The Tyrant Skies: A Marvel Untold Novel by David Annandale - Book Review

 

'The infamous Doctor Doom must face his deadliest enemy, the evil Red Skull, to save his people and himself in this thrilling Marvel: Untold novel.

'Victor Von Doom has many enemies, but he has a special loathing for the Red Skull. When the Red Skull creates a flying haven for the billionaire elite who share his deplorable values, Doom prepares himself for the worst. When Latveria is beset by a rash of terrorist attacks, his suspicions are confirmed: the Red Skull is coming for Doom’s homeland. Now he must infiltrate the shielded microstate drifting in the skies above Latveria to save his people from annihilation. But finding a way on board the floating city is just the first in a series of trials that will test Doctor Doom to the limits of his beliefs, his strength and his powers.'

The final part of the fantastic Doctor Doom trilogy from Aconyte Books and David Annandale is finally here, and after battling the forces of hell in The Harrowing of Doom, and battling vampire-like monsters in Reign of the Devourer, Doctor Doom is facing his most evil and disgusting enemy yet, Nazis.

The Tyrant Skies follows on some time from the events of the previous book, and Latveria has begun to return somewhat to normal following the events of the last book. Not a huge amount of time has passed, as we open with the heroes of Latveria receiving a parade in their honour, celebrating the actions that saved the country. Doctor Orloff, who went through a huge number of changes in the last book, in particular is held up as an example of what it means to be a citizen of Latveria, willing to step up and fight, and to follow Doom without question.

During all of this, Doom's attention is turned to the new island nation of Wolkenland, who are petitioning the United Nations for membership. A new nation built for the rich and powerful, and promised as a place where the wealthy elite can hide away from the rest of the world, it already seems somewhat dubious; but Doom suspects it harbours something even worse. When the UN grants it membership, a membership that Latveria voted against the island vanishes.

Deep within Wolkenland it's leader, the evil Red Skull, uses the power harnessed from the Cosmic Cube to make his island nation into a fortress. A flying fortress that hovers now over Latveria. And this begins a war with the fate of both nations hanging in the balance as the Red Skull begins launching terrorist attacks upon Latveria, before initiating all out war. As Doom flies up to Wolkenland to deal with the threat, his people are left to fight the invaders on their soil below. But when Doom is captured by the Skull things begin to look dire for Latveria.

One of the things that I've loved about this series since the first book, and that David Annandale does so well, is that it makes Doctor Doom into a character that you want to root for. He's a villain. He's a character that has done some truly awful things over the years, and is considered one of the worst villains in the Marvel universe. There are some villains that you can walk back a bit, some characters who can have their villainy not only justified, but also acceptable (Magneto was right!); but can Doom really be one of them? Not really, no. But in these books he' definitely the hero.

Part of this is down to the fact that the people of Latveria that we're shown seem to approve of Doom. He took power through force, and is a dictator, but the lives of the citizens of Latveria seem to be massively better than under their last brutal leader. It's not always palatable to think of, but there are people thriving in Doom's Latveria who would have probably have just been killed under the previous regime. Making one of the main characters, and one of Doom's top people that he seems to have respect for be a queer trans woman was a huge part of showing that he might be a villain, but he's not a monster. It also helps that he does fight monsters in these books.

The first book has Doom tackling the forces of Hell, the second has monsters that would kill or convert everyone in their path. This book needs a villain that's on that level, a group that is as disgusting as that, that you don't feel bad seeing die at all. Nazis more than fill that role. Any decent person will agree that Nazis are scum, that they're a stain on human history, and anyone who identifies as a Nazi today is worthy of scorn and contempt. The Nazis in this book revel in hurting people, they enslave, they kill, they torture. They're led by the Red Skull, an actual World War Two Nazi. There's no moral grey here. They're scum. As such, when Doom and his people start killing them you actually feel fine about it.

Annandale puts a human face on the villains for this entry in the trilogy, but it's one that's barely a human face. We see the horrors that they perform, with the rich and powerful of Wolkenland coming to watch slaves being worked to death whilst they sip champagne. We see the fear that the Skull and his people bring with them as Orloff realises that as a queer trans woman she will absolutely be put to death if the Skull wins. These might be people Doom is fighting, but they're the worst of humanity. And him standing against that makes him a heroic figure.

It's tough reading these books in some ways, because you shouldn't like Doom. You shouldn't be seeing a decent side to a villain that has invaded other countries, that has experimented on aliens, that has killed thousands, and has literally sent a child to hell before. He's not a good person, but he might be the person that Latveria needs the most. I imagine that there are a lot of writers who would make him either too heroic, or too villainous, but Annandale leaves him in this middle ground where you can put him in either category, and yet both feel wrong. It's a complexity that you don't often get with villains, and one that can be a lot of fun when you do.

The Tyrant Skies marks the end of this trio of books, and some of the best comic book prose novels around. I hope that we can get more from Annandale with this character in the future, though I'd also love to see what he could do with other characters in Marvel. Give him a Magneto book that allows him to go this dark and this morally ambiguous and it could be the best one yet.

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In the Coils of the Labyrinth: An Arkham Horror Novel by David Annandale

 

'Professor Miranda Ventham is having bad dreams – nothing new in 1920s Arkham – but hers are horrifying glimpses of a dark future. Now seriously ill, she books herself into the new sanatorium, Stroud Institute. With luck, the town’s eldritch taint won’t reach her there. And yet the nightmares worsen. With the aid of her friend, parapsychologist Agatha Crane, they delve into the background of the sanatorium’s enigmatic director, Donovan Stroud. Plagued by doubts, delusions, and terrifying visions, Miranda must unravel the shrouded history of the Strouds before she is trapped in a labyrinthine nightmare. Something sinister lurks at its heart, and it longs to be set free.'

Hospitals are pretty scary places, and having to stay in one because you're too sick to get by on your own is probably one of the more frightening experiences that most people will come up against at some point in their lives. So when the hospital you're staying in starts to have strange things happening it it, gives you freaky nightmares, and may be connected to otherworldly beings intent upon the destruction and subjugation of mankind, it's not going to be a fun time.

In the Coils of the Labyrinth isn't your average Arkham Horror title. It's a book that plays things pretty close to its chest for much of the novel, and relies on a more subtle, insidious kind of horror to get under your skin.

It tells the story of Miranda Ventham, a professor at Miskatonic University. She lives alone in her modest apartment, teaches literature, and has a decent, enjoyable life. However, as she begins to grow more and more sick, she has to face the possibility that perhaps she's suffering from more than just a simple cold. When she gets diagnosed with tuberculosis she has the choice of either going to the local hospital, or trying out the new Stroud Insitute, a building that Miranda has watched slowly constructed on a plot of empty land in the middle of the city.

Having heard that patients at the hospital haven't been doing too well, and that the new Stroud Institute has had a few successes with its more unusual methods, Miranda decides to take her chances at the Institute. When she arrives she finds a building that's brand new, but that looks like it's been there for decades or more, ancient and modern at the same time. The interior layout is filled with twists and turns that seem designed to confuse. And she begins to have strange dreams about the place. Whilst she does begin to improve at the Institute, the uneasy feelings she has only intensify when more and more usual stuff starts to happen. Convinced that there's more to the Stroud Institute than there first appears, Miranda becomes determined to get to the bottom of it.

One of the things that this particular story does it capture the strange feeling of being sick. I'm sure we've all had at least one time when we can remember being sick enough that reality seemed to bend and warp around you. Whether it's a fever making patterns on the wall move, being convinced that someone's there to hurt you, or even just being that sick that you think you're going to die. Illness can have horrible effects on the mind. And David Annandale uses this to torment both Miranda and the reader. There are times in this novel where you start to question what you've read. Did that really happen, or was it just Miranda's illness messing with her?

