C. J. Daley
While I did look it up to see that you can read this series in any order, and many say that they do, I should have known that starting with Discworld #20 and Death #4 would be a lot to handle.
I really enjoyed a lot of the Christmas elements and how they were changed to work with the Hogfather. It added humor and it does work for a seasonal read.
But otherwise this is an incredibly eclectic style of writing, hot damn. It’s not even that I didn’t like it all, so much as I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
I remember thinking at around chapter 41 “I am not enjoying this.” And while I did enjoy Death as the Hogfather and Teatime, I went with the audio and some of the voices were so grating that it drove me up a wall.
Perhaps I will try again some day.
While I did look it up to see that you can read this series in any order, and many say that they do, I should have known that starting with Discworld #20 and Death #4 would be a lot to handle.
I really enjoyed a lot of the Christmas elements and how they were changed to work with the Hogfather. It added humor and it does work for a seasonal read.
But otherwise this is an incredibly eclectic style of writing, hot damn. It’s not even that I didn’t like it all, so much as I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
I remember thinking at around chapter 41 “I am not enjoying this.” And while I did enjoy Death as the Hogfather and Teatime, I went with the audio and some of the voices were so grating that it drove me up a wall.
Perhaps I will try again some day.
A cute Christmas story about an elf that wants to steal Santa’s Christmas Magic from the sleigh. The magic needed to fly did feel a bit like the need to believe in Elf, and the story aims to teach children selflessness, kindness and the need for Christmas magic.
A cute Christmas story about an elf that wants to steal Santa’s Christmas Magic from the sleigh. The magic needed to fly did feel a bit like the need to believe in Elf, and the story aims to teach children selflessness, kindness and the need for Christmas magic.
Thanks to Titan Books for the physical ARC. I liked the original, and was excited for the remake, so I was happy to receive this novelization.
While I have seen multiple sites list this as a novelization, I would have to say that this is perhaps, truly the first “original novel” based on a screenplay that I have ever read. With added scenes, character backgrounds and pasts, character thoughts, and even added details, motivations, and entire scenes. And while that is of course interesting, this one didn’t exactly work for me. Much like the added scenes in the novelization of The Last Jedi novel, when I come to the book version of a story it’s because I want more, not different.
Billy is traumatized during a visit with his grandfather when the man grabs him and tells him Santa punishes the naughty children. And although this is technically something millions of parents actually do tell their children, Billy’s grandfather means something far worse than coal. On the ride home, right after Billy asked his mother if she’s ever been naughty, a man comes and ends his parents’ lives. After years of abuse in a Christian orphanage, Billy finally snaps one night when he’s forced to dress as his biggest fear. Once he has the outfit on, he becomes Santa, and when he sees naughtiness happen right in from of him…well Billy was taught that Santa punishes.
There is an air and style to the author’s voice that did bring to mind King. It has a flow to it that I feel like I rarely see anymore these days. For that, it was enjoyable. And for the parts of this novel that actually followed the script, I really enjoyed them. It was everything else that rubbed me the wrong way.
The killer Santa, Billy’s parents, and Billy’s grandfather all get a much longer explanation than I feel they should. An opening scene, which to be frank is about 15 minutes max, takes up the first 100 pages of the book. The grandfather’s dementia and antics felt very similar to The Rule of Jenny Pen (sans the doll) and I didn’t feel like it added anything other than length. It was almost so drawn out that I felt equally as traumatized as Billy.
His time at the orphanage, which was already bad on screen, is easily quadrupled by the author. Mother Superior goes from a controlling, cruel, and dangerous keeper to a brutal and sexual sadist. Sister Margaret, who I always saw as a motherly protector (at least in desire) is transformed into a devious and pedophilic abuser that sees Billy—as the novel puts it multiple times—as “her man.”
I don’t know if there was further context given from the script/writers, but much of what was added to me seemed to take away from the original thing itself as a whole, and made it less enjoyable. I expected some additional information and thoughts, to see how the characters were taking in the scenes in the movies with insight we would never receive elsewhere, but this is something else. The author took a classic 80s slasher and turned into more of an extreme horror (admittedly not my bag), focusing often on the disgusting.
I really did want to like this more. I even rewatched the movie in preparation of finishing this, and it honestly just made the shortcomings more obvious.
Thanks to Titan Books for the physical ARC. I liked the original, and was excited for the remake, so I was happy to receive this novelization.
While I have seen multiple sites list this as a novelization, I would have to say that this is perhaps, truly the first “original novel” based on a screenplay that I have ever read. With added scenes, character backgrounds and pasts, character thoughts, and even added details, motivations, and entire scenes. And while that is of course interesting, this one didn’t exactly work for me. Much like the added scenes in the novelization of The Last Jedi novel, when I come to the book version of a story it’s because I want more, not different.
