theeclectus

I have heard nothing but praise about the Dungeon Crawler Carl series over the past several years, and as such had a healthy level of skepticism when approaching this book. Many people have been let down by a hit series in the past and I am no different. That being said, I am pleased to report that DCC (at least book one) more than lives up to the hype. It is a unique story that blends so many elements that you would think would clash against each other, but somehow manage to compliment each other in their execution.

Our two main characters, Carl and Princess Doughnut, are such a wonderful duo to follow through this story. They have electric chemistry and each have their respective moments to shine. They are both funny and deep, and while this book does not finish their arcs, it sets them up for some wonderful character development. We already got so much from seeing them grow into a tag team that compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses. The side characters are pretty hit or miss. The NPCs are wonderful, especially Mordecai, but the other humans are kind of one note at times.

This book is very zany in both its plot and dialogue. The premise of the apocalypse being executed by aliens and then used to make a DND style survival tv show with those who did not die in the initial blast is a crazy concept. The humor itself is also outlandish, but works. I was worried I was going to be subject to some "millennial cringe humor", but luckily Dinniman avoids this pitfall. Unlike other things such as "Ready Player One" or "Stranger Things" that fit as many references in as they can to signal to the audience that they "know the thing", Dinniman uses references to pop culture sparingly and to make a point. The point being made is that the aliens who are making the show are appropriating Earth culture in order to both capitalize on it for entertainment and to lure the contestants into a sense of false security. The humor also does not use this as a crutch, and I found myself laughing out loud at several points.

I have a historically rocky relationship with tie-in novels; the last experience I had was with "The Crystal Shard" (a Dungeons and Dragons tie in novel) and it was not the most pleasant experience to say the least. Many tie-in novels are cookie-cutter stories that weakly use their source material. I am happy to say that 'Strixhaven: Omens of Chaos' does not fall into such a pit, and succeeds to tell its own story while balancing respect for the source material.

This story is about Eula Blue and her friends as they travel across the multiverse to attend Strixhaven University after each was personally affected by the Phyrexian Invasion. Said invasion was a major event in the Magic the Gathering lore several years back, and while many people may not be aware of it going in, the story tells you what you need to know while respecting those who already are aware of it by not spending too much time dwelling on it. Honestly, that is how this book covers a lot of the MtG lore. It mentions many characters by name that may perk the ears of seasoned players, while those who have never played can still gather said character's importance from the context clues.

The main five characters are a fun bunch. I think Eula does a wonderful job as a protagonist; she is witty, clever, and a good audience surrogate. The other characters are pretty good, but some of them have a few pitfalls that were hard to ignore. Segante is your typical moody character whose dialogue is pretty forced early on in the novel, but honestly he grew on me throughout the book. Alandra (daughter of Taldrand) started as an interesting mage with anxiety, however sort of got reduced to a damsel near the end. The other two characters Kequia and Jamira are fine, but not the most memorable. Still, all five do have their own roles to play.

The plot itself is actually rather neat as well. I will not spoil anything, but the several plot twists are handled quite well. The school setting is woven well into the story and the role that it plays in the growth is a great addition. The only complaint that I have is that it seems like there is so much more they can do with Strixhaven; I do hope that they go back for a "year 2" novel.

A huge shoutout to my grandfather for recommending this book to me. I spent the past 2 weeks listening to the audiobook for this novel, and the fact that it only took me 2 weeks is a glowing review of how damn good this book is. The Last Hitman delivers a thrilling story of how a scrapy boy named Angelo Cipriani became a high ranking hitman in the Fortunato crime family, and what later drove him to aid in their downfall. It is a book that was a wonderful experience to listen to, and one I plan on revisiting in the very near future.

The book follows two separate time periods: the late 1900s when Angelo first joined the family and showing how he rose in influence in the Ohio Valley and eventually became the top killer for the Fortunato family, and the present day where the current boss, Little Tommy, has all but driven him out of the family and Angelo must figure out his place in the picture. Both plots carry much intrigue and Angelo's 1st Person POV is so well written. From a very early point in the novel you get a good grasp of who Angelo is and he never feels like he acts out of character. You really root for him to make it out the other end in one piece, something that is quite rare in his profession.

