“Human beings have been eagerly devouring notions of evil and horror since we dwelt in caves and jumped at the shadows and noises occurring just outsi“Human beings have been eagerly devouring notions of evil and horror since we dwelt in caves and jumped at the shadows and noises occurring just outside the comforting range of firelight.”
“Canadians, especially, have always been concerned with notions of what lies beyond our normal existence.”
In ONLY MONSTERS IN THE BUILDING, author Mark Leslie went to great lengths to assure readers who shared his concerns that while paranormals might be creatures that inhabit that realm beyond our normality, they are definitely people too. People, in fact, with all the frustrations, foibles, fears, and failings that we “normals” deal with everyday in our lives. And, in crafting his cast of what Leslie characterized as “supernatural misfits (a studious fairy, a vegan vampire, a shy mermaid, a clingy werecat, and an extroverted troll)”, he also crafted a clever mystery and a brilliant master class in “show, don’t tell” character development!
How did he do it??
ONLY MONSTERS IN THE BUILDING is effectively a novel length reproduction of conversations in a series of therapy sessions between a confused patient (distressed werewolf and definitely paranormal though he may be) and his therapist. But Leslie has managed to alternate those periods of the eponymous Canadian Werewolf Michael Andrews’ directed self-examination with chapters of real-time interaction with the rest of his fellow abnormal paranormals in a cozy locked-room style murder mystery that makes the entire package genuinely enthralling, entertaining, humorous, and compelling.
Leslie’s development of Michael Andrews’ skills as an author and his personality and back story may not constitute a birth to present day autobiography (I mean … how could it? Andrews IS a werewolf after all!). But the extent to which Leslie injects himself into the Michael Andrews persona would please even the likes of Charles Dickens, author of the classic DAVID COPPERFIELD. The novel is absolutely jam-packed with film, music, television, and 20th century cultural references that reflect Leslie’s love of the world he lived in as he grew up. He even managed to sneak in a few cheeky references to his own writing by attributing it to work in Andrews’ bibliography. Fairy Ellie’s gushing praise of SILENT SCREAMS, Michael Andrews’ first and wildly undersold and distinctly unpopular first novel, was in fact a stand-in for one of Leslie’s earlier collection of short stories, ONE HAND SCREAMING which he prefaced with this comment concerning his propensity to mentally collect everyday occurrences for use in his writing,
“Silent screams bounce around inside my head like an impending storm brewing into a force that will escape in a wild dance of chaos and be lost forever if I don’t stop to jot them down.”
If you’ve got more time and patience than you know what to do with, perhaps you might want to re-read ONLY MONSTERS IN THE BUILDING with a view to snagging and listing all of the cultural references or Leslie’s meta-references to his own previous novels, novellas and short stories. An aspiring future scholar of English literature might choose to use that as in a Masters or PhD thesis after Leslie has attained classic status as a horror humorist.
Definitely recommended as one of my Top Ten favourites for this year.
Paul Weiss
P.S. Recommended that is with the very strong caveat that this is NOT a stand-alone novel and would make very little sense without an understanding of the Canadian Werewolf back story. But, fret not, do yourself a favour a go back to A CANADIAN WEREWOLF IN NEW YORK, #1 in the series. You're in for a real treat!...more
“The big smile I’d been sporting vanished like critical thinking skills at a Trump rally …” It’s tough not LOL, you had me with the opening sentence!
“The big smile I’d been sporting vanished like critical thinking skills at a Trump rally …” It’s tough not to feel proud of a clever Canadian author who likes to take an occasional dump on the Republican situation in the USA. But I digress.
LOVER’S MOON, #5 in Leslie’s CANADIAN WEREWOLF series, closes with an ominous epilogue in which Michael Andrews, expat Canadian author living in New York City and the eponymous werewolf of the series, is advised in curt, unfeeling, and very hard-edged terms, that any further contact with Gail, the hard-won love of his life is out of the question. She is, forever more, beyond his reach. Gail’s brother, Ben, goes on, “Sit down, Andrews … you’re definitely going to need to be sitting down for this.” With hardly enough time to draw a shocked breath, HEX AND THE CITY picks up the story line there and continues.