Billy is traumatized during a visit with his grandfather when the man grabs him and tells him Santa punishes the naughty children. And although this is technically something millions of parents actually do tell their children, Billy’s grandfather means something far worse than coal. On the ride home, right after Billy asked his mother if she’s ever been naughty, a man comes and ends his parents’ lives. After years of abuse in a Christian orphanage, Billy finally snaps one night when he’s forced to dress as his biggest fear. Once he has the outfit on, he becomes Santa, and when he sees naughtiness happen right in from of him…well Billy was taught that Santa punishes.
There is an air and style to the author’s voice that did bring to mind King. It has a flow to it that I feel like I rarely see anymore these days. For that, it was enjoyable. And for the parts of this novel that actually followed the script, I really enjoyed them. It was everything else that rubbed me the wrong way.
The killer Santa, Billy’s parents, and Billy’s grandfather all get a much longer explanation than I feel they should. An opening scene, which to be frank is about 15 minutes max, takes up the first 100 pages of the book. The grandfather’s dementia and antics felt very similar to The Rule of Jenny Pen (sans the doll) and I didn’t feel like it added anything other than length. It was almost so drawn out that I felt equally as traumatized as Billy.
His time at the orphanage, which was already bad on screen, is easily quadrupled by the author. Mother Superior goes from a controlling, cruel, and dangerous keeper to a brutal and sexual sadist. Sister Margaret, who I always saw as a motherly protector (at least in desire) is transformed into a devious and pedophilic abuser that sees Billy—as the novel puts it multiple times—as “her man.”
I don’t know if there was further context given from the script/writers, but much of what was added to me seemed to take away from the original thing itself as a whole, and made it less enjoyable. I expected some additional information and thoughts, to see how the characters were taking in the scenes in the movies with insight we would never receive elsewhere, but this is something else. The author took a classic 80s slasher and turned into more of an extreme horror (admittedly not my bag), focusing often on the disgusting.
I really did want to like this more. I even rewatched the movie in preparation of finishing this, and it honestly just made the shortcomings more obvious.
Thanks to netgalley and No Bueno Publishing for the audio ARC.
This is a thriller that mixes in a lot of imperfect humans and emotions. Megan Floyd vanished into the night. Even after an exhaustive search, one of the largest in recent years in Colorado, she still isn’t found. Over a year later, even when faced with a failed marriage and a lost career, her father Tom can’t let the trail run cold. In a last ditch effort, he hires a private investigator firm to assist with a new set of eyes. As more and more clues and new trails begin to be uncovered, it’s a race against time to the end—and Tom is steadfast she’s alive.
As an audio production, I thought the narrator, Jess Nahikian, did a good job with the story and voices. The thing that immediately threw me though, were the fast and often POV changes. I did check a kindle sample and I’m pretty sure there were page breaks, but in the audio there was nothing. By the time I was settling into a character they were gone, so I felt like it took a long time to learn them. As a life long fantasy reader, I am a fan of multi-POV storytelling, however, chapter two for example, was around 60 minutes long (not even the longest)—all with continuous changes. I would rather read a story with 300 chapters personally, with the shift in character changing each time.
As a writer myself, I feel like we are always looking to add to a character. A bit of emotion or a troubled past? That gives them depth in short order! But in this novel, everyone, even characters of lesser importance, are drunks, drug addicts, self harmers, divorced and hurting, grieving and struggling, sometimes even unrelated to the plot in any way. I suppose it’s certainly true that life is filled with trials, but this got to the point of being a distraction…especially when trying to learn the characters. Not all of them of course, as the struggles between Megan’s parents made sense, held weight, and did achieve a sort of tortured hero feel for the father. He accepts the loses and shames himself for the fact that she’s missing, and that kind of self loathing is driven home thoroughly.
The mystery, which on the whole I did enjoy(!), did feel a little like things were turning up too easily. Not that I have knowledge of Colorado detective’s solve rates or anything (and it’s fiction), but some of what the PIs and Megan’s father were doing and discovering seemed like day-one level choice making. Obviously without them we wouldn’t have a story, but it felt like the choice to make it happen a year after the disappearance made those cracks appear. With minimal spoiler-ing, I would also have to say the choice to have the idea of Megan being alive so often throughout the novel was truly fumbled by the book’s end, if nothing more than the final nail in the coffin for hope…and while writing this, that might actually be the whole point though!
When I finally did get into the flow of POV shifts and long chapters, this was written with enjoyable prose and a unique enough murder mystery that I didn’t feel cheated by the end (that’s hard to do these days!). There are some darker themes in the goings-on and character struggles that do add to a thriller feel and I did felt an overall build in tension. As this is book 1 in a series, I suspect they only get better from here.
