the book broke my heart. It made me utterly sad and stunned me with its little twists. And yet I never really wanted to stop reading. It never turned me off from going on with just another chapter, just another, and stay up deep into the nights. It stayed consistently engaging, which is no small feat for a book that hits you with over 700 pages! Not once did I feel it wasn't worth getting here, through three other books about as long as this one, to see the massive conclusion of the God War. When the novel was painful to read, it was not because it was a bad book in any way, shape or form (this ain't Star Wars: Aftermath!), but because I cared so deeply for everything that was happening and wanted the cast to settle down with a happy ending. Instead Gwynne kept heaping loss and sadness onto his characters, and the reader, and made this mythical war between good and evil feel so much more alive and relevant, so much more scary and earth shattering. A lot of authors can learn a thing or three from this epic finale, in my opinion. The betrayals cut deep, the bonds of loyalty hold firm. It is an emotional and dramatic highlight all around.

I'm dancing around plot details, though. I don't want to spoil things needlessly, because I fully believe that this entire series is worth reading, worth being surprised by as you go through it. I don't want to blunt the victories or tragedies before you stumble over them. Heck, I didn't really know anything about the series going into it back in late January. All I knew was that my girlfriend had recently started reading Malice and really seemed to enjoy it. So I picked it up myself, and before I knew it I sat with Ruin finished and facing a 10 month wait for the final book. Thankfully, now they are all released and you won't have to wait like I did.
As for myself I can say that Wrath is one of the few series finales that actually made me want to go back and start the series all over immediately after getting through it. For now I am restraining myself and not giving in, due to how much fresh material I have still left to read, but I don't doubt that I'll be coming back to The Faithful and the Fallen in the future. I am looking forward to it already.

You got me, John Gwynne. You got me excited, you got me to weep, you got me looking forward to the next book with your name on it. Wrath, standing head and shoulders above most fantasy series' finales over the past many years, guarantees that I'll read whatever its author is working on. Of Blood and Bone, was it? Starting with Dread? Well, I'm in. Thank you, John, for ending my 2016 with a big and glorious bang.
Now if only somebody could tell me how I can get these massive tomes signed, that'd be swell...

Wrath on Goodreads

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It’s December in the English village of Lychford – the first Christmas since an evil conglomerate tried to force open the borders between our world and… another.

Which means it’s Lizzie’s first Christmas as Reverend of St. Martin’s. Which means more stress, more expectation, more scrutiny by the congregation. Which means… well, business as usual, really.

Until the apparition of a small boy finds its way to Lizzie in the church. Is he a ghost? A vision? Something else? Whatever the truth, our trio of witches (they don’t approve of “coven”) are about to face their toughest battle, yet!

I've finished this one back in August but figured I should post my review closer to release. The book's out on November 1st, just barely scaping by Halloween, but if you're looking for something spooky for the season, this should be good.

The Story:

"It’s December in the English village of Lychford – the first Christmas since an evil conglomerate tried to force open the borders between our world and… another.
Which means it’s Lizzie’s first Christmas as Reverend of St. Martin’s. Which means more stress, more expectation, more scrutiny by the congregation. Which means… well, business as usual, really.
Until the apparition of a small boy finds its way to Lizzie in the church. Is he a ghost? A vision? Something else? Whatever the truth, our trio of witches (they don’t approve of “coven”) are about to face their toughest battle, yet!"

Disclaimer

I received an ARC for this book, and read the prequel, Witches of Lychford, in preparation for this one. Also, I am still disappointed by the author's use of blocklists on Twitter. Those may both be factors that influenced this review, so keep them in mind.

The Review:

The Lost Child of Lychford arrived in my mailbox a few months back, and since I had already planned on reading Witches of Lychford anyway, I figured this was worth reading and reviewing. With all the setup done in Witches, I ended up loving The Lost Child of Lychford more than I did its predecessor. Not only does it fix some of the complaints I had about the previous book, but it also turned into something genuinely creepy.

