The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes - Book Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

'Nine is an orphan pickpocket determined to escape her life in the Nest of a Thousand Treasures. When she steals a house-shaped ornament from a mysterious woman’s purse, she knocks on its tiny door and watches it grow into a huge, higgledy-piggeldy house. Inside she finds a host of magical and brilliantly funny characters, including Flabberghast – a young wizard who’s particularly competitive at hopscotch – and a hideous troll housekeeper who’s emotionally attached to his feather duster. They have been placed under an extraordinary spell, which they are desperate for Nine to break – and if she can, maybe they can offer her a new life in return…'

Whilst middle-grade books are designed for kids there's a lot of them that are entertaining for all ages, where you pick up the book and get so absorbed in it that before you realise it you've read the whole thing in one sitting. This was what happened to me when I read The House at the Edge of Magic.

The book follows Nine, a young girl living on the streets, who's grown up learning to steal in order to pay back Pockets, the old Fagin like figure, who took her in as a baby. Picking pockets and stealing from shops, Nine is barely living, surviving from day to day, forced to give whatever she gets to a man who treats her like dirt. She's dreaming of an escape from her life, and when she steals a small ornamental house from a woman's purse she finds a way to finally get away from things.

When she knocks on the tiny door the house grows to huge proportions, and inside she discovers a strange wizard named Flabberghast, his troll butler Eric, and Doctor Spoon, a kilt wearing, sword wielding living wooden spoon. The three of them have been cursed for years, and cannot leave the house, and ask Nine to help them break the curse, offering her a priceless gem in exchange. With the promise of the wealth she needs to escape her life Nine reluctantly agrees to help the three of them, but now they only have fifteen hours to break the curse.

The plot moves at a pretty brisk pace, and manages to pack a lot into its pages, so despite it's relatively short length there's plenty of action and adventure to keep you from ever getting bored. Even though a lot of time gets given over to exploring the contents of the weird, magical house, and all the strange things that happen inside it, there's plenty of time given over to characters too, and readers get some quieter moments to really get to know Nine, and see the life that she's trying to get away from. I've seen other middle-grade books that have tried to strike this important balance, and more than a few of them fail at it, either neglecting to spend time giving their characters compelling personalities or backgrounds, or bring the pace to a grinding halt whenever they try to. Amy Sparkes has managed to find the perfect balance here, and you never feel like you're missing out on anything.

Sparkes has also managed to create a really intriguing world, and I just wanted to spend more time inside the house, seeing more of these weird characters, and the world of magic around them. There are hints of bigger things here, of other worlds and places that exist outside of reality, of monsters and creatures from myth and legend. I found myself wanting to learn more about this, and if I'd have been over the moon if I'd been told that this was the start of a series that would go on to see the characters having more adventures in magic and weirdness.

As a stand alone book this is a great read, one that will appeal to readers of every age. Parents will enjoy reading this with their kids, and adults will have a lot of fun with the strange characters and weirdness. This isn't the first Amy Sparkes book, but it's the first of hers that I've read, and thanks to how good this is I'd definitely be interesting in reading more of her stuff.

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Darth Vader #9 - Comic Review

 

I've really been enjoying the current Star Wars comics from Marvel, and have been enjoying the way they've been filling in the gaps between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. However, I've been pleasantly surprised how Darth Vader has been connecting the events of its story to the larger Star Wars universe. In its first story it explored things related to the prequel trilogy, bringing in characters and stories left over from Revenge of the Sith and giving them a new purpose; and now it seems like we've begun to connect to the sequel trilogy too, specifically The Rise of Skywalker.

Having disappointed the Emperor Vader has been badly damaged, left on Mustafar, forbidden from using the Force, and beset by assassins. This situation is one of the direst we've seen the Sith Lord in, and it's really been putting the character to the test, forcing him to have to get creative, and brutal, to survive. 

Not only is this a good way of showing how formidable a character he is, but it also shows how constant Palpatine has to be in grinding away at the pieces of Anakin that have survived inside Vader. His sudden turn back to the light at the end of Return of the Jedi doesn't seem as sudden anymore, as we see that Vader has constantly been at war with the man he once was, and that it's only been through the machinations of Sidious and his schemes that he's not been able to redeem himself before.

I've really enjoyed this story line as it makes Vader feel a lot more human too, even though he's literally walking though lava on robotic legs whilst taking out killer assassins in this issue. In the films he always felt like something of a force of nature to me, someone who turned up and used their great power to get what he wanted. If the Force didn't do it for him his followers would. He never seemed like a person that really had to get his hands dirty, and when he did throw himself into the action it was always when victory was assured for him. Here we see him having to think on his feet, to use his ingenuity and skills to really have to fight to get by, and it shows aspects of the character that the films never really allowed to shine through.

