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Firestarter by Stephen King – Book Review

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Firestarter by Stephen King – Book Cover

Oh, we know all about the CIA and the likes of them, don’t we? Of course we do! If some genius over there comes up with the idea to inject shady concoctions into unsuspecting college students as part of an experiment, well, they don’t hesitate. They just go for it. And if a few people drop dead in the process, they probably figure it’s not too steep a price to pay for developing psychic abilities… Of course, messing around with the secrets of the universe always comes with a side of danger. You can bet the real trouble only begins if the experiment actually works. When the genie’s out of the bottle. Or when someone shows up who can set things on fire. With their mind. Easily. And on any scale. A Firestarter, if you will.

Firestarter Walk With Me

Stephen King has never shied away from the supernatural. (There. We said it.) The pyrokinesis that serves as the basis for Firestarter may have been heard of before—if nowhere else, then at least in connection with so-called spontaneous combustion. And it’s no secret that during the Cold War, both the Americans and the Soviets were digging into the mysteries of the human mind. (With, let’s say, varying degrees of success.)

Still, having a real, living, breathing fire mage? That’s a whole different level!

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The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Review

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Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Cover

Demons Never Give You a Moment of Peace

It’s as if Peter V. Brett keeps getting better as a writer with each successive book in the Demon Cycle series. You definitely get that feeling with The Daylight War. And it’s not just because the stakes dramatically increase in this installment, which is true, but rather because Brett uses his characters much more effectively.

At first, the demons that seep to the surface from the depths of the earth during the night seem quite elusive and faceless. However, as the series progresses, you get to know these hellish creatures better and better.

What starts as a seemingly conventional world in The Warded Man, becomes increasingly complex here. And the demons lurking below ground realize that their dinner is becoming tougher and tougher.

In the Demon Cycle, everything and everyone comes in pairs: day and night, humans and demons, the northern duchies of Thesa and Krasia located in the south, the Creator and Everam, Ahmann Jardir and Arlen Bales. This duality is even more pronounced in Krasia, where men and women are separated just as distinctly as the full-fledged Sharum and the lower, despised Khaffit caste.

However, The Daylight War is about unification. Humanity must unite under the banner of the Deliverer if they are to defeat their common enemy. The problem is that there are two Deliverers. And each one is convinced that he is the true one. And with good reason…

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Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu – Sana Takeda – Comic Book Review

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Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu - Sana Takeda - Comic Book Cover

Stunningly Complex World

It’s rare to find a work where saving the world is at stake, yet it doesn’t quickly devolve into a predictable and monotonous clash between good and evil. Fortunately, that’s not the case in Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress series (and its second volume titled The Blood).

The world of Monstress is so intricately complex that, for now, you have no idea who needs saving from whom. Arcanics, humans, ancients, gods, and cats!—each has their own goals, and amidst this intricate web of relationships, Maika Halfwolf, with her ever-decreasing body mass, pushes forward, knee-deep in blood, seeking answers to many tormenting questions. Such as: Is it good for you if a ravenous monster is awakening inside you? Or: How beneficial is it for your mental health if you’ve been trained to be a killer since early childhood?

(In the long run, probably not at all, but if someone messes with you in a thyrrian ruin-pub, both can come in handy.)

All of this is covered in the continuation of the blog’s highest-rated (8.7/10) and most beautifully executed work to date (see Monstress – The Awakening, Vol. 1).

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