My biggest disappointment with Witches has got to be the lack of payoff for Lizzie. The new reverend of Lychford had some great early parts, but the conclusion saw her as a bystander for the most part. This novella puts her front and center, to my delight. It confronts her with her own insecurities and the pressure of the holiday season, and throws a wrench into christmas for all involved. While, of course, her friend Autumn is a vital part as well, it is Lizzie who steals the show and comes out the strongest in my eyes.

With preparations for christmas piling up and a couple wanting to marry on the day of days, the reverend is being overwhelmed and frustrated. Songs on the radio annoy her and the recent closeness between Autumn and the old witch Judith leaves her a bit sidelined again. Things just ramp up when a ghostly child starts appearing before her, seemingly asking for help. According to Judith, it might be nothing at all, or an echo of horrors to come for Lychford. It is up to the trio to figure it out and prevent things from escalating to a point of no return.

While this premise is pretty simple, it does the job. It draws the characters in and serves as grounds for big character development and dark mystery. Things are looking really grim for Lychford this time, more so than in Witches, and the tension is building from start to finish. Not only is Lizzie struggling with her personal and professional life, but also with faith and the demands of the strange couple wanting to marry on Christmas Eve. Autumn has to find balance between pursuits of love and friendship, getting herself into awkward situations but also allowing for some acts of heroism, and Judith has to learn to let down her guard around her new friends and reveal parts of her past in the process.
It is an all-around satisfying development for the trio. With the necessary build-up out of the way last time, The Lost Child allows us to get more intimate with its characters, while getting us spooked.

I'm not going to lie: I was halfway through the novella, reading here and there while out or before bed, when I hit a point where I just could not sleep until I had finished the book. The plot got out of hand, bone-chilling and exciting enough to keep me up. I just had to see the conclusion of it all, and how the trio would get out of the mess that was unfolding before them. With Lizzie being the key character, I was wondering how Cornell would play off her faith against the impending doom, and ended up loving that part. Early suspicions exploded and elements new and old came together to make this a suitably halloweeny tale, even if it is set during the holiday season.

Without a doubt, you should read Witches of Lychford first. However, even if you were just about lukewarm on that, this would be a clear recommendation from me. It improves on a lot of aspects that I wasn't so sure about with Witches and tells a damn tense story that puts a new spin on what we'd expect from a christmas-themed story. I'd be happy to see more novellas to come in the future, though it will be tough to beat this one.

The Lost Child of Lychford on Goodreads

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The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.

Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

Time to return to some full length non-tie-in science fiction, I'd say. Yup, this is a good one; the Hugo Award seems well deserved (though the Hugo's credibility has been pulled into question in recent years). I'm quite happy with what I read here, and have to order the sequel soon.

The Story:

"The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.

Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision."

The Review:

The Three-Body Problem is an odd one. It tells its story in unusual, somewhat convoluted ways, but manages to tie them all together in the end, hitting the reader hard with twists and revelations. It gets you to sympathize with a lot of characters, just before pulling the rug from under your feet. It also made me look up chinese history, who'd have thought?

The novel starts during the cultural revolution in the late 60s China. Right off the bat, we are exposed to some of the cruelties and ideological dangers of that era. It is a bad time for science and "wrongthink", which this particular plotline focusing on Ye Wenjie maintains throughout.
Ye gets involved in some counter-revolutionary things and, to escape her own doom, gets recruited for a top-secret research project. The mission? Making contact with an alien civilization before anybody else can - because neither the United States nor Russia can be trusted not to misrepresent Earth, of course.

One chapter on this plotline, dispersed throughout the whole book, had me laugh pretty well. It contained documentation on the project's intentions and plans, including drafts for a message to send out to the galaxy, wherein China's propaganda of the time really puts it on too thick, and gets dismissed. It is a cool, rarely seen spin on science fiction; in general I rarely get exposed to chinese settings or history in fiction, which is kind of a pity. Of course that also meant I had to wikipedia a few bits here and there early on to get fully immersed in the historically-inspired parts and visualize what was happening. Nothing too bad though, just a general understanding should get you to appreciate the book more.

The second plotline centers on Wang Miao, a scientist working on nanomaterials, who got dragged into some weird events occuring in present-day China; Scientists all around are committing suicide, declaring that "physics doesn't exist" and the universe has been put on its head. Wang is asked to infiltrate the "Frontiers of Science", which is supposedly connected to it all, and stumbles upon two things shortly after:

1. A countdown running through photographs he takes, steadily counting down to an unknown event and
2. The game "Three Body", which presents the third major plotline of the book.

Wang is the connecting piece in the puzzle, through connections to characters on all sides of the mystery. Instead of walking away from it all, he decides to pursue the truth behind it all, which brings him to a friendship with Shi Qiang, called Da Shi. The detective comes across as rough and rude, but also as incredibly competent and like a life saver in many situations. While at first glance unlikeable, he quickly became one of my favorite characters in the novel (and I liked a bunch of them!). Da Shi, in essence, presents a counterpoint to the scientists and big wigs in the book, whose thinking is usually on a different level from that of the normal folk. He grounds the story and prevents it from becoming too theoretical in critical scenes.

The third plotline, the game "Three Body", still centers on Wang Miao, but this time he is wearing a virtual reality suit and playing an alternate reality type of game. It presents historical milestones and architectural marvels, from china's warring states period over egypt's pyramids to the pentagon, and poses the "Three-Body Problem", wherein three separate stars are following chaotic, unpredictable paths due to each other's presence. Civilization in "Three Body" falls prey to the unpredictable nature of the world's ecosystem, with sudden ice ages or inflammation or the likes, and it falls to the players to figure out a way to anticipate those "chaotic eras" and understand the pattern, to allow people to flourish.

This odd setting presents the reader with a lot of interesting and creative ways to visualize the highly theoretical technobabble. At one point it even comes down to mimicking the way a real-world computer would work (which made me laugh heavily), using human resources. Cixin Liu was very creative with these scenes, and as they run parallel to the ongoings in the real world, they help connect things and explain various problems to the reader. It was a clever way to approach the science in the fiction.

However, the Three Body game is also a bit wonky in places.
For one, there is a scene late in the book where Wang realises that progress through the game and the cycles of civilization they go through are recorded independently from one another, while in multiple sessions it appears that multiple players are in the same cycle with Wang. I also had some trouble with the way time in the game works, as it could speed up sometimes to test player theories, like their predictions for the alternating stable and chaotic eras' durations. How that would affect players outside of the immediate vicinity isn't touched upon. Likewise, when Wang leaves the simulation for about half an hour towards the end, four cycles have passed already, which makes me wonder about the timeframe there. On top of that, whenever Wang logged in, many cycles had passed, which means that the civilizations' comings and goings were occuring independently from his presence in the game to begin with.

That's the kind of nitpicking that I came to with the Three Body scenes. I enjoyed them greatly for what they did, but the framework didn't feel as solid as it could or should have. In hindsight they're not a big deal but they could have been expanded a little more. Then again, that's also down to me being a Gamer and enjoying solid representations of gaming-media in fiction.

The science behind it all appears in most cases as plausible, though I am not qualified to judge the theories' accuracy or can comment on their authenticity. They did, however, work in the context of the book, and nothing felt too far-fetched to break my immersion. If anything, I was impressed by how deeply Cixin Liu went into these often convoluted topics. The annotations often helped reference certain topics, be they historical or even just other media, like an Asimov short story that found use in the novel.
As a fan of science fiction, it certainly catered to me with its depth and complexity, though it will likely turn off readers who expect something straightforward without a lot of talk about theoreticals but little practical.