Possibly most excitedly about this issue, however, is that it begins us down a path to Exegol, the ancient Sith planet that was introduced in the final film in the Skywalker Saga. The Rise of Skywalker has been something of a divisive film, with a lot of people feeling that many of the things introduced in it seemed to come out of nowhere, and completely changed the direction of the sequel trilogy at the last minute. I myself didn't really enjoy the film, and despite having some cool moments felt that it was an unexplained mess that left me more annoyed than anything else; so the fact that I might finally be getting some answers, that some of those last minute plot twists could finally have context really excites me.

I'm not expecting these next few issues to explain away everything, there's way too much left hanging by the film for it all to be explained away and justified in this series, but I'm hoping that at least some of it gets a little justification and backstory. Even if it's just some history on this Sith planet, and the beginnings of Palpatine planning for a future where he dies and needs to bring himself back, I think that would go a long way to making me feel better about the last film.

It seems like a tall order, to make that jumble into something good, but Greg Pak seems to be doing a hell of a good job making the Star Wars universe into a more cohesive and deeper place, so I'm sue whatever comes next will only make things better.

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Blood, Metal, Bone by Lindsay Cummings - Book Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

'Her destiny was death. The shadows brought her back.

'Wrongly accused of her brother’s murder, Sonara’s destiny was to die, sentenced to execution by her own mother. Punished and left for dead, the shadows have cursed her with a second life as a Shadowblood, cast out and hunted by society for her demon-like powers.

'Now known as the Devil of the Deadlands, Sonara survives as a thief on the edge of society, fighting for survival on a quest to uncover what really happened to her brother and whether he is even dead at all…'

Blood, Metal, Bone is set on the distant world of Dohrsar, where the land is split into three rival kingdoms, where vicious kings and queens rule with iron will and murder. It's here that we meet Sonara, the bastard daughter of Iridis the queen of Soreia. Looked down on with scorn by her mother, Sonara is forced to live and work in the stables, her only friend her older brother, the prince, Soahm. Despite her unhappy life she accepts her place in the world, and finds enjoyment where she can, but when a huge metal ship descends from the heavens and takes her brother in a beam of light the queen blames Sonara for his disappearance. 

Sentenced to death, Sonara is tortured and whipped before being thrown from a cliff to her death However, for some on Dohrsar death is not the end, and Sonara is brought back to life as a Shadowblood, a warrior with a magical power and darkness flowing in her veins. Now wandering the Deadlands, she and other Shadowbloods have come together to form their own small mercenary band. When they get hired for a job my another Shadowblood and her masked companion Sonara little suspects she's setting out on a path that will decide the fate of the whole planet.

Going into Blood, Metal, Bone I was expecting a pure fantasy story, one where the magics of the Shadowbloods and the warring kingdoms would be the focus. And whilst this is mostly true, and this is a book that deals with themes of magic, destiny, and mystical forces, it's also got a dash of science fiction thrown into the mix too; which really makes the book stand out. It turns out that Dohrsar is just one of many worlds in the galaxy, and that humans have an interest in it for their won gains, putting those who live their at risk. This is what the book is really about, and in a lot of ways mirrors historical colonialism, of a more technologically advanced force coming to a land because they want the resources, and willing to kill those who live there to get it.

At first glance the book is simply a fantasy story, but once you start to get deeper into it it's clear that there's a lot more going on here, and the book deals with heavy subjects, as well as blending together two normally incompatible genres in a way that never feels forced or out of place. Lindsay Cummings manages to craft some amazing scenes where you've got warriors with swords attacking a spaceship whilst riding a dragon, and what's not to love about that?

There's a great mixture of characters too, with the team around Sonara being an interesting mix, all of whom I'd love to spend more time reading about. The fact that they're not a perfect team, and that some of them get on each others nerves, argue, and sometimes even need to manipulate each other makes them all the more realistic. Rather than a perfect band of heroes they feel like a group of people thrown together and making the best of things, people who see each other as family, but probably wouldn't be friends if they had much of a choice in the matter. 

Whilst I really enjoyed the book there's one thing that brought it down for me, the length. The book clocks in at just shy of 400 pages, and it really didn't feel like enough. We get to know Sonara pretty well, but none of the other characters really get as much of a focus; the same with the world of Dohrsar, we hear about some of the other kingdoms and peoples, but never really know much about it. The book felt light on detail in places, and I wanted to spend more time getting to know the characters, and can't help but feel another hundred pages would have helped with my enjoyment of the book.