And this is where the book excels, as taking those mundane moments, of living through hospital, of being stuck in your bed for hours at a time, unable to do anything, unable to talk to people, going through the same routines over and over and feeling like nothing is improving, and making them even worse by injecting the paranormal. If it wasn't for the fact that Miranda has a friend in the outside world who's investigating and finding paranormal horrors this story could believable pull a twist where there was nothing wrong at all.

Speaking of her ally, I have to talk a bit about Agatha Crane, her friend and fellow professor at Miskatonic. An expert in parapsychology, Agatha latches onto Miranda's stories of her experiences, having lived in Arkham for years she knows that the city is more than it first appears. Using her ability to actually get around in the real world, Agatha is able to do the legwork that Miranda can't and gets to go off on a particularly great side-adventure that's easily my favourite part of the book.

I won't spoil it too much, but Agatha and her husband, Wilbur, set off on a journey that will take them around the world, investigating ancient sites, and dealing with horrors that can bend and warp reality. They are some of the more tense and action heavy parts of the book, and also have the more overt horror elements, and it's great seeing an older couple getting into adventures and scrapes like that; especially Wilbur who is absolutely not equipped for it, but supports his wife through anything. I would love to see more stories with the two of them involved.

In the Coils of the Labyrinth is a slow, insidious horror that plays more on fears of hospitals and loss of health than having cthulian monsters chasing people down corridors (though there is some of that), and stands out amongst the other entries in the series. It takes risks, and tells a very different kind of story about two women rising up to take on forces beyond their comprehension. It might not be for everyone, it might freak you out a bit too much, but for me, it was a wonderfully twisted reading experience. 

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Secrets in Scarlet - David Annandale Interview

 

David Annandale writes Doctor Doom, Arkham Horror and Legend of the Five Rings fiction for Aconyte, and Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar and Warhammer Horror fiction for Black Library. Among his recent novels are Reign of the Devourer and The Harrowing of Doom. He is also the author of the horror novel Gethsemane Hall and the Jen Blaylock thriller series. By day, he is Senior Instructor in the Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media at the University of Manitoba, Canada, where he specialises in genre film and video games. He is also a co-host of the Hugo-nominated podcast The Skiffy and Fanty Show. I got the chance to chat with him about his story, 'Crossing Stars' in the new Arkham Horror anthology collection Secrets In Scarlet.

Were you a fan of Lovecraft or the Arkham Horror games before coming to work on the books, and if so how did you get into it?

Though I’m a newcomer to the board game (though not to the role-playing incarnation of games set in this universe), Lovecraft had a big impact on me when I first read him in my teens (much longer ago than I care to think about). The cosmic horror of his stories has had a huge influence on my own work, and I’ve written about and taught Lovecraft over the years.

This isn’t your first time writing an Arkham Horror title, having previously written the recently released In the Coils of the Labyrinth, and having contributed a short story to The Devourer Below anthology book. Having written both short stories and novels in this universe, which format do you prefer?

I very much enjoy both, though I suppose the novel is ultimately the form that gives me the greatest satisfaction, as it gives me the space to really get stuck in to a world and its characters, and to explore particular themes and ideas at greater length.

Yours if the first story in the book, and kind of acts as an introduction to this world of opposing secret organisations and the search for ancient artefacts. Were you aware that your story was going to be the first, and did that shape the way you went about writing it?

The first I knew about the story’s placement was when I received my author’s copies of the book. If the story does work as a kind of introduction, then I’m very pleased, but I can’t take credit for having planned it that way!

Your story focuses on the character of Qiana Taylor, a character that I really loved, was she a character that has appeared in the games at all, or were you given free rein to create someone new? And if so, what drew you to writing about her?

She’s one of the characters created for the game. What drew me to her was the aura of rather dangerous power and authority that surrounds her. She struck me as someone you really, really, really do not want to cross, and so I had enormous fun pitting her against someone who makes that mistake.

Each story in the collection builds up a smaller piece of the larger story, of these rival organisations, how much freedom did you get, or were you given instructions as to the kinds of stories you needed to write?

We had a lot of freedom with the stories. I had the background for the characters and the broader context of the game narrative they play a part in for reference. But then I was free to come up with ideas for a story. 

There’s a lot of pre-exisitng lore in the Arkham Horror series, and your story definitely adds to that in new and interesting ways. Is it ever daunting to go into an established property like this to create new stories and new characters?

It definitely can be, especially as I want to do justice to both characters and setting. The amount of pre-existing lore for a given property can certainly feel intimidating, but at the same time, it’s also a sign of the huge richness of the world the character. So I do the research as best I can, and then dive in. I always have fun, and being able to add new characters to an existing universe is a wonderful privilege. 

Your Doctor Doom books have a lot of horror themes to them, and the second book especially is one of my favourite horror books from Aconyte. Is horror a genre that you particularly enjoy?

Thank you so much! Yes, horror is my great love, and has been for most of my life. It’s what I did my doctoral thesis on, and it informs, in one way or another, a great deal of my work, whether for Aconyte, for Black Library, and in my non-tie-in books. This is also true if the novel is explicitly identified as a horror novel (like In the Coils of the Labyrinth) or if I have the chance, as with Reign of the Devourer or Curse of Honor, to take a book that might nominally spring from a different genre into the realm of horror.

I really loved to read about Taylor, and was a little sad that our time with her was as short as it was. Is she a character that you’d be willing to come back to in the future? And can you tell us about any upcoming projects of yours we should keep an eye out for?

I would very happily do more with Taylor, so we’ll see what the future brings on that front. My next book for Aconyte is my third Doctor Doom book, The Tyrant Skies, in which he battles the Red Skull.

Make sure to check back all this week as I chat with more of the authors from Secrets in Scarlet.

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Reign of the Devourer: A Marvel Untold Novel by David Annandale - Book Review

 

'The notorious Doctor Doom’s endless craving for power unleashes a soul-destroying plague on the world, in the latest devastating Marvel Untold novel

'Victor von Doom saw his future for an instant, and now he cannot rest. His obsession with regaining those memories leads him into the arcane science of geomancy. As he delves into the ancient memories that lie beneath his land, Doom discovers a tremendous concentration of power... one that should never be explored. Doom's excavations and necromancy fracture the prison of something awful: the Devourer of Souls. Now free to roam Latveria, the Devourer spreads a plague of soul-hungry vampires. Doom must choose between seizing this power for himself or destroying it, before his realm is no more.'

Reign of the Devourer marks the second time that David Annandale has written a prose novel dedicated to the 'super villain' Doctor Doom, and, much like the first book in the series, Annandale continues to make Doom one of the most interesting characters in Marvel; turning my perception of him from a moustache twirling villain into a complex and caring leader of a nation that genuinely seems better for having him around.

With that being said, it's important to know that this is indeed a sequel book to The Harrowing of Doom, and whilst I wont say that it'd be impossible to read this on its own and still enjoy it, I think that reading it alongside the first would definitely provide the most enjoyment, as not only does it carry on a number of plot threads established in the first, but several minor characters make a return too.

The story takes place several months after the events of the first book, where Doom and his people had to face off against a horde of demonic entities that were let loose across Latveria. Since then Doom has been attempting to find a way to regain the knowledge he lost during that event, knowledge of the future. To this end he's been using science and magic to investigate strange mental activity found in corpses with the help of Orloff, a star doctor who's now been brought into his project; as well as searching the very earth of Latveria for a depository of memories and knowledge with the help of former priest and geomancer Zargo.