The real star of the book, to me, wasn't Wang Miao, the apparent primary protagonist, though. It was Ye Wenjie, who went from a tragic figure to somebody morally ambiguous. I loved the way her life was sketched throughout the book, with her plotline giving context to events in the present day and resulting in some big bangs as far as plot twists and revelations were concerned. She ended up being a very complex, oddly relatable character who one may or may not agree with, but will undoubtedly feel for. I also loved how one of her chapters got mirrored very closely by one of the final ones, from another side entirely. That managed to connect dots and present a mutual sense of wonder and change that I could appreciate. Additionally, it also presented a counterpoint to Ye's own actions, showing the alternative.

While I was initially a bit out of my depth with the chinese setting, history and names, I quickly got used to all of that and it benefitted my enjoyment of the book. The problem posed may be a global one, but I am glad that, for a change, such a tale wasn't based on US American tropes.

This being the first novel in a trilogy, you can bet that things are left relatively open for the sequels. However, the way it ended, while a cliffhanger, actually felt suitable here. It leaves the reader as uncertain about the future as it must be for humanity in the novel. The author managed to wrap things up in an emotional, sobering way without overplaying his hand or stretching things too far. As a result, The Three-Body Problem ends in a satisfying way that left me wanting more, but would also allow me to stop here and not read any further - it simply works.

Of course, I won't stop with this book; I'm in for the whole trilogy. If you enjoy less action-reliant science fiction, you'll probably do the same after finishing it.

The Three-Body Problem on Goodreads

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During the Dark Ages, a thing named Temple slaughtered Gabriel's family. A man with snake eyes charged him to pursue the assassin wherever he may strike next, and destroy him. Gabriel never believed he’d still be following Temple almost a thousand years later.

Because Temple may be a demon, the man with snake eyes cursed Gabriel with a life long enough to hunt him down. Now he has picked up Temple's scent again. The Caribbean sea is awash with pirate blood, and in such turmoil the outcome of any fight is far from certain.

Dead Man's Hand:

In the wilderness of the American West, the assassin is set to strike again. Despite his centuries-long curse, Gabriel is still but a man, scarred and bitter. The town of Deadwood has seen many such men... though it’s never seen anything quite like the half-demon known as Temple.

Pieces of Hate has been on my radar since its release, but oddly I never got around to reading it. Even when I surprisingly received a review copy of A Whsiper of Southern Lights along with one I had requested, I didn't manage to get to it. But it is October now, which is the perfect time to read some horror, so this was exactly what I needed.

The Story:

"During the Dark Ages, a thing named Temple slaughtered Gabriel's family. A man with snake eyes charged him to pursue the assassin wherever he may strike next, and destroy him. Gabriel never believed he’d still be following Temple almost a thousand years later.

Because Temple may be a demon, the man with snake eyes cursed Gabriel with a life long enough to hunt him down. Now he has picked up Temple's scent again. The Caribbean sea is awash with pirate blood, and in such turmoil the outcome of any fight is far from certain.

Dead Man's Hand:

In the wilderness of the American West, the assassin is set to strike again. Despite his centuries-long curse, Gabriel is still but a man, scarred and bitter. The town of Deadwood has seen many such men... though it’s never seen anything quite like the half-demon known as Temple. "

Disclaimer

I surprisingly received a print review copy of the sequel, A Whsiper of Southern Lights, along with another one I had requested from the publisher. It's been sitting on my desk for a few months.

The Review:

Pieces of Hate, the book, actually consists of two stories: Dead Man's Hand and Pieces of Hate. The latter is a novella, the former described as a novelette and first in the series. Whereas Pieces of Hate is told in third person, Dead Man's Hand instead goes with a first person narrative, through the eyes of an innocent bystander who gets caught up into events.

For me, Dead Man's Hand worked much better. The narrative style keeps the mysteries intact and divulges just what is necessary, while the reader has to connect some dots. The point of view character and his place within his western community worked well to reinforce feelings of fear and terror but also threw in the reader's sense of curiosity and inability to stay away from the mystery unfolding around Gabriel the one-eyed stranger's search for the "demon" named Temple.
Gabriel and Temple both remain mysterious throughout, and it isn't quite clear just what is going on, why Gabriel hunts Temple exactly and what their shared history is. The distance between reader/PoV character and the hunt for vengeance added to my enjoyment.
Dead Man's Hand turned into quite a good horror mystery in my eyes, with the reader being thrown into a long-running conflict between inhuman characters, and confronted with a sense of helplessness.

With Pieces of Hate, the clock gets turned back to centuries earlier and the style switches and puts the lens right on Gabriel. We get to find out about his tragic backstory and cause for his need for vengeance, see his traumatic experiences and a few more overt displays of malice from Temple.

There are a bunch of things left unexplained in this one yet, and where I liked that in Dead Man's Hand, here it felt a bit jarring, due to how much was actually explained as it is. The man with the snake in his eye, for example, is a real mystery to me, and I wanted to find a bit more out about him, since his message to Gabriel gets repeated like a mantra here.
In contrast to the western setting of the previous story, this one goes for a pirate theme. I like that quite a lot, especially since the pirates here are shown as real cutthroats. Even knowing some of Gabriel's secrets, there are a few risks involved regardless, simply due to the relative unpredictability of the pirate crews. Somehow Lebbon managed to make some of them menacing yet also likeable.

In case it wasn't clear already: These are not nice stories. They are full of grim themes, violence, hatred and a general sense of dread. They are satisfying for all that, and while I prefered Dead Man's Hand, Pieces of Hate, taking everything into account, might be the more chilling of the two stories.
It seems like Tim Lebbon is trying to vary up the settings with this series, going from western to the age of sail, to the second World War in A Whsiper of Southern Lights. I appreciate that variety, and thought that what he brought to the table in both stories here suited the settings quite well.

With this book done, I definitely want to go deeper and read the next book, which is already lying on my nightstand (...along with a host of other reads, to be fair). Gabriel's hunt for Temple isn't over yet, and I want to see its violent conclusion for myself. Lebbon got me invested in Gabriel as a character and the horror mystery as a whole, so he's earned my readership.

Pieces of Hate on Goodreads

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People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there.

Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping.

A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?

This is another Lovecraft-inspired story I wanted to tackle. Tor has been putting out a bunch of them, so I figured I should read a few more of them after finishing The Litany of Earth. The Ballad of Black Tom, in my opinion, was an excellent read. Which hopefully says much with me being an HPL/Mythos nut...

The Story:

"People move to New York looking for magic and nothing will convince them it isn't there.

Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping.

A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break?"

The Review:

The Ballad of Black Tom is, in essence, a re-imagined The Horror at Red Hook by H.P. Lovecraft. It aims to shift the focus of the tale, adds a different protagonist to the story and includes more Mythos-related themes than the original did.
Tonally, it is quite a different tale, while retaining the same core.

While I usually dislike dragging Lovecraft's xenophobic tendencies up in reviews, here they're worth noting. Red Hook was written from a position of ignorance of the cultural and ethnical melting pot in New York in the 1920s, and Lovecraft's own prejudices are reflected in his story. Victor LaValle, himself a black author who grew up enjoying Lovecraft's works, attempts here to both criticise HPL's narrow point of view in the story and to pay tribute to his legacy.

The resulting story is split into two sections: That of Charles Thomas Tester, and that of the original story's protagonist, detective Thomas F. Malone.

Tommy Tester is a 20-year young black man living in one of the non-white parts of New York, hustling to earn money to pay the bills and care for his sick father. He grew up seeing his father beaten down by life's circumstances and the racial prejudices and injustices. Of course, this also filters back to the duo, as they, in turn, are prejudiced against the white man as well.

LaValle managed to nail the time period well here. The social stigma of associating with the "Negroes" ("What would the neighbors say if this woman had Negroes coming freely into her home?") is put on blast here. The novella highlights the discrepancy between communities in the big city, and the different lifestyles between Harlem, Red Hook and the higher society in Queens and so on, and the extra scrutiny placed on non-whites as they pass from one district to another.