The setting of the Ohio Valley feels very real, and this is coming from someone who has spent many a week working in said Ohio Valley. You understand how the crime family was able to rise to prominence, and how the loss of the steel industry caused the family to transition from brothels and gambling to drugs. You also see how the family changes from a "professional" ordeal to an organization that is lacking in "honor among thieves".

The side characters are also all memorable. From Alfonse to Big Tommy having memorable moments as heads of the family, to Carlo and the rest of the made-men having their own personalities and relationships with Angelo and each other. Such well written characters make many of their tragic ends feel like real loses that I mourned.

Murder Mystery is a genre that I have not touched in quite some time, but in my goal to read a more diverse range of genres this year, I picked up this novel. I have read the Devine Comedy and took a college course on it, so the premise of a murderer who's methods were inspired by Inferno was a good enough hook for me. After having read the book, I must say that despite some flaws, I rather enjoyed it.

Starting with what this book does well, it is hard to not mention how well the tone of this book conveys its narrative. 'The Dante Club' takes place during a period of great strife and recovery; directly after the American Civil War. The time period is woven through the characters and events of the book, while combining the dark academia feel of Ivy League Boston without trying too hard to achieve such a feel. Without spoiling too much, both the location and time period directly influence the arcs of many characters without feeling forced or "tacked on".

The murders themselves are described in gory detail, a detail that is necessary to show how horrific both Dante's punishments were, and how dire the situation the narrative is telling is. There are, surprisingly, very few murders in the book. However, Pearl seems to take a quality over quantity approach in this story. Still, if you are looking for "Dantean Gore Porn", I hate to inform you that this book isn't for you. One thing I would warn the reader of going in is that (avoiding direct spoilers) the identity of the killer is not really a major reveal in the story. It is not something that the author builds up, and the reader is not challenged to guess it. It is kept hidden, yes, but it isn't important. The real mystery is about why the crimes are actually happening; something that I think is a much more interesting mystery for a novel such as this to propose.

The biggest weakness of the novel is its characters. Aside from two major standouts, Dr. Holmes and Detective Rey, the cast is made up of multiple characters who are both unmemorable and poorly characterized. I frequently within the first half of the book kept forgetting which character did what, instead I just knew that they all loved Dante and had some name that usually starts with the letter 'L'. Each of them had their own mini-arcs, but they felt so...forced. It was as though Pearl wrote the novel and realized his characters needed to have a life outside of the plot after the fact. Still, with everything going on that did grab my attention, this wasn't the worst pain in the world.

The In-Between Bookstore is a novel that, when it works, tells a compelling story about a trans-man coming back to his hometown and finding peace with crucial aspects of his being; at its worst, it is trying to force a supernatural, time-travel, plot into a narrative that suffers from its inclusion. The book is something that surprisingly felt new in a world of queer centered novels that are beginning to rely on tired tropes. However, this newness only carries a novel so far when it does not know what it wants to be.

Darby, the protagonist, is handled rather well by the author. While there are times that he, metaphorically, trips over his own feet for the sake of the plot, he feels like a real person. His struggles feel real, especially as someone who has a similar life story to him. The themes of being a queer person that grew up in the Midwest, specifically someone who grew up in a less urban area and then living in the city for many years, are handled beautifully. Learning that other people in your town can be queer without you knowing, yearning for the familiarity of home despite the comforts of the city for queer people, and struggling to find peace between these two worlds are important plot points that few books fail to touch on. I swear if I read one more "queer YA novel" set in NYC or California I am going to scream.

The secondary characters, however, are quite lacking. I could not stand the character of Michael. He is whiny and pathetic for the sake of the plot despite those around him insisting he is this "competent adult who is good at adulting". This book could have been 30 pages if he knew how to string words into sentences and use his big-boy voice. Further, his romance sub-plot does not make any sense for this book. It felt like the publisher insisted that the author write one ham-fisted sex scene. Still, the way they handled his ending and making him almost a foil to Darby was neat. It shows that not every queer person can, or wants to, find community in a big city setting.

The worst part of this book is, ironically, the bookstore plot. Yes I know, Darby talking to his younger self and trying to help him is a metaphor for him saving himself in the present. But, it was so unnecessary. The chapters in the bookstore broke up an otherwise well flowing plot, and each chapter in the bookstore felt the same. Darby goes to the store, tries to creatively talk to younger Darby, and leaves feeling unsatisfied. The author should've axed these chapters, and this who subplot, in favor of fleshing out the rest of Oak Falls.