Weekend Shorts - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything by Effie Seiberg

Name - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything 

Written by - Effie Seiberg

Edited by - David Steffen

Published on - Diabolical Plots (DP fiction #123B)

Well, that was quite a lot of fun to read. In a modern writing landscape of overcomplicated stuff or stylistic approaches, a rather straightforward superpower science fiction with a quite relevant message for people all around.

Without spoiling much about this one, I'll just tell you that this one is about RazorBeam, who even after obtaining the power of having laser eyes, finds it difficult to get traffic circles built among her various struggles to get some comfortable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Then comes the supervillain Doctor Croc and things get interesting.

I was interested in this because of the title and with the knowledge decided to check out this Nebula winner and was quite delighted with the breezy prose, compassionate and interesting protagonist and a nice feel-good ending. While people are usually reluctant to read any genre fiction that tries to deliver a message, if it's done like this it certainly becomes worth checking out.

A deservedly award-worthy short story, this gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Metal Review - "Air Not Meant for Us" by Fires in the Distance

Album Name - Air Not Meant for Us

Band Name - Fires in the Distance

Genre - Melodic Doom/Death Metal

Label - Prosthetic Records 

Release Date - April 28, 2023

Line Up -

  Craig Breitsprecher - vocals, bass

   Jordan Rippe - drums

   Yegor Savonin - guitars, synths

   Kristian Grimaldi - guitars, vocals

Do you like some melody in your doom/death metal? Or music that unearths the melancholy, grief, and sorrow that you have been keeping buried deep within? Or just some truly well crafted soothing aggression packaged in crisp production to cure that nostalgic itch you have been craving? Then stop reading this and listen to this album by 'Fires in the Distance'.

The band creates an almost perfect mixture of the brutality of death metal with guttural vocals and heavy riffs, combining it seamlessly with the soaring and melodic melancholy of emotional doom metal aesthetics. The emotional vocals and dual baseline are complimented by virtuoso lead guitar, piano, synths and machine like drumbeats creating a sense of progressive technicality pervading the album.

The album keeps the music following since the short piano intro of 'Harbingers' and everything seems to work as a whole. The listener gets gripped in the sorrowful emotional onslaught that is unrelenting yet beautiful. The 50 minutes seem to end too quickly that I, as a mesmerized listener, immediately returned to the opener to once again immerse myself in this gloomy atmosphere.

It is really hard to find any standout track in here but the opening 'Harbingers' and 'Crumbling Pillars Of A Tranquil Mind' truly represents the best of what the band has to offer here, while the instrumental track 'Adrift, Beneath the Listless Waves' creates a somewhat break by giving us more straight forward melo-death elegance and a moment of clarity.

Another topic worth mentioning is the poetic lyrics dealing with personal struggles, emotional anguish, and dread of existentialism. Listener like me who often look to the lyrics for some depth and meaning, this was another positive for the album. 

If I had to nitpick, I wish there were some other melodic instruments, some clean vocals and maybe the length could have been made a bit shorter to make this ever more memorable.

Overall Score -

                         8.5 out of 10.

For more info check out the bands official Bandcamp page and their metal-archives page -

https://firesinthedistance.bandcamp.com/

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Fires_in_the_Distance/3540474086   

New Manga Review - The Marshal King, Vol. 1 by Boichi

Manga Name - The Marshal King (Vol. 1)

Author - Boichi (Story & Art)

Original Serialization: Shounen Jump+

English Publisher : Viz Media LLC

Genres: Action, Western, Shounen

First things first, I got this book from Edelweiss as an ARC, so thank you Edelweiss and Viz Media LLC for this opportunity.

Almost on a whim I decided to request this first volume of the newest manga by Boichi. I had read about him and liked the samples of his artwork that I had seen on the internet, and was meaning to check out what the fuss was about for some time now. This one was enjoyable while it lasted, has some room to evolve in the future, had great art, but wasn't anything out of the ordinary or much memorable upon reflection.

The story follows Jimmu on his quest to become the Marshal King, for which he joins the Marshal Academy in this first volume, acquiring a few friends and fighting some outlaws along the way. This is Boichi's attempt at creating a spaghetti western mixed with Japanese manga style humor and style. But sadly so far it reads like something that has been done before in various settings and nothing makes it stand out as unique.

Characters are quite generic as to be expected, but as this is just the beginning there certainly is some room for improvement in the future in this department.

The art is the strongest point so far; the background is crisply detailed, the action bits are exquisitely drawn, with some stylistic character facial work to create a sense of spectacle that made me return to various panels quite often.

Hopefully, Bochi improves upon the story and characters in the future to create something unique in the following volumes as this definitely has beautiful artwork to keep things interesting.

Overall Score -

                            7 out of 10.

New Book Review - One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - One Day All This Will Be Yours

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Narrated by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Published by - Solaris (Rebellion Publishing Ltd.)