It manages to instill sympathy for Tom and his father, introduced them as genuinely good people down on their luck in a bad time in history, without exaggerating the situation or dragging it into the present. If anything, I felt that The Ballad of Black Tom put in context the high-class whining that is going on these days. Oh boy, I could write a whole essay on that matter...
Either way, LaValle created very human, genuine characters here, which stands in contrast to Lovecraft's characters who tended to dehumanize black people and looked at the other with large amounts of prejudice.

In the early chapters especially, Black Tom feels like a period piece, and would have been an easy-to-recommend tragedy about social issues about a hundred years ago. But then, the occult is an intrinsic part of the story, and that element only grows further as the author draws upon more and more of the Mythos themes, and a melancholic tale turns into an exciting thriller and sanity goes down a drain.

Enter Robert Suydam, antagonist of the original story and proprietor of many occult works and a wish of awaking the Sleeping King who lies dreaming at the bottom of the ocean. The name "Cthulhu" is only uttered once in the story, even though it is alluded to many times. That added another layer of mystery and tension for me, which is good, as a lot of new Mythos stories somehow demystify the cults and Outer Gods by throwing their names around too much. LaValle clearly understood that on some level, and his familiarity with HPL's works comes in handy when maintaining the shadowed, secretive nature of the themes.
Suydam wants to rule a post-apocalyptic world as a chosen of the Old Ones, and Tommy, who is taken in by the promises of money at first, quickly grows apprehensive at the prospect of bringing doom to the world. But then things change, tear at the reader's and character's heartstrings, and things turn towards detective Malone.

Malone, the protagonist of Lovecraft's original story, is depicted in a less prejudiced way than before. He is spiritually aware, which brings him in line with Lovecraft's character. The basic scenario that gets him involved remains in place, but Malone himself comes across as more genuine here.
While there were some changes to his traumatic experiences which were the basic premise of The Horror at Red Hook, I didn't think them bad by any means. Different, yet equally engaging.

A bigger theme I enjoyed reading in this novella was that of the "Outside", and the characters' fascination with it. They view a surreal, outside realm from a distance, afraid and captivated in equal measure. To me, that mirrors Lovecraft's own ideas. He was telling stories of horror, yet they all held some form of attraction for the characters, readers and the author himself. There was always a desire to get a hold of those unspeakable tomes, even as they shredded minds all around. In here, what was the "Outside" to Lovecraft, is taken into focus and turned around. Lovecraft, an outsider if there's ever been one, felt attracted to writing about things he didn't really understand, even feared, and Black Tom somehow crosses that barrier, for better or worse.

Seeing these previously established events occur through a different lens, and being moved so much closer to the root of the problem, turns a story that used to be inexplicable and strange, into one that remains strange yet also became much more personal, raising the stakes all around. There's more heart in here than you'd expect from familiarity with Red Hook, and while I strongly object to attempts to sanitize Lovecraft's cosmic horror to replace the inherent xenophobia of the whole Older-Gods-of-unspeakable-nature-will-return-to-bring-oblivion with sunshine and rainbows, which I have seen too often, none of that happens here. It is a genuinely good story, which respects what Lovecraft did right while commenting on his more extreme views.

Only one paragraph struck me as a more direct thump at HPL, though it made me chuckle and I took it with good humor, as a little easter egg.

A man originally from Rhode Island but now living in Brooklyn with his wife proved so persistent a pair of officers was sent to the man’s place to make clear he wasn’t welcome in New York. Perhaps his constitution was better suited to Providence. The man left the city soon afterward, never to return.

Those familiar with Lovecraft's life and history will obviously realize that this is a direct dig at the man himself, and his backwards views - even though they weren't quite so backwards in his days, as even The Ballad of Black Tom accounts for. What appears reprehensible through a modern lens might not have been, and indeed sadly was not, back when it was originally formed. LaValle doesn't attempt to either sweep that fact under the rug nor exaggerate it needlessly - and for that alone, he deserves my respect already.
But then, he also wrote a stellar novella of both cosmic and personal horror, which I am hugely thankful for.

