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Scorpion by Christian Cantrell – Book Review

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

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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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Blood Ties by Jo Nesbø – Book Review

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Blood Ties by Jo Nesbo – Book Cover

Roy Opgard may look like your average gas station attendant in the small Norwegian town of Os, but he’s a whole lot more than that. Much more. He’s a protector of the family, a business whiz, and, above all, a true fixer—the kind of guy who solves problems. And Os? It’s got no shortage of those. The Opgard brothers’ past (and present) is soaked in violence (see: The Kingdom). But for anyone who wants to become the king of a town like this, that’s hardly news. Except maybe the part where blood ties start to matter less and less… What follows is, naturally, a classic Jo Nesbø thriller — clever, twisty, and in this case, laced with an unusually heavy dose of melancholy.

It Was the Man at the Pump

Yep, the guy at the gas station. He did it all. Every single murder in Os… For the record, Roy Opgard is not a brutal, bloodthirsty monster. The fact that an alarming number of Os’s dearly departed met their end at his hands isn’t entirely his fault.

It took an abusive, tormenting father who targeted his own son. And a mother who looked the other way. Everything else followed from that. Oh, and of course, there was the charming, likable, but weak-willed brother, Carl, too.

The prequel to Blood Ties — The Kingdom — may be a thriller, and a solid one at that, but at its core, it’s also the life story of a lonely man longing for love. Its heavy, melancholic tone stands in sharp contrast to the looming sense of fate and the constant return of violence.

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Deadly Class, Volume 1: Reagan Youth by Rick Remender – Graphic Novel Review

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Deadly Class, Volume 1: Reagan Youth by Rick Remender - Comic Book Cover

A Dysfunctional Class Community…

You definitely wouldn’t want to attend a school like this, where the world’s deadliest assassins are trained under the leadership of Master Lin, who looks like a 157-year-old shriveled-up vegetable. Why not? Because at this school, most students would make better targets than pupils. From the offspring of Stalin’s assassin to simple gangster wannabes and the children of drug dealers, all the way to descendants of CIA and FBI agents (Seriously? Shouldn’t they be in some sort of law enforcement academy instead?!), they all follow the deadly curriculum of the Assassin’s Class in peaceful discord.

On top of that, they form cliques within the school (black gangsters, drug-affiliated gangsters, racists, slightly-less-racists, Yakuza friends etc.). It’s like something out of a romantic young adult novel or a teen soap opera: the basic premise is a bit questionable, and it strongly reeks of one of the most unpleasant young adult trends of the 2000s—the one where all sorts of mismatched creatures are thrown together in the same educational institution, from vampires to werewolves.

On his first day, the new student is even sent out into the city to kill for educational purposes, so there’s a bit of inconsistency in the curriculum too…

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God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston – Book Review

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God of Broken Things by Cameron Johnston – Book cover

Edwin Walker is a bastard – but otherwise a nice guy

Let’s not mince words: Edrin Walker is a vile scoundrel. At least, that’s what he thinks of himself. However, his self-perception didn’t stop him from saving his hometown from a massive threat in the prequel to God of Broken Things (see The Traitor God).

In God of Broken Things, another massive threat looms over the ill-fated city of Setharis. This isn’t bad news for the reader, as the second installment is somewhat more skillfully crafted than the first. The story is better developed, more comprehensible, and has fewer pointless antics and clumsy scenes (nudist grandma, ahem).

Edwin Walker Uses His Brain – Advanced Mind Magic

The evil antagonists, literally brain-invading scarrabus, are dead ringers for the Goa’uld from Stargate. If I were Cameron Johnston, I would’ve definitely stolen the idea from there myself. At first, this seems quite lame, and, well, it is a bit, but not entirely, because Edrin is an excellent practitioner of mind magic, as are these wretched little creatures. Thus, they have plenty of great opportunities to match wits—or rather, brains—in various skirmishes and eventually an epic battle.

God of Broken Things, much like its predecessor, is not free from unnecessary and bombastic embellishments. For instance, the galactic-scale backstory literally involves some characters throwing moons and planets around, creating such a contrast with the book’s main plot that it’s incapable of eliciting any significant reaction other than mild boredom. Fortunately, it’s only a few pages long.

God of Broken Things is gratuitously vulgar, screw that!

And how much of a vile scoundrel is Walker? For some reason, Johnston compulsively has the protagonist repeat how much of a disgusting, insensitive worm he is—while, in stark contrast, our hero gives his last pennies to the hungry, volunteers as an anesthesiologist in a hospital, or saves the ENTIRE planet. Edrin’s constant self-flagellation is clearly meant to make the hero unique. However, the facade slips: besides a hefty dose of cynicism, disrespect, and self-pity, there’s not much wrong with Edrin. Except, of course, his foul, dirty mouth!

The constant and utterly unnecessary swearing drags down the text of God of Broken Things to a barroom level. And, as with foul-mouthed kids in kindergarten, it’s hard to see what purpose it serves beyond shock value.

Cameron Johnston Creates a Memorable Hero… and…

However, after a while, you hardly notice the foul language anymore, fuck you, but you realize that Cameron Johnston somehow succeeded. Despite some bumps in the writing, the protagonist remains memorable. Especially as, over the course of the second part, the character finds himself more and becomes more agile and effective, turning into a true badass figure. And the mind games, distinct from typical fantasy, guarantee some uniqueness.

