Category Archives: Reviews

David Mogo, Godhunter – Suyi Davis Okungbowa

Set in an almost post-apocalyptic Nigeria where gods have fallen from the sky and all but driven humans out of the city of Lagos, Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s debut novel David Mogo, Godunter is a tale of displaced deities, urban wizards and a slightly hapless demigod trying to keep the peace. In dire need of a well-paying job, the titular godhunter accepts a somewhat dubious task from the powerful wizard Lukmon Ajala – to capture the twin high gods Ibeji. When things don’t quite go to plan, David Mogo finds himself torn between his human and divine halves, and forced to choose who and what he really wants to be.

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Wrath of N’Kai – Josh Reynolds

Aconyte Books’ exploration of the world of Arkham Horror begins in fine style with Josh Reynolds’ Wrath of N’Kai, an entertainingly dark tale of a gentlewoman thief getting more than she bargained for. Countess Alessandra Zorzi has been commissioned to travel to Arkham, where a recently-discovered ancient American mummy is to be displayed, and steal it. What sounds like a relatively simple job, however, is complicated by the presence of an investigator from the insurance company underwriting the exhibition, and the dawning realisation that there’s more going on than meets the eye in both Arkham’s criminal underworld and its wealthy upper class.

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Knights of Macragge – Nick Kyme

Nick Kyme returns to the ongoing story of Captain Cato Sicarius of the Ultramarines 2nd Company in Knights of Macragge, which sees Sicarius and his brothers, and the crew of the Emperor’s Will, lost in the Warp. The events of Damnos are in the past, the Great Rift has opened and Guilliman returned, and the Ultramarines of 2nd Company are both reinforced and wracked by rivalry like never before. After years spent battling daemonic incursions and the debilitating effects of the Warp, everyone on board the Emperor’s Will is stretched to breaking point, but Sicarius is determined to find a way to survive, and eventually return to the Imperium…or what’s left of it.

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Tales From the Crucible – edited by Charlotte Llewelyn-Wells

Across nine stories from eight different authors, Aconyte Books’ short story anthology Tales From the Crucible explores the vibrant KeyForge setting and the characters who populate the immense world of the Crucible. A wild melting pot of races and archetypes – from elves, goblins and giants to demons, robots, martians and more – battling it out for the valuable resource known as Aember, as a setting it’s equal parts fantasy and science fiction, where anything is possible and nothing seems out of place. Heists, dirty dealings, historical reenactment, field trips, dangerous experiments, family struggles – everything is fair game, and despite the variety of styles, characters and approaches these stories are all united by an overarching sense of bold, colourful, fun storytelling.

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The Murderbot Diaries 1 to 4 by Martha Wells

The first four books in Martha Wells’ brilliant sci-fi series The Murderbot Diaries comprise the novellas All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy, all published by Tor.com between 2017 and 2018. Across the four stories they tell the tale of a rogue SecUnit which calls itself Murderbot – a part-human, part-machine android designed and created to be hired out to anyone who needs security and can pay its parent company’s fees. Unlike most SecUnits, Murderbot has hacked its governor module to give itself freedom from company control, and is largely content to pay little attention to its actual job, and instead consume endless hours of media via its data feed. It’s also distrustful of humans, low-key sassy and emotionally vulnerable in a remarkably relatable way.

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Casefiles of the Royal Occultist: Monmouth’s Giants – Josh Reynolds

Josh Reynolds’ Monmouth’s Giants, a Casefiles of the Royal Occultist anthology from 18th Wall Productions, collects together 13 tales of monsters, magic, occult history and stoic British nerve. In 1920s London the position of Royal Occultist, a sort-of-policeman tasked with investigating occult crimes and mysterious goings-on, is held by the impeccably dressed if slightly bumbling Charles St. Cyprian, with the valuable help of apprentice/assistant (depending who you ask) Ebe Gallowglass. Over the course of these stories the pair battle all manner of mysterious creatures and disreputable characters, getting by on bravery, ancient knowledge, a stiff upper lip and just a little bit of luck.

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Sepulturum – Nick Kyme

Nick Kyme makes his novel-length introduction to the Warhammer Horror imprint with Sepulturum, a (short) 40k novel pitting a lone inquisitor against shadowy, hidden enemies and the terror of an endless horde of zombies. Morgravia Sanctus is in the hive city of Blackgeist hunting for…something, but she can’t remember what. All she knows for sure is that she’s in pain, afflicted by terrible waking dreams, and no longer the hunter. Battered and bloody, she seeks out a way to reclaim her memories and complete her mission, only to be swept up in a tide of blood as Blackgeist’s population succumbs to some kind of zombie plague.

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Docile – KM Szpara

In Docile, K.M. Szpara imagines a not-too-distant America in which income inequality is so rampant that while trillionaires live lifestyles of luxury, many less fortunate souls are forced to pay off crushing debt by selling themselves to rich patrons as Dociles, to do with as they please. While most Dociles take the drug Dociline to dull their minds for the duration of their service, when Elisha Wilder signs his life away to one of the most powerful men in Baltimore he chooses to decline the drug. While Elisha is determined to retain his sense of self, his patron Alex – the CEO of the very company which manufactures Dociline – sets out to make Elisha into the perfect Docile even so.

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QUICK REVIEW: Champion of Oaths – John French

John French’s Horus Heresy short story Champion of Oaths is a characterful little vignette portraying two key moments in the life of Sigismund, who would become First Captain of the Imperial Fists. In the drift camps of the Ionus Plateau, a scared boy stands against a vicious gang of youths preying upon terrified orphans, defending his fellows. In the Temple of Oaths, a warrior faces two hundred of his brothers in a trial of combat, one after the other – should he defeat every one of them, he will be proved worthy to lead his brotherhood as the First of Templars.

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The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – Grady Hendrix

Bloody, disturbing, often hilariously well observed, Grady Hendrix’s novel The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is a tale of darkness stealing into a quiet and reserved community, and how that community responds to the evil in its midst. It’s the early 90s, and in a well-to-do Charleston town Patricia Campbell and her friends meet once a month for their book club, a much-needed slice of time away from husbands, children and never-ending lists of jobs needing doing. When strange goings-on bring charming newcomer James Harris into their orbit, however, the stories they read of gruesome murder and true crime begin to feel worryingly relevant.

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