G. Markwardt

Bushwhacker

Revisado: 09-10-24

I have a soft spot for pulpy LitRPG. Particularly where scrappy little monsters are the heroes. Such as Threadbear and Cat Core. This scratch's that itch nicely. Shrubley is a low rank shrub monster that set's off to be a hero. In typical LitRPG fashion Shrubley joins am adventurer's guild and starts questing to level up recruiting friends along the way. The cast is fun including Cal Sium a skeleton mage, Smudge the slime, and Slyrox the Koblin (Goblin) quickly fill out the ranks.

The world building is good but the amount of different world shards (alternate dimensions) and mirror shards (mirrored dimension) are a little much for my personal taste.

Our party spends most of the novel in one such dimension fighting off armies of Serpentii, snake like monsters, who are trying to take over the world of Almora (Main World for this story). The novel itself is humorous and punny without taking itself too seriously. You won't find a ton of depth but it's a fun and humorous adventure LitRPG and if you enjoy them as much as I do you'll likely get a kick out of it.

And you can never go wrong with Travis Baldree narrating.

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Rock & Roll Horror Show

Revisado: 06-06-24

4/5 I had the privilege of meeting Jessie Rose at a local book fair. I saw a few other people carrying copies of Atomic Love and the dayglow neon pink skull immediately caught my attention. My wife and I spoke with Jessie for a few moments and I decided I’d like to give Atomic Love a shot. I’m glad I did.

Atomic Love is a horror novel because it is filled with horror and atrocity but it’s definitely hard to define for me as one particular genre. Part thriller and part coming of age tale Atomic Love feels like a horrible amalgamation of A Child Called It and a Nicholas Sparks novel. A faux memoir of an abused wife of a psychopath rockstar. Its atrocities feel all too real. Particularly with its lead Jennifer. She makes terrible decisions at every turn and makes you want to scream. Sadly it seems nowadays like everyone knows an abuse victim whom people feel constantly made the wrong decisions and kept themselves in situations they should have long escaped from. It’s easy to think this of Jennifer too not knowing the psychology of it all.

Not a fun novel but a gripping one if you can stomach the trauma. Not overly graphic in its descriptive violence but very easy to imagine and empathize.

I look forward to checking out more of Jessie Rose’s work in the future.

I liked the narrator but she read incredibly slow. I’ve never I increased the speed to 1.2x which is something I never do and I didn’t even notice changes with cadence.

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Barker Does it Again

Revisado: 11-02-23

RJ Barker does it again and is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of epic fantasy. Some of the best world building I’ve ever read in Fantasy.

Cahan is taken at a young age to essentially become the avatar of a god. Raised to overthrow the current ruling god. However a different god and avatar rise leaving Cahan aimless and without purpose. Choosing a hermetical existence as a forester and clanless vagabond he just wants to live in quiet and peace. However the world of Crua has other plans for the false cowl-rai and Cahan is inexplicably pulled back into chaos and forced to help those which he has no love for.

I really enjoyed this one. An excellent and memorable cast of characters and a setting and world you won’t easily forget. It is hard fantasy and since all of the creatures, cast system, and flora are all unique to Barker’s world it can take a little time to adjust and figure out what everything is. It is also a bit of a slow build but I was never bored and once I got my head around what everything is I quickly found myself addicted once more to one of Barker’s fantasy worlds. Every bit as good as The Bone Ships.

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A Rich Tapestry of World Building

Revisado: 09-18-23

4/5 Finished another series by Michael J Sullivan. This one expertly finishes the Rise and Fall Trilogy and ties the Legends of the First Empyre to Riyria Revelations. As a whole I didn’t enjoy this series as much as the others. They don’t have the same scope as the others and the antagonist who appears in all 3 books just isn’t great. However Sullivan is master when it comes to world building and weaving a tapestry that is Elan.

The characters and dialog are also top notch like usual. Esrahaddon and the goblin Niblick will be fondly remembered whenever I think of Sullivan’s works now.

This entry was a lot darker than most of what Sullivan had put out as well and I really dug that even though grim is definitely not what you think of with of the author, he’s usually much more optimistic and upbeat so it’s a nice change for him. Though he is a master of breaking your heart as well. Not as much as Farilane and portions of Empyre though some of those were down right tragic.

You can’t go wrong with Sullivan if you’re a fan of epic fantasy. Highly recommended. Read in publication order.

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A Gruesome Haunted House Tale

Revisado: 08-10-23

4/5 I love a good haunted house story. I love more when it’s gory and violent. Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy a good Haunting of Hill House but what I usually like more is a bloody 13 Ghosts. This isn’t a creeping subtle southern gothic this a bleeding monster of a haunted house tale.

The Saban family move into what should be a brand new home but it quickly begins deteriorating. Father and son Trent and Milo take to fixing and building things. Discovering a YouTube channel staring Handyman Hank formerly unhandy Trent becomes obsessed with repairs. The more he repairs the more work needs to be done and Trent is turning into the poster boy for violent toxic masculinity, which is a large theme in the novel. Milo begins stumbling upon all sorts of disgusting and horrific scenes and the wife Rita becomes distant and closed off.

A hefty dose of bizarre grotesqueness pushes through to dark family secrets, domestic terror, and unsettling imagery. Recommended for those who love a good haunted house story and have a bit of a stronger stomach.

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Excellent Sci-Fi Horror

Revisado: 11-02-22

This horror techno thriller strongly invokes a mixture of Michael Crichton and Stephen King in my opinion and was an excellent read. A company called Edited Pets is working on it's next big project, Sammy's. Sammy's are genetically altered pets that have been mixed with Human Intelligence DNA to make them smarter and able to communicate with their owner's. However one particular Sammy is more intelligent than the rest and he does not like what he's seeing being done in the labs where he was created.

Sammy eventually escapes with the help of a disabled boy named Dallas who is excited to have a new best friend, a rat he can talk to. Thing's spiral and the only thing that will be able to stop Sammy from starting a catastrophe of apocalyptical and biblical proportions is his friend Dallas.

The characters are all well done and relatable. There's a lot of charm and humor here but there is also a lot of gore and thrills. I really enjoyed it and recommend it for those looking for a great creature horror or fun techno thriller.

T. Ryder Smith nailed the narration in my opinion. Some people won't like his voices for Sammy and Dallas but I thought they were great.

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An Improvement over the Last 2 Volumes

Revisado: 11-21-20

4.5/5 After a lull during the last couple books Divergence kicks things up a notch. Many questions are answered. Plotlines start to converge. While this is a nice change of pace from the last 2 slower novels that spent far too much time on filler and training Divergence really is super grim in comparison to the previous novels. Our heroes really needed to eek out some wins this time around but those are few and far between it seems as the Vritras and the Alacryan army reign hell down upon them.

There are more flashbacks to Arthur's past life in this volume as well, though they are fewer and farther between. There are also a few other PoV characters which can be a little distracting and a few of them seemed rather unnecessary. They aren't as bad as they were before and the fact that the plotline sees a huge comparative surge its not hard to keep interested.

While I still miss the easy going whimsical nature of the first few volumes I must admit they didn't have a staggering level of conflict for our OP (over powered) protagonist. In this volume the table gets flipped.

I think the tale is starting to catch up to Turtleme's web novel I hope the releases remain consistent as I am an impatient bastard.

Audible Note: Travis Baldree continues his fantastic narration.

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A Fun Haunted House Story

Revisado: 10-04-20

Home Before Dark was a lot more enjoyable than the first Riley Sager Novel I read, Final Girls. I thought that one was just bland. Thankfully Home Before Dark is a lot more entertaining although a lot of the twists and turns are just as ridiculous.

Home Before Dark is a haunted house story that start's out rather run of the mill but slowly builds itself up. Told in 2 different perspectives the first is that of the father who's portion of the tale is told in a novel within novel form. It tells the story of how his family moved into Baneberry Hall and fled in terror in less than 3 short weeks.

The 2nd portion of the story is told by Maggie the daughter who's family fled 25 years earlier. She has returned to Baneberry Hall looking for answers. Believing her parents have been lying her entire life. She is tired of living in the shadow of her father's novel.

Home Before Dark bounces back and forth between the father's original novel and Maggie's return to Baneberry Hall. This helps to build the tension and mystery. Is Maggie's father telling the truth or is it all just a fabrication as Maggie herself believes?

Some decent creepy moments through out. The only thing I regret is that the house itself never felt like a character itself like they usually do in a good haunted house story.

I finished this right before the release of Netflix's take on The Turning of the Screw, The Haunting of Bly Manor. I can't help but think this would be a fun season of that show, The Haunting of Baneberry Hall.

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More Koli Please

Revisado: 09-27-20

Picking up right where The Book of Koli left off The Trials of Koli is every bit as good. This time around a 2nd PoV character has been added, Spinner, who you may remember from the first book. I'm always weary of additional PoV's added in fantasy novels as many times they can potentially slow down the pacing and feel a little dry and detracting to the main narrative. However I did not feel that way at all this time around. Spinner's part of the tale is every bit as engaging as Koli's and the author does not drag one section out longer than needed or constantly bounce characters back and forth with ridiculous chapter cliff hangers.

The character's are all excellent. My favorite being Monono the sentient iPod with the essence of a Japanese pop idol. The world is interesting and it continues to be a nice change of pace to have a dystopian fantasy that is not YA. The world where almost all of the things living on it both flora and fauna are deadly and technology from the past is coveted.

Compassionate and intriguing characters, creative and interesting setting, a good dose of humor, and excellent pacing makes the series easy to recommend. I can't wait for the final book in the trilogy early next year.

Both Narrators do a good job in presenting their part of the tale.

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Wonderful

Revisado: 09-27-20

This was easily my favorite of Fredrik Backman's novels. Anxious People is about a bungled bank robbery turned hostage situation where everything goes hilariously wrong and yet so wonderfully right. I laughed out loud several time's while reading. It is cleverly written in all aspects.

I affirm after this that Backman absolutely knows how to write people. His character's are bursting with compassion and humor. When Anxious People wasn't making me laugh it was entertaining me with wonderful anecdotes and insights. I particularly enjoy the way the author describes parenting.

While the highlight for me was the humor the novel is packed with meaningful and heartfelt drama through out. As absurd as some of the connections between these characters were at points I wouldn't change a thing about it. Highly Recommended.

Marin Ireland does a fantastic job narrating.

I'm glad I discovered Backman's work when I did. I fear if I had read his novels as a younger man I would not have gotten nearly as much out of them.

Someone mentioned it was optioned for a Swedish miniseries. If this does happen I can hope that Netflix brings it stateside so I can enjoy it as well.

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