Thanks to netgalley and No Bueno Publishing for the audio ARC.
This is a thriller that mixes in a lot of imperfect humans and emotions. Megan Floyd vanished into the night. Even after an exhaustive search, one of the largest in recent years in Colorado, she still isn’t found. Over a year later, even when faced with a failed marriage and a lost career, her father Tom can’t let the trail run cold. In a last ditch effort, he hires a private investigator firm to assist with a new set of eyes. As more and more clues and new trails begin to be uncovered, it’s a race against time to the end—and Tom is steadfast she’s alive.
As an audio production, I thought the narrator, Jess Nahikian, did a good job with the story and voices. The thing that immediately threw me though, were the fast and often POV changes. I did check a kindle sample and I’m pretty sure there were page breaks, but in the audio there was nothing. By the time I was settling into a character they were gone, so I felt like it took a long time to learn them. As a life long fantasy reader, I am a fan of multi-POV storytelling, however, chapter two for example, was around 60 minutes long (not even the longest)—all with continuous changes. I would rather read a story with 300 chapters personally, with the shift in character changing each time.
As a writer myself, I feel like we are always looking to add to a character. A bit of emotion or a troubled past? That gives them depth in short order! But in this novel, everyone, even characters of lesser importance, are drunks, drug addicts, self harmers, divorced and hurting, grieving and struggling, sometimes even unrelated to the plot in any way. I suppose it’s certainly true that life is filled with trials, but this got to the point of being a distraction…especially when trying to learn the characters. Not all of them of course, as the struggles between Megan’s parents made sense, held weight, and did achieve a sort of tortured hero feel for the father. He accepts the loses and shames himself for the fact that she’s missing, and that kind of self loathing is driven home thoroughly.
The mystery, which on the whole I did enjoy(!), did feel a little like things were turning up too easily. Not that I have knowledge of Colorado detective’s solve rates or anything (and it’s fiction), but some of what the PIs and Megan’s father were doing and discovering seemed like day-one level choice making. Obviously without them we wouldn’t have a story, but it felt like the choice to make it happen a year after the disappearance made those cracks appear. With minimal spoiler-ing, I would also have to say the choice to have the idea of Megan being alive so often throughout the novel was truly fumbled by the book’s end, if nothing more than the final nail in the coffin for hope…and while writing this, that might actually be the whole point though!
When I finally did get into the flow of POV shifts and long chapters, this was written with enjoyable prose and a unique enough murder mystery that I didn’t feel cheated by the end (that’s hard to do these days!). There are some darker themes in the goings-on and character struggles that do add to a thriller feel and I did felt an overall build in tension. As this is book 1 in a series, I suspect they only get better from here.
Huge thanks to Titan for the physical ARC of this one. This is book 2 in the Discreet Eliminators series, and I think that is just about the most perfect name ever.
Ford and Neuland are back and better than ever…because they’ve brought Tilda back from California with them! There’s still this kind of buddy-cop feel to the way they behave, but I enjoyed how Tilda was immediately accepted in and they because a family unit. She offers them an edge they didn’t have before, and the author did well to make her a necessity, rather than an accessory character.
Back in NYC, they’re still being ostracized for the moral decision they made in book one…apparently killing the person that hires you is bad for business. But then several of the crime bosses show up with a proposition: find and stop the flesh king and be welcomed back into the fold with open arms. A job is a job, and one that also cleaned the slate for them was a big win, but something seemed off. Still, it wasn’t exactly an offer they could refuse.
The interlude chapters that I ended up loving in book one continued here and were even better. While this is a kind of body horror-y creature feature still, the flesh king is at least humanoid. They can blend in and disappear (though they were creepy as hell). That made this feel a lot more like a detective story, which I love, although the author did great on keeping up on the otherworldly too. Readers learn even more about the undead, magic, and some of the possible creatures at large. One of my favorites being a tainted/poisoned undead person being driven to madness in a much more familiar version of a zombie.
The author really does well with his main characters here. Somehow all three mains are super nice and considerate, and yet they stand apart as their own creation still, there’s separate personalities. They continue to bump into this abrasive underground world of criminals and killing, yet they remain the same and steadfast in their, “that’s not how we do things.” There is also a continued level of humor throughout the book that allowed for it to be a tad less serious in a way that I feel is beneficial. I would read 15 more novellas written in this style to be honest.
Again though, its shortcoming is the ending. This one handled the mystery and research side better than the last one in my opinion, but the ending still felt a little short. It truncates how climactic it can feel, and also makes the big bad once again not feel all that dangerous. Not that I need any of these characters I love to die or anything, but a longer struggle would help push these just that bit further into being a full 5 star read for me.
