This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 28, 2019.

The White Darkness

By David Grann – Doubleday – October 30, 2018

Review by Robin Marx

A brief but exciting read about a modern adventurer walking in the footsteps of his hero, Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. In addition to a quick overview of the earliest polar expeditions, this book covers Henry Worsley's successful journey as well as the disastrous solo attempt that followed years later. The story touches on hero worship and the limits of human endurance as well as reminding the reader just how much untouched and inhospitable terrain remains on our planet.

As a two-part New Yorker essay, this was perfectly sized. However, had I paid for the published book edition (currently $12 on Amazon) I likely would have felt ripped-off. This book is more of a breezy sketch than an in-depth day-by-day portrayal.

★★★☆☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 23, 2019.

Valen the Outcast Vol. 2: Death Eternal

By Michael Alan Nelson (Writer) & Matteo Scalera (Artist) – BOOM! Studios – December 11, 2012

Review by Robin Marx

I wasn’t expecting this series to end so quickly, but the end result was satisfying. The story had a fast pace throughout and plenty of action.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 23, 2019.

Valen the Outcast Vol. 1: Abomination

By Michael Alan Nelson (Writer) & Matteo Scalera (Artist) – BOOM! Studios – December 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

While marketed as sword & sorcery, so far this comic feels a bit closer to the grimdark sub-genre a la Joe Abercrombie (with a bit of early Berserk) rather than Robert E. Howard’s Conan.

Category quibbling aside, this series is off to a good start. The premise is simple but effective: an undead king named Valen shakes off a necromancer’s control and seeks revenge. He’s joined in this task by two slightly unreliable companions: a witch/swordswoman named Zjanna and drunkard rogue Cordovan.

The story moves at a brisk pace with no wasted verbiage or lengthy info dumps, and the world building is of the “show, don’t tell” variety. I look forward to reading future volumes and would recommend it to fans of dark fantasy.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on January 20, 2022.

John the Balladeer

By Manly Wade Wellman – Baen Books – July, 1988

Review by Robin Marx

John roams the mountains of Appalachia carrying little more than his silver-stringed guitar and a rucksack with some provisions. Motivated by curiosity, he seeks out folklore and new songs to add to his repertoire. Along the way he encounters simple folk in need, sinister magicians, and supernatural horrors. John lives by his wits, the magic-defeating silver of his guitar strings, and his knowledge of folklore and biblical lore.

There’s a wandering outsider hero, black magic, and otherworldly menaces. These stories aren’t precisely sword & sorcery, but if you like that sort of thing, you’ll like THIS sort of thing.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on April 20, 2014.

Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery

By Kurtis J. Wiebe (Writer) & Roc Upchurch (Artist) – Image Comics – March 26, 2014

Review by Robin Marx

I picked this up after reading a Tor.com review, and I'm glad I did, as this is probably the most entertaining fantasy comic I've read in quite some time.

Rat Queens chronicles the misadventures of four mercenary women. Their party matches a fairly standard D&D party composition: dwarf fighter, elf mage, human cleric, and “smidgen” (hobbit/halfling) thief, but each character has a twist. The dwarf fighter rebelled against her clan by shaving off her beard, for example, and the cleric is likewise an outcast, an atheist having turned her back on the squid-worshiping cult that trained her. Their setting is likewise familiar to role playing gamers, basically a carousing spot and base of operations for adventurers, where the mayor hands out quests and the captain of the guard is constantly having to mediate disputes between (frequently drunk) mercenaries and the local townsfolk.

Volume 1 serves mostly to introduce the characters and set up a conspiracy that looks to drive the plot for at least the next story arc or so, so it might feel a little slight to some, but I found it to be a fun, fast read. Sensitive readers might be put off by the gore and profanity, but in most cases both are used to humorous effect. In addition to the humor, I also liked how diverse the cast of characters was. People of various colors and shapes and orientations show up without it coming off as ostentatious pandering to the folks concerned by the common lack of representation of social minorities in the media.

I prefer reading comics in collected format rather than as single issues, but this is one series that tempts me to switch. I look forward to the Rat Queens' future adventures.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on May 24, 2019.