For reasons long buried in the mists of paranormal’s antiquity, Michael Andrews’ and Gail Sommers’ love, their friendship, and, indeed, even the act of thinking of or communicating with one another, has fulfilled the terms of an old curse and opened the world to the predation of evil denizens of the paranormal world – trolls, wraiths, evil witches, and the mundane world of violent crime, hatred, and the unfortunately more familiar likes of hard right-wing xenophobia, pugilistic nationalism, and neo-Nazism. The ugliness of white supremacist skinhead groups like the Proud Fighters for America degenerates to dangerous new levels. HEX AND THE CITY is the story of Michael’s and Gail’s battle to deploy the tool of witch’s magic to reverse that curse and to find a way to fulfill their love for one another in spite of it.
“ … understand that you are a very small part of the world. You cannot create magic; you are magic. And you can learn to harness the power of the earth’s magic if you stop thinking about it and start listening to it. Every animal, every star, every blade of grass and drop of water. All life. All death. All of it is connected, and all of it is magic.”
In more general terms, HEX AND THE CITY might be characterized as an adult good vs evil tale set firmly in a world that is a combination of human evil, horror, and the paranormal. To a reader with firmly established left-wing proclivities like my own, it might even be perceived as an extended metaphor for the USA’s current struggle against the accelerating existential threat posed by the rise in right-wing Republican nationalism and its effect on American culture. However you interpret the novel’s story line, it must be said that HEX AND THE CITY is a gripping, fast-paced and deeply moving page-turner from first page to last that represents growth and an as yet unseen maturity in Mark Leslie’s writing skills that has been enabled, fostered, and assisted by his partnership with co-author Julie Strauss.
Kudos to both Leslie and Strauss for a job well done. I’m definitely looking forward to more of your work both in partnership and as individuals.
“No amount of preparation would ever make the sensation of having his nostrils shoved inside his ass as he was squeezed to the size of tardigrade r“No amount of preparation would ever make the sensation of having his nostrils shoved inside his ass as he was squeezed to the size of tardigrade remotely pleasant.”
Passing “through a micro black hole that connected with the right dimension” is obviously a pretty tricky and physically demanding feat, LOL!!
I suspect it’s a simple truism that it’s impossible to find an anthology in which every story knocks the ball out of the park. So let’s get the bad news out of the way first.
A SONG OF DARK THINGS and MESSING WITH THE MULTIVERSE are, not to put too fine a point on it, simply indecipherable. They’re clearly included based on the stated anthology theme of “mystic portals”, “alternate dimensions” and “undiscovered landscapes” but I don’t think the intention was for their plots to remain undiscovered as well. In this reality, the editors of UNKNOWN REALMS would have done well to omit these two laggards as they are the ONLY weak entrants in a rock-solid anthology of winners!
As to the rest, THE MIDNIGHT CITY, for example, is at once a heartbreaking and heartwarming tale dealing with the emotional fallout of a friend’s suicide when one feels in significant part responsible for that suicide in the first place. THE DEMON OF CORPUS CHRISTI is a sweet little paranormal short in which an author solves the perennially recurring problem of writer’s block. MICROSCOPIC MAYHEM is a sci-fi treasure and, if I may say so, with a slight modification of character names and descriptions and a minor change-up in the terms used for technology, it would serve admirably as a screenplay for a STAR TREK episode in any of its incarnations. Brilliant, thoroughly enjoyable, humorous in good measure, exciting, high-speed space opera on board a starship with time and space travel capability.
I could go on but suffice it to say that every one of the tales in UNKNOWN REALMS save the two noted weak links in the chain are solid four- to five-star champions. I’ll definitely be looking for a couple of the collections referred to in closing marketing blurbs, A TWIST OF FATE: A Twisted Fairy Tale Anthology and COUNTERCLOCKWISE: A Time Travel Anthology. Yessirree, definitely recommended!
I purchased this gem at a local book fair so, with considerable thanks, I'll pass along extra kudos and two thumbs-up to the proud Canadian authors included.
“We are none of us promised anything but the last breath we take”
THE WAR OF THE FLOWERS is a member of the rare breed of current novels in 21st centur“We are none of us promised anything but the last breath we take”
THE WAR OF THE FLOWERS is a member of the rare breed of current novels in 21st century literature, a stand-alone fantasy. As novels within the fantasy genre go, much of Tad Williams’ novel is not a surprise – a magical portal to another world; an allegory representing good vs evil in one of its many forms; and romance, love, hate, courage, fear, strength, friendship, lust, greed, among a lengthy list of other feelings. But his pick of racism and xenophobia as the specific evil theme of choice to be pilloried and his use of goblins as the beleaguered “race” subject to slavery and the bigotry exhibited by the upper crust power elite in the world of Faerie was perfect. Modern readers will find these themes particularly relevant, timely, and appropriate in the aftermath of Trump’s presidency and the decline of democracy under McConnell’s grip on the US Republican party. His metaphors within the over-arching allegory even included weapons of mass destruction (dragons) and failure of infrastructure (loss of the entire world’s power grid) in a world war that provides the possibility of ending with no winners at all.
Some readers may criticize THE WAR OF THE FLOWERS as being wordy and excessively rambling, (and, frankly, I’m inclined to agree) but nobody will disagree with his take on the corruption exerted by power, privilege, wealth and influence. Well done, Mr Williams. Definitely recommended.
The stunning conclusion to a fantasy trilogy that rivals LORD OF THE RINGS!
In a horrifying blend of post-apocalyptic terror and new age urban fantasy,The stunning conclusion to a fantasy trilogy that rivals LORD OF THE RINGS!
In a horrifying blend of post-apocalyptic terror and new age urban fantasy, Terry Brooks' GENESIS OF SHANNARA series describes a world ravaged by nuclear war, plague, pestilence, famine, mindless zombie-like creatures, demons and terrifying creatures born out of devastating mutations. Deaths have numbered in the billions and humanity teeters on the very brink of extinction. Most of those few humans who have survived have reverted to a dark age in which they remain walled up in fortified compounds brutally scavenging from one another and scratching out a mean subsistence life in much the same fashion as tribes would have done during the earliest periods of mankind's existence.
The power and excitement of this series rests in his convincing blend of the reality of a burnt-out destroyed human landscape with the beguiling and utterly fascinating mythological beginnings of the fantasy world that was born in full bloom in his earlier Shannara stories.
Long, long ago in a place that was definitely not far, far away, the Elves conquered the demon hordes wandering Earth and sealed them away in a bleak existence called "the Forbidding". A biblical scholar might have suggested that "The Word" ruled over the Earth and the Earth was good - a kindly, warm and benevolent place to live.
But current events on the earth - the wars, the nuclear radiation, the burgeoning evil that mankind is both experiencing and causing - are weakening the walls between Earth and the Forbidding. As evil's grip on the earth tightens, its defence has been reduced to the last two remaining Knights of the Word - Angel Perez and Logan Tom - two warriors carefully chosen by the Word for their indomitable spirit who have been given a magical staff and special powers to be used in the fight against demons and "The Void".
Perez and Tom have been charged by the Elven nation with finding a talisman called the Loden Lodestone and a magical young child called "The Gypsy Morph". Without the magic of the Lodestone and the power of the Gypsy Morph whose destiny is critical to the survival of humankind, earth is doomed. Goodness and "The Word" will disappear forever and the world will become the dominion of the demons and their dark lord, Findo Gask. "The Void" will rule forevermore.
GYPSY MORPH is powerful indeed. Far more than a simple story of the unending and timeless conflict between good and evil, it tells a story of love, commitment, honour, dedication, trust and so much more. For example, the tale of orphaned children attempting to raise themselves in a bleak, nuclear-blasted world without reference to parental guidance, while astonishingly reminiscent of Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES, is fresh, exciting, heart-wrenching and most definitely not derivative in any way.