The Ballad of Black Tom on Goodreads

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The state took Aphra away from Innsmouth. They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. "The Litany of Earth" is a dark fantasy story inspired by the Lovecraft mythos.

You probably know I'm a sucker for Lovecraftian Horror. Somehow, whenever I try to dabble in hobby writing myself, it turns into that type of story, and Lovecraft's dark visions of cosmic horror might have been as big an influence on my tastes in fiction as Tolkien and Poe were growing up. So yes, I'm excited to read new spins on his legacy, even though, sadly, a lot of authors miss the mark by an aeon and try to turn it upside down, or try to counter Lovecraft's often xenophobic tendencies in his works. Thankfully, this is a good one!

The Story:

"The state took Aphra away from Innsmouth. They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. "The Litany of Earth" is a dark fantasy story inspired by the Lovecraft mythos."

Disclaimer

After buying this story and procrastinating on getting started, the novel sequel to it appeared as an ARC in my mailbox. While I made the purchase independently, I read it with that knowledge in mind.

The Review:

The Litany of Earth is the first story written by Ruthanna Emrys that I've read so far. The idea of a somewhat-sequel to H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth caught my attention while browsing Amazon for Kindle short stories, and I picked it up.
However, this story was/is also available to read for free on Tor.com, in case you don't want to spend a buck on this story (though I'd say it is well worth that much, at least).

The Litany of Earth plays on Lovecraft's themes and the horrors of Innsmouth in way that feels familiar as far as the Mythos is concerned, yet is decidedly different from HPL's works. It puts us into the story of Aphra Marsh, a survivor of the raid of Innsmouth and the traumatic experiences resulting in it. She is a Deep One, has the "Innsmouth look" (long-limbed, ugly, bulging eyes etc) and suffered from the persecution of her kin.
Emrys aims to give the cults, described as Aeonism here, in a more sympathetic light, like a religion like any other with its nutters and good people searching for more. She succeeded in making the cultists here more than extremists willing to throw their lives away to doom the world, and give them more depth, which I liked a lot.

While not nearly as bleak or hopeless as a classic Lovecraft (nobody actually goes insane, or commits suicide out of desperation or paranoia, for example), it still expands on the Mythos in multiple directions, to the point of elaborating on the Yith and other Mythos beings, and the inevitable death of the Earth.
It is delivered in a way that doesn't feel out of place in the context of the story, or makes light of Lovecraft's ideas and concepts, like many stories by other authors I've read on the matter sadly did.
As a result I'd consider this a worthwhile extension to the Mythos, written by somebody with a noticeable degree of passion for the subject, even if it is a stylistic departure.

A bonus for me was the likeable cast of characters (which, with Lovecraft, I don't normally expect). Aphra herself is intriguing and gives the whole topic a more esoteric feeling, and tying her into the Innsmouth raids was a cool core concept. She lives with a japanese family who also suffered ethnical persecution, so there's a certain degree of understanding and trust there which makes Aphra's situation appear more grounded. Her employer, a bookstore owner and collector of occult books, gives the story the opening to delve into the matter of magic and talk about the Mythos's larger themes. The cultists, too, offer a look at the Aeonist movement, zealotry and desperation of the common human.

The one thing that I didn't enjoy as much was the abrupt ending. I was surprised to find that the story was over already. I didn't feel lost, or that plotlines weren't wrapped up sufficiently, but I'd have liked to see a little more happen before the curtain call. Still, I enjoyed the ambiguity in it, and figured that would be the logical conclusion, so I am satisfied with it.

Seeing how much I enjoyed The Litany of Earth, I am looking forward to reading more of Emrys's lovecraftian horror / Mythos stories in the future. I'll probably start with Winter Tide, since hey, it's already in my mailbox and continues the story of Aphra Marsh and co. If it is anything like this short story, it'll be a nice treat for Lovecraft fans like me.