Eventually Zargo discovers something hidden deep within the ground, and Doom leads a drilling team beneath the surface to find chambers filled with strange artefacts and half remembered things, as well as an unusual, impossibly resilient stone that seems to hold some ancient presence within it. This prison is home to the Devourer, a force that feeds upon memories, and could hold the secrets to regaining the knowledge that Doom has lost. 

Unfortunately, the Devourer has a will of its own, and does not want to go willingly to Doom. The entity reaches out across Latveria to find Maleva Krogh, a former member of the ruling class of Latveria from the time before Doom freed the people from the despotic regime that enslaved them all. A supporter of the former king, Krogh was one of the most feared and hated people in all Latveria, seeing the common people as nothing more than her playthings for her twisted, psychotic games. The Devourer reaches out to her, and with promise of power and the chance for revenge against Doom, transforms her into an urvullak, a deadly vampiric creature who feeds upon the memories of others, and whose touch can transform humans into monsters under her control. Now, as Doom tries to find a way to reach the Devourer he must contend with an army of monsters that begins to sweep across the country, changing all they come across in their mission to reach the Devourer before Doom.

The first Doom book was something of a slow burn, a novel that let you spend time getting to know the characters over the course of months as Doom prepared himself for something he knew was coming, as he was able to formulate plans far in advance and set things in motion to his own will. Reign of the Devourer is very different. Things move fast here, with the main events of the novel taking place over a much shorter time. It also has Doom and his allies being on something of a back-foot for most of it too. Instead of knowing what's going to happen and being able to prepare in advance Doom is very much taken by surprise by the appearance of the urvullak, and has to think and act quickly in order to save his people and his country.

This change might not seem like much, but it shows us an entirely different side to Doom. Instead of being the man who's always thinking several moves ahead, who's always got a plan, we see a man struggling to catch up, who's having to do all of his thinking and planning mid-battle, and who's watching everything he cares about slipping through his fingers. It allows us a different kind of insight into the man, and at times shows the more 'villainous' side of him as he's forced to become more ruthless and uncaring in order to do what needs to be done to save everyone. 

It's not just Doom who gets a chance to shine, however, as two of the returning characters, Zargo and Orloff, get pushed in new directions; taking the foundation that was established in the first book and going in some unexpected places. At the start of the book Zargo is still a man questioning who he is, especially in relation to his geomancer powers and his position as a man of god. He can't reconcile those two parts of himself, only ever seeing them as two things in conflict with each other. Over the course of the book he very much learns to rely on his powers more, coming to understand them better, and even having to use them to greater heights in order to combat and survive the urvullak. 

Orloff also gets challenged in similar ways, starting the book as a doctor in Latveria's best hospital, but then being assigned to work on Doom's special project. This project introduces her to whole new realms of science and understanding that she was unaware of, and in order to help fight the urvullak she's even forced to become something of a warrior; becoming one of Dooms best weapons in the fight. The two of them feel so much more fleshed out and alive in this book than they did the first, and they get huge amounts of room to grow and develop as the story goes on. If there are more books to come that focus on Doom I really hope that they'll be incorporating both of these characters too.

What I probably liked the most about this book, however, was Krogh and the urvullak. These creatures are legit scary. The early scenes where Krogh is the only one, and she's stalking her victims through the quiet buildings of a small town at night were terrifying, and felt like something straight out of a horror movie. Every time we had the urvullak finding new victims and changing people into more of them it was chilling and tonally very, very dark. Even when there were hundreds or more of the creatures and they were engaging in open warfare with Doom and his people they still managed to be frightening as they were this horde or monsters that were hard to stop, that just kept coming for you, and would destroy who you are with just a single tough. In some ways they made me think of the xenomorph from the Alien series, one of them alone stalking you through dark hallways is just as terrifying as a swarm of them coming at you en mass. In either scenario your chances of survival are incredibly small, and that made them so frightening.

Reign of the Devourer is a fascinating exploration of Doom and his home country, of how he's very much a hero there who has earned the love and admiration of his people. The book shows that he's not just pretending, or making it seem like he's a benevolent leader to the rest of the world, but actually cares about doing the right thing for Latveria, even if that means putting himself between his people and an army of vampire-like monsters. It builds upon the characters and themes established in the first book in exciting ways, and takes an even harder turn into horror than the first book that really sets this apart from the other Marvel books being produced by Aconyte. An absolute must read for anyone who's a fan of Doctor Doom.

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The Harrowing of Doom: A Marvel Untold Novel by David Annandale - Book Review

 

'Notorious villain Doctor Victor von Doom has finally found a solution for his oldest obsession: rescuing his mother’s soul from the clutches of Hell. An alliance with the reclusive sage, Maria von Helm, has provided the key to Doom’s latest invention. Fusing their super-science and sorcery, Doom has created the Harrower, a device that will open a rift and wrench his mother’s soul from the netherworld. Back in the human world, however, rebel forces threaten to overrun Latveria and topple its dark leader – and revolution couldn’t come at a more dangerous time than when the gates of Hell itself have been unlocked.'

Whilst I'm not a huge comics reader, and haven't kept up to date with many of the happenings in the current Marvel Universe, I have experienced a number of stories that have featured the character of Doctor Doom over the years, and have come to enjoy the character somewhat. He's the ruler of a country, is able to leverage that to gain diplomatic immunity much of the time, is a genius level scientist and creates amazing technology, and he's a sorcerer able to go toe to toe with some of the most powerful magical users in the Marvel Universe. What's not to love about that?

The Harrowing of Doom presented one of the first real opportunities for me to actually get to know spend time with the character in a scenario where he's not an antagonist, however, and I found this change to be a fascinating one. It's easy to make Doom into an arch villain, just look at his name, but to make him a character that you can understand, whose actions you can agree with, and who you can actually see as a hero, that's not something I think many writers would be able to achieve. It's a level of moral grey that is hard to capture, yet David Annandale not only did that, he made me a major fan of the character.

The story focuses on one of the biggest driving forces in Doom's life, his desire to free his mother from the forces of Hell. Having made a deal with the extra-dimensional demon Mephisto, Cynthia von Doom gained the power to try and give her people a home free from tyranny, but fell in battle and her soul was sent into the bowels of Hell. Now, every year Doom has one chance to free his mother, where every summer solstice night a champion of Hell is sent to challenge him in single combat. If Doom can beat this champion, his mother will be freed. Doom know this will never happen, however, that he will never be able to beat Hell in this contest, so hatches a plan of his own, one that will bring the fight to Hell itself.

Recruiting a number of allies to his cause, including the powerful sorceress and former friend of his mother, Maria von Helm; and Zargo, a priest who used to study the occult and the nature of lay lines, yet harbours a hidden power even unknown to himself that Doom needs. Using all of the forces at his command, Doom spends an entire year building a device of mystical and technological perfection named The Harrower, which he intends to use to storm Hell and free his mothers soul. Not only is this a risky plan, one that will push Doom to his limits, but he also has to contend with Prince Rudolfo Fortunov, the son of the former king of Latveria, who wants to take his kingdom back from Doom with a guerrilla war.

The Harrowing of Doom really does focus on its lead character a lot, and I don't think I've ever spent more time with him. Not only does the book give you a great deal of insight into him, into what drives a man of such power, but also how he fits into the larger Marvel Universe, especially in regards to Latveria. I honestly don't know if many comics have gone into the details of Latveria, at least none I've read have, but I know that he's a character that's supposed to be loved a great deal by the populace. This book really shines a light onto why.