And in the end, the only thing you don’t understand is why, if Johnston went to the trouble of creating such a complex mythology and background world, he crammed the story into just two volumes. Because, truth be told, after the abrupt ending of God of Broken Things, you’re left feeling a bit incomplete.

Rating: 7.2/10

God of Broken Things (Age of Tyranny #2) by Cameron Johnston
432 pages, Paperback
Published in 2019 by Angry Robot

The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston – Book Review

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The Traitor God by Cameron Johnston - Book Cover

The protagonist of Traitor God, the mage Edrin Walker, returns to his hometown of Setharis after 10 years of exile to avenge the death of his best—and only (!)—friend. It’s fair to say Setharis doesn’t exactly welcome him back with open arms. After all, he did kill a god there. Or so people say. He doesn’t remember doing it. Then again, you’d probably claim the same thing in his shoes, wouldn’t you?

Cameron Johnston’s debut novel features an unusual hero, a unique magic system, and a genre experiment that’s anything but conventional: a blend of dark fantasy, detective noir, and horror-thriller elements.

Edrin Walker is NOT Your Friend

Edrin Walker is the walking embodiment of self-destruction. He’s a drunk, a rule-breaker, and a foul-mouthed, unpleasant jerk who despises himself far more than he could ever despise anyone else. Yet, it quickly becomes clear that Edrin possesses what is arguably the coolest magical ability around. And yet… maybe not.

Being able to peek into other people’s minds? That’s handy, especially if you want to insult them with flair. But invading someone’s mind? That’s a whole other level. Edrin is a telepath who can take complete control over others’ minds. Unfortunately, Setharis has a bit of a history with mind-mages. So, here’s the general consensus:

#1. Blowing someone to bits or peeling their skin off with magic? Fine.
#2. Turning people into mindless puppets? Absolutely not fine.

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The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Söderberg – Book Review

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The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Söderberg - Book Cover

If you’re expecting some intensely emotional Latin romance with a touch of heated love quarrels just from the title*, then you’re out of luck. The Andalucian Friend is actually just a simple, not very fast-paced thriller, with almost no love to be found—mathematically speaking, exactly: 0.

It gets even worse if you’re waiting for a special blend of gloomy Scandinavian crime with Mediterranean vibes. These two, it seems, completely cancel each other out. So, in the debut book of the Sophie Brinkmann Trilogy, you won’t really find much of a classic crime (whodunit) plot.

What you’ll be following instead is the power struggle between two criminal groups, along with a rather uneventful investigation of one of them by the police. And to top it off, there are just too many characters at the start, making it hard to keep track of the parallel events.

Change the bandage on my backside, sweetheart!

Another issue with The Andalucian Friend is that it’s hard to connect with the main characters, as they all seem a bit bland. Sophie Brinkmann, for instance, is far from a typical protagonist. She’s an ordinary, run-of-the-mill single mom. Söderberg completely wastes the potential MILF-factor! Sophie is jaded, indifferent, just swept along by the events happening around her.

But the most lackluster character of all is Hector Guzmán—the titular Andalucian friend. Alexander Söderberg likely envisioned the following traits when creating the title character: charismatic, intelligent, charming, and mysterious. Instead, Hector turned out to be THIS: bored, impatient, irritable—and slightly overweight.

Hector Guzmán feels like an ordinary, not-so-liked side character from a generic TV show—the kind the protagonists occasionally bump into in the stairwell and reluctantly stop to chat with about the weather.

So yeah, Söderberg probably should have put a little more effort into developing his characters…

Crime doesn’t pay!

It sure doesn’t! Not if you’re bad at it!

Hector Guzmán doesn’t seem to be very good at it. Business just isn’t going well, you see. Sure, having a rival crime syndicate and the police both trying to take you down at the same time is understandably unpleasant, but hey, that’s just the usual course of business in the criminal world. Ever since The Godfather, everyone knows how to handle these situations: bribe the cops and mow down your competitors with machine guns! No need for whining!

Something is rotten in the state of Swedenmark

In the second half of The Andalucian Friend, the focus shifts, and for some strange reason, the least likable characters take center stage. The police, too, start handling the investigation in increasingly bizarre ways, making you watch their actions with understandable suspicion: any cop who isn’t entirely mentally unhinged seems utterly unfit for the job.

Several storylines just vanish into thin air (for example, Jens, one of the best characters), and if you pay close attention, you might notice that some characters’ motivations are, to put it mildly, highly questionable. Most notably, Hector’s decisions regarding Sophie are completely inexplicable. I’m telling you, Sophie Brinkmann would definitely be better off staying in healthcare!

However, if you don’t pay closer attention, you’ll end up with just a nearly average crime novel. And if you make it to the end, you might (though not necessarily) care enough about the characters’ fates to maybe pick up the next installment.

Rating: 6.6/10

The Andalucian Friend (Sophie Brinkmann Trilogy #1) by Alexander Söderberg
464 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2014 by Vintage
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Review of the sequel:
The Other Son by Alexander Söderberg
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* The Andalusian Friend was published in Hungary as Andalusian Lover.