The Litany of Earth on Goodreads

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At the beginning—no—at the end—she appears, full of fury and bound by chains of prophecy.

Setting off on an unexplained quest from which she is compelled to complete, and facing unnatural challenges in a land that doesn’t seem to exist, she will discover the secrets of herself, or die trying. But along the way, the obstacles will grow to a seemingly insurmountable point, and the final choice will be the biggest sacrifice yet.

This is the story of a woman’s struggle against her very existence, an epic tale of the adventure and emotional upheaval on the way to face an ancient enigmatic foe. This could only spun from the imagination of Marie Brennan, award-winning author and beloved fantasist, beginning a new series about the consequences of war—and of fate.

I've been meaning to get to this one for a while, and sadly didn't make it in time for launch this week. I've enjoyed Marie Brennan's Lady Trent Memoirs greatly (and still wish to talk about the series in the future), so I was excited to see what else Miss Brennan had up her sleeve.

The Story:

"At the beginning—no—at the end—she appears, full of fury and bound by chains of prophecy.

Setting off on an unexplained quest from which she is compelled to complete, and facing unnatural challenges in a land that doesn’t seem to exist, she will discover the secrets of herself, or die trying. But along the way, the obstacles will grow to a seemingly insurmountable point, and the final choice will be the biggest sacrifice yet.

This is the story of a woman’s struggle against her very existence, an epic tale of the adventure and emotional upheaval on the way to face an ancient enigmatic foe. This could only spun from the imagination of Marie Brennan, award-winning author and beloved fantasist, beginning a new series about the consequences of war—and of fate."

Disclaimer

I received an ARC of this novella from the publisher. Keep that in mind while reading the review.

The Review:

Cold-Forged Flame is a very different story from Marie Brennan's Lady Trent Memoirs, which I adore (and eagerly await the final book of!). What the story does have in common with the series is that it is about a girl/woman on the journey to self-discovery - although in a different manner than the Lady Trent's.

The originally unnamed protagonist is summoned and bound to a task set for her: To retrieve a vial of blood from a cauldron in a cave, on an island that defies logic. She knows nothing about herself, or how she knows even things such as language. Forced to obey against her will, with the doubtful promise of freedom upon completion, she sets out to the mysterious island.

At first, I felt it difficult to connect with the story. It is very different from what I've come to expect from Marie Brennan (which doesn't say much, since I have only read one of her series, I admit). Having a blank slate character with a rebellious attitude worked against the story at first, in my eyes. Confronted with a new, unknown fantasy world, I find it easiest to use characters and their roles within their world to anchor myself while discovering the setting. This was difficult at first, as the protagonist was learning along with me, herself a stranger.
Once the adventure really began, and the plot kept rolling, and even introduced a supporting character to drip-feed answers as more questions opened up and the protagonist's identity seemed to return bit by bit, I fully settled into the tale. I got invested in the two's trials, and the woman's dilemma. By the final steps of their quest, I wanted more and was comfortable with the way Brennan constructed this novella.

The book plunges the reader into an unfamiliar situation, mirroring the protagonist's own position. We follow her, discovering things at a steady pace with her, ask the same questions about her summoners' motives and the task at hand, and as a result, fear for her when things get dicey. The story grows stronger along with the central characters, raising the stakes along with her knowledge of self, and ends on a note where I'd undoubtedly want to read more about them.
With growing knowledge of the setting and characters, I grew fond of the concepts Brennan presented. Granted, the adventure itself was fairly straightforward (if you can even say that about a mysterious island that tries to trick your mind!), but that allowed for more introspection and growth, discovering what kind of person the protagonist is. It worked, despite the shaky start for me.

I am curious to see where all of this is headed, and what magical aspects will come up in following works in the series. Cold-Forged Flame provides a solid foundation for hopefully many more adventures to come.

Cold-Forged Flame on Goodreads

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