Brooks' descriptions of a troubled world are graphic and breathtaking. His character building is deep, complex and utterly convincing. On the dust jacket of the novel, Christopher Paolini, author of the young adult fantasy, ERAGON, was quoted as saying, "If you haven't read Terry Brooks, you haven't read fantasy"! Quite a compliment coming from a fellow author who might well be assumed to be in competition with Terry Brooks for the same audience. I have to agree with Mr Paolini's ebullient assessment.
I waited a long time for this one and, I think you'll agree. The GENESIS OF SHANNARA series combines the earlier SHANNARA and KNIGHT OF THE WORD series in a stunning, entirely innovative new series that fantasy fans are going to eat up.
In THE GYPSY MORPH, the stunning climactic conclusion to the series, we witness Kirisin Bellorus, the young elf who has been entrusted with the ancient magic, deliver his entire civilization to safety from the demon armies as the Word and the Void clash for dominion over a scarred mortal world. When the dust settles we are privileged to witness the tentative dawning of a new era.
On the face of it, a magnificent fantasy that ties Terry Brooks' universes together into a wonderful, complex but very complete and unified whole. On a slightly different level, THE GENESIS series is a mystical allegory and while it may be typical in that it pits good vs evil and personifies both sides of the battle, it is unique in the depth and the excitement that is conveyed during the exploration of this age old theme.
The breathtaking second instalment in "The Genesis of Shannara" trilogy,
In a horrifying blend of post-apocalyptic terror and new age urban fantasy, TThe breathtaking second instalment in "The Genesis of Shannara" trilogy,
In a horrifying blend of post-apocalyptic terror and new age urban fantasy, The Elves of Cintra continues the story of a world ravaged by nuclear war, plague, pestilence, famine, mindless zombie-like creatures, demons and terrifying creatures born out of devastating mutations. Deaths have numbered in the billions and humanity teeters on the very brink of extinction. Most of those few humans who have survived have reverted to a dark age in which they remain walled up in fortified compounds brutally scavenging from one another and scratching out a mean subsistence life in much the same fashion as tribes would have done during the earliest periods of mankind's existence.
Long, long ago, the Elves conquered the demon hordes wandering Earth and sealed them away in a bleak existence called "the Forbidding". But current events on the earth - the wars, the nuclear radiation, the burgeoning evil that mankind is both experiencing and causing - are weakening the walls between Earth and the Forbidding. As evil's grip on the earth tightens, its defence has been reduced to the last two remaining Knights of the Word - Angel Perez and Logan Tom - two warriors carefully chosen by the Word for their indomitable spirit who have been given a magical staff and special powers to be used in the fight against demons and "The Void".
In The Elves of Cintra, Brooks has woven an impossibly compelling magical spell, tightly drawing together the widely disparate story threads begun in Armageddon's Children.
Hawk, one of the Seattle street child gangs who call themselves "The Ghosts" magically re-appears at the side of the King of the Silver River after his near execution. He learns of his role as the Gypsy Morph whose destiny is to lead thousands of the remaining children of humankind to a nebulous and as yet undefined promised land. Knight of the Word Angel Perez teams up with the young elf Kirisin to help him, his warrior sister and their blue Elfstones in an all-important search for the Loden Elfstone. This stone is as critical to the survival of the Elven nation as the Gypsy Morph is to the humans. Although far from certain of their ultimate destination and fate, Logan Tom continues to lead the remainder of The Ghosts in their flight from a devastated Seattle. The blood-thirsty, driven demons and other minions of The Void remain pledged to the annihilation of every living thing on earth and plague the children, the Knights of the Word and the Elves with their foul attacks at every turn.
Armageddon's Children and The Elves of Cintra tell a powerful epic tale. Far more than a simple story of the unending and timeless conflict between good and evil, they spin a positively magnetic saga of love, commitment, honour, dedication, trust and so much more. For example, the tale of orphaned children attempting to raise themselves in a bleak, nuclear-blasted world without reference to parental guidance, while astonishingly reminiscent of Golding's Lord of the Flies, is fresh, exciting, heart-wrenching and most definitely not derivative in any way. The excruciating cataloguing of our human weaknesses and failings - selfishness, greed, despair, racism, lust and covetousness, to name only a few - serve as a bleak reminder of the problems which might ultimately be the foundation for humanity's eventual demise. Brooks' descriptions of a troubled world are graphic and breathtaking. His character building is deep, complex and utterly convincing.
If I can find even a single criticism, it is that the story ends on an excruciating cliff-hanger. To be sure, it constitutes a natural end of the book and a sensible break point but I'm still going to be holding my breath until I can find a copy of The Gypsy Morph. What a fabulous story, Mr Brooks. I continue to be one of your biggest fans!
In a horrifying blend of post-apocalyptic terror and new age urban fantasy, Armageddon's Children describes a world ravaA stunning new fantasy series!
In a horrifying blend of post-apocalyptic terror and new age urban fantasy, Armageddon's Children describes a world ravaged by nuclear war, plague, pestilence, famine, mindless zombie-like creatures, demons and terrifying creatures born out of devastating mutations. Deaths have numbered in the billions and humanity teeters on the very brink of extinction. Most of those few humans who have survived have reverted to a dark age in which they remain walled up in fortified compounds brutally scavenging from one another and scratching out a mean subsistence life in much the same fashion as tribes would have done during the earliest periods of mankind's existence.
The power and excitement of this debut novel of Terry Brooks' latest series rests in his convincing blend of the reality of a burnt-out destroyed human landscape with the beguiling and utterly fascinating mythological beginnings of the fantasy world that was born in full bloom in his earlier Shannara stories.
Long, long ago in a place that was definitely not far, far away, the Elves conquered the demon hordes wandering Earth and sealed them away in a bleak existence called "the Forbidding". A biblical scholar might have suggested that "The Word" ruled over the Earth and the Earth was good - a kindly, warm and benevolent place to live.
But current events on the earth - the wars, the nuclear radiation, the burgeoning evil that mankind is both experiencing and causing - are weakening the walls between Earth and the Forbidding. As evil's grip on the earth tightens, its defence has been reduced to the last two remaining Knights of the Word - Angel Perez and Logan Tom - two warriors carefully chosen by the Word for their indomitable spirit who have been given a magical staff and special powers to be used in the fight against demons and "The Void".
Perez and Tom have been charged by the Elven nation with finding a talisman called the Loden Lodestone and a magical young child called "The Gypsy Morph". Without the magic of the Lodestone and the power of the Gypsy Morph whose destiny is critical to the survival of humankind, earth is doomed. Goodness and "The Word" will disappear forever and the world will become the dominion of the demons and their dark lord, Findo Gask. "The Void" will rule forevermore.
"Armageddon's Children" is powerful indeed. Far more than a simple story of the unending and timeless conflict between good and evil, it tells a story of love, commitment, honour, dedication, trust and so much more. For example, the tale of orphaned children attempting to raise themselves in a bleak, nuclear-blasted world without reference to parental guidance, while astonishingly reminiscent of Golding's "Lord of the Flies", is fresh, exciting, heart-wrenching and most definitely not derivative in any way.
Brooks' descriptions of a troubled world are graphic and breathtaking. His character building is deep, complex and utterly convincing. On the dust jacket of the novel, Christopher Paolini, author of the young adult fantasy, "Eragon", was quoted as saying, "If you haven't read Terry Brooks, you haven't read fantasy"! Quite a compliment coming from a fellow author who might well be assumed to be in competition with Terry Brooks for the same audience. I have to agree with Mr Paolini's ebullient assessment.
I waited a long time for this one and, I think you'll agree. "Armageddon's Children" combines the earlier "Shannara" and "Knight of the Word" series in a stunning, entirely innovative new series that fantasy fans are going to eat up.
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