There's a passage in the book where a character is questioning why people would follow Doom, and they're given a pretty convincing response. Latveria has free healthcare for all citizens, free education to any level a person could want, they have more than enough food and power and resources to make life comfortable for all. Homelessness and petty crime are non-existent. It's a country where people have been given a chance at the best in life, and after coming out of a fairly brutal dictatorship under the former king too. 

There was a moment in the book that really took me back, it was when we learnt that the leader of Doom's forces, his right hand woman, was married to another woman. I thought, cool, Latveria is pretty good for queer people. Then it's revealed that her wife is also trans, and that she had to flee Latveria because of this under the former king, and it was only Doom's rule that allowed her to return and live her life openly and without fear. This absolutely floored me. Doom is seen as a villain in the Marvel comics, yet his country is a safe and fair country where trans people can not only live without fear of prejudice but also excel in their fields. Fuck yeah. I want to move to Latveria now. Doctor Dooms says Trans Rights!

There are so many moments in this book where readers get to see how much of a good, and fair ruler Doom is. He cares about his nation, and the people in it, and this love for his people shows through more than once; and even results in an amazingly selfless moment towards the end of the book. I went into this story expecting to come out liking Doctor Doom a little more, I never expected to end up seeing him as a hero.

The story has a lot of twists and turns in it, especially in relation to the story involving Prince Rudolfo and his mission to overthrow Doom, which means that you never have a chance to get bored or think that the story isn't moving fast enough. Yes, it takes Doom a year to build his machine, but there's so much that goes on during that time, so many characters that get to take the spotlight and to develop that the book never feels like it's not doing something interesting.

The Harrowing of Doom not only sheds light onto the character of Doctor Doom, but the nation of Latveria as a whole, and gives readers valuable insight into one of the more interesting corners of the Marvel Universe, one that I can't help but feel is often misunderstood. 

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Aconyte Announces Summer 2022 Books

 

Publisher Aconyte Books, home to fiction set in a number of famous worlds such as Marvel, Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, and Zombicide to name but a few, have revealed a host of exciting new titles coming to readers in summer 2022. And I'm very excited by the books that are on offer!

Coming in May 2022, Legend of the Five Rings: The Great Clans of Rokugan - The Selected Novella's volume 2 brings together some wonderful stories by some top names. The book will feature 'Deathseeker' by Robert Denton III, 'The Eternal Knot' by Marie Brennan, and 'Trial of Shadows' by D G Laderoute.

In addition, the book will also include a series of spooky stories from the Legend of the Five Rings Halloween tales; which have never been in print before.

The new book features a beautiful cover by Mauro Del Bo.

Also releasing in May 2022 is the latest Marvel novel, the first in the new School of X series; School of X: The Siege of X-41 by Tristan Palmgren.

Spinning out of the pages of Palmgren's recent Marvel Heroines novel, Outlaw: Relentless, this new story follows Joshua 'Josh' Foley, also known as Elixir. An Omega-level mutant, Elixir must learn to come to terms with his anti-mutant upbringing, all whilst fighting off vampiric mermen, and an ancient leviathan in a story being descried as an 'intense survival adventure'.

The book features cover art from Christina Myrvold.

The final book releasing in May 2022 is the third, and final, entry in the epic Twilight Imperium series, Twilight Imperium: The Veiled Masters by Tim Pratt.

This trilogy comes to a close as the galaxy stands on the brink of war. But hope yet remains that the vast web of schemes that has led to this point can be exposed before it's too late to stop disaster. The final part of this sprawling space opera has been tipped to be an astounding conclusion.

The cover for Twilight Imperium: The Veiled Masters is provided by Scott Schomburg, and fits together with the previous two books to make one huge piece of art!

June 2022 kicks off with some more zombie slaying action in the latest Zombicide entry. After fighting zombies in the modern day, as well as travelling to the future and space, this novel brings the action to a new fantasy setting in Zombicide: Age of the Undead by C. L. Werner.

Set in a fantasy world whose peace has been shattered by the zombie apocalypse, a bold knight must enlist the help of a band of unlikely allies in order to track down the source of the undead corruption sweeping across the land.

Zombicide: Age of the Undead is based upon the Black Plague edition of Zombicide, and is set to be a fun horror adventure packed with humour.

The cover art has been provided by Daniele Orizio.

The next entry in the Watchdogs Legion series comes in June 2022 with the release of Watchdogs Legion: Daybreak Legacy by Stewart Hotston; which sees the return of the resistance group from Watchdogs Legion: Day Zero!

Set right after the events of the game, this novel sees our past heroes return to take on an emergent AI and an authoritarian state in this gritty, high tech thriller. Project Daybreak isn't as dead as they thought, and neither are those who died with it.

The cover for this book has yet to be revealed; make sure to keep an eye on Acontye Books for the announcement! 

The Legend of the Five Rings, A Daidoji Shin Mystery: The Flower Path by Josh Reynolds also hits shelves July 2022, and sees the extraordinary detective Daidoji Shin investigating a wonderfully complex and intriguing locked room mystery.

This third entry in the Legends of the Five Rings series follows on from Legends of the Five Rings: Poison River, which received the People's Choice award at the 2021 UK Games Expo.

The cover art for the book has been provided by Grant Griffin.

The second entry in the Terraforming Mars series comes in July 2022 as readers return to the red planet in Terraforming Mars: Edge of Catastrophe.

In this sweeping science fiction thriller set in the 26th century Mars is a thriving world; the huge crater left by the crashing moon in Terraforming Mars: In The Shadow of Deimos is now a domed city filled with industry and a burgeoning Martian-born workforce.

The cover art has been provided by René Aigner.

Also arriving July 2022 is Descent Legends of the Dark: The Raiders of Bloodwood by Davide Mana.

A non-stop sword and sorcery action adventure set in the world of Descent: Legends of the Dark, the book sees a terrible invasion of Terrinoth. A handful of heroes is all that stands in between a monstrous horde and the total destruction of the heart of Terrinoth.

The stunning cover art is by Asur Misoa.

A new entry in the chilling Arkham Horror series comes in August 2022 with Arkham Horror: Coils of the Labrinth by David Annandale.

The first novel in the series to be written by Annandale, the book sees an unnatural horror penetrating our reality to prey on the dreams of its victims. Something sinister is lurking at the heart of a labyrinthine nightmare, something longing to be set free.

This gorgeous cover art has been provided by John Coulthart.

The next entry in the popular Assassin's Creed novel series comes in August 2022 with Assassin's Creed: The Magus Conspiracy by Kate Heartfield, the Aurora-award winning historical fantasy author.

The war between the Assassin's and the Templars causes havoc in the Victorian era when Pierette, a daring acrobat performing at the Great Exhibition, comes to the rescue of mathematician Ada Lovelace; saving her from a gag of thugs.

This breakneck thriller is set to open a new chapter in the Assassin's Creed universe. Keep an eye open for the cover reveal!

The final announcement for summer 2022 sees Squirrel Girl arriving on the scene in August. Squirrel Girl: Universe will be written by Tristan Palmgren, and will see the titular hero setting out in an adventure to save the galaxy.

Squirrel Girl is in a pickle and a jam, a metaphor that mixes about as well as it tastes. She and her friends are lost in outer space, where there is a conspicuous absence of oxygen and, even more troubling, a shortage of squirrels. What’s a girl to do?

Stay tuned for the reveal of the cover.

To keep up with the exciting announcements, as well as information on all of Aconyte's  upcoming and previous releases, make sure to head over to their website. I don't know about you, but I'm excited for a lot of these new releases, and look forward to seeing what other things they announce soon.