Perfect fans for lighter horror, mystery, urban fantasy and creature features. Quick, fun, and easy to dive into.
Huge thanks to Titan for the physical ARC of this one. This is book 2 in the Discreet Eliminators series, and I think that is just about the most perfect name ever.
Ford and Neuland are back and better than ever…because they’ve brought Tilda back from California with them! There’s still this kind of buddy-cop feel to the way they behave, but I enjoyed how Tilda was immediately accepted in and they because a family unit. She offers them an edge they didn’t have before, and the author did well to make her a necessity, rather than an accessory character.
Back in NYC, they’re still being ostracized for the moral decision they made in book one…apparently killing the person that hires you is bad for business. But then several of the crime bosses show up with a proposition: find and stop the flesh king and be welcomed back into the fold with open arms. A job is a job, and one that also cleaned the slate for them was a big win, but something seemed off. Still, it wasn’t exactly an offer they could refuse.
The interlude chapters that I ended up loving in book one continued here and were even better. While this is a kind of body horror-y creature feature still, the flesh king is at least humanoid. They can blend in and disappear (though they were creepy as hell). That made this feel a lot more like a detective story, which I love, although the author did great on keeping up on the otherworldly too. Readers learn even more about the undead, magic, and some of the possible creatures at large. One of my favorites being a tainted/poisoned undead person being driven to madness in a much more familiar version of a zombie.
The author really does well with his main characters here. Somehow all three mains are super nice and considerate, and yet they stand apart as their own creation still, there’s separate personalities. They continue to bump into this abrasive underground world of criminals and killing, yet they remain the same and steadfast in their, “that’s not how we do things.” There is also a continued level of humor throughout the book that allowed for it to be a tad less serious in a way that I feel is beneficial. I would read 15 more novellas written in this style to be honest.
Again though, its shortcoming is the ending. This one handled the mystery and research side better than the last one in my opinion, but the ending still felt a little short. It truncates how climactic it can feel, and also makes the big bad once again not feel all that dangerous. Not that I need any of these characters I love to die or anything, but a longer struggle would help push these just that bit further into being a full 5 star read for me.
Perfect fans for lighter horror, mystery, urban fantasy and creature features. Quick, fun, and easy to dive into.
I was accidentally sent the second book in this series without owning or having read this one. A huge thanks to Caitlin at Titan Books for sending me this one so I could read and review both and for turning this into a happy accident!
This was a surprise for me and I went in blind. I love this mix of a buddy-cop feel and the entire criminal aspect of their lives. The juxtaposition of morally guided characters against the backdrop of their super dark employment worked wonders for me. It made the novella light and funny in a way I never expected, while still remaining in the mysterious horror genre.
Ford and Neuland are guns for hire. Maybe not your typical ones, as they often deal in the paranormal and supernatural world, and they never kill innocents. So when they catch wind that a job they were on was actually a farce, one that would harm someone unworthy of it, they make a not-so-kind decision to break their contract, and the contractor, and leave New York behind. This brings them to California, where the work is all but dried up for them as well. So when a woman, Tilda, shows up with a bag full of cash, they’re really at a loss for how they could turn the job down. A little house haunting detective work to follow, and hopefully the rest is history, a job well done.
I really loved the two main characters. Ford is a human man…well a living one. Neuland is a human man, just an undead one. Their partnership is easy, one kills the living, one kills the dead. Rinse and repeat. The inclusion of these intellectual zombies (if you will) right from the rip really grounded the world (or perhaps it should be ungrounded the natural world) in the fact that this was something other. A well done, sort of urban fantasy mystery creature feature horror all squished into one. I also like that while Neuland’s condition makes him stronger and harder to kill, there’s still this 50/50 partnership, if not brotherhood, between them. A lot of people in their world are disrespectful to the reanimated, but to Ford, he’s just his partner. And both of them are funny.
The novella also features these shorter kind of interlude chapters that feature the big bad creature they will eventually be searching for. At first, when I didn’t really know what was going on it threw me off a bit, but by the end it was something I hoped would continue into the sequel. Where the novella fell a tad short for me was the ending. There is action beats throughout, albeit brief due to the story’s length, the ending itself felt like a five page blip that didn’t quite climax enough to get a resolution. It kind of did a disservice to the monster by making things seem too easy. I still really enjoyed it, I just wanted more.
I was accidentally sent the second book in this series without owning or having read this one. A huge thanks to Caitlin at Titan Books for sending me this one so I could read and review both and for turning this into a happy accident!