Despite that one small complaint, the book was a really entertaining read, one that did a lot with the time it had and created a world and characters that I wanted to read more of. I don't know if Cummings plans on writing more books set on Dohrsar, but I really hope she does, as I'd love to find out what happens next.

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The Seep by Chana Porter - Book Review

 

'Trina Goldberg-Oneka is a fifty-year-old trans woman whose life is irreversibly altered in the wake of a gentle—but nonetheless world-changing—invasion by an alien entity called The Seep. Through The Seep, everything is connected. Capitalism falls, hierarchies and barriers are broken down; if something can be imagined, it is possible.

'Trina and her wife, Deeba, live blissfully under The Seep’s utopian influence—until Deeba begins to imagine what it might be like to be reborn as a baby, which will give her the chance at an even better life. Using Seeptech to make this dream a reality, Deeba moves on to a new existence, leaving Trina devastated.

'Heartbroken and deep into an alcoholic binge, Trina follows a lost boy she encounters, embarking on an unexpected quest. In her attempt to save him from The Seep, she will confront not only one of its most avid devotees, but the terrifying void that Deeba has left behind. A strange new elegy of love and loss, The Seep explores grief, alienation, and the ache of moving on. '

The Seep is something of a strange book, a story that centres on one woman's journey through a strange new future, but really takes a look at human nature, at what people would be like if all of their dreams and desires were catered to, and asks readers to recognise the flaws in our world today through that lens. 

The story sees a world where humans made contact with a sentient species called The Seep, a species that holds no physical form itself, but by bonding to us, to humans and animals, and seemingly any object, they're able to not only communicate with us and experience the universe from our perspective, but can allow humans to experience anything they want to.

We follow Trina, a woman whose life is altered by the Seep, though not necessarily for the better. Even early on we get the sense that whilst those around her have embraced the Seep, allowed themselves to fall in love with the new type of lifestyle it allows, to give themselves over to a life where the pursuit of pleasure is the main driving force, she's not completely sold on the whole thing. Over the course of her story we see this shift even further when her wife, Deeba, chooses to use the body altering abilities of the Seep to let her regress into a child, to allow her to essentially be born again and experience life fresh and new, without any memory of who she used to be. This leaves Trina alone in a pit of depression and pain, in a world where such thoughts and feelings are supposed to have been eliminated.

Whilst the narrative seems to make this loss of Deeba the main focal point of Trina's dislike for the Seep, of her feelings of isolation and pain, I saw things slightly differently. You see, Trina is a trans woman. This doesn't really come up much in the story, because it's not really that relevant to her journey or experience. This isn't a story about being trans, she's simply just a woman who is trans on this journey. But, there is something that happens fairly early on that stood out like a beacon to me, and I think is the real underlying reason that Trina has problems with the Seep.

When talking to a friend of hers, years after the Seep came to Earth, she discovers that the face he wears, the person she's know for years, isn't his real face; that it is the face of a lost lover of his. When Trina learns that this means the man before her wasn't born a person of colour, that he's essential changed races, it upsets her on a fairly deep level. It's here that he makes a flippant comment that she must have used the Seep to allow her to have transitioned in some way, and seemingly compares the two things. This obviously gets to Trina, but doesn't get given much time in the book because it's very quickly after this that Deeba chooses to become a child again, and that becomes Trina's main focus.

But, here's what I picked up, the thing that I think shapes a huge part of Trina as a character. This new world created by the Seep allows people to alter themselves seemingly at will, letting them turn themselves into babies, different people, and even animals; and it's all treated completely normal. It's looked at as fine and acceptable because its all part of this huge human wide experience of being allowed to do and feel whatever makes you happy. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone it seems to all be fair game. But I don't think Trina completely sees it this way.

Now, I'm drawing on my own experiences here, of my own journey as a trans woman; but I think the Seep really bothers Trina because until it came and changed the world she had to fight every single day to be herself. Transitioning has often been sensationalised in the press, and there are a lot of misconceptions about it out there, but it's about being who you really are, about being the person you know you are on the inside but that no one else can see.

Transition is a really hard journey, and you have to fight for it every step of the way. You have people who tell you you're wrong when you first come out, people who'll try to brush away your feelings by telling you you're confused or mistaken. They'll insist that you're not trans, you just must be gay, or that maybe you could just wear women's clothing at home on the weekends. You get told that you're a fetishist, getting some kind of sexual thrill out of it, and that it's not a real, valid thing to want to change your body to reflect who you are. You'll be judged by friends, family, colleagues, strangers, everyone you meet. You'll lose people. You'll have to fight with doctors who try to dismiss your feelings, be forced to go to therapy to prove your own thoughts and feelings are real, often with invasive and degrading questions thrown at you. You'll have to go on years long waiting lists for treatments, or be forced to pay huge amounts out of pocket. And even if you get through all of that and finally get a chance to be you, you get demonised in the media, campaigned against by bigots, and will feel like a target every time you step outside your home.