Audiobook by - Penguin Audio 

The characteristic charm of Tchaikovsky that I adore is to be found all over this novella. Interesting protagonist, enjoyable and humorous prose, and a truly unique and well-thought-out setting to boot. But maybe I just wasn't reading it at the proper time, but I felt it should have been shorter or it lacked a bit of something giving it that extra edge.

This is yet another different kind of attempt by the author to write about the end times with his signature sense of humor and masterfully flowing prose. There was time traveling hijinks abound with lots of entertaining jokes at the expanse of historical figures and periods.

The protagonist was an irritable man and despite having a grey moral compass, he was very relatable as a narrator based on his circumstances. This really was a story of the times of COVID, incorporating the general chaotic psychological landscape on offer at the time.

But, I really wish I could have read it during the time when we were isolated and panicked and would have probably appreciated it much more.

Nevertheless, I give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - Abyss by Nicholas Binge

Name - Abyss

Written by - Nicholas Binge 

Narrated by - John Lee 

Published by - Tor Publishing Group

Audiobook by - Dreamscape Lore

Well, this one is almost like how it was pitched on the cover. A work inspired by Lovecraftian horror mixed with bits from the show Severance. I enjoyed my audiobook listen of this, while also wishing it had a bit more bulk and some well-developed characters.

Binge knows how to tell a fast-paced thriller with twists, which is quite apparent from the beginning of his newest novella. The protagonist gets suddenly thrown into this mysterious job and meets some unorthodox co-workers and slowly unravels the truth about his sinister employers.

The real world relevance of the main characters' predicament as well as his inability to have social interactions was quite relatable. Adding a mixture of cosmic horror bits into the setting was another fun element, but once again the author kept things a bit unexplained at times regarding the side characters.

And a special shout out to the narration by John Lee, which was quite soothing with his delivery and pacing and probably made me enjoy the book much more than I would have liked if I had read it.

As a matter of fact, the novella felt like the story really could have benefited from a longer length in explaining stuff and dealing with the side characters. And that's my main complaint with the otherwise enjoyable read.

I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Graphic Novel Review - Aquaman: 80 Years of the King of the Seven Seas

Name - Aquaman: 80 Years of the King of the Seven Seas

Writers - Various 

Artists - Various 

Published by - DC comics

Initially, after reading "Aquaman: A Celebration of 75 Years", I decided against picking this one up as I had read most of the stories on offer here previously. The 2 or 3 issues that I hadn't read previously didn't seem very special. But, as time passed, I forgot some of the stories and changed my mind, thinking it might be fun revisiting various eras of Aquaman's long run.

The stuff presented here seemed somehow a bit more coherent than the aforementioned collection. There was more emphasis on the newer stuff, featured a great many cameos, one of the best issue from Peter David's awesome run and even an issue featuring the short lived character Arthur Joseph Curry. 

The short essays by various creators that contributed to the character were also a lot of fun and informative. I would have loved to hear a bit from Peter David though regarding his unorthodox yet brilliant run.

The varied art was really a feast for the eyes. I really loved the varied works on offer here. The works from Jim Aparo, Ramona Fradon, Ivan Reis and Stjepan Šejić were just plain spectacular to behold, to name a few.

All in all, I found this one much more focused and representing Aquaman better than the 75 years collection, justifying its need. It really intrigued me about jumping into the stuff that I haven't yet read sooner rather than later.

A well-deserved 4 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - The Bone Door by Frances White

Name - The Bone Door 

Written by - Frances White 

Narrated by - Honi Cooke 

Published by - Hanover Square Press 

Audiobook by - Harlequin Audio 

This one was quite a journey to listen to, emotionally draining at times, dealing with some hard and brutal stuff, quite a lot of twists and skillful unraveling of plot, but also a bit too long or over explaining at times. But overall, certainly one of the surprises of the year so far.

The story details the journey of Hop and the strange companions he picks up along a mysterious labyrinth while being chased by a dark being. The kids have all seemingly lost their memories, and throughout their journey they slowly regain knowledge of what they are and how they came to be trapped in the maze.

The characters are portrayed brilliantly and their emotional journey is sure to resonate with readers. But despite their age, this one is definitely a book for adults with its serious subject matter and depiction of mutilation and death all throughout. Yet, it is also a book of hope, of second chances and the fact that even the most hopelessly damnable character has some inner goodness.

Another strong point is the mesmerizing world building, keeping me guessing what might be in store in the next chapter. The heavy themes are present dispersed between detailed and deliberately slow reveals as the author attempted to continue enchanting.

Honi Cooke did a masterful job of narrating, creating distinct voices for each of the characters, giving them unique personalities, and also conveying the emotional content quite brilliantly.

My only real complaint is that some of the dialogues and interactions just seemed to drag a bit too much, unnecessarily lengthening the prose. About 100 pages could have been cut off, making the book a tighter and compacter experience; then again, maybe the author was trying to emphasize the emotional depth even further somewhat.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and will give it 4 out of 5 stars.