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Secrets in Scarlet - James Fadeley Interview

 

James Fadeley is a software engineer by day and a writer by night. While this sounds hectic, he has recently become a father and thus no longer sleeps. When not feeding the milk vampire his daughter, he can be found researching topics for his next story. James is a huge fan of Mansions of Madness and both board and video games in general. I got the chance to chat with him about his story, 'In Art, Truth' in the new Arkham Horror anthology collection Secrets in Scarlet.

Were you a fan of Lovecraft or the Arkham Horror games before coming to work on the books, and if so how did you get into it?

Very much so! I randomly picked up a copy of the Necronomicon more than a decade ago and got my introduction that way. Money was tight after college and books were relatively cheap. Since then, I usually reread one of Lovecraft’s novelettes annually, and my friends and I enjoy Mansions of Madness every few months.

That’s not all though. In video games, I enjoyed both Call of Cthulhu by Saber Interactive and The Sinking City by Frogwares. Recently I tried Arkham Horror: The Card Game and its mechanics are very clever. I’m looking forward to more games of that.

Finally, I’m about to be game keeper for my first session of Call of Cthulhu: 7th Edition… oh boy.

This is first time writing an Arkham Horror title, and your first thing for Aconyte. Before this you’ve written for The Banner Saga, and have contributed to a few anthologies. What was it like coming to work with Aconyte for the first time, and stepping into this franchise?

Believe it or not, I originally hesitated in applying to Aconyte. 

Banner Saga’s developer, Stoic, gave me carte blanche time to write. “However long it takes, as long as it’s good” became our unspoken agreement. Sounds cushy, but self-discipline becomes a problem. For every Banner Saga story published, three others remained as synopses or first drafts for various reasons. Eventually, the rights to Banner Saga were tied up, and we had to stop publishing.

“A professional gets paid,” is what everyone says, and I was. What they don’t say is, “a professional needs a clock.” 

Applying to Aconyte was my “let’s get serious, James,” moment. It’s easier to focus with hard deadlines. FFG was forthright about their needs and concerns – I truly appreciated their notes. Plus, Editor Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells’ feedback was invaluable for improving my writing skills (and not just my manuscript). 

I wish I had applied sooner. Bonus? It’s remarkably humbling to see my name alongside Lisa Smedman, Josh Reynolds, and David Annandale. Novelists whom I admire, whose work I’ve enjoyed.

Your story has a lot of info in it when it comes to academic research, art history, and political events and changes in Turkey. Were these topics that you knew about before coming to write this story, or did you have to do special research into these areas?

A little of column A and a little of column B. 

Before joining the anthology, I researched both the Ottoman empire and Turkish fairy tales for another story. That helped, but there were still knowledge gaps that needed exploration. President Atatürk made significant changes by 1925 and more were coming, political events which were almost impossible to ignore.

There were other historical references as well. Most of the books mentioned are real. A handful of names too, such as Art Historian Mehmet Ağaoğlu and Safiye Ali, the first woman doctor of Turkey. 

Finally, if protagonist Ece was an art historian, wouldn’t she have an interest in contemporary art as well? After pondering this, I decided to bring real-life illustrator Aubrey Beardsley into the mythos as well. 

Your story seems to show that there are some decent people in the Red Coterie, and that they’re not as villainous as they first appeared earlier in the book. Where do you think the group sits on a scale of good or evil, and do you think the more morally ambiguous characters are more interesting to write?

After reading Secrets in Scarlet from cover to cover, I can’t help but view the Red Coterie as a set of individuals over a group. In my opinion, the faction succeeds because they are separate and distant. If the good-natured souls knew everything their counterparts were doing, it would have fallen apart long ago. Their alliances strike me as volatile.

Your question about moral ambiguity is a great one. It depends because sometimes it’s about…

    • Discovering moral limits that make people rebound.

    • Reaching for the bottom and instead falling through. Thank you, Tyler Durden.

    • Breaking our limits because we value something else more…

    • Or discovering true integrity, no matter the cost.

Morality is the theme that transcends themes. These are questions I ask myself when I GM games of Degenesis. My approach there is less about trying to kill my players’ characters as it is about eroding their moral stances. Using the game’s devices and setting to tempt them. Transforming moral absolutism into relativism, and relativism into nihilism. Every time the characters survive, I congratulate them but secretly ponder… what if I squeezed them just a little more?

So yeah, I suppose discovering the limits of morality is the most interesting part of storytelling. Guess I’m the devil…

There’s a lot of pre-existing lore in the Arkham Horror series, and your story definitely adds to that in new and interesting ways. Is it ever daunting to go into an established property like this to create new stories and new characters?

It really, really is because of the catch up involved. 

When I visited the Black Library Weekender years ago, Dan Abnett admitted that he reads everything the company publishes. For good reason. As a franchise grows, there’s more and more material and canon to track. What characters and factions have been used? What plot devices have been visited? Pitching familiar stories risks wasting everyone’s time.

I’ve got a few Arkham Horror books in my finished pile but I’m still catching up. I lucked out this once, however. Because Secrets in Scarlet takes place away from Arkham and involves a new cast of characters, there were fewer circles to worry about during this go. Still, luck favors the prepared, and I intend to be reading in the meantime.

I really loved to read about Ece and found her passion for art and history to be really endearing, and was a little sad that our time with her was as short as it was. Is she a character that you’d be willing to come back to in the future? And can you tell us about any upcoming projects of yours we should keep an eye out for?

I’d consider it. We got a sense of who Ece Şahin is, yet there’s more depth to explore. 

However, I’m often down for a writing challenge. If Aconyte said, “Hey, we have a character with an esoteric background. Possibly a circus animal trainer or a sailor on the USS Arizona. Any takers?” I’d be their first volunteer. 

As for new projects, nothing now. Unless Lottie brings up an assignment, I’ll be reading more Arkham Horror, working on the original novel, or plotting out the next RPG session.

Make sure to check back all this week as I chat with more of the authors from Secrets in Scarlet.

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Secrets in Scarlet: An Arkham Horror Anthology - Book Review

 

'A secret organisation ruthlessly seeks power over supernatural terrors in this globe-trotting anthology of arcane mystery and adventure, from the bestselling world of Arkham Horror

'Beyond our world lies another, one full of paranormal forces and eldritch horrors, and once that membrane has been pierced, life can never be the same again. In every corner of the globe, persons unknown are seizing objects of extreme supernatural power. They declare themselves defenders of humanity, fighting off the darkness which presses against the veil shrouding our reality from the unknowable. But do their claims of altruism ring true? And should they be permitted to wield such power? From the world of Arkham Horror comes an exciting new anthology that delves into new mysteries.'

The Akham Horror series is full of mystery, whether it's unknowable things from being our reality, secretive cults hidden beneath the surface, or artefacts of civilisations long forgotten, the series loves to blend mystery with the frightening. The latest book from Aconyte moves away from the rain-soaked streets of Arkham and heads out into the wider world as we learn about organisations, and one in particular shrouded in both secrecy, and scarlet.

The first story in the collection is 'The Man in The Bubble' by David Annandale, who introduces us to one of the key organisations in the book, The Foundation, a group of shady government agents led by the no-nonsense Commissioner Qiana Taylor investigate an explosion in the hear of New York City. Giving out the cover story that the explosion was caused by a gas mains, they actually go deep beneath the city's surface, where they find an ancient pyramid. They discover that a potentially deadly artefact, the Coronal Prism has been taken and delivered to one of the richest businessmen in the city. Knowing that the artefact could spread death and destruction if left unchecked, Taylor sets out to acquire it.

This is one of the shorter stories in the book, but is a nice introduction to this world. It only gives us one of the main groups, and The Foundation seems to be the one most likely to be doing good in the world, and working for the betterment of humanity. As such, it feels right to start with them. They're set up as guards against the darkness, as people who make it their mission to keep the world safe. Beginning here, with the 'heroes' makes it easier to start to understand that there are various groups operating for their own ends, looking to gain power through these artefacts and rituals. I also really enjoyed that Taylor is a strong, powerful Black woman in a time where both of those factors would exclude her from being in a position like the one she's in. She has authority, knowledge, and power that most people would kill for, and she uses it to help people who would look down on her for the colour of her skin and her gender. I wish we could have had more with her, because she felt like a fascinating character who could easily carry her own novel.

'City of Waking Dreams' by Davide Mana tells the story of inspector Li Flint of the International Criminal Police Commission, who has travelled to Shanghai to search for a mysterious woman. Over the course of his investigation he manages to track down the woman, identified by her red parasol, but soon begins to have strange experiences whenever she's around. With ghostly figures coming after him, criminals out for his blood, and his ally taken prisoner, Flint has to put on a daring rescue mission with multiple lives on the line.

This story definitely feels like a detective noir type tale, with an out of town detective trying to make headway into a city that he doesn't know, unsure of who to trust. One of the things that works well for this story is that Flint doesn't know about the otherworldly monsters and artefacts when the story starts, doesn't know that the person he's tracking down is more than she appears, and as such it takes a while for anything spooky and weird to even happen. You kind of forget that it's an Arkham story, and so when the horror kicks in it takes you by surprise.

'Brother Bound' by Jason Fischer introduces us to Desi, and his older brother, Javier, who end up getting involved in something that will forever change Desi's life. Living with their uncle on a sugar cane plantation, Desi watches as his uncle makes money whilst his workers break their backs for  pittance, and his older brother goes out and drinks and gambles his life away. One day, when Javier's friend gets arrested by the local police, but is released by a mysterious group of Americans, Javier tells his brother that they will need to go on the run. When his friend turns up dead Desi realises that Javier, and the entire family, are in danger.

This story is one of the more interesting early entries, as it starts to throw a wrench into the works. Up to now the book has seemed to make a pretty clear distinction as to what the two factions we've been introduced to are like. The Foundation are trying to do good things, whilst the people in red, the Red Coterie, are the villains. But this story flips that around as the Red Coterie come across as almost heroic in the final acts of the story. The best villains are those that see themselves as the heroes of their own stories, and that seems to be true here too. This story also gives us another staple of Lovecraftian horror, as we get ancient, underground civilisations, and a magical knife. The Mirroring Blade itself if a hell of a thing, a weapon that seems to kill whoever it strikes not only in this world, but every possible reality. This was a great story that took some unexpected and dark turns that I really loved.

Carrie Harris' 'Honor Among Thieves' tells the story about the Varela sisters, Rosa and Milagros, professional thieves who've been hired to steal a crimson hat and coat that will be displayed at an upcoming party. Planning out the heist, complete with tear away clothing and costumes that will allow them to sneak the items out, the two sisters believe that they'll make some easy cash. However, when the plan goes wrong and one of the sisters if forced to put the coat on, she discovers that it allows the wearer to move through dimensions.

I love a good heist story. Something about watching professional criminals plan out a perfect crime, and then watching as something invariably goes a little wrong and they need to think on their feet in order to get out of it just does it for me. And the Varela sisters are a really interesting pair of characters to follow. This story also once again shows the Red Coterie in a more benign light, and even seems to indicate that there are good people amongst its ranks. I really like that each new story here seems to change the way you think about this group, and that it's not an easy good vs bad scenario.

'A Forty Grain Weight of Nephrite' by Stephen Philip Jones brings the readers back to the US, where Kymani Jones, an individual researching special artefacts called 'keys', which contain mystical properties. After issuing a warning to the owner of one of these artefacts that it may soon be stolen, they're called in to consult when it is. After proving how the object was stolen from within a secure vault, Kymani finds them self caught up in a plot to secure the object, with the Coterie on one side, and the Foundation on the other.

This is a really neat story that starts as an interesting locked room style mystery, and soon turns into a larger plot that involves hidden societies, fights to the death, and secrets beneath the city. The story has a sense of history to it, as we get insight into where some of these objects come from and the effect they have as they pass down through the years, it has danger and action, with some great fight scenes, and it has a lead with they/them pronouns, something that I wasn't expecting for a story set in this era; but thoroughly loved.

Lisa Smedman's 'Strange Thing's Done' is one of the most interesting and creepy stories in this set, and one that I'd love to see made into a short film or an episode of television. The story centres on Rex Murphy, a journalist from Arkham who's been sent on a trip up to Alaska on a story. Journeying on the SS Martha, an old steamship, Rex finds himself in the company of several interesting characters, and decides to interview several of them in order to pass the time. However, Rex soon begins to notice some odd events, as passengers he's sure were on the ship suddenly vanish, with no one having any memory of them. As even Rex's memories begin to change a man with a red cravat tells him that reality is being changed by something on the ship, something that he's hunting, and that Rex needs to help him.

The changes to reality, the alteration of events, and the way the story changes around Rex are one of the more interesting parts of this story; and it's amazing every time it happens and we get to see the new, altered reality settling into place. It also feels like the closest this collection gets to a monster story, as this creature stalks people through this small, confined space in the middle of a dangerous location. People can't just run away, they're stuck on a ship in the frozen wilderness, tapped with a creature they don't even know is hunting them, because they can't remember the other victims. It's terrifying, and I loved it.

'In Art, Truth' by James Fadeley tells the story of Ece Sahin, an academic and member of the Coterie, who wears a red hijab. The curator of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Ece is researching into artwork from the post-Byzantine era in public, whilst secretly searching for information that could lead to the locations of more artefacts. When she discovers that someone is stalking her work, checking out the same books she does using secret names, she finds herself uncovering ancient secrets, coming face to face with another dangerous society, the Readers of the Elder Word, and sees her having to fight for her life.

This story is filled with history and culture, and Fadeley seems to put a lot of passion into bringing the world of art history to life as we learn about ancient civilisations, changes in regimes, fights for equality, and academic research. The story is packed with small details that make it all the more interesting. We don't skip over things as Ece does her research, but are with her each step of the way, making the discoveries at the same time that she does. It's also interesting to see a member of the Coterie on the back-foot, as she is for much of this story. So far the members of this group have been portrayed as confident, powerful, and some even cruel, but she feels the complete opposite for much of this story. It makes a surprising change that shows that there are all kinds of people on all sides of this conflict

'Crossing Stars' by MJ Newman is a story split across centuries, telling two narratives that slowly feed into each other. In one, we find ourselves in the ancient world, watching as a group investigate ruins said to hold relics of 'those who came before'. Our chief protagonist for these segments are Haresha Izem, a woman married to the group's leader, Razin. Along with the two of them are Razin's adviser, Haresha's warrior friend, her pet lion, and several guards. Despite being well trained and well prepared, nothing could prepare them for what they find waiting for them in the ruins. The other story brings us to the present day (for the stories in this book at least), where we discover that an academic, Luciana Diallo, is being told these stories by her patron, Amaranth. As the stories unfold it becomes clear that there's more to this than just someone regaling another with a simple story; and that something more sinister lies at the heart of it.

This story works really well thanks to the two different narratives, and the way that they weave in and out of each other. I think that it becomes clear what's happening pretty early on, with the audience figuring it out before Luciana does, but because the why and how is still a mystery it still works well, with the reader wanting more information as soon as possible to try and figure out the mystery. The segments set in the past are wonderfully told too, and it's great to see an Arkham story set so far in the past, with different types of people involved than we normally get. Instead of having detectives or academics facing eldritch horrors with guns, you've got warriors with swords and bows; it's fantastic. I'd love to see more stories in this universe embrace these kinds of settings.

The final story in the book, 'The Red And The Black' by Josh Reynolds, introduces readers to Trish Scarborough, an agent of the Cipher Bureau (also known as the Black Chamber), a secretive branch of the US government. Having been assigned to a case that led to her discovering about the existence of the 'keys', her journey has led her to Venice, where she finds herself being pursued by a figure in a red carnival mask. As Trish desperately tries to get her hands on a book that contains secret histories of the Red Coterie, she finds herself in the sights of deadly assassins.

After a few stories that have shown the Red Coterie in a more flattering light, this final story reminds readers that this group has a lot of blood on their hands, and that they're not afraid to do terrible things in order to achieve their goals. The way they stalk Trish, the way she's constantly looking over her shoulder and searching for people wearing red really reinforces how sinister they are; and it makes them into some great antagonists. The setting works wonderfully for this too, and the narrow, twisting streets of Venice makes for the perfect playground for a sinister game of cat and mouse.

Secrets in Scarlet is a wonderfully fun and interesting anthology collection. The stories are incredibly varied in style and setting, with a wide range of interesting protagonists to get your teeth stuck into. The book doesn't make clear distinctions between good and evil, and allows readers to see the grey that makes up this world instead, letting you make up your own mind. Fans of the franchise will find a lot here to entertain them, and the only real thing that you can say about the book that's bad is that it doesn't seem to last nearly long enough; and that you'll come away wanting more.

Make sure to keep an eye on out this week, as I sit down and chat with several of the authors in this collection!

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Listmas 2022 – Best Books

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Deciding on ten books to call the best reads of 2022 has been a hard experience, not least because having read 241 books at the time of writing (249 at the time of publication), picking out just ten to call the best is no easy feat. There have been some truly great books released this year, in all genres, and whilst your favourite book might not appear on this list this is only one person’s opinion, but it’s a list I’m excited to share, to help you discover some fantastic new reads.

All The White Spaces – Ally Wilkes (Titan Books)

All The White Spaces is a historical horror story set in the darkness and sub-zero temperatures of Antarctica just after the First Word War. Centred on the character of Jonathan Morgan, a young man who missed out on going to war, and had to learn that his two older brothers would never be returning. A trans man, Jonathan has been forced to act like someone he’s not his entire life, and is facing the prospect of being sent to a finishing school for young women.

With the help of his brother’s friend, Harry, he leaves home and manages to sneak on board a polar explorer ship that Harry has found work on. Having idolised the polar explorers his entire life, Jonathan hopes to be able to connect better to the memory of his brothers by going on the journey they always wanted to do. But when the ship arrives at Antarctica and finds itself in trouble, Jonathan and the rest of the crew are forced to try to survive in an environment designed to kill them – with something sinister lurking in the darkness.

All The White Spaces is a wonderfully paced and well written tale that focuses so much on character that you almost forget it’s a horror story. You become so engrossed in this meticulously researched tale of polar exploration that when the sinister forces begin to make their presence known it takes you by surprise and chills you to your core. Filed with genuinely frightening horror, a wonderfully well told trans story, and characters that feel real, it’s a must-read story.

Chains – Jon Richter (Bloodhound Books)

Chains opens with the murder of a local businessman – a shady fellow with his fingers in a lot of pies and connections to important local politicians – at the retirement home he owns on the eve of a big press event. What looks like a simple stabbing soon turns into something more complex, as local police and private investigators start to search for answers. But as the web of lies and criminal activities is discovered it soon becomes apparent that it connects to the whole of the small town it lies at the heart of.

Chains is a murder-mystery story. It begins simply enough with a body found in the middle of the night, stabbed to death. What makes this book different from most others in the genre, however, is that it contains multiple points of view. This isn’t a book that skips between a couple of investigators and a killer though, each and every chapter is told from a new perspective; a new person entering the story and building up this world. We’re introduced to the story by the first police officer who arrives on the scene. From here, we then learn more from the politician’s aid, who arrived at the home for his meeting, but stayed to chat with his father who’s a resident there. We then follow the carer who found his body. Then her boyfriend who works on a building site. Then the supervisor there. Then her partner who works in a restaurant. Each new stage of the story moves from person to person as they intersect with another character with another tiny piece of the puzzle.

Each new link in the chain, each new insight made reveals another part of the mystery, and makes the small town feel more alive than most others. It feels like everyone has their own stories, their own goals and desires; we merely intersect with them for a short time. Chains tires to do something different, and the result is one of the more unique reading experiences of the year.

Nettle & Bone – T. Kingfisher (Titan Books)

Nettle & Bone is a fantasy story set in a small kingdom, where we focus on the daughters of the royal family. Marra, the youngest of the three daughters, watches as her older sister dies after marrying the prince of another kingdom, with the middle daughter going to take her place soon after. The marriage needs to work for peace to reign, but Marra fears for her older sister and her safety. Sent to live in a convent, in case she’s needed to marry the prince too, Mara begins to plot for a way to help her sister and save her from the prince’s abuse. Using dark magic, and accompanied by a group that includes a living skeleton dog, a former knight, a witch who can talk to the dead, her fairy godmother, and a demon possessing a chicken, she sets out on her mission.

I’ve already written in detail about why this book is so good, and there’s not much more that I can say about it other than the fact that Kingfisher is able to perfectly capture the feel of a dark fantasy story. Kingfisher’s horror stories have been some fantastic reads, and also appeared on my 2020 book list, and the shift from horror to dark fantasy seems to have been easy for her. The story that is told her is so wonderfully crafted and so delightfully twisted that you find yourself wanting more and more of it.

If horror is too intense for you, and you’ve been too afraid to pick up Kingfisher’s work because of that, this book might be the perfect gateway into her writing. It’s dark, and it’s got some pretty scary moments, but it never strays into the same kind of fear that her other books do. It has some astonishingly fun and fantastical moments too, and will appeal to those that like fantasy with a bit of a twisted edge to it.

Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith – Adam Christopher (Del Rey)

It’s not controversial to say that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was divisive; perhaps more so than the series’ previous entry. Fans came out of the film upset, they were angry with the way the story went. I’ll admit, even I came out of my first viewing unhappy with it. The sudden return of Palpatine felt like it had come out of nowhere, and it seems like the Star Wars story group have been tying to fill in those blanks since. And as someone who reads the books and the comics, I feel they’ve been doing a good job at explaining it and fleshing out the Sith world of Exegol to the point where my opinion of the film has changed a lot. But none do it as well, and as much, as Star Wars: Shadows of the Sith.

Set during the time between the original and sequel trilogies, Shadow of the Sith introduces us to Luke Skywalker whilst his Jedi temple is up and running, with students learning the ways of the Force (including his nephew). Luke is researching into the Force, and the Dark Side, and begins to feel whispers through the Force of something dark somewhere in the galaxy. Meanwhile, Lando Calrisian overhears a Sith assassin in a bar, recruiting a crew to hunt down a family on the run. Still reeling from the loss of his own daughter, Lando goes to Luke for help, and the two of them set out to save the family before it’s too late.

The family that this book deals with, that Luke and Lando are trying to save, are Miramir and Dathan, and their daughter, Rey. This is the story about Rey’s parents, a story that we know ends in tragedy. The book tells us a lot about the Sith, features several amazing moments that left my jaw hanging, and resulted in me crying for characters more than once. It also makes that scene in The Rise of Skywalker where we see Rey’s parents die hit all the harder, because they’re real, fleshed out people now. This book might not make you love The Rise of Skywalker, but it will be the best Star Wars book you’ll read this year.

A Magic Steeped In Poison – Judy I. Lin (Titan Books)

A Magic Steeped In Poison is a fantasy court intrigue novel set in a universe where magic is real, but where magic works differently to any other story you’ve ever read. Inspired by Chinese history, myths, and legends, the book introduces readers to a young woman named Ning, who leaves her family home in a small village and travels to the capital in order to try and find help for her dying sister. Her sister has been poisoned, and having just watched her mother die from the same thing Ning is determined to save her life. She travels to the capital to enter a competition, a contest to find the new Shennong-shi, someone who uses tea making to craft magics. Determined to use the skills taught to her by her mother, Ning enters the contest, but finds more than she bargained for waiting for her.

A Magic Steeped In Poison is what you’d get if you combined a competition style game show like The Apprentice or America’s Next Top Model with the politics and court intrigue of A Song of Ice and Fire then wrapped it in a package inspired by Chinese culture. Judy I. Lin takes a lot of inspiration from real places, yet manages to craft her own world here, complete with rival leaders, political intrigue, unique creatures, and a magic system that feels wholly its own. And the magic system is where the book really shines. There are no wizards with staffs, no waving of wands and shouting of magic words. Instead, when magic needs to be done it’s done by the brewing of tea, the selecting of certain ingredients, and the crafting of the perfect cup to drink. This book offers something incredibly different, something that will quickly draw you in and have you wanting more; so it’s handy that it’s the first part, and that the sequel novel is coming very soon.

The Calculations of Rational Men – Daniel Godfrey (Self Published)

The 1960s were a time of fear, a constant looming threat of nuclear war. People were always afraid that something would happen, that the Cold War would suddenly turn hot, and that we’d all die in nuclear fire. Luckily that never happened; but The Calculations of Rational Men asks the question of what would have happened if it had. Set at a prison in the UK, the book follows doctor Joseph Marr, a man sent to prison for murder when he tried to help a drowning woman and failed to save her life (his use of mouth to mouth and chest compression having him labelled a degenerate). When the prisoners are pulled out of their cells in the middle of the night they witness a massive explosion in the distance, and are ushered into the specially made bunker beneath the building.

With hundreds of prisoners locked together underground, Marr is tasked with keeping them in good health as the only medically trained man there. Stuck between the prisoners and the staff, not one of either, Marr finds himself in a situation where all lives may depend on him; and where he can witness the breakdown of order as fear sets in. The Calculations of Rational Men is an intense book that puts its cast of characters in an extreme position, and lets you see what happens when they begin to break. Godfrey crafts an increasingly intriguing narrative filled with twists and turns and drama that you’ll find hard to put down. You may need to do some digging to find a copy of this self published novel, but it’s absolutely worth the effort.

The Siege of X-41 – Tristan Palmgren (Aconyte Books)

Often when comic stories are adapted to novel form it struggles to work well, due in part to the original story not being designed for that format. But when written for prose, superheroes can work exceptionally well, and The Siege of X-41 is a prime example of that. Set in the Marvel universe, the book follows a group of young students from the New Charles Xavier Institute sent on a team bonding mission. The mission takes the small group of teen mutants and their adult teacher deep beneath the waves to the ocean floor where they have to perform maintenance on a deep sea facility.

In the pitch black, at a pressure where the slightest accident could kill them, they’re already on edge, but when vicious, vampiric creatures begin to assault the facility the group ends up having to fight for their survival in an environment designed to kill them. The Siege of X-41 might be an X-Men story, but at its heart it’s a horror tale; one that is more closely connected to Lovecraftian horror than anything else with its deep sea setting, awful monsters, and a slumbering ancient evil. This is the kind of book that shows the versatility of superheroes, and how they can work in completely different kinds of stories. You don’t have to be a big comic fan to enjoy this, and no knowledge of the X-Men is needed, just a desire to read an intense, often frightening story.

Sherlock Holmes & Mr Hyde – Christian Klaver (Titan Books)

Sherlock Homes & Mr Hyde is a sequel to a novel that played around with the Sherlock Holmes mythos quite a bit. In the previous book, vampires came to London, and Holmes & Watson end up caught in the middle of their machinations. Watson is transformed into a vampire himself and, with the help of Count Dracula and his wife Mina, the two of them are able to defeat the vampire Moriarty. This book picks up a while later, with the two detectives settled into their new life, and the knowledge that the supernatural exists. However, when the infamous Whitechapel killings start once again, hinting at the return of Jack the Ripper, the two are dragged into another mystery; one that surrounds the unusual Mr Hyde.

The Classified Dossier series does an exceptionally good job at combining the characters and the world of the grounded Sherlock Holmes stories with those of other Victorian era characters, particularly the horror ones. We’ve already included vampires and Lovecraftian monsters, but this story builds upon that with the inclusion of Jack the Ripper, Jekyll and Hyde, and the Invisible Man. The world that Klaver creates with these books feels fantastical, yet works incredibly well with the rational Holmes and his views of the world. Marrying the supernatural with a character who has no time for the paranormal should be an impossible combination, but this series does it perfectly. If you like your Victorian era literature this series is one that you might want to give a try.

The Secret Life of Fungi – Aliyah Whiteley (Pegasus Books)

The only book on this list that’s non-fiction, The Secret Life of Fungi is a fairly short read that ended up being one of the more intriguing and interesting books of the year. Written by fiction author Aliyah Whiteley, the book deals with fungi, fungus, and mushrooms. But it’s not a text book, it’s not a science journal, instead, it’s the author telling you stories about how they fell in love with fungi, and the interesting things that they’ve learned about them over the years.

Written in a way that feels like you’re having a conversation, or listening to someone do a talk about a subject that’s a hobby, Whiteley manages to make the topic feel accessible to all. It never gets bogged down in the science of things, it doesn’t feel the need to list facts and figures or bombard you with Latin names. You simply get to read interesting anecdotes, stories about different types of fungi and the things that they can do, and the reasons why they’re more interesting that you’ve probably ever considered. My interest in the topic definitely went up after reading this, and it feels like a gateway book, something that’s there to get me interested in fungi enough that I’ll want to go out and learn more. Whether you’re interested in the topic or not, it might just pique your interest and make you reconsider these wonderful forms of life.

Reign of the Devourer – David Annandale (Aconyte Books)

Another novel that combines the world of Marvel comics with horror, Reign of the Devourer is the second entry in a series that takes a look at the villainous Doctor Doom. Whilst this might not seem that interesting, the series has done a fantastic job og humanising him, and showing that the people in his home nation really do love him for the improvements he’s made. Having taken down evil dictators, brought wealth to the nation, and given equality to all (Doctor Doom supports trans rights!), he’s made Latveria a place his people feel safe in. However, when an ancient evil awakens and begins turning the populace into monstrous vampires, Doom must find a way to stop them before all is lost.

Reign of the Devourer feels a lot closer to The Strain than most other vampire stories, with its truly monstrous creatures that can infect others with frightening ease. The book embraces the horror aspects of the story, and delivers some truly chilling scenes where the monsters destroy entire villages, hunting down anyone alive. This may feature one of the more iconic villains in Marvel, but this book will probably have you cheering him on to win long before the end.

Honourable Mentions for those that almost made it into the Top 10: Zachareth by Robbie MacNiven, Gallant by V.E. Schwab, The Haunting of Las Lágrimas by W.M. Cleese, Pennyblade by J.L Worrad, The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning, Planet Havoc by Tim Waggoner, A Fractured Infinity by Nathan Traveres, Age of the Undead by C.L. Werner, Secrets in Scarlet short story anthology, AVP: Ultimate Prey short story anthology.

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