I've lived through that, I think most trans people have. To be trans is to constantly fight to be seen as who you are, to be accepted as a real, valid person, and to not be dismissed as something less than human. But then the Seep comes along and suddenly everyone can alter themselves, everyone can change the way they look, the type of person they are. Suddenly being trans is nothing out of the ordinary, because anyone can be anything, and all that fighting and all that pain you've been through amount to nothing as those people who once judged you and ridiculed you, and made your life hell are giving themselves different colour skin, or antlers, or changing the colour of their eyes. And I think that is the real reason why Trina has a problem with the Seep.

I might be wrong about this, it's just my interpretation, but this is a story about a trans woman finding a world where anyone can change and be anything difficult, written by a queer person, so I think that there might be something to it. It's not just a story about someone having to come to terms with loss, or about finding their place in an ever changing and shifting world, but a story about coming to terms with all that internalised pain and torture you've had to go through and learning to let it all go.

Trina's journey will probably mean something very different to people who read this and aren't part of the trans community, but I don't think that they'll have a worse experience with the book because of it. It's still a story about learning to cope with grief, about learning to see the wonder and beauty in the world, and it presents readers with this wonderfully bizarre kind of utopia that I think we all kind of want our world to be; a place where anger and hate get left behind, where happiness and the pursuit of it are the main driving forces in the world.

The Seep is a story that will mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to me I saw it as a story about hope, about fighting through your pain and depression and finding the things in the world that bring you joy, that make your life feel happy, and fighting for that with everything you have. It's a book that spoke to me about the amazing power of humanity, of the strength we have inside us, and the hope of a better tomorrow.

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Love by Corrinne Averiss - Book Review

 

'Funny, emotional, and uplifting picture book about separation and love, to help children understand their emotions.

'Everyone loves everyone in Tess’s house, but when Tess has to leave for school for the very first time, she is worried that her family’s love might not stretch that far. Mom explains that love is like a string, it connects people together even when they are far away. At school Tess notices that all the children have strings! Some are new, some are old, some stretch a long way, and some even stretch right up into the sky. But what happens when a string breaks?'

Not being a parent myself, I imagine that the first day of school can be a daunting experience for a child, and you often hear stories about nervous children, afraid to leave their family and head out into the unknown, surrounded by children and adults that they've never met before. This is one of the main themes of Love, and it handles this in a really beautiful way.

The book follows Tess, a young girl who lives with her parents and little brother Tommy, a girl who's grown up surrounded by love. The book shows this love as a real, tangible thing, a shining golden thread that connects the family together, and wraps around them when they're close. Is't a great visual representation, and over the course of the book this thread is used to goof effect, showing children that even when Tess is away from her mother at school that thread is still there, connecting the two of them.

Somewhat overwhelmed by events, Tess tries to tug on her thread, trying to pull her mother back to her; but learns that this isn't how love really works. Over her day Tess begins to make friends with some of the other children, and more threads begin to form around Tess as she forms friendships with these kids, and learns that they too have these threads of love; even to family members who have passed away, with their thread going up high to connect them to their loved one in heaven. Tess discovers that there are different kinds of love, and that the love of a friend is equally as important and valued as the love she has for her family.

When her mother is late picking her yup from school Tess is worried that her thread might be broken, that her mother might be gone or no longer loves her anymore. When her mother arrives she reassures Tess that she will always love her, and that she will always have that thread.

Love is a really sweet book, one that has a wonderful message at its heart, that love can connect you to the people you care about, even if they're not around, or even if they've passed away. It's a message that some younger kids might need to hear, one that reassures them that even when things seem at their scariest, someone will always be caring about them.

The book has some beautiful illustrations by Kirsti Beautyman, who manages to convey the idea of these threads of love in really pretty ways, and it really adds to the story and conveys what could have been fairly abstract and lofty ideas in a way that is easy to grasp. 

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S.W.O.R.D. #2 - Comic Review

 

I really enjoyed the first issue of S.W.O.R.D. and thought that it was a good introduction to both this new team, and the new book, but was a little worried when I opened up issue two and saw that this was tying into the current King In Black event that's going on at the moment. I've not been reading this event, though am vaguely aware of what it's about, and as such wasn't really looking forward to this new series being disrupted in its second issue by having to be a part of this event I'm not reading.

However, whilst the events of this book do pertain to the event, it still manages to stand on its own and feel like a continuation of the first issue. It acknowledges the events that are going on in King In Black, but doesn't require you to have read any of it to enjoy this issue. This is how a lot more of these event tie ins should be written.

The issue begins with a page showing that New York City has been covered in a dome made of darkness, and a mysterious figure on a rooftop. This very quickly sets the stage for what's going on in the world for those who've not been reading the event, and gives you a small taste of the kind of stakes in play.

The rest of the issue focuses on the staff of S.W.O.R.D. and how they're reacting to the attack on Earth. We chiefly follow the leader of the group, Abigail Brand, as she moves through he station giving her orders and getting her team up on the plans she's going to put into motion. This not only gives readers a taste of what to expect, but is a nice little reminder of the various departments on the Peak, and what they're expected to do.

This issue also gives Fabian Cortez and Mentallo a lot more to do than in the first issue, and seems to be beginning to set up some interesting relationship dynamics, showing that whilst this is an organisation where people are sharing the same goals it doesn't mean that they all get along with each other, or even that they all trust each other.

The latter half of the issue sees S.W.O.R.D. assisting with the defence of Krakoa, and it was nice to see some of the team coming off the station. I know it's only the second issue, but with everything in the series being set on the Peak so far it showed just how important getting away from the station for a while is to the flow of the series, not least because it allows some of the characters to actually cut loose with their powers and get involved in the action. We see this displayed the most with Cortez, who is able to power up Sunfire, allowing him to get back into the fight after being badly injured. This also leads to a moment where Cortez is able to gain the attention of Magneto, and we see the old Cortez coming through for a moment as he begins to try weaselling his way into Eric's good graces.

I was expecting the issue to be almost unreadable, as someone who has no real idea of what's happening in King in Black, that the action would be the reader and the S.W.O.R.D. team thrown in at the deep end midway through a story that you'd need a dozen other comics to be able to know what's going on. Instead, it's a pretty self contained story, one that makes the cast of characters the focus, rather than the event as a whole. It managed to feel like a logical next step from the first issue, and not something that's gotten lost in a big event series. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what some of the things set up in this issue become, as well as seeing what happens next from that pretty cool cliffhanger moment on the final page.

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The Witchling's Girl by Helena Coggan - Book Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

'In a quiet street far from the river, with an ancient tree growing through its walls and floors, is the House of the Dead. There lives the witchling: healer, midwife and conduit between the world of the living and the world below. A witchling must give up her family and friends and spend her life alone, tending to the sick and carrying the dead down dark tunnels to the underworld.

'Haley was born with the gift of death-magic, and at the age of seven her mother abandons her to the witchling to be raised as her successor. But as Haley grows older and learns her craft - as invading armies pass through her town, people are born and die on her floor, and loyalties shift and dissolve around her - she finds it harder and harder to keep her vows and be the perfect and impassive healer.

'But if she can't, it will be her downfall - and that of everyone she's not supposed to love..'

The Witchling's Girl is the story of Haley, a young girl who discovers that she possesses a strange magic when she accidentally brings her dead cat back to life. Unfortunately for her, this is death magic, and means that her life is about to change forever. Given away by her family, she's made to go live with the witchling, the town's healer, midwife, and undertaker. Now Haley must learn the ways of the witchling, learn how to heal the sick, raise the dead, and deliver corpses to the underworld in service to the people who now fear her powers.

I was instantly hooked with The Witchling's Girl. There was something about this strange new world that fascinated me, and the fact that Helena Coggan chose to write the book from Haley's point of view is a large part of this. Much like Haley we start the experience not knowing much, and discover things through her perspective. At first Marian, the town witchling, is a frightening figure, one who is keeping Haley from her family, forcing her into a life that she does not want. But over the course of the book our perception of things changes alongside Haley's, we discover just what the witchlings are, and why they're important, and just like Haley, we come to see it as an vital and noble calling, one that isn't to be feared.

The subtle shifts that Coggan allows to play out in the story are fantastic, and the Haley we follow at the start of the book is so different from who she is midway through, and who she then goes on to be at the end of the book that you don't even realise how radical a journey and changes she's been through until you look back once you've reached the end. We have a protagonist who is a terrified child, a dutiful student, a loving friend, a lawbreaker, and a determined protector. Haley goes through such an amazing journey in this book that she's a more well rounded and multifaceted a character than some I've seen in series that span several novels. And despite her magical abilities, and her different world, she's so human and so relatable that you'll be hard pressed not to fall in love with her.

The novel is set in some unnamed fantasy world, a place where the worlds of the afterlife, and the rules around death, are very different. We get hints of this throughout the book, of nations at war with each other, beings who have descended from heaven to walk amongst humans, but all of this is background, barely touching up against the heart of the story, which is the life of this one woman. At first I found myself wanting to learn more about this world, but then I realised it didn't really matter. We get given the information that we need, that's important to Haley's story, and that's it. In a story about a woman who can't leave her hometown, who has to be easy to find and accessible so that she can help the people around her the things that don't directly affect her aren't important. Do I really need to know about this land far away that an army is planning to invade? No, not really, and I was really okay with that. It felt like a bigger, more realised world because Coggan didn't feel the need to try and show this stuff off, and simply allowed readers to experience this small corner of it.

With so many fantasy stories wanting to show off the worlds they inhabit, to tell grand, sweeping epics with the fate of the world on the line it felt like a breath of fresh air to have a book that slowed things down a little, and allowed its characters to be the important part. This is a book about people more than anything else, about a young woman forced into a life she never asked for, who's trying to do the best she can for people, and who ultimately wants to do the right thing, even if that's not the easiest thing. The Witchling's Girl is a one of the first books for 2021 I've read, but it's one that I know I'm still going to look fondly on come the end of the year; an absolute amazing read.

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Future State: Justice League #1 - Comic Review

 

People who pick up the first issue of Future State: Justice League are in for a real treat, as you not only get one great Justice League story, but you get another, as we get to see a new version of the League, as well as finding out what happens to the Justice League Dark.

The first half of the book is given over to the new version of the Justice League, a new team for a new age, made up of brand new members. There's Jon, the new Superman who's stepping into his father's shoes; Yara Flor, the Wonder Woman from Brazil; Green Lantern Jo Mullien, the intergalactic cop who fans will have been enjoying in Far Sector; Tim Fox, the first Black Batman, and the man who 'saved' Gotham; the new Aquawoman, the daughter of Aquaman and Mera; and a non-binary Flash, Jess Chambers, from Eath-11.

It's nice to see a team that on first glance is the Justice League that people know, before you realise that despite having a Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and GL, it's a whole new team. We get to discover these characters for the first time, though some have appeared in other books. We get to see them interacting as a team, and get to see how their interpersonal relationships operate, which is something that I always like with team books.

However, there are new rules for this Justice League. The old League go too big, and too intimate, and were betrayed from within. So, this new League keep their identities a secret, and don't see each other outside of missions. They keep each other at arms length so as to best protect the world that needs them. However, these are still people, and relationships form, and not every member of the league seems to be happy with the 'no friends' rule, and we get to see some really sweet interactions between some of the members. The scene where Flash and Aquawoman hang out together was a particular favourite.

Unfortunately, this can't just be a book about the League hanging out together and breaking their own rules, as there's a murder to be solved. After seeing the new Legion of Doom plotting to take down the Justice League they're found dead, and it's down to the League to figure out who could have killed all of these heavy hitters, and why.

The answer to this mystery gets revealed in the last few pages of the story, and I have to say I really liked who Joshua Williamson picked as the villains. It's a group that will be recognisable to some who've read some older League books, and I loved that it was something from the history of the Justice League rather than something new. And I'm excited to see how things will shape up in the next issue, and if the League will be able to take down the bad guys.

The second story in the issue shifts to a very different type of future, one that sees the members of the Justice League Dark fighting for their lives in a world at war with magic. Written by Ram V, who also did an amazing job on Future State: Swamp Thing, it's pretty clear that he's a writer who not only works really well in these future settings, but is able to bring horror into the DC Universe in great ways.

The issue opens with Zatana and Detective Chimp in the Mojave Desert, searching through the remains of several people who fell victim to the forces of Merlin, who's trying to claim all of the magic on Earth for himself. The pair find the burnt and crucified remains of the angel Zauriel, who holds a clue that sets them off on a cross country journey.

Along the way we discover a little more about this dark new future, and discover that a lot of changes have taken place, one in particular was really surprising yet brilliant addition; Detective Chimp as the new host for Etrigan. Just the changing of the phrase to 'Gone, gone the simian, rise the demo Etrigan!' brought a huge smile to my face. And it didn't end there, as we also get to meet a few other fan favourite mystical characters along the way. Some, like Constantine, were to be expected, but I adored the fact that Ragman was included, especially given the changes he's gone through here too.