Roadside Picnic

By Arkady & Boris Strugatsky – January 1, 1972

Review by Robin Marx

Two decades have passed since the Visitation, when aliens visited Earth. The landscape has been left permanently altered. The so-called “Zones” remain quarantined, full of extraterrestrial disease, incomprehensible anomalies, and mysterious debris. Scientists continue to study the remains of the aliens' visit, and scavengers called “stalkers” prowl the Zones in secret, putting their lives on the line to steal artifacts for the black market. This short novel follows one such stalker, Redrick “Red” Schuhart, tracing the impact of the Zone on him and the other people in the adjacent semi-deserted town of Harmont.

I read this book in one sitting, as the premise is incredibly compelling. While the book would have been interesting enough had it focused entirely on the stalker's perilous adventures in the Zone, a great deal of attention is devoted to exploring how contact with the capital-U Unknowable changes the characters. The aliens themselves never make an appearance, and rather than a first contact scenario it's suggested that we humans are merely terrified and uncomprehending insects picking over the incidental litter of their brief visit (the titular “roadside picnic”). Despite their close proximity to the unknown, the humans largely continue to be driven by self-interest, lusting for money and fame. Despite this—if my interpretation of the ambiguous finale is correct—the book ends with the faintest glimmer of hope that humanity can move past their baser instincts.

Despite all the mystery and unanswered questions, this was an exciting and satisfying read. Although there are no direct connections, I think fans of Lovecraft's cosmic horror will especially appreciate this book.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on September 4, 2014.

The Toughest Mile

By William Meikle – January 1, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

This old school sword & sorcery tale is about a gladiator attempting to escape a life of servitude to a cruel but alluring witch queen. Having defeated 100 beasts in the arena, Garn is now allowed to leave, provided he can survive a ten mile run through a tunnel linking the arena to the city's outskirts. Not only does he have to make this run immediately after his final battle (you'd think a break and a drink of water would be warranted), he has to avoid death at the hands of the Witch's pursuers. The story that follows is simple and mostly a series of brief combat encounters while on the run. There aren't many surprises here, but as an S&S short story it works and the idea is interesting.

However, one thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was that all of Garn's opponents were women, who are treated in a somewhat problematic manner. It took me a moment to notice at first, because they're described as “bitches” sitting at the Witch's feet (Garn also expresses a desire to “cut off their tails” and present them to the Witch), so the first image that came to mind was of a pack of hounds. I imagine the author's intent was to conjure images of a cadre of Amazon-style women warriors, but Garn is so dismissive of them—constantly calling them “bitches” and scalping them to collect their identical braids (the a fore-mentioned “tails”)—that the story comes off slightly ugly, like a brutal guy carving up a string of inferior women rather than a rousing adventure tale. I'm willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume the semi-misogynist undertones were unintentional, but other readers might not be as charitable.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #BookReview #SwordAndSorcery #Fantasy #WilliamMeikle #TheToughestMile

This review originally appeared on Goodreads on October 26, 2021.

Final Girls

By Riley Sager – Dutton – July 11, 2017

Review by Robin Marx

Quinn Carpenter is the sole survivor of a massacre at a remote cabin in the woods. Dubbed a horror movie-style “Final Girl” by the sensationalist press, she finds herself lumped in with two other girls with similar experiences: Lisa, who escaped a sorority house bloodbath; and Sam, who was attacked during a motel murder spree. Despite the best efforts of the media to bring these Final Girls together, for years the three resisted the idea of meeting in person. But when the apparently well-adjusted Lisa suddenly kills herself, Quinn is approached by Sam. The two of them have dealt with their trauma in very different ways, and Quinn both sees a kindred spirit in Sam and a challenging, threatening side to her mercurial personality.

What happens to the Final Girl when the movie is over? How do they come to grips with their trauma while dealing with sometimes skeptical law enforcement and reporters desperate for the salacious details? This clever thriller deals with the aftermath of the kind of events we see in horror movies.

This is a gripping mystery that veers in several unexpected directions. While it contains no supernatural elements, given the Final Girl premise horror movie fans are especially likely to enjoy it.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 24, 2021.

