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Book Review: The City of Corpses (Lost Carcosa #2) by Joseph Sale

 

The City of Corpses (Lost Carcosa #2) by Joseph Sale

Blood Bound Publishing, 2024

ISBN: 9781940250595

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

Much like its predecessor, The Claw of Craving, the sequel The City of Corpses is a wildly imaginative dark fantasy that’s beautifully written and imagined.  It has it all: twisting plotline, vivid characters, unholy magic, a touch of romance, and a huge, blood-soaked battle that Conan himself would have enjoyed.  Above all, it’s the author’s magical touch with his prose that puts this saga in a league of its own.  This is a must read for any fantasy/horror fans.  You need to read the first one before this one, though.

 

City continues the journey of Alan Chambers, the unlikely hero (and possibly savior) of Carcosa.  The first book established Alan as a power, with the fabled Claw of Craving as his weapon.  In this one, it’s up to him to decide how to wield that power, as he is needed to prevent the Yellow King’s treacherous daughter Cali from causing the overthrow of the king.  Alan really comes into his own as the driving force in this book.  In the first one, his companions Cassilda (and Cali, at that time) called most of the shots.  Here, Alan steps up as the leader of the group, and thankfully, he still has Cassilda, Petruccio the dwarf, and the irascible actor LeBarron along for help.  The characters are well-developed from the first book to now, getting bigger and more interesting roles.  Cassilda has grown into her role as a big player. In the first book, she was often overshadowed by Cali: now, she’s a leader in her own right, and she and Alan make a formidable team- and discover personal feelings for each other.    There are a few new characters, as well:: the enchantress Scarleth is particularly intriguing.

 

The story itself does a great job of continuing the first, the world of Carcosa is so well drawn you can see and feel it.  One good example is when the characters cross the icewater lake to the hidden city It’s so perfectly written, you can almost feel the cold of the lake bite into your feet.  That’s a testament to the author’s ability. This is higher level writing, the kind that not only reads well, but also sounds good.  This isn’t standard fiction writing: it’s edging towards the level of Clark Ashton Smith.  You won’t find writing like this often– which is another reason this is a must-read for fantasy fans.   There is a lot of imagination built into the story: examples include the entrances to the hidden city, and all the wildness of the final battle, complete with a deranged dinosaur sort of creature that annihilates everything.  I loved the battle sequences: it made me feel like I was there when the enemies poured over the walls.  It’s a good, messy battle, with enough to satisfy the gorehounds out there.

 

Bottom line?  There really isn’t a flaw in this, except that it ends.  Thankfully, it will continue, as there seems to be a ways to go, and many questions to be answered.  Let’s hope the ride continues a long time: this is something special.  Very highly recommended!

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on February 28, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: The Serpent’s Shadow by Daniel Braum

Cover art for The Serpent's Shadow by Daniel Braum

 

The Serpent’s Shadow by Daniel Braum

Cemetery Dance, 2023

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1587679322

Available: Paperback

Buy: Bookshop.org

 

Daniel Braum’s writing is always intriguing. His NIght Marchers and Other Strange Tales was an outstanding collection of dark fiction. The Cemetery Dance release of his first novel departs from quiet horror to regale readers with a chilling story that is well worth the read.

 

David and his family land in Cancun, circa 1986. He and his sister are looking for adventure, hoping to escape their parents. They find it in a nightclub where he meets Anne Marie, a beautiful young woman to steal the eighteen-year-old’s heart. Yet she isn’t seeking to kill him, only to befriend him. Her innocence and ties to the city only ensnare his attention even more.

 

The true adventure begins as they explore a Mayan temple. The cab driver informs them that not everything is ancient history. The teens discover the pyramid holds a group of natives, many of the modern sort, who ache to bring Cancun back to the olden days when magic ruled the land.

 

What ensues is a blistering dark fantasy story that brings the horror. Braum knows how to deliver solid horror: how to build the tension, slowly tightening the noose on the readers. The setting is rendered beautifully, both the tourist trap of the city with its saccharine glitz, and the rich culture of the Mayans and Mexicans, struggling to reclaim a culture lost

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David and Anne Marie are fascinating in the depth of their characterization, as both stretch out in intriguing manners. The plot twists and turns, via the dive into the cultural dichotomy of past and current, as even the slightest characters contribute to the story. The less said, the better about this short novel, as the surprises creep off the page.

 

Braum paints a bizarre tale that leaves readers aching to read more of the writer’s work. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Posted on January 1, 2024 by , Reply

Book Review: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

 

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

Tor, 2023

ISBN-13 ‎978-125024404

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook.

Buy: Bookshop.org  | Amazon.com

 

There is a thin line between fantasy and horror, and between YA and adult fiction. Nettle and Bone dances on that line in this dark fairytale by T. Kingfisher, closer in tone to The Seventh Bride than The Hollow Places.

 

Marra is the youngest of three sisters, princesses of the Harbor Kingdom, which is surrounded on both sides by more powerful kingdoms. Her oldest sister Damia died after a suspiciously short marriage to the cruel Prince Vorling, and now her middle sister, Kania, must marry him and bear him an heir. Vorling’s heir will receive a blessing from the royal family’s fairy godmother that no foreign enemy can harm them with magic, but their lives are bound to the godmother’s just as she is bound to their family.

 

Marra is hidden away at a convent where she stays for ten years, until a visit to her sister convinces her that Kania must be freed from her abusive husband. She goes to the dust-wife, a witch skilled in necromancy, who owns a demon chicken, to ask for help, and accomplishes three impossible tasks the dust-wife sets her, including spinning, weaving, and sewing a cloak of nettle wool and bringing a dog made of bones to life. In completing the tasks. the dust-wife’s promise forces her to help Marra on her quest. They visit a goblin market to find what they need to succeed, which turns out to be a disgraced warrior, Fenris, who was trapped in a fairy fort. They then find Marra’s own fairy godmother, who turns out to be better at cursing than blessing, to her shame. They all must go into the catacombs under Vorling’s castle, where old kings are laid to rest, so the dust-wife can raise the king who bound the royal family’s godmother(essentially a prisoner) and force him to release her, Marra’s fairy godmother can take her place, and Fenris can kill the king.

 

I appreciated the imperfections in the characters and in the relationship between Kania and Marra that made them interesting and unique. Fairytale characters are usually flat and the storylines formulaic, but Kingfisher subverts expectations with fleshed-out characters and  plot elements that bring the unpredictable into play using familiar structures. As it just won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel, I am clearly not the only one to recognize that this book is really something special. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on October 30, 2023 by , Reply
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