Scorpion by Christian Cantrell – Book Review

Scorpion by Christian Cantrell – Book Cover

The pace of the cross-border killing spree is picking up fast. But the motive? Murky at best. The only clue comes in the form of cryptic four-digit number sequences tattooed on the victims’ bodies. CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell has never faced a tougher assignment. Scorpion, Christian Cantrell’s philosophical techno-thriller, offers a glimpse into the brutal future knocking at our door.

The Future Is Now

Just a stone’s throw away. And yes—it’s just as ugly as we imagined. Scorpion could be set five years from now. Or ten. Or the day after tomorrow. The staggering pace of technological advancement has already brought the achievements of the near future into view. And artificial intelligence—as we’re already experiencing—is changing everything, day by day.

Christian Cantrell—an engineer and software developer in civilian life—offers a vision that’s filled with both the familiar and the unknown. The tech and gadgets in Scorpion are so convincingly real, you’ll find yourself wondering whether you read about them here first—or in yesterday’s news.

In any case, they’re surrounded by the gentle warmth of familiarity—and thankfully, by credibility as well. That’s where many future-set thrillers stumble right out of the gate, either trying to say too much or trying to say it all at once.

But there’s one thing you definitely haven’t heard of: no one has ever received a message from the future. (Or at least, no one’s been willing to admit it—so far.)

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The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason – Book Review

The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason – Book Cover

After wrapping up the internationally acclaimed Erlendur series, Arnaldur Indridason launched a new crime series starring a fresh protagonist. Enter Konrád, a retired detective who first appears in The Darkness Knows—just as determined and conscientious as his famously grumpy predecessor.

Wake up! There’s a case to solve!

Inspector Erlendur might just be one of the most unconventional leading men in the history of crime fiction. A miserably moody, monosyllabic, and pathologically aloof Icelandic cop, he’s such a crashing bore that readers of his cases might find themselves turning steadily grayer and more featureless with each page—possibly even slipping into a light coma…

Well, Konrád from The Darkness Knows is only about a gram more exciting than him. I don’t know if most Icelanders are like this, or just the ones in Arnaldur Indridason’s social circle, but honestly—if Inspector Konrád ever invited you over, within twenty minutes you’d find yourself thinking that even methodically slitting your own wrists might be a more engaging way to pass the time than trying to hold a conversation with him…

The Erlendur series has 11 volumes. Nine of them have been published in Hungarian. Strangely enough, I’ve read them all. And no, no one held a gun to my head.

The reason, of course, is that Indridason more than makes up for his utterly unbearable protagonist with the actual investigative process. Just like he does with his new lead character…

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Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda – Graphic Novel Review

Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda - Graphic Novel Cover

Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s graphic novel series is a mind-blowing creation that takes place in a fantasy world like no other. A world that’s unbelievably complex, brutally unforgiving, and heartbreakingly beautiful all at once. Monstress: The Vow, the sixth volume in the series, continues the saga full of power struggles, hidden supernatural beings, betrayals, and horrors—where Maika Halfwolf, the protagonist, not only faces countless enemies, but can’t even trust her friends—or her own family. The only one she might be able to count on is the ancient, bloodthirsty entity lurking inside her.

Monstress Takes the Graphic Novel to a Whole New Level

The creators of Monstress, the Lennon and McCartney of the graphic novel world—Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda—have basically swept every major sci-fi and fantasy award with their joint masterpiece. And if they haven’t yet, they definitely will. Deservedly so.

The war between humans and Arcanics is being manipulated by otherworldly forces. Supernatural beings walk the earth, sometimes in their true forms, other times hiding behind masks—or in someone else’s skin—fighting each other for power. In this chaotic, utterly opaque, and constantly shifting web of alliances, Maika Halfwolf and her few remaining friends are just trying to stay alive.

All of this is delivered in panels that look like paintings.

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Big Swiss by Jen Beagin – Book Review

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin – Book Cover

Big Swiss is a woman. She goes to a sex therapist. Namely, to Om—who seems spectacularly unqualified for the job. Greta is also a woman. She transcribes the therapy session recordings. Greta is completely fascinated by Big Swiss. (Can’t blame her—everyone is.) And once they run into each other while walking their dogs, it’s clear that things are about to get complicated.

Big Swiss is Irresistible

In 2023, Big Swiss was ranked the 11th best novel by Goodreads readers. Normally, that kind of thing doesn’t mean squat. But in this case, it actually kind of does.

Jen Beagin’s third novel was named Book of the Year by Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Elle, and The New Yorker. So basically, every girly mag out there. Which, let’s be honest, might immediately scare off a very specific chunk of the reading population. But if you’re bold enough to crack it open out of sheer curiosity, you may find yourself reading a lot further than you expected. Possibly all the way to the end.

Why? Because of the instantly likeable characters, the wry yet warm humor, and the unmistakably unique, sharp narration.

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