This was a surprise for me and I went in blind. I love this mix of a buddy-cop feel and the entire criminal aspect of their lives. The juxtaposition of morally guided characters against the backdrop of their super dark employment worked wonders for me. It made the novella light and funny in a way I never expected, while still remaining in the mysterious horror genre.
Ford and Neuland are guns for hire. Maybe not your typical ones, as they often deal in the paranormal and supernatural world, and they never kill innocents. So when they catch wind that a job they were on was actually a farce, one that would harm someone unworthy of it, they make a not-so-kind decision to break their contract, and the contractor, and leave New York behind. This brings them to California, where the work is all but dried up for them as well. So when a woman, Tilda, shows up with a bag full of cash, they’re really at a loss for how they could turn the job down. A little house haunting detective work to follow, and hopefully the rest is history, a job well done.
I really loved the two main characters. Ford is a human man…well a living one. Neuland is a human man, just an undead one. Their partnership is easy, one kills the living, one kills the dead. Rinse and repeat. The inclusion of these intellectual zombies (if you will) right from the rip really grounded the world (or perhaps it should be ungrounded the natural world) in the fact that this was something other. A well done, sort of urban fantasy mystery creature feature horror all squished into one. I also like that while Neuland’s condition makes him stronger and harder to kill, there’s still this 50/50 partnership, if not brotherhood, between them. A lot of people in their world are disrespectful to the reanimated, but to Ford, he’s just his partner. And both of them are funny.
The novella also features these shorter kind of interlude chapters that feature the big bad creature they will eventually be searching for. At first, when I didn’t really know what was going on it threw me off a bit, but by the end it was something I hoped would continue into the sequel. Where the novella fell a tad short for me was the ending. There is action beats throughout, albeit brief due to the story’s length, the ending itself felt like a five page blip that didn’t quite climax enough to get a resolution. It kind of did a disservice to the monster by making things seem too easy. I still really enjoyed it, I just wanted more.
Thanks to Tantor Media and Netgalley for the audio arc!
This is a cozy fantasy/romance where the impossible is not so far out of reach. When Holly’s car skids into a snowbank, she receives aid from the one and only Mrs. Claus. Yes, the real one. She may not realize that at the time it happens, but she is soon brought to Candy Cane Hollow—a place not too from London, and one she is sure she’s never heard about—to see the doctor and recover. The doctor’s receptionist—who is quite rude to Holly as an outsider—is mysteriously found poisoned. And worse, the only suspect is Mrs. Claus herself! Holly stays to do some amateur sleuthing when Mrs. Claus’ (of course) handsome son Nick asks her to stay.
Not my typical genre, I usually only read cozy or romantic type things during the holiday season. Especially if Christmas is actually part of the plot. This one caught my eye because it made me think of the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series that I have quite enjoyed so far. However this one is a bit more modest, with its cleanliness actually being mentioned in its blurb. One of the draws to the books by Frost, at least for me, who doesn’t dabble in the genre too often, is the fact that there’s a bit of darkness to them. Actual danger and stakes, some bloodier murder too…
By no means does that mean I disliked this story! It’s cozy and filled with hot cocoa and some thought out investigating. I enjoyed that because the town itself is filled with cheer and the magic of Christmas, the police force doesn’t really know how to handle being seriously needed. They aren’t used to crime, nor are they sure how to approach the town’s idolized figures, the Clauses. To take them down a peg, off their pedestal, seems wrong, but what if Mrs. Claus is actually guilty? In a magical little town such as this it’s hard to imagine anyone is capable of murder.
The thing that kept it more on the fine and just silly side for me is the fact that without any grittiness or darkness, everything is always just super tied up into a little bow. While we knew to never actually suspect Mrs. Claus, and there were a few red herrings, I found the reveal to be rather obvious. Certainly not bad for a quick holiday read or a fan of cozy though.
Thanks to Tantor Media and Netgalley for the audio arc!
This is a cozy fantasy/romance where the impossible is not so far out of reach. When Holly’s car skids into a snowbank, she receives aid from the one and only Mrs. Claus. Yes, the real one. She may not realize that at the time it happens, but she is soon brought to Candy Cane Hollow—a place not too from London, and one she is sure she’s never heard about—to see the doctor and recover. The doctor’s receptionist—who is quite rude to Holly as an outsider—is mysteriously found poisoned. And worse, the only suspect is Mrs. Claus herself! Holly stays to do some amateur sleuthing when Mrs. Claus’ (of course) handsome son Nick asks her to stay.