My biggest complaint about the Justice League Dark half of this book is that this isn't part of an ongoing series. I love the mystical side of the DC Universe, and the JLD are a great team, but the changes that Ram V has made to them here, the new directions the characters have been taken in, are simply wonderful. Even if the slate had to wiped clean at the end and things 'reset' to normal I'd love to have seen this setting explored over a full run over several issues. As it is, I'm just going to have to make the best of it whilst it lasts, because this is brilliant.

If it's not clear already, I really enjoyed both of these stories. The writing and art on both were superb, and they make for some of the most interesting stories in Future State so far, and ones that I think would easily have made for great ongoing stories in their own right. I don't know what lasting effects Future State is going to have on the universe yet, but hopefully some of the stuff from this issue will be brought across.

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Top 5 Books of 2020

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

I’ve managed to read a lot of books this year, over two hundred and counting at the time of writing, so trying to whittle that list down to five of the best is really hard, especially with the quality of releases we’ve had this year. But, nevertheless, here are five books that absolutely blew me away in 2020.

Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis

I was a fan of Lindsay Ellis from her YouTube videos, so when I saw that she was bringing out a science fiction book I was really on board to find out what she was planning to do. Despite already expecting to like the book because I like science fiction and Lindsay’s work, I wasn’t ready for just how good Axiom’s End was going to be.

Set in 2007, the book follows Cora, the daughter of a government whistle-blower currently on the run from the FBI. One of the leaks has made the claim that the US government is hiding the existence of extra-terrestrial life, but Cora isn’t a believer, until one of these alien beings enters Cora’s life. The only person that seems capable of communicating with the aliens, Cora finds herself dragged into a mystery that could have global consequences.

The blurb for the book makes you think that Axiom’s End will be focusing a lot on government conspiracy and accountability, but it’s more about people. How you can discover something so completely alien and different, but can see past that and discover the humanity within.

Despite global conspiracy and threats from space the book is such a personal story, one that will make you fall in love with the characters, human and alien alike. I’m not ashamed to say this book really touched me, and made me cry more than once. It’s a really beautiful piece of work that everyone should check out.

Full Review

Interview With Lindsay Ellis

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Legendborn is a book that I enjoyed straight away, but over time I keep going back to thinking about it, it slips into my head again and again, and I’ve realised that what I first thought was a good book is actually a really, really great book.

It follows Bree Matthews, a sixteen-year-old Black girl who’s headed off to college as part of an advance placement scheme. However, once she arrives on campus she accidentally discovers the existence of otherworldly forces, and the group of people who are sworn to stop them. This revelation unlocks a memory deep with Bree, of the night her mother died, and now she’s determined to learn more about this world of magic and demons.

On the surface Legendborn is very similar to a lot of other YA Urban Fantasy books, it’s got a young woman discovering the supernatural is real, meeting a group of teens who fight against these dark forces, and there’s some romance thrown in their too. If that was all there was to the book it would be great, but what makes it amazing is how different the whole thing becomes with one simple change: making Bree Black. Suddenly the book is dealing with racism, police brutality, and class divide in ways that you rarely see in this genre, and it makes the book so damn good because of it. Bree faces demons from hell in this book, but its the scenes where you witness the blatant discrimination she faces as a Black Woman that are the most horrific.

Full Review

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

V.E. Schwab is a well recognised name in the publishing world, and has a number of hits under her belt. But one book that has been spoken about for years, despite only coming out in 2020, is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

I first heard about this book a year and a half before it came out, at a signing Schwab was attending, and it didn’t seem to be a new topic even then. This has been the book that she’s been working on for the better part of a decade, the one that means a lot to her. There was a lot riding on Addie LaRue, so much hype had been built up around it; luckily, it was every bit as good as we were all hoping.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is about a young woman who made a deal with dark forces in order to escape her old life, back in 1714. These forces allowed her to live for as long as she wants, to get away from the life she wanted to escape, but as with most of these deals there’s a catch; no one can remember her. Her family have no idea who she is, her existence seems to have been erased, and as soon as someone looks away from her they forget she was ever there. Having walked through the world for three hundred years Addie has tried to find ways to leave an impression of herself where she can, but has come to accept her new existence, but her entire world is thrown upside down when a man in a small New York bookshop says the words she never thought she’d hear again: ‘I remember you’.

Full Review

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam

Yusef Salaam might be a name familiar to some of you; he was one of the five young men wrongfully sent to prison for the rape and assault of a jogger in Central Park, a group that would be known as The Central Park Five.

Released years later after the real culprit was found, Yusef had to spend his teenage years in prison for a crime he was innocent of, and since then has dedicated himself to prison reform as has co-writer Ibi Zoboi. This is the topic they have attempted to tackle with Punching the Air.  