Pimp: The Story of My Life

By Iceberg Slim – Cash Money Content – May 10, 2011

Review by Robin Marx

This autobiography is about a young black man from a broken home. He’s had an abusive childhood, poverty is never far away, and he’s living in the racism of 1930s America. He takes all his hate and rage about the oppression and hopelessness of his situation...and begins to bully and brutalize black women, perhaps the only social group more oppressed than himself. Pimps are scum. But to be fair, they’re not particularly glorified in this book. I doubt the reading comprehension of anyone who reads this book and decides to pursue the vocation.

This book read a bit like a serial killer memoir. The author rarely attempts to defend his predatory behavior, the casual manipulation and abuse of women at his hands is presented in a fairly matter-of-fact manner. Slim wanted prestige and wealth in an unfair society, and any woman he crossed paths with were potentially a means to that end. Slim was driven to a goal, and other people were tools.

In addition to the serial killer memoir feel, this book also has a Clockwork Orange vibe. The entire book is written in a rich lexicon of blunt, brutal slang that compellingly brings the bleak ghetto lifestyle to mind. As with A Clockwork Orange, violence tends to be sudden and shocking, and as likely to be a tool of the authorities as the criminal underworld.

While I wouldn’t describe it as fun or pleasurable spending time in the world presented here, it’s a fascinating story related in an engaging manner. I look forward to reading the novels of Iceberg Slim.

★★★★☆

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This review originally appeared on Goodreads on February 6, 2019.

The Burrowers Beneath

By Brian Lumley – Grafton Books – January 1, 1974

Review by Robin Marx

This was a fun but not earthshaking (oh-ho-ho) addition to the Cthulhu Mythos.

The book has a lot of fun ideas. The subterranean squid-like Chthonian creatures themselves are great. The Wilmarth Foundation, a secret organization of like-minded individuals working against the Mythos, is also an interesting addition to the canon. The execution of the book is a bit less than ideal, however.

The book is structured as an epistolary novel, composed of both letters and diary entries from a variety of characters. Some of the letters are very atmospheric and engrossing. The stories about about a mine inspector who encounters extraterrene eggs and a coastal rig that strikes more than oil stand out in particular. The result is a bit uneven, with mostly self-contained vignettes that are actually more entertaining than the primary narrative. And although he's positioned as the protagonist, Titus Crow is a passive figure for much of the book, either being directed by or receiving exposition from helpful supporting characters that seek him out.

While apparently set in the modern day (the early 1970s, when the book was published), Lumley's obvious affection for Lovecraft and old-fashioned gentleman's club occult detective yarns leads to a story that seems strangely untethered in time. Lumley's master occultist character Titus Crow seems like he'd be more at home in one of William Hope Hodgson's Edwardian Carnacki, The Ghost-Finder stories and Crow's Watson-style sidekick Henri-Laurent de Marigny also seems like a similar throwback to an earlier era. It felt a bit off reading about these smoking jacket / brandy snifter types discussing atomic testing.

There are some creepy moments as the Chthonians' capabilities are gradually revealed, but they don't get as much time in the spotlight as I would have liked. For ageless, godlike beings they turn out to be pushovers once the humans in the story figure out what's going on and get their act together. Apart from one fascinating scene detailing an attack on a massive captive Chthonian, the expulsion of the Chthonians from the British Isles is mostly glossed over. The book's conclusion feels like “Yeah, we lost some guys along the way but things mostly went according to plan.”

It's also interesting to note that the Chthonians only start acting directly against humans when their eggs are stolen or tampered with. They don't seem like much of a menace to humanity otherwise, apart from worshipping unappealing alien gods. In this aspect they brought to mind the misunderstood Horta from the original Star Trek episode “The Devil in the Dark.”

Some readers describe Lumley's Cthulhu Mythos output as Lovecraft fanfic. While that feels a bit uncharitable, it's not wrong, either. Lumley also borrows heavily from August Derleth's reinterpretation of the Mythos, where human beings have a certain level of Elder God support in the war against the “evil” Great Old Ones. Star-Signs of Mnar are wielded like crucifixes in the face of “CCDs” (Cthulhu Cycle Deities). While this sort of thing can be fun—I personally believe the Cthulhu Mythos is a sort of “big tent” that can accommodate everything from The Dunwich Horror to Bride of Re-Animator—readers hoping for actual cosmic horror are likely to be disappointed.

I enjoyed this book, but Lovecraft purists are better off reading something closer to the original source.

★★★☆☆

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