Not my typical genre, I usually only read cozy or romantic type things during the holiday season. Especially if Christmas is actually part of the plot. This one caught my eye because it made me think of the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series that I have quite enjoyed so far. However this one is a bit more modest, with its cleanliness actually being mentioned in its blurb. One of the draws to the books by Frost, at least for me, who doesn’t dabble in the genre too often, is the fact that there’s a bit of darkness to them. Actual danger and stakes, some bloodier murder too…
By no means does that mean I disliked this story! It’s cozy and filled with hot cocoa and some thought out investigating. I enjoyed that because the town itself is filled with cheer and the magic of Christmas, the police force doesn’t really know how to handle being seriously needed. They aren’t used to crime, nor are they sure how to approach the town’s idolized figures, the Clauses. To take them down a peg, off their pedestal, seems wrong, but what if Mrs. Claus is actually guilty? In a magical little town such as this it’s hard to imagine anyone is capable of murder.
The thing that kept it more on the fine and just silly side for me is the fact that without any grittiness or darkness, everything is always just super tied up into a little bow. While we knew to never actually suspect Mrs. Claus, and there were a few red herrings, I found the reveal to be rather obvious. Certainly not bad for a quick holiday read or a fan of cozy though.
Now I may be late to this fungal indie goodness, something that has been becoming a staple for me (I guess?), but better late than never, right? I grabbed this one of audio, and I thought Imogen Church’s narration was spot on. And of course the Felix Ortiz cover is just chef’s kiss…
Detective Henrietta Hoffman, the quintessential, down-on-her-luck, uber-jaded character, has been forcefully exiled to the worst place she could imagine—Hōppon. Just two years after the loss of The Spore War, the mushroom-lush country is being fully colonized by the victors. Coprinian forces are stationed everywhere, taking over law enforcement and more. But when a decapitated fungal child is found, Hoffman must swallow her pride and team up with the mushroom-capped NKPD native Koji Nameko. The blend of noir investigation, political intrigue, action, loss, and danger—as well as some really unique fantasy and scifi—that follows is truly pulse-pounding.
So I get the hype. The last two years for me haven’t been huge in the genre, but since I was a teenage fantasy and scifi have always been staples in my reading. So believe me when I say this is a banger of a release. It really takes multiple things I love—fantasy, science fiction, mystery and thriller—and delivers this really fresh blend of them all. I’ve read fantasy mysteries and scifi mysteries before, but what this one nailed was the feel of a police procedural that’s just been meshed into a world that feels other. They aren’t monster hunters or dragon slayers, they are everyday cops, and despite their world being different, they are just doing the job.
Speaking of the world, this novel’s worldbuilding is extreme. It’s as if the author sat and wrote out every single thing that we use in our day to day lives—even cups, concrete, and DOORS—and was like, “hmmm, yes, all of that has it’s own version that’s been fungalized.” (Not a word? It is now). The world is unique, rich, and built from the ground up. It might not be your typical fantasy/scifi, but this definitely read like something noticeably not earth. In that way it felt kind of along the lines of urban fantasy at times, even bringing to mind the film Bright…some of the context shared between the two helped as well. The minute details, like mixed children having small sprouts of mushrooms on their heads, felt like a really special showing of an author that fully knows what they’ve created.
This novel is heavy though. To not sugarcoat, it is filled with ethnocentrism, prejudice, and tons of racism. The wounds of war are still fresh, and the hate is steaming on both sides. However, with the book’s perspective, so much of the hate is coming from (often gushing from) Detective Hoffman. It can be hard to read and digest. While Hoffman was not a soldier in the war that stole their country from them, she certainly has no problem spewing the Coprinian vitriolic ignorance. With that being said, when you stick with it, the story is designed to show you how disgusting this is, how wrong, and Hoffman eventually begins her journey out of this. It’s a well done facsimile of our own world’s history of systemic racism, imperialism and hatred. There’s a fine message in there too of those feeling more aligned with Hoffman (at the beginning) needing to get their shit together too.
The mystery is written just how it should be. Approached with the reader learning as the investigators do, and with the twist being dangled right before their eyes at multiple times before it’s finally revealed. There’s complexity, there’s red herrings, and there’s definitely a lot of thread weaving and pulling by the end. If you claim to have had it figured out before the end I’ll call you a liar, this one’s well done. There are some otherworldly notes thrown in too, which really (again) cemented the genre blend for me.
Another thing I really enjoyed was drawing similarities between this and Welcome to Cemetery. While there are miles of differences, there’s still some detective and cop traits that you can’t lack in a police procedural. While my main character is young and trying to prove herself, her partner is the jaded one that struggles. In some ways Koji is reminiscent of Williams to me, he wants to do the right thing no matter the cost. While ultimately the twists are polar opposites, there is still a through-line of police corruption in both novels. And I know the author and I both review for FanFiAddict, but we had zero discussion surrounding our books together, and mine was even completed before I joined. It makes me think my novel might be a bit more noir than I thought.
Super intriguing. Thoroughly enjoyable. And easy to imagine how endless the world could be. I’m interested in their next case, and even hopeful for side stories exploring the world at large.
Now I may be late to this fungal indie goodness, something that has been becoming a staple for me (I guess?), but better late than never, right? I grabbed this one of audio, and I thought Imogen Church’s narration was spot on. And of course the Felix Ortiz cover is just chef’s kiss…
Detective Henrietta Hoffman, the quintessential, down-on-her-luck, uber-jaded character, has been forcefully exiled to the worst place she could imagine—Hōppon. Just two years after the loss of The Spore War, the mushroom-lush country is being fully colonized by the victors. Coprinian forces are stationed everywhere, taking over law enforcement and more. But when a decapitated fungal child is found, Hoffman must swallow her pride and team up with the mushroom-capped NKPD native Koji Nameko. The blend of noir investigation, political intrigue, action, loss, and danger—as well as some really unique fantasy and scifi—that follows is truly pulse-pounding.
So I get the hype. The last two years for me haven’t been huge in the genre, but since I was a teenage fantasy and scifi have always been staples in my reading. So believe me when I say this is a banger of a release. It really takes multiple things I love—fantasy, science fiction, mystery and thriller—and delivers this really fresh blend of them all. I’ve read fantasy mysteries and scifi mysteries before, but what this one nailed was the feel of a police procedural that’s just been meshed into a world that feels other. They aren’t monster hunters or dragon slayers, they are everyday cops, and despite their world being different, they are just doing the job.
Speaking of the world, this novel’s worldbuilding is extreme. It’s as if the author sat and wrote out every single thing that we use in our day to day lives—even cups, concrete, and DOORS—and was like, “hmmm, yes, all of that has it’s own version that’s been fungalized.” (Not a word? It is now). The world is unique, rich, and built from the ground up. It might not be your typical fantasy/scifi, but this definitely read like something noticeably not earth. In that way it felt kind of along the lines of urban fantasy at times, even bringing to mind the film Bright…some of the context shared between the two helped as well. The minute details, like mixed children having small sprouts of mushrooms on their heads, felt like a really special showing of an author that fully knows what they’ve created.
This novel is heavy though. To not sugarcoat, it is filled with ethnocentrism, prejudice, and tons of racism. The wounds of war are still fresh, and the hate is steaming on both sides. However, with the book’s perspective, so much of the hate is coming from (often gushing from) Detective Hoffman. It can be hard to read and digest. While Hoffman was not a soldier in the war that stole their country from them, she certainly has no problem spewing the Coprinian vitriolic ignorance. With that being said, when you stick with it, the story is designed to show you how disgusting this is, how wrong, and Hoffman eventually begins her journey out of this. It’s a well done facsimile of our own world’s history of systemic racism, imperialism and hatred. There’s a fine message in there too of those feeling more aligned with Hoffman (at the beginning) needing to get their shit together too.
The mystery is written just how it should be. Approached with the reader learning as the investigators do, and with the twist being dangled right before their eyes at multiple times before it’s finally revealed. There’s complexity, there’s red herrings, and there’s definitely a lot of thread weaving and pulling by the end. If you claim to have had it figured out before the end I’ll call you a liar, this one’s well done. There are some otherworldly notes thrown in too, which really (again) cemented the genre blend for me.
Another thing I really enjoyed was drawing similarities between this and Welcome to Cemetery. While there are miles of differences, there’s still some detective and cop traits that you can’t lack in a police procedural. While my main character is young and trying to prove herself, her partner is the jaded one that struggles. In some ways Koji is reminiscent of Williams to me, he wants to do the right thing no matter the cost. While ultimately the twists are polar opposites, there is still a through-line of police corruption in both novels. And I know the author and I both review for FanFiAddict, but we had zero discussion surrounding our books together, and mine was even completed before I joined. It makes me think my novel might be a bit more noir than I thought.
Super intriguing. Thoroughly enjoyable. And easy to imagine how endless the world could be. I’m interested in their next case, and even hopeful for side stories exploring the world at large.
I had just rewatched/watched the entire franchise as well as Alien: Earth and was planning on writing a franchise review when I saw this was coming out. I honestly didn’t know they did mixed media, but once I knew I practically rushed to Titan to make my case for why I should be an arc reader. So many many thanks to Titan for the physical ARC.
