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Book Review: The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson

Quill Tree Books, 2023

ISBN-13: ‎978-0063260795

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

Buy:  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

I have enjoyed Kosoko Jackson’s previous YA books, the dystopian Survive the Dome and the time travel novel Yesterday is History, both with Black queer boys as protagonists. The Forest Demands Its Due once again changes genre, to a combination of dark academia and folk horror.

 

Douglas Jones was arrested for arson and manslaughter when a lawyer offered her services pro bono if he would agree to attend an elite boarding school in an isolated area of Vermont. The school is bordered by a forest that students are warned away from as there have been many who disappeared into them never to be seen again.

 

As the only Black queer boy attending Regent School, Douglas is a target for bullies. He also hears loud, disturbing voices he can’t  turn off that he is certain come from the forest. Just the first few pages and Jackson had me deep in his story.

 

Early in the book a bully drags Douglas into the forest and is killed. Everett Everley, a member of the Everley family charged with protecting students, bargains with the Emissary, a vengeful creature of the god of the forest, to save himself and Douglas. Douglas learns that whenever there is a suspicious death the headmaster “erases” the existence of the person from everyone’s memories, so no one is aware of how many students and teachers have been lost to the forest.

 

There is a curse on the forest, nearby town of Winslow, and the five founding families of the town preventing them from leaving because they participated in the burning of Henry, the forest god’s lover, generations ago. His grief and anger have caused the death and anguish of many students and locals.  Everett and the headmaster are both descendants of the founding families. Everett helps Douglas investigate the history of Winslow, the school, and the forest, and after some awkward misunderstandings they start to develop a romantic relationship. The headmaster convinces Douglas to enter the forest  in hopes that he can find the gate to the forest god’s retreat and break the curse. Everett goes with Douglas to protect him. The forest is nightmarish, twisty and changeable and they easily get lost, then attacked by Emissaries and their grotesque servants, called Perversions. When they find the gate, Douglas goes through to try to convince the god to let go of his grief and anger and release the forest and town from their curse. As the god dies, he transfers his powers to Douglas, tying him to the forest and freeing Everett.

 

This was a very emotional story with a lot of darkness and trauma. The two boys have had very heavy responsibilities set on their shoulders and see and experience things no one should have to. They witness the aftermath of a suicide and there is a fair amount of gore and body horror (the Perversions are a grotesque combination of human and animal parts) Jackson’s writing is descriptive and atmospheric, although it’s a little slow in places, and he has created an immersive experience of the dark fantastic.

 

Jackson frequently addresses the injustice and inequality of institutions such as the legal system and education, and that is evident here. I love that he puts power for change in the hands of someone marginalized, who has only ever felt powerless. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on October 3, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: The Claw of Craving: The First Book of Lost Carcosa by Joseph Sale

 

The Claw of Craving: The First Book of Lost Carcosa by Joseph Sale

Blood Bound Publishing, 2023

ISBN: 9781940250595

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition 

Buy:  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com

 

Some of the best horror novels of the 80s and 90s weren’t really horror at all.  They were, at heart, fantasy books with a dark core, with James Herbert’s Once, Clive Barker’s Weaveworld, and Ronald Kelly’s Fear being standout examples. Joseph’s Sale’s The Claw of Craving is a beautifully crafted tale of darkness and light in the “world beyond our world” realm of Carcosa that could revitalize the genre.  If you like dark fantasy, this is a must-read.

 

Alan Chambers is an ordinary guy convinced there has to be more to existence than his mundane life on earth…it’s there, somewhere, just beyond his grasp.  His search ends when he is granted passage to the fabled land of Carcosa, ruled by the Yellow King (a nice nod/tribute to author Robert W. Chambers in the choice of ruler). Alan and a few companions find themselves on a journey to recover the Claw of Craving, so they can rescue the wife of the Yellow King from her captors.  Magic and mayhem abound, as the companions journey through the bleak land to the fortress where the Claw resides.  

 

It only takes 25 pages or so for Alan to get to Carcosa, afte suffering through a pain-soaked ritual.  Once in Carcosa, the story takes off, pulling the reader along at a quick pace. 

 

Dark fantasy books work best when taking the standard elements of magic and demihumans, then warping them or shading them in gray.  Author Sale does this throughout the book with impeccable skill:  this is outstanding writing.  The magic feels original, .the monsters are new creatures from old elements, and the fights are bloody enough for the gorehounds, but it’s all in service to the story, not the other way around.  One can catch hints of Lovecraft in the narrative, with the whole “describing things that cannot be described” style.  Author Sale does this well, and makes it sound like his own style.

 

The characters and their development are what really elevate the story.  At heart, this is a story about one man’s need for redemption and becoming a better person, even if he didn’t know he was looking for that.  It’s emotionally deep at times, and will give some fearsome yanks on the heart-strings, as Alan tries to put the damage from his past life behind him.  The other characters are also emotionally complex, with Princess Cassilda being especially well done. Her insights on human nature would hold up in any philosophy discussion. It’s Alan who is the star of the book, though, and an outstanding one he is.

 

Bottom line: enough talkie-talkie!  Just read this one: it’s hard to imagine anyone disliking it, and should appeal to non-horror readers as well.  The only problem is waiting for the next one in the series!  

Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on September 24, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: Gods of Kiranis (Kiranis #1) by Ronald A. Geobey

Gods of Kiranis (Kiranis #1) by Ronald A. Geobey 

Temple Dark Books, 2021

ISBN: 9781838259419

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

Gods of Kiranis isn’t just a sci-fi novel.  It’s an achievement, and a very notable one.  The book has an unbelievably dense and complex plot, on the level of the Game of Thrones novels, and it’s impressive with the scope and imagination of the science fiction elements used..    Most importantly, it provides entertainment and leaves you wanting more.  Readers looking for a truly unique novel in terms of universe building and scope won’t want to miss this one.  It’s probably a bit much for readers who just like straightforward sci-fi, a la Buck Rogers.  

 

The book begins with a large metal cage suddenly arriving from space and being placed around Earth, and ends with a large battle (among other things) near the planet Kiranis in another part of the galaxy. It all connects to a genetic cross-breed experiment performed centuries before on humans and Garrans, one of the alien races involved.  Between those two events is a multi-layered story of lies, backstabbing, and shifting alliances between mankind and various alien races, as each race tries to come out on top, or just survive.

 

The story format is unique, and gives the book its unusual flavor, but it also may make it off-putting to some readers.  The four sections of the book essentially cover the same events in the same time period, but each is done from the point of view of one of the four species: human, Jaevisk, Garran, and Kwaios.  During the first and second sections, many elements are inserted into the story with no background, so the reader doesn’t know how they relate to the story, or why they are present.  Context is provided later in the other sections, but it can be confusing at times.  There is a LOT going on in this book: it’s one of the most layered stories I’ve ever read.  Almost everything makes sense in the end, but the journey getting there can be difficult at times.  The book would have been helped by adding a simple “cast of characters” appendix to keep all of the names straight.    

 

Worth noting is the outstanding job the author did of world building, particularly with the Garran homelands.  It doesn’t go into every little detail, but it’s enough to make you feel like it’s an actual place, not just a figment of the author’s imagination.  All the science fiction elements (the cage, space vortexes, etc.) are used well, but the author avoids going the “hard science” route of Kim Stanley Robinson or Neal Stephenson.  The main focus is the characters, not the science or the devices.  Did I mention this book has dragons in it as well?  That’s not an element normally found in sci-fi!

 

Bottom line: it’s an amazing story, both in terms of interest level, creation, and complexity.  There are plenty of unanswered questions at the end, but considering this is the first of a planned seven books, there’s plenty of time for answers.  It will be interesting to see where it goes: we just might be looking at the science fiction equivalent of Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.

 

Recommended, highly so, for lovers of elaborate stories.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Posted on September 15, 2023 by , Reply
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