The story is about Amal Shahid, a Black teen who gets into a fight with a white boy and, convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, is sent to prison. An artist and poet, Amal finds his entire life thrown upside down as all those around him paint him as aggressive, disruptive, and guilty just because he’s Black. The book is a deeply personal and moving story, one that allows readers insight into the mind of a young man who’s facing the prospect of their life being over, of their freedom being robbed from them, of being seen as instantly a guilty criminal because of the colour of their skin and a system designed to work against them.

Written in verse and accompanied by beautiful artwork, the book reads like poetry, with stunning lyricism it grabbed me in ways that poetry normally doesn’t, and I read through the entire book in one sitting.

Full Review

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

T. Kingfisher has quickly become one of my favourite horror writers, and their latest book, The Hollow Places, is one that absolutely chilled me.

It centres on Kara, who following her divorce, moves in with her favourite uncle in his weird little museum. Having loved the place and its weird artefacts since she was a little girl Kara is happy for the distraction. However, when her uncle has to have knee surgery he takes some time away to recover, leaving Kara to run the place herself.

All is going well until Kara discovers a strange hole in the back wall, a hole that leads to an impossible place; and underground bunker. Trying to figure out how an upstairs wall can lead to a bunker that shouldn’t be there Kara begins to investigate, but discovers things on the other side of the wall that will shatter her view of reality.

The Hollow Places is the kind of cosmic horror that doesn’t come along too often, but really knows how to use the genre to great effect. There were times the book had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to put it down, but so desperate to find out what happens to Kara that I couldn’t. It has things in its pages that will send shivers down your spine, and make you wary of any random holes that you might come across in your own home.

Full Review

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Future State: Green Lantern #1 - Comic Review

 

With so many characters to choose from, even just the ones from Earth, any Green Lantern story was going to have to miss someone out, luckily, Future State: Green Lantern brings together three separate stories, so that multiple heroes get the chance to shine.

The first story, written by Geoffrey Thorne, sees John Stewart leading a group of Lanterns into battle against an army of Khund laying siege to a peaceful world. The only problem is, none of the rings have power anymore (something that will be a factor in all our Lantern stories). Instead of being able to rely on their rings, these heroes have resorted to guns and swords to help those in need, coming across as more of a mercenary unit, rather than the space cops that they were before.

This makes for a very different type of story from what we'd normally get with these characters, as they're fighting for their lives, and having to kill to do so. You've got John cutting people down with an energy sword, Salak shooting people in the head, and Gnort biting into people and tearing them apart with tooth and claw, more like a werewolf warrior than other depictions of the character. We get little teases as to how the group have ended up in this position, about the rings loosing power, but the main focus is on them having to fight against an overwhelming army, and the story is a grim and violent one because of this.

The second story in the collection takes on a much less grand and violent tone as it follows Jessica Cruz, who's ring ran out of power whilst she was aboard the Sector House in Sector 0123. Trapped alone on the station, she's been repairing the place the est she can, whilst trying to keep the peace on multiple planets using the stations communications equipment. Unfortunately for her, three members of the Sinestro Corps have their eyes on the Sector House for their own ends.

Thus begins a story that's essentially Jessica Cruz doing Die Hard in space, picking off the various members of the Sinestro's one by one, using the various tech around the station to create traps, whilst using the vents to sneak around. Not only is it a ton of fun, but it feels like a really good evolution for the character. She's gone from being alone and scared, to alone and not frightened of anything. Rather than letting the Sinestro Corps frighten her and just hiding away she's become an efficient hero, one who doesn't need her ring to do the job.

The final story is quite a bit of fun, focusing on everyone's favourite GL douche-bag, Guy Gardner. Arriving on an alien planet where two forces are on the brink of war over an artefact that they consider to be holy, Guy's ring runs out of power, literally dropping him out of the air in the process. Over the course of years and decades we see Guy being hailed as a prophet from the gods, and using his position to try and bring peace and prosperity to the people.

Guy seems like the last person who would use this kind of power for good, and there are moments you see the old Guy shining through, such as getting the inhabitants to build him a new bar and a Foosball table, but he uses his knowledge to end hunger and thirst, to stop violence, and to make the living conditions better. It's a nice journey to see him go on, and one that shows a side to Guy that rarely gets the chance to shine.

There are a couple of fun cliffhangers in these stories too, which raise some interesting questions as to what might be coming next for the Lanterns in the second issue. Hopefully we'll also get to see more about some of the other characters too, such as Kyle Rayner, and perhaps even discover why their rings no longer function.

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