This book delivers us Captain Cynthia Goodwin, owner and somewhat operator of the Chariot. While she has a good and loyal crew, it wouldn’t be a lie to say that times have been hard. The ship used to belong to her mother, and while she carries on her legacy, that thing is certainly getting on in years. Problem after problem are cutting too deeply into the team’s profits and holding out for the big score is getting hard. Then, on what is meant to be a short break from the madness, Goodwin receives a request to meet to discuss a proposition. She agrees, though reluctantly and the rest is history. Her team is to go to the quarantined world of DSJ-1020 and rescue the lover of rich business man, Roman Fade. The eccentric painter ran off, but now playtime is over, and it’s time to come home. As any fan of the Alien franchise will know, a Weland-Yutani quarantine is never what it seems. And it’s never good. This one is no different.
The set up for this took a little long for my taste, not only is it a slow burn, but it is also a set up that could be seen in any space opera adjacent story—even Star Wars. The down-on-their-luck space crew takes on a dangerous mission is tried and true, but this one did take hundreds of pages to get moving. Now, by no means does slow equate to bad, at least in this case. There’s romance and strife, dangerous, pulse pounding storms and a crash. I was just waiting for the true Alien format to kick in. At least personally.
Once the team has crash landed, Goodwin begins reading through the dossier of Corinth Bloch, the artist they were contracted to rescue. This introduced this unique sort of novella inside the novel that I found interesting. On the one hand, I do wish that it was implemented a bit differently, as it adds on to what then feels like a few 10k words chapters that really hinder the pace of the crew’s story. With that being said, I was entranced in this mock-memoir format and frankly couldn’t get enough of it. Bloch is a tragically tormented character, his eccentricities borne from a life of loss and from staring into the darkness and seeing something stare back.
The ending did pick up speed, which made me happy. We have what feels like a reunion at that point (even though they’ve never met) as the captain finds Bloch. While the story does deliver on some facehuggers and xenomorphs, it never fully felt like an Alien installment to me although at the same time I thoroughly enjoyed it and would even read a follow up. In the same way Predator: Badlands (to me) didn’t feel like it delivered fans Predator, this was a really good, even emotional, space exploration novel. This felt halfway Prometheus-existential and halfway Alien-horror/action, the blend of which worked for a read, I think I just wanted more spaceship horror.
I had just rewatched/watched the entire franchise as well as Alien: Earth and was planning on writing a franchise review when I saw this was coming out. I honestly didn’t know they did mixed media, but once I knew I practically rushed to Titan to make my case for why I should be an arc reader. So many many thanks to Titan for the physical ARC.
This book delivers us Captain Cynthia Goodwin, owner and somewhat operator of the Chariot. While she has a good and loyal crew, it wouldn’t be a lie to say that times have been hard. The ship used to belong to her mother, and while she carries on her legacy, that thing is certainly getting on in years. Problem after problem are cutting too deeply into the team’s profits and holding out for the big score is getting hard. Then, on what is meant to be a short break from the madness, Goodwin receives a request to meet to discuss a proposition. She agrees, though reluctantly and the rest is history. Her team is to go to the quarantined world of DSJ-1020 and rescue the lover of rich business man, Roman Fade. The eccentric painter ran off, but now playtime is over, and it’s time to come home. As any fan of the Alien franchise will know, a Weland-Yutani quarantine is never what it seems. And it’s never good. This one is no different.
The set up for this took a little long for my taste, not only is it a slow burn, but it is also a set up that could be seen in any space opera adjacent story—even Star Wars. The down-on-their-luck space crew takes on a dangerous mission is tried and true, but this one did take hundreds of pages to get moving. Now, by no means does slow equate to bad, at least in this case. There’s romance and strife, dangerous, pulse pounding storms and a crash. I was just waiting for the true Alien format to kick in. At least personally.
Once the team has crash landed, Goodwin begins reading through the dossier of Corinth Bloch, the artist they were contracted to rescue. This introduced this unique sort of novella inside the novel that I found interesting. On the one hand, I do wish that it was implemented a bit differently, as it adds on to what then feels like a few 10k words chapters that really hinder the pace of the crew’s story. With that being said, I was entranced in this mock-memoir format and frankly couldn’t get enough of it. Bloch is a tragically tormented character, his eccentricities borne from a life of loss and from staring into the darkness and seeing something stare back.
The ending did pick up speed, which made me happy. We have what feels like a reunion at that point (even though they’ve never met) as the captain finds Bloch. While the story does deliver on some facehuggers and xenomorphs, it never fully felt like an Alien installment to me although at the same time I thoroughly enjoyed it and would even read a follow up. In the same way Predator: Badlands (to me) didn’t feel like it delivered fans Predator, this was a really good, even emotional, space exploration novel. This felt halfway Prometheus-existential and halfway Alien-horror/action, the blend of which worked for a read, I think I just wanted more spaceship horror.