Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben

On March 30, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Thriller5 Comments

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 25 March 2025)

Series: Detective Sami Kierce – Book Two

Length: 432 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

One of the best authors of modern crime fiction, Harlan Coben, returns with another exceptional and twisty read, Nobody’s Fool, which hooks you from the beginning and refuses to let you go.

Harlan Coben is an author who needs very little introduction considering he is currently dominating the crime fiction world with his brilliant literary fiction and awesome television adaptations (plus he’s apparently a great murder alibi for Stephen King characters). I have only read a few examples of Coben’s work so far, although I had an amazing time with the intense novels I checked out. For example, I Will Find You and Think Twice were very exceptional, and I loved the unique mysteries and scenarios that the author comes up with. As such, it was an easy decision to check out the latest book from Coben, Nobody’s Fool, especially when I was in the mood for an addictive and twist-laden read. The sequel to one of Coben’s better known books/television series, Fool Me Once, Nobody’s Fool was an outstanding novel with an impressive plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

A year after the devastating events that took place in Fool Me Once, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce’s college days comes back to haunt him. Present day is hard enough for Kierce, but his past isn’t through with him yet…

Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He begins to scream – and then he runs.

Twenty two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. But as soon as he makes eye contact with her, she bolts.

For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.

His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past. Soon he discovers that some secrets should stay buried.

Well damn, now that was an awesome read. While I was expecting Nobody’s Fool to be an entertaining and complex novel, I wasn’t fully ready for all the fantastic twists and turns that Coben loaded into this cool new book, and I got really sucked in as a result. Due to how addictive Nobody’s Fool was, I managed to knock it off in a single day, and I had to give it a full five-star rating as a result.

Coben ended up pulling together a spectacular and multi-layered narrative in Nobody’s Fool, which successfully blended complex mysteries with some intense personal moments from the book’s protagonist. Set a year after the events of Fool Me Once, Nobody’s Fool follows former police detective Sami Kierce, who had a strong supporting role in the previous book. Now a private detective and part-time criminology lecturer to wannabe crime solvers, Kierce is struggling to make ends meet. However, he soon becomes obsessed with a new personal case when Anna, a former lover who he believed was dead, suddenly appears at one of his classes before running away. Determined to uncover what happened all those years before, Kierce soon connects Anna to one of the most infamous kidnapping cases in the country’s history and must attempt to work out who she is and what truly happened to her. At the same time, the protagonist is also forced to deal with the release of the man who was convicted of murdering Kierce’s former fiancé, especially as the released killer wants Kierce’s help to prove his innocence.

I really enjoyed this compelling narrative, especially as Coben effortlessly combines the protagonist’s personal issues in the aftermath of Fool Me Once, with the current thrilling mysteries. The main plot around the supposed death of Anna and how it ties into the troubled history of an influential family was just spectacular, and I loved the many impressive twists and intriguing family drama that the protagonist is forced to navigate. At the same time, the complex storyline around the murder of his former fiancé added a compelling personal edge to the book which hit all the right emotional notes. Both these separate storylines come together extremely well in Nobody’s Fool’s larger narrative, and Coben balanced them nicely, especially when it comes to a major story moment about two-thirds of the way through that ensures that the entire investigation is thrown out of whack. This eventually leads to two sperate sets of revelations as Kierce uncovers the truth behind both crimes. While I felt that the solution to the mystery around the protagonist’s dead fiancé was a little obvious, the main plotline around Anna was extremely clever, and I deeply enjoyed how it was solved. Coben did an outstanding job layering the hints and clues to this mystery throughout the rest of the book, and it came together in a tragic and powerful end. An overall great mystery narrative that goes in some captivating and shocking directions, this was such an addictive story and there was a reason I couldn’t stop reading it.

Coben brought Nobody’s Fool together in a particularly impressive way that really allows readers to get to grips with the story and dive into its emotional heart. Told solely from the perspective of protagonist Sami Kierce, Nobody’s Fool turned into quite a moving character-driven read, as Coben effectively worked the various mysteries with international implications, while also diving into the psyche and emotional turmoil of the protagonist. The deep character dive into the protagonist was really compelling on several levels, as not only does he have to explore the trauma introduced in this book, but there is a great examination of the fallout from Fool Me Once. It was captivating to see Kierce deal with the consequences of the previous novel, and the fallout keeps the protagonist desperate and plays into the modern story wonderfully. At the same time, the author introduces a fun array of cooky supporting characters, who add to the general fun of the story. My favourite were the members of Kierce’s criminology class, whose entertaining assistance helps to solve the case in an unexpected manner. Coben expertly brings them into the plot, and there are some fun stories associated with them that I could see the author exploring further in the future. The various suspects associated with the main case had the most emotional impact on the story, and their complex connections, dark motivations and intense need to find the truth helps to turn Nobody’s Fool into something truly special. Throw in some quick paced scenes, cool locations (including one I know he came up with at Bouchercon 2024), and some brilliant family moments from all the damaged characters, and this was such an outstanding read.

One thing I feel I must discuss about Nobody’s Fool is how it ties into the preceding novel, Fool Me Once, and whether you can read this second novel as a sequel or as a standalone read. Now I must admit that I haven’t read Fool Me Once, so I went into this sequel a little blind and I was initially worried that I was going to have a hard time following the plot or fully appreciating the story. However, I found that for the most part Nobody’s Fool stands on its own, and no real pre-knowledge of Coben’s previous novel was needed. There is a great focus on the fallout from the first book, especially when it comes to Kierce’s role, but Coben provides the necessary context so you can appreciate this drama without having to read Fool Me Once first. This does somewhat change around halfway through, when a couple of major characters from Fool Me Once are shoehorned in as potential witnesses for the current case, and new readers might have some problems fully appreciating the personal gravity of Kierce’s meetings with them. While those fans who have checked out Fool Me Once first will probably get some more emotional impact from these parts of the book, I felt that Coben ensured there was enough background to allow new readers to keep moving forward without any difficulty and have an exceptional time with the author’s killer plot.

Harlan Coben continues to impress with this brilliant new novel that serves as a wonderful sequel to one of his more iconic novels. Nobody’s Fool had me hooked from the very first page, and I had such an outstanding time fully unwrapping the author’s complex mystery and diving through every fantastic twist. This book was an absolute pleasure to read, no matter your experience with Coben’s other works, and I hope we see some more from Nobody’s Fool’s protagonist in the future.

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Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

On March 22, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1993)

Series: Discworld – Book 13

Length: 9 hours and 55 minutes (Planer version)/11 hours and 38 minutes (Serkis version)

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Thanks to an excellent road trip, I managed to revisit several awesome entries from the iconic Discworld series by the legendary Terry Pratchett, and it is time to highlight one of the very best books that Pratchett wrote, Small Gods.

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love all things Terry Pratchett, as the Discworld books were the formative series of my youth. A massively popular collection of loosely connected novels set on a flat world carried through space on the back of four elephants atop a giant turtle, the Discworld books present a range of unique fantasy adventures backed with exceptional comedy and satire. This series is so much fun, and I honestly love every single Discworld book, having read them all multiple times, usually while laughing myself silly. Indeed, I am such a big fan of this series that I named my blog after a location in the universe. Despite my overwhelming love for all things Discworld, I haven’t reviewed too many of the books on this blog, with Moving Pictures and The Last Continent previously being the only exception. However, thanks to some great road trips giving me opportunities for revisiting some classics, I have recently published reviews for Guards! Guards! and an additional review for Moving Pictures. I also recently re-listened to the impressive and thoughtful 13^th entry in the series, Small Gods. An outstanding standalone novel that seeks to blend religious commentary with Pratchett’s strong humour and complex satire, Small Gods is one of the more thoughtful and moving Discworld books and is a must read for all fans of the franchise.

Floating through space on the back of a giant turtle, the Discworld is a place of magic, wonders, strange creatures and, unfortunately for the mortals just trying to live their lives, gods. Instead of the wise and beatific beings we hope them to be, the gods of the Disc are a capricious and vain lot, empowered by the belief of their human worshippers. But what happens when a mighty god loses his believers?

The militant nation of Omnia is an empire dedicated to the fervent worship of the Great God Om, an all-powerful being who knows all, sees all and is the only true god in the world. The problem is none of that is true. Instead, Om is a self-obsessed god among many, who barely pays attention to the people fighting in his name. More importantly, he is currently residing in the body of a tortoise, stripped of nearly all his divine power, and the only person who can hear him is a simple novice, Brutha, who isn’t fully convinced that the talking tortoise smiting him with tiny thunderbolts is his god.

Determined to get back on top and find out why he lost his power, Om recruits Brutha as his unlikely prophet. However, Brutha has his own problems as the sinister head of Omnia’s Quisition, Vorbis, has taken an interest in him. Forced to accompany Vorbis on a diplomatic mission, Brutha soon begins to understand that the world is a far bigger place than he realised, and that there is something very wrong at the heart of his nation.

As the tides of history take Brutha and Om into strange new places, the two find themselves encountering unexpected dangers, including dangerous ideas, sinister eagles, rebels determined to prove that the world isn’t round, deranged philosophers and the small gods that lurk in the dark places. To survive, Brutha will need to have faith in his god, but more importantly, Om will need to have faith in Brutha, especially when his own religion is turned against them.

After yet another re-read, Small Gods remains one of my favourite Discworld novels, and this is one of the very best examples of Terry Pratchett’s unique style and imagination. A hilarious, yet thought-provoking read that cleverly dissects religion, divinity and people’s beliefs, Small Gods quickly grabs your full attention and refuses to let go until it’s powerful, terminal end.

I have so much love for the outstanding narrative that Pratchett pulled together for Small Gods, which tells one of the more unique standalone tales in the Discworld series. I must admit, even after many reads, I am still very impressed that Pratchett decided to examine the nature of religion and belief through the lens of a hilarious odd-couple story that evolves into a road trip narrative. Starting off on a very entertaining note with the unsuspecting new prophet of Om, Brutha, encountering his god in the form of a small, battered tortoise, Pratchett does a good job of introducing the nation of Omnia and its place in the wider setting. This proves to be an effective start to the book, and a lot of the early themes and wider issues surrounding the nation of Omnia are well set-up. You also get a great examination of the book’s three main characters, and their compelling early interactions in Omnia sets up a lot of the book’s character-driven narratives. After this excellent introduction, Small Gods’ plot then moves to the bordering nation of Ephebe, which proves to be an intriguing centre of the novel, not only because it has some of the more entertaining sequences, but also because it begins to expand on some of the ideas from the front of Small Gods and you are given a good understanding of both Om’s situation and Brutha’s growth as a character.

The plot of Small Gods takes a powerful turn around halfway through, when Brutha helps further Vorbis’s schemes, only to then attempt to flee and do the right thing. However, thanks to the influence of a rival god and unexpected technology, Brutha and Om are inadvertently stranded in the desert with a helpless Vorbis. The following extensive scenes in the desert are probably the best parts of Small Gods, especially as Brutha begins to think for himself, and the philosophical clashes he has with Om set him up as the protagonist both the reader and the Omnians need. Pratchett really dives into what it is to be human and divine in this section of the book, and I deeply appreciate the rich character development featured within these sections of the plot. These desert scenes become even more impactful when Pratchett throws in a major obstacle for Brutha that threatens to push him over the edge into despair. You really feel for Brutha as he has his crisis of faith, only to maintain his humanity in the last confrontation with Vorbis. The subsequent scene on the metal turtle was very tense, and while I know some people dislike the end of Vorbis, I thought it was a very clever sequence, especially as Pratchett set up the hunting eagle perfectly. Pratchett continues to wrap up the rest of the narrative in a very satisfying way, and while the war sequence might have been a little unnecessary, it allowed some great character arcs to come together and showed how much Om had grown as a god. The final scene with Brutha once again showing his humanity no matter what, ended the book on satisfying and heart-felt note, I appreciated the hopeful tone Pratchett concluded his brilliant story on. An overall impactful and moving narrative that brought together a lot of complex plotlines and character moments and ensured you were hooked the entire way through.

I have always believed that Small Gods was one of Pratchett’s better written books, as he effortlessly blended a complex fantasy narrative that examined religion with his typically brilliant humour and some outstanding characters. Featuring one of his most complex and thought-provoking plots, Pratchett achieves so much with his intriguing inclusions, all without slowing down the speed of the book and keeping the tension and emotional charge of the book on high. Introducing a cool new setting, Small Gods works well as a standalone entry in the larger series that cleverly expands on some previously introduced features, such as the selfish and somewhat stupid gods of the Disc, as well as cool locations like Ephebe (which was previously featured in Pyramids). Due to its lack of major connections to the other entries in the Discworld series, Small Gods is a rather excellent introduction to Pratchett’s style and ability to dive into heavy topics with comedic content. Like all of Pratchett’s books, Small Gods is hilarious, and I love the many different levels of humour contained with the book, that range from obvious jokes at over-the-top situations, subtle witticisms often contain within well-placed footnotes, to clever word or name gags. Some of this humour is so subtle that it often goes over the reader’s head the first time, and you honestly need multiple readings to full appreciate every single joke or gag that Pratchett thought up (I still discover new jokes I previously missed every time I read a Pratchett novel).

However, the thing that ensures Small Gods stands out amongst the other brilliant Discworld novels is the author’s clever and insightful breakdown of religion and godhood on the Disc, which is both fascinating and entertaining. A lot of the book’s powerful messaging, complex themes and some of the best humour, comes out of the exploration of the divine and how it relates to both this crazy fantasy setting and the real world. While Pratchett does provide a lot of jokes about religion throughout the ages, he does it in a very intelligent and delicate way that makes the reader think. Rather than simply dunking on religions and focussing on the negatives, Pratchett instead subtly satirises the institutions, manipulative leaders and unthinking traditions that can often complicate or weaponise religion. A large amount of the plot revolves around Vorbis and the Omnian church violently trying the repress the idea that the world is flat and on the back of a giant turtle. While this is primarily a fun parody of the Catholic church’s suppression of Galileo’s claims about the Earth orbiting the sun (and which is now both funnier and sadder, thanks to flat earthers), it also examines how some people utilise religion as an excuse for violent action and manipulate faith for their own ends, which is a powerful recurring them throughout the book.

At the same time, Pratchett also focuses on a compelling central character with true faith who explores the meaning of religion and how it impacts his people. Seeing a likable character like Brutha recognise the problems in his nation allows readers to reflect and see the flaws in the organised religions Pratchett is parodying, while also appreciating the messages that these religions should strive for. The various complex discussions, personal revelations and jokes within Small Gods allow for a very insightful read that reportedly resonates with both atheists and pro-religious figures (Pratchett apparently received a lot of fan mail from both groups who thought Small Gods was written for them). I personally think that Pratchett’s thoughts and messages were extremely perceptive and layered with a great understand of humanity, and indeed many his compelling criticism or organised religion and how it is weaponised are more relevant now than when Small Gods was written, especially as it could also apply to other traditional institutions that are being abused.

Pratchett perfectly rounds out this incredible writing by featuring some of his very best characters, including several very complex figures who mature and evolve throughout the course of the book’s plot. This includes the main protagonist, Brutha, a simple novice who finds himself the only person left who can hear Om due to his genuine belief in the god rather than in the institutions that surround the religious practices. While initially portrayed as a somewhat dull and unthinking novice, you soon begin to realise that there is much greater complexity within Brutha, as well as the fact that he is a genuinely nice person held back by his simple ideas of life and faith. Thanks to his interactions with Om, who provides greater clarity to his religious beliefs, as well as his experiences outside his insular nation, Brutha begins to evolve quickly as a person, gaining a greater appreciation for the wider world, as well as beginning the understand that the world isn’t quite as black and white as he believed. It was fascinating to see Brutha develop as the book continues, especially as he begins to doubt his faith and rebel against the church and the god that had been his entire life. His interactions with Om were quite entertaining, as the two eventually become a fun duo of equals, although Brutha does get the upper hand over his god in quite an entertaining and refreshing manner. Brutha was also well defined by his relationship with the book’s antagonist, Vorbis, and their discussions about truth prove to be quite defining for Brutha as an inspiration for his rebellion. However, unlike the rest of the cast, Brutha resists becoming the monster that Vorbis wants him to be, and his subsequent demonstrations of faith, reason and humanity, really set him up as one of Pratchett’s best and most likeable central protagonists.

Brutha is well matched by his god, Om, who honestly is one of the best deities featured in the Discworld series. Formerly an all-powerful and arrogant god who didn’t care about his believers, Om finds himself suddenly trapped as a helpless tortoise who must desperately cling to Brutha to survive. Om proves to be quite a fascinating and entertaining figure in Small Gods, especially as Pratchett perfectly portrays him as formerly powerful being who must now rely on the mercy of others. His initial arrogance is very entertaining, and his subsequent wheedling manipulation of Brutha was a great follow-up that worked to keep him in the story. However, it was his eventual co-evolution with Brutha that turned Om into a particularly compelling protagonist. Despite his resistance, his bond to Brutha shapes him and forces him to see the world through human eyes, and the subsequent discourse on philosophy, life and how religion should be as they wander the dessert impacts Om just as much as Brutha. This eventually causes them to reach an interesting and heartfelt religious partnership, and it was fascinating to see the previously selfish Om risk it all to save Brutha, especially when he is confronted by other gods who act the same way he used to. I loved seeing this powerful and positive development in a divine figure, and Om really ended up being a compelling secondary protagonist with some of the best jokes.

While Brutha and Om are the heart and soul of Small Gods, this book would not be as impactful without its brilliant villain, Vorbis. A cruel and unflinching figure, Vorbis is probably Pratchett’s most ruthless antagonist, who utilises the mechanisms of the church to achieve his goals. However, rather than being a purely evil figure, Vorbis is shown to be simply someone who understands human nature and uses this knowledge to achieve his self-determined goals, which in some ways is worse than an obvious villain. Pratchett does an outstanding job showcasing Vorbis’s dark, insular nature, and you come to really appreciate just how sinister he is, especially as his actions inspire other people to do evil things to try and match him. He becomes even more immoral when compared to the very innocent Brutha, the only person that Vorbis occasionally sees as a real threat to his plans due to his legitimate belief, and their various interactions and discussion about the true nature of the world are quite powerful. Pratchett features Vorbis perfectly throughout the book, and his final appearances, where he finally understands his own nature, are very satisfying to behold.

The rest of the cast of Small Gods are also quite impactful in their own way. The blind philosopher, Didactylos, proves to be a fantastic voice of reason in the story, especially compared to the rest of the insane philosophers of Ephebe, and his very simple philosophy and viewpoint on life and truth give the characters, and the readers, much to think about amongst the discussions on religion. Didactylos’s nephew, Urn, came across perfectly as a machine-obsessed proto engineer, whose storylines go in some interesting philosophical directions, especially when he realises what his inventions will be used for. I had a very fun chuckle at the inclusion of Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah, a fