Beth Tabler

Originally posted on beforewegoblog.com

My God! My brain my brain. My poor abused brain. I feel like I should have a few hours of cat pictures after reading this book. I don't think this is my brand of humor which I normally go for. Mine is more along the line of, “Blacks Books,”  This is more Ren and Stimpy? I am having a problem finding something to compare this book too. Very dark satire. It also might be that I need to be in a proper frame of mind to read this, and I wasn't. It was terrible and abusive and I kept thinking, “that poor kid needs a hug that is not going to turn into molestation or aliens sticking something up his butt.” I feel like such a mom. le sigh.

It is horrific, but not in a horror movie sort of way. More like, “I can't believe I am reading this. That poor kid. No wonder he neurotic. I would be neurotic too if I had aliens chasing me to do anal probes and giant dust mites waking me up in my sleep.” All the while nightmares

The creature known by many names. Son of Satan or El Diablo. Pepito.
that do unspeakable things to my brain. Seriously the dust mites are nightmare fuel. We are just skin husks that provide them with food. Without them, we would be swimming in our own dead skin cells. It is really funny if you can get past the horrible abusive parents and all the terrible shit that he has to go through. Before I get hate mail, I get it. I get it. It is satire and very dark humor. I can absolutely appreciate something for what it is; and that it is a stellar example of that type of graphic novel while at the same time not wanting to come near this again with a ten-foot pole.

For me the highlight of this book was Pepito. I could get a print of the strip of Pepito being introduced to his class and melting the other kids in the class with his mind when they were jerks. Kinda cathartic I think. I too have wanted to melt classmates in middle school and elementary.

“Stand back amigo, this is a job for the ANTICHRIST!”

to Squee before bringing doom upon his bullying classmates

This does bring up Johnny The Homicidal Maniac that is, as far as I can see, the same brand of humor. Still, it looks really funny. I might give it a go, just because of quotes like this.

Johnny “Is this milk still good?!!”
The victim “Huh?! sip Uh...yeah.”
Johnny “THIS LETTUCE! HOW CRISP IS IT? HOW CRISP GODDAMMIT?!
The victim “It's Fine!”
Johnny “THESE FUDGE-POPS! FREEZER BURN?! FREEZER BURN?!”
The Victim “umm..”
Johnny “EAT THE FUCKIN' WEENIE!!!”
The Victim “mmph... It tastes okay.”
Johnny “Whew! Thanks. I haven't cleaned my fridge out in awhile, and well... You know.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

Graphic novels are a wonderful way to tell history. Not only does the reader get the subtle nuances of the written word, but they also get a graphic representation. This book does both very well. It is engaging without being over-cramped with facts. Beautifully inked. Definite recommend.

Twisty, twisty, twisty, The Quiet Room by Terry Miles takes you on another strange path down the Rabbit hole.

The “Rabbits” series by podcaster and storyteller Terry Miles is based on the world created by his podcast of the same name with the titular catchphrase, “R U Playing.” So again, we are faced with the question, “What is Rabbits?” And frankly, there is no way for me to illuminate that, but I can tell you what I know.

The series idea of Rabbits is a swirling collection of chapters and stories hinting at an underground game called Rabbits. It's characters and us readers following clues and seeing patterns in multiple dimensions. In The Quiet Room, the second novel in the series, Rowan Chess is starting to see patterns; the idea of Rabbits is popping up around him. So many it is getting hard to ignore them. On the flip side, Emily Connors suddenly finds herself trapped in a dimensional stream where the game does not exist. But nothing feels right.

While the story had me in the first pages, this is a dark and complicated read; it is the type of story that would be difficult to wade through if you are not thoroughly familiar with the first book. Even then, because of the complexity, you may have had to reread the first book recently to familiarize yourself. The Quiet Room hops from area to area, dimension to dimension, and person to person. It is not a narrative that moves in a straight line, jagged line, or anything resembling a line, more like a yarn knot. That is one of the positives and detractors of a story like this. Some folks who read it, myself, included love puzzles and piecing together the story bits together. But compared to the first book, The Quiet Room has an even faster pacing. I got lost a few times, and that is saying something because I had to keep notes in the first book to keep it all straight. Some of it is too much, and I wish Miles had developed things further in a couple of areas to solidify characters so I had a general feel for them, but maybe this is him setting the series up for a grand crescendo. Honestly, anything with this story is possible.

If you like your stories with traditional storytelling, characters, plot arcs, or narrative structure, this book will not be for you. But if you want to walk on the wild side and try something different, possibly cult-worthy, I suggest giving this a go.

Goldilocks by Laura Lam is not your typical science fiction story. Lam has combined political unrest and women's rights with a desperate need to explore and save the Earth.

Because in Lam's story, the Earth has only about thirty years left.

In the not so distant future, humanity has all but destroyed the planet. We have the world on life support, but water is disappearing, the air is unsafe to breathe unmasked, and the animals are gone. All we have as a species is technology, human ingenuity, and the desperate need to survive. This is a promising start to a story. So much of that rings true for humanity right now. We are hurling ourselves down a path of environmental destruction that we might not be able to come back from. I understood this and empathized with this part of the plot. Lam Partnered the imminent ecological catastrophe with the degradation of women's rights; women have been relegated to a secondary position. Never as good as their male counterparts. However, this is where the plot became a bit messy for me.

Women's rights in science fiction and dystopic fiction are at the forefront of many stories. The Handmaids Tale, the me-too movement, and many new books have come out in the last few years that have had different angles on how to approach women's rights. Most of the stories had a hook, a reason why women were considered inferior whether it was religious patriarchy, inferiority due to menstruation, or the religation for women to become breeders for the good of humanity. Goldilock's hook was not clear to me. Women were considered inferior, looked over for promotions, and passed over for education. They needed to be twice as smart and twice as bold, as in the case of Valerie, to get anything done. But I was not sure if this was an extension of already existing conditions for women, or if there was some plot nuance I had missed early on. I couldn't engage fully with this exciting story because, for much of it, I couldn't figure out what had got humanity to the state it was in.

The story starts with five women, all who had been relegated to the sidelines, decide to steal the ship, Atalanta. This ship is slated to travel to a possible new home for Earth's inhabitants. A planet that exists in the Goldilocks zone, hence the title. The story is told from the perspective of Naomi Lovelace, a nice nod to Ada Lovelace, the ship's botanist. Naomi is brilliant but overshadowed by her fiercely driven adopted mother, Valerie. Valerie is the ship's captain. Much of the meat of the story is the dynamic between Valerie and Naomi. We are treated to flashbacks every few chapters by Naomi as she experiences monumental moments in her life. These moments help set her on the path that she is, stealing the Atalanta.

Along with Naomi and Valerie, the crew is made up of Lebedeva, a Russian ex-pat in charge of engineering. Hixon and Hart who are married, and in charge of Pilot and medical, respectively. They are all brilliant thinkers, top of their field, but the “why” still eluded me. Why did these women steal this ship? Later we come to find out that there are five men in cryostasis on-board. I was never sure why they were there. But they were five men who were leaders, mentors, shipmates, and in one case husband to the five women at some point in their careers. Why were these men considered inferior, especially considering the close relationships these men had with the women astronauts?

Aside from the head-scratching “why” I experienced much in the beginning of the book, I enjoyed the banter, characterizations, and pacing of the story. Goldilocks is a quick-moving story, and if you can get past the back-story holes, it is very engaging. This is doubly true as it picked up near the end of the plot. In the end, everything came together. We understood the characters for who they were, why they were doing what they did, and what could happen in the future.

For readers, I would characterize this story as more about relationships between family members than about the science fiction aspects itself. The story takes place in space, and the crew are scientists, but Goldilocks is about women's rights and motivations, and politics. Granted, the crew had things happen to the ship that they had to solve as a crew; most of these issues were caused by the men who put the space shuttle together, and that was interesting. But again, it was more about how each character approached the problem versus the science itself.

All in all, Goldilocks is an engaging story that tackles some tough questions about women's rights, all within the overarching story of climate change.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this digitally in exchange for my open and honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review!

Mmmmm. Tacos. Even the word by itself makes me drool a little. Who doesn't like tacos, crazy people that's who!? I can tell you who loves tacos and it is the squirrel.

I think this just might be my favorite children's book ever. I say children's, but really this book can appeal to all ages and get a chuckle out of even the most staunch adults who only read Proust in the original French. This book is funny, and the illustrations are absolutely marvelous. It reminds me of the humor that one would find online in your weekly webcomics. Concise and to the point. It also breaks the fourth wall a bit, especially when dealing with tacos. So really win-win for all. I see many kids in the future and their parents getting many chuckles from the adventures of the squirrel.

There is not enough western space opera in this world. It is an odd mash-up, but it works so well. Firefly, and by extension the movie Serenity caused a cultural sensation and one of the most gigantic disappointments in nerdom. After one season, Firefly was summarily canceled and the nerd community at large gasped their shock. Firefly, though only one season and excellent movie, has lived on in the hearts of millions of fans the world over.

This is why this book was so much fun for a die-hard Firefly lover like myself. It is an excellent continuation of a story that needs to be told. Some of this was new material for me, other's I have read before. Now it is all joined together in a perfectly tidy package. All three plot lines are very good, although watch out for “The Warrior of the Wind.” That is a tear jerker. The art is fantastic, typical Whedon style. The art is a continuation of the TV show aesthetic. Which is completely welcome in my book.

If you are unfamiliar with Firefly and Serenity, it pays to go back and watch some of the shows beforehand. Starting this book from scratch is fine, but you will miss many of the subtle nuisances from the story. If you know all about the story, this is a must-read.

I remember thrashing my head to metal when I was a teenager. I remember the moment when I let the music take me; I felt the guitar howl through my head and the drumbeat in my very bones. I am not sure I feel that much anymore. Maybe when I am alone in the car, I might crank Metallica or Tool. But it never entirely is the same as when you were 19, which is a tragedy.

Grady Hendrix's Hendrix's book, We Sold Our Souls is about a lot of things: love for music, love for horror, or the state of mental and emotional health in the US. But what sang for me in this book is losing that connection to music, the kind you have when you are 19. Losing that emotional part of you that vibrates from the energy of the music is one of the saddest things, and it is a kind of horror in of itself. Wrap all of those ideas up, loss, the love of music, passion, and the plight of the middle class into a pulsing metal package, and you have We Sold Our Souls.

Right from the start, you do not have to love thrash metal to appreciate any of the ideas in this book. You could substitute Klezmer music in for metal, and it will ring true for some people. It is not so much what type of music you like, but being able to connect with the music itself. Even though Hendrix speaks at length about Metal music, you can substitute anything you are passionate about.

In this case, the story revolves around the members of Dürt Würk, a semi-famous metal band from the 1990s. Specifically the incredibly badass and beat-down Kris. Kris is to Dürt Würk as Slash is to Guns N' Roses. She is the shredding lead guitarist that gets on stage and apologizes to no one. Kris is authentically herself, a metal-loving girl with bloody fingernails, sweat dripping down her face, and music that sings out from the dark parts of her. She is all that is metal.

“No one loves me! Boohoo! Guess what? We play fucking metal! I don't want to sing about your sad feelings! I want dragons.” - There are no butterflies inside her.

We Sold Our Souls starts with Kris early in life, as a teenager, confused, and all attitude. She wants to play the riff from Sabbath, and she bleeds herself through the first chords until it sounds right. And for one glorious shiny moment, Sabbath was in her basement. She is hooked. Next, we meet Kris at 47 years old. The end of a career, and her soul, living in her mother's house working at a Best Western. The first scene of this is hilarious and sad. A naked man with a pillowcase over his head comes into her office and pisses all over her desk. He then farts and leaves. Her brother, who is a policeman's first question is not “are you ok?” His first question was, “Jesus Kris, couldn't you clean this up?” It is sad, and it shows how much she has fallen from her former life as a guitarist.

You can tell that Kris's life is shit, but she can still fight. “I can pick a fight in an empty fucking elevator. “No one left to fight.” Fuck you”

The brilliant thing about this story, and what sets it apart from other rock-themed stories, is that instead of the story being around a young idealistic Kris at the beginning of her career. It is about Kris at 47 and broken. It is a much more exciting story because Kris is much more complicated. The story progresses as Kris's former bandmate, and ex-best friend Terry Hunt decided to headline a farewell tour for his band. The ex-best friend that betrayed her and the other Dürt Würk bandmates years ago. Kris decides that it is time to get the band back together. To say that she runs into resistance from all sides is putting it lightly. Her quest takes her on a reunion with the bandmates: guitarist Scottie Rocket, bassist Tuck, drummer Bill, and finally Terry. She is on a one-woman quest to figure out what the hell happened on the night it all fell apart with only her grit and ax of a guitar to help her. She battles egos, band managers, the supernatural, and crazed fans. It is an epic fight.

But this is marketed as a horror novel, you say? It is. We Sold Our Souls is a horror novel. Hendrix wrote one of the scariest chapters in a cave that I have ever read. I am claustrophobic, and I had to put the book down for a while before I had a panic attack. Kris deals with a lot of violence and gore. It is almost Viking death metal in its visuals. Also, much of the story has the subtext of the death of dreams. It is much scarier and more visceral than some creature or ghost yelling “BOO” at you. The loss of dreams is a hollowing out of oneself, and it is not something someone can easily come back from. People settle for recreations of things instead of working for the real deal. People even sell their souls for iPhones. It is sad, but the way Grady Hendrix writes it rings true.

“I can't believe that after a lifetime of playing metal, it turns out the world is a shitty country song.”

We Sold Our Souls is a gritty and real story, highly entertaining, and it tapped into that part of me I thought I lost long ago. The part that vibrates and roars when I hear Sabbath or Metallica. It is there still, and I love that Hendrix shined a light on it. We Sold Our Souls is also a story about who we choose as our family and how they can hurt us or help us grow, and it is, above it all, about the transcendent power of music because music cures all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book speaks to me, I too and interested in paring down and minimalizing. Micro Living shows how it can be done beautifully and comfortably.

I love the way this book is designed, it has clear and easily understood stories. I think it was very effective how he sectioned off the book into “small” vignettes that can give inspiration to a prospective builder or buyer. He even included plans! The pictures are worth buying the book and putting it on your coffee table. Really well done.

This is an absolutely fantastic must-buy book for someone interested in tiny home building.

“Low Moon” is a collection of short stories of various topics. Pain, suicide, a chess western, and family. obligations. By far the darkest of these tales is “Emily says hello.” But your despair will be fleeting because the follow-up, “Low Moon” is quirky and fun. It is a chess western if you can believe the combo. I enjoyed this story and Jason showed an uncharacteristic light heart when writing it. The collection closes up with “You are here” which screams as a typical Jason comic. Minimalistic dialog, anthropomorphic characters, and a story that will rip your heart out and ground it into the ground. Overall, this is a good collection of graphic novel short stories. It just isn't great. Aside from “Low Moon” there isn't anything here I would like to read again unlike many of Jason's other works such as “I Killed Adolph Hitler” or “Hey, wait!” If you are a Jason aficionado like myself, give it a read. Otherwise, pass on it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my open and honest review.

This book now sits proudly on my cookbook shelf. I liked the e-book version of this book so much that I had to have a physical copy. All I know is that all my favorite books should have to put out a mandatory cookbook. I know this doesn't make sense financially, but that's the new rule.

This book is lovely. Beautiful illustrations, fantastic recipes reminiscent of the story, and gorgeous pictures. It has everything one could want, I tested out the famous Toffee Pudding recipe on page 32. I hear great things about this recipe on British cooking shows but had yet to try it. It was delicious and every bit as wonderful as it is purported to be.

If you are a cookbook aficionado like myself, you will seriously dig this book.

Grady Hendrix, the author of Horrorstör, is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. The books I have read thus far, We Sold Our Souls, and now Horrorstör are a combination of the ridiculous, the scary, a hell of a lot of fun.

As someone who worked retail in and outside of IKEA, I felt this book on a deeply visceral level. I feel like Hendrix wrote this for my poor bedraggled retail battered soul. And, even though IKEA as a company is better than others, it can get a bit Stepford Wives in upper management. IKEA has inane terms and culture; there is constant upselling and forced smiles and a vast rat-maze-like store trying to funnel you as much as possible. If you have been told that your presentation is not IKEA, you don't have that coworker attitude; your feet hurt constantly, you have been called names by customers, yelled at for policies, and must do it all again with a smile, this story is for you. I think I am channeling some inner past trauma here.

“The more Amy struggled, the faster she sank. Every month she shuffled around less and less money to cover the same number of bills. The hamster wheel kept spinning and spinning and spinning. Sometimes she wanted to let go and find out exactly how far she'd fall if she just stopped fighting. She didn't expect life to be fair, but did it have to be so relentless?”
― Grady Hendrix, Horrorstör

The book is set up as an IKEA catalog, same size, and same general heft. Every few chapters, there is an advertisement for a piece of furniture that is bound to make your life better and more ORSK. ORSK being the fictional lifestyle and furniture company that is a direct knock off of IKEA and the setting for the much of the story. Amy, the main protagonist, is a struggling 20+ associate that is on the fetid hamster wheel of life. The harder she struggles, the further she gets behind. Amy is about to lose her home due to late rent and is feeling the desperation of not having anywhere to go. Plus, she feels her boss Basil (I have never read a more perfect name for a character) is about to fire her for not being ORSK enough. Amy has put in her transfer, all she has to do is stay away from Basil for the next three days, and she is free of this ORSK store. One problem though, Basil would like to do some special one on one coaching. This is usually shorthand for firing. But, instead of firing Basil as an offer: stay overnight and patrol the store. See what is going on, stop whoever is shitting on the couches at night, and vandalizing the bathrooms. In exchange, Basil will grant her transfer request and give her 200 dollars cash. She thinks that this might save her, but things get a whole lot more complicated overnight and chockful of horrors instead.

“Here was the other option: the tranquilizing chair. It was always waiting for her. It always wanted her back. It always wanted her to quit again, to sit down and never get back up. In the end, Amy thought, everything always comes down to those two choices: stay down or stand up.”
― Grady Hendrix, Horrorstör

ORSK is described as a beautiful piece of fruit with worms inside. We occasionally see a colossal rat scurrying about. Or, there is a general feeling of unease when you walk the beautifully lit and European-esque halls lined with furniture. Could it be that this building this built on the ruins of an insane asylum with a mad doctor who tortured and killed his patients? It sounds like a crazy plot jump, but trust me, Hendrix makes it work.

“I know this is your religion, but for me, it's just a job.”
― Grady Hendrix, Horrorstör

I loved this book, as I said, Hendrix is becoming one of my favorites. It is a perfect mix of horror, current events, with just the right touch of the insane to keep me turning page after page. Check it out, and next time you are at IKEA, remember this book.

Fridging' is the practice of killing off or hurting a minor character to motivate or torture the main character. The term comes from the world of comics, describing an issue of Green Lantern in which the hero's partner is killed and stuffed in a refrigerator for the protagonist to find.

Let that sink in a minute. 

This is a storytelling trope aimed at motivating the main character through emotional torture. That violence is usually visited on a female character to motivate a male character. 

Case in point:

The death of Gwen Stacey in Spiderman - Is thrown off of a bridge only to have her neck snap at the last minute by spiderman. 
The death of Linda Park in Flash - Although the originally planned demise of Linda Park in The Flash was avoided, the sonic boom that was created by the battle between Zoom and Flash caused the pregnant Linda to abort her children. 
Barbara Gordon from Batman The Killing Joke - “While she fought crime for years as Batgirl, it was the fact that she was Commissioner Gordon's daughter that caused Barbara to receive a visit by the maniac known as the Joker. In an attempt to drive the Commissioner insane, the Joker showed up at Barbara's house and shot her in the stomach, then proceeded to remove her clothes and take pictures of her. He showed these pictures to her father to try and break him, but the Commissioner remained sane and was freed by the Batman. Barbara, however, was paralyzed — the bullet lodged in her spine, and she never walked again, becoming the wheelchair-bound information broker known as Oracle. Also, they gave her a crappy TV show, so, you know, double whammy.”(link)
Sue Dibny was the wife of Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man. - “The two were always a happy couple of the superhero set, with Sue often acting as den mother to the Justice League, and the pair did detective work on the side, like some sort of stretchy Nick and Nora Charles. Then came the Identity Crisis mini-series. Right off the bat, Sue gets horribly burned to death in her home. The culprit is unknown, but based on the evidence, the League suspects it to be Dr. Light. Now Doc Light is usually a D-list villain, and he actually had his name stolen by a superhero once, but we find out through a flashback that one day, when Sue was hanging out on the Justice League satellite (by herself, in space), Dr. Light somehow managed to get aboard. Yes, a supervillain had somehow gained access to the League's high-tech HQ (in space), and that was when he decided to rape Sue to within an inch of her life.”(link)

Now that you see this trope for what it is, it is hard to unsee it in popular literature. It is everywhere from tv to Comics. Which brings us to the brilliant Refrigerator Monologues written by Catherynne M. Valente. The Refrigerator Monologues is a combination of The Vaginia Monologues by Eve Ensler and Gail Simone's Women in Refrigerators. It is six stories told from the point of view of six dead women. Either the superheroes themselves or wives/girlfriends/motivations of living superheroes. The stories are brilliant and based loosely around existing stories in the comics universe. For example, the first story is about a character, Paige Embry, loosely based on Gwen Stacey. Paige is hurled off of a bridge only to have her neck snapped in when saved a la Gwen Stacey from Spiderman. The stories that Valente wrote are much rawer, much more adult, and much more real. And frankly much more interesting. 

I think the best story of the bunch, and that is saying something because every story in this collection is damn good, is the one about Pauline Ketch. This story is loosely based on Harley Quinn. Violence is not sexy, and violence within a relationship is definitely not sexy, it is tragic and sickening. This story is hard to describe, it should be read. It is written from an almost obsessive combination of love/sex/violence where the reader doesn't know where one emotion ends the next begins and isn't that what the Harley/Joker relationship is? 

This book is brilliant. Valente created an entirely real universe and canon of superheroes to prove a point. It is not preachy, it is persuasive and well written. 

Holy shit.

Imagine if The Wire and the third season of Breaking Bad had a love child then throw in Native American culture and you have the first volume of the Scalped series. Geez, I feel like the inside of my skull needs a handful of rock candy, and maybe some Teletubbies after reading this. Jason Aaron explores desire, power, intrigue, and mystery all within the guise of a modern-day crime story.

What sets this series apart, is how well it is written and the totality that each character is messed up. So much so, that is it easily believable. Which is a sad commentary... Dashiel is not a “bad guy with a heart of gold” trope. He is just not a nice guy, who has a hard past that he has overcome. And is now thrown back into a blender of crap that is his hometown by the higher-ups in the federal agency. He hates it and pretty much hates everyone he encounters, including his mom, his boss, and ex-girlfriend. Expertly written, it conveys the ennui of the main character Dashel Bad Horse as he is forced to reconcile with parts of his past that he never planned to deal with again. I hope in future books that we may see some glimmer of hope somewhere. I am not sure I can take ten volumes of angst, and hatred.

I'll give it to you straight, this series is not for the easily offended. There is graphic sex, murder, drugs, alcoholism, and mayhem.

All of the imaging is gritty and shown baking in the sun by the superb artwork of R.M Guera. This series is unforgiving like black asphalt when it is 110 outside. It hurts, it smells, and it is necessary for the story. There is a rawness, and ruthlessness to these characters that reminds me very much of the Preacher series and I look forward to seeing what it brings.

Stephen King let it all hang out in this short story.

There are different types of horror. There is gore or disturbing; this is pretty self-explanatory. There is psychological horror where you fight your mind. There is killer horror; good ole' fashioned slasher movies type horror. Then there is paranormal and cosmic horror. Cosmic horror is usually defined as Lovecraftian. It is the horror of the unknown, coupled with fear and awe. It is the type of horror that makes us feel small and insignificant. In the grass is cosmic horror. It is the most comic horror story I think I have ever read. This story, written in tandem with his son Joe Hill is a genius and probably the evilest and unforgiving horror story I have ever read. That is saying something considering how much King I have read.

The premise is simple, terribly, and cruelly simple. Twins, Becky, and Cal, are on a road trip. They are driving along listening to music when they overhear a child yelling for help in the tall grass on the side of the road. Anyone with a soul would stop for a screaming child. Maybe they got lost? They can't find their mother, and we should go to help them.
Becky and Cal enter the grass and get lost. You would think that at this point, a never ending field of grass would be terrifying. King is “hold my beer” on this one. There is gore, violence, death, destruction, and so much more. I felt roasted and stripped bare after the ending.

That ending! Dear god.

As I said, this is one of the most humbling and ferocious horror stories I have ever read. I am not sure that I can even recommend it, as I don't think this story would sit well with most readers. But, if you are up to crush your soul a smidge, you should read it.

While Miriam Black's devil-may-care attitude coupled with the wit and ultimate self-destruction would generally appeal to me as a reader, Blackbirds, Chuck Wendig's uber-popular urban fantasy series, left me flat. Chuck Wendig is a helluva writer if you have read Wanderers or Invasive you know that he has skill in weaving together a story. In Wanderers, Chuck demonstrated his ability to create a plot with a slow burn that comes together with a symphonic crash and  Invasive frankly scared the shit out of me. 

Miriam, the protagonist of Blackbirds is a chain-smoking, talking-like-a-sailor, broken person who has a curse of knowing exactly how a person will die. A curse like this would break anyone and it has Miriam cut off from physical contact and intimacy of any kind. I get that. As soon as I understood her predicament in the first chapter of the book, I understood why Miriam is the way she is. This ability needs skin-on-skin contact, and early in when she first got her curse, Miriam attempts to help people. She tries to step in and thwart what amounts to as the reaper. But she can never help. It is as if she is watching horror movies for every person she comes into contact with. Death will come for who they want, and no one will stop it.

While hopping from city to city in a vagrant lifestyle, stealing as she needs to, she comes upon a truck driver named Louis. Louis is a small beacon of light in the shit-storm that is Miriam's life. He shows her kindness when he doesn't have to and generosity when he gets nothing out of it. Miriam touches him, and low and behold, Louis is going to die a horrible death very soon. But the real punch to Miriam's gut is that she will be standing right there watching him die.

This is a real problem for her.

At the start of the novel, I could not put this book down. I plowed through the chapters. Miriam appealed to me. I enjoyed reading someone who was not so perfect and whose actions did not seem so telegraphed. It is a part of why I enjoy horror and grimdark so much. I like my characters coated in a little grime. But, Blackbirds is written with such an unlikeable character that I could not get into it. Sometimes, unlikeable is excellent. It allows the author a chance for the character to have small redeeming qualities, or at the very least make them not suck so much. I waited for the entire novel for Miriam to have that moment, and it did just not come. 

About midway through the novel, and with the addition of a few characters, I could not understand the purpose of Miriam's wanderings. I found myself wanting Wendig to get to the point. Chapters began to slog. Wendig's usual frenetic writing style I usually enjoy came in bits and pieces. A murder here, a bit of torture there, all for the sake of not pushing the plot along. I could not tell if Wendig was going for edgy rather than purposeful with the violence. I feel like early chapters in the series are setting up the future novels, which now stand at six. But as an entry point into the novel, it left me a bit confused.

I can see Miriam being a great HBO/Netflix tv show. She reminded me a lot of Jessica Jones. Similar snark, attitude about the world, and general lack of ability to take anyone's crap. But where Jones was noir, Miriam is horror.

While this did not completely do it for me, and I won't be continuing the series, I know that it will appeal to many people. It is a beloved series. So give it a swing if you like your urban fantasy with a side of horror; Miriam Black might be your gal.

Chuck Tingle's new novel, Camp Damascus, successfully delves into multiple layers of horror, creating a story that touches on many layers of the human experience. Religious trauma can be a powerful force in one's life. Those who have suffered religious trauma, which comes in many different forms and experiences, have to go through the process of being deprogrammed. They have their lives dismantled and made anew. It is painful and scary, often shaking the foundation on which one lays their identity.

This idea of shaken identity is one of the many reasons Chuck Tingle's new novel, Camp Damascus, is so powerful. Yes, superficially, there are some terrifying scenes. But the book is so much more. Quite a bit is under the surface of “Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold.” Demons and coughing up flies are scary, but what is horrific is the religious dogma associated with the camp and Rose's life. The idea that someone who believes is always and entirely right because of faith is dangerous. This story will be quite poignant for those who have suffered under religious fervor. However, the ideas represented in the story will appeal to anyone with a heart.

“Slowly disconnecting from your community—from your family—is difficult, and while it seems like unearthing their sinister motives and dark secrets might make the process easier, it will never entirely quell the pain. I've been avoiding this dark ache by keeping my mind busy while my body couldn't be, but it hasn't gone away. The sadness is still there, lurking in the corner like a pale demon in a red polo, just waiting to finally be acknowledged. That acknowledgment could arrive after several decades, or it could happen tonight, but the time will come. Eventually, I'll have to fully contend with this simple fact: the love I was promised is conditional.”

Camp Damascus is the story of Rose and her life as a member of an evangelical cult/megachurch in Neverton. This church runs a gay conversion camp that has a 100% rate. But why and how can a place have a 100% rate? Nothing is 100% when dealing with human feelings and emotions, especially something as important as identity and attraction.

Rose, we learn, is neuro-divergent and has never been interested in the opposite sex. As a side note, The neurodivergent thought processes of Rose are excellent. I love how Tingle has written her and how she processes information. As Rose discovers more about herself, she sees creatures lurking at the edges of her vision or in the background. These creatures inflict fear, and then Rose starts to cough up flies. Despite the supposed god-fearing atmosphere, something sinister is in Neverton, but what is it? That is where I must stop, as this story has mystery as one of its driving forces.

The pacing was a challenge for me personally, only in that I have a difficult time with slow burns. And this novel is a relatively slow burn, and rightfully so. Rose has a lot of inner struggles to go through, and this isn't a simple trope already known to readers. Paying attention to all the details was rewarding, essential, and pays off. As the story rolls on toward the end, it gets more exciting.

In Camp Damascus, The Tingler's message always comes through; Love is Real. Camp Damascus is engaging, intriguing, and a very “Chuck Tingle” novel where Chuck's message is always there. Love is real.

Pick up this book. Support Chuck, support love.

The Psalm for the Wild Built is a joy to read. There is no great antagonist to the battle except for your nagging inner voice, and only hope guides your journey through the lands.

“You're an animal, Sibling Dex. You are not separate or other. You're an animal. And animals have no purpose. Nothing has a purpose. The world simply is. If you want to do things that are meaningful to others, fine! Good! So do I! But if I wanted to crawl into a cave and watch stalagmites with Frostfrog for the remainder of my days, that would also be both fine and good. You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”

Hope is a pervasive emotion; if you let it, hope can seep into every crevice and neuron in your body. It gives you the belief that more can come and there are better days ahead. That is what Monk and Robot show with every step and roll of the tea cart, there is a low chanting sound that follows them as they travel singing “Hope. Hope. Hope.”

The story follows Sibing Dex and Splendid Speckled Mosscap. Dex is a tea monk. A traveling monk and a cart full of herbs and spices moving from town to town, healing the sick with their spicey creations and leaving comfort in their wake. As a character, Sibling Dex is battling the old thought of “am I doing what I should be doing.” and “Why aren't I happy.” I think that many readers will empathize with his thoughts and struggles, myself included. Happiness can sometimes feel like a slippery emotion; you grasp it and hold on, yet somehow it wriggles out of your hands and flies away.

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don't know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don't need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.”

Splendid Speckled Mosscap is a wonderfully depicted robot who meets up with Sibling Dex while walking the roads between camps. There is an honesty in Mosscap's character and a refreshing uncluttered view of what is essential in life and why.

Mosscap is the first robot to meet up with a human in centuries. This story has flavors of the “first contact” motif. Apparently, in this future world, when humans discover that the robots gained sentience, they let them go to be free people out in the world. There were no battles and bloody betrayal. No Arnold Schwarzenegger saying, “i'll be back.” The humans realized that the robots were people. This is such a wonderful hopepunk idea. Humans do what is ethically and morally right with no monetary compensation or power struggle. Humans are proper and sound, and to this reviewer, who reads 90% of grimdark novels, it was quite the change.

I do not want to spoil anything in this “warm cup of tea on a raining morning” book. The pair talked about philosophy and mindset that hit me hard. And I think readers will love it. A psalm of the Wild Built is lovely, the characters are beautiful people trying their best, and I can't wait to read more of their adventures.

For more of my reviews - Check me out at www.beforewegoblog.net

The Boys is a hefty series written by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Ennis, of Preacher fame, “blows the bloody doors off” of the Superhero genre. The Boys is not your tidy and inoffensive Superman type story. Instead, this is a bloody, gory, disgusting, and brutal take on superheroes as a genre set in a modern world. It would have to be harsh if you think about the corruption of absolute power. A superhero is probably not a sane person, and given a skewed lens of the world filtered through a life without limits, I can see them acting...badly. Although not all people are bad, as we see in the story, enough of them are that you will need a group like The Boys to attempt to keep them in check. The Boys are so harsh that it is almost repulsive, but in typical Ennis style, the reader can not turn away.

“Remember the seven Ps.
Seven what?
Proper preparation and planning... Prevent piss-poor performance.”

The superheroes in this story are called The Seven, which is a nod to the Justice League, and are your basic despotic, raping, and pillaging psycho and sociopaths. They kill for the fun of it, lord over humans, live to the excess, and are generally horrible but powerful human beings. In turn, the book explores governments' and by extension societies' responses to the superheroes with a band of misfit black ops soldiers of varying degrees of sociopathic and homicidal tendencies sent in to fight them. They, too, are incredibly screwed up but in exciting and equally terrifying ways. Their sole purpose is to keep the “supes” in check. In the center of all, this is a sweet and goofy love story. No, really, I am serious. Ennis makes it work, and it is awesome.

The overarching plot follows The Boys through a series of screwed up interactions with superheroes. The Boys “manage, police, and sometimes liquidate Vought-American's superhumans,” so that is what they do. They attempt to keep the supes in check, things go awry, there is much sex and death, people die in awful ways, and there is always another superhero to stop. Neither side can claim the moral high ground. Wee Hughie is the main character that the narrative focuses on. At one time, Hughie was just a regular bloke, his story is wrought with sadness. Hughie was in a relationship with the love of his life. His girlfriend stepped off the curb in a wonderful romantic comedy moment and was summarily destroyed in an explosion of gore and viscera. All while holding Wee Hughie's hands. No one could be quite right in the head after that.

“There'd be no point trynna blackmail a bloke everyone already knows is a cunt, would there?”

Through the series, we learn the backstory about why The Boys are the way they are, and why each of them has a reason to hate supes. Each of them has a good cause and a solid backstory. By the end of the series, we have a much richer picture of The Boys and some closure to the story. It would be exhausting if the writing and art weren't so good.

Additionally, Ennis modeled the character “Wee” Hughie as a mirror image of the actor Simon Pegg. It is a great fan nod. Some find it distracting to read about “Wee” Hughie walking into an orgy, but my sophomoric sense of humor found it utterly hilarious. The 13-year-old in me is doing double fist pumps and giggling.

“You know you can be a real bitch sometimes.”

The art is a very “Marvel comic” style, purposely drawn to convey the superhero motif. The supes and their world are drawn and colored to emphasize the superhero world's grandness and gaudiness. Versus The Boys, who are dark and melancholic.

Typical of Garth Ennis's style, the writing is large, precise, and excessive. If you are familiar with Preacher, you will be familiar with his style. The Boys is a challenging series. It is full of sex and violence to the extremes. If this bothers you, maybe look for something from a different author. But for me, this severity and excessiveness are part of its charm. Superheroes are maniacs at their core. This book acts on the extremes of superheroes with extreme characters in retaliation. Who else could keep superheroes in check than people with nothing to lose except their own moral code?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

I had a difficult time finishing this novel. It is good, and well written. However, the beginning moved too slow for me to become emotionally invested in it. The last half of the novel more than made up for the beginning sluggishness. Mack wrote some very exciting scenes and the magic system that he created is great. It is different than most urban fantasy/fantasy out there. I recommend this book as it is well written and fun. It is a great dip in history and fantasy. Just know that the beginning is a little slow and sluggish, but it will pay off in spades by the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is just too cute. It is the story of Daniel and his new friend Megabat. It is a chapter book written for middle-schoolers that explores the idea of loneliness and friends coming together. Also, what the idea of home means for someone. Great lessons for a middle schooler to start investigating. The writing is good and the pictures are very well done. As this is for children, I don't think many adults would appreciate it. However, this can really stand on its own. It's a great story.

Charlie Jane Anders is a writer that I discovered last year and immediately fell in love with. I enjoyed The City in the Middle of the Night, and I had to investigate all the other things she has written as a matter of course. I am so glad I did. Anders is a Hugo and Nebula award-winning writer and a Hugo nominated fancaster with her partner Annalee Newitz. You can find her excellent podcast here. I bought a hardback copy of her short stories after checking out and reviewing As Good As New. A twist on the classic three wishes tropes, and is also my favorite short story. As Good As New exudes pure positivity even in the face of tragic or exhausting circumstances. It is a quality that I find quite a bit in Anders's writing. She has a way of finding the good, the beautiful, the heartfelt in places where finding those things is hard. Even in the direst of circumstances, there is always good and always something beautiful even if you can't see it, and Anders calls it out; she shows us.

There are six stories in Six Months, Three Days, Five Others, all are wonderful. However, the two I gravitated towards where As Good As New referenced above, and Six Months, and Five Days. Six Months and Five days is another short story with the same sense of optimism demonstrated in As Good as New. Six Months and Three Days is a love story, of a sort. What happens when two individuals, one who can see his future, and another who can see all futures meet and fall in love? It is a literal definition of a rock and a hard place.

The story is charming, and we know right from the beginning how it is going to end. But, the ending is not important. It doesn't matter how Doug and Judy end up getting there; it is the six months and three days of life that happen before the final moment, which I think Anders wanted to highlight. Yes, we can know all the answers. Yes, we know there will be lots of pain in this relationship. Yes, we know exactly how it is going to end. However, there are many beautiful moments, moments of love, and life that are worth celebrating even if you have already seen them in your mind's eye; you haven't experienced them.

The juice is worth the squeeze!

Check out the full story collection, but read Six Months and Three Days for sure.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.

“I am Fetching, leader of the half-orc hoof known as the True Bastards. I need to know who you cocksuckers are and what you are doing in the fucking lots.”

Once again, we visit the badlands of Ul-wundulas in all its dirty, and blood smeared glory. Instead of the Intrepid Jackal as the main narrator, we follow Fetch through her turmoil of keeping the hoof from dying off. After the events of the first novel (you can find my review here), we have the Bastards' home destroyed and their leader killed. Fetching is the new leader of the dwindling band of Bastards. She must confront starvation, hoof politics, and her failing health. All while working to defend the hoof from “Devil Dogs (hyena-like creatures),” and scheming Frails.

Unlike, Jackel, I found Fetch to be a much more sympathetic character and narrator. She often demonstrates a levelheadedness that Jackal did not have, and I found it necessary and well-written for the role she was managing as chief. She is an outcast female character, set within a very male, patriarchal world. This means that she has to have a backbone of steel. But Fetch is a well-rounded character; the steel of her spine is tempered with vulnerability. Also, Fetch is separated from her two best friends who, in the previous novel, offered her a bit of comfort and stability. However, her fierce protectiveness is effectively passed on to the hoof. She will do anything to keep the hoof alive. This includes keeping the spreading sludge filth in her body a secret. This bit of characterization is excellent and believable writing on the Part of Johnathon French.

Worldbuilding in this book is fantastic and an extension of the world that was created in The Gray Bastards. In the story, we learn a bit more about what the world is like outside of Ul-wundulas. This adds even more depth to the world, and I can't wait to see where French goes with it.

One of the difficulties I had with this book is the pacing. It is not as fast-paced as the first novel. There is quite a bit of action to be sure and some kick-ass fight scenes, but it did not flow as quickly as the first book. This might be due to the change of narrator. It isn't necessarily a detractor, just very different.

I can't tell you what happens at the end of this book, because that would ruin the fun. But be sure that the next book in the series is set up to be crazy.

This book is a killer. Fetch is a well-written anti-hero. You cheer her on, you sympathize with her, and you want to know what happens next. It is a page-turner with fabulous action. I highly recommend this kick-ass book and can't wait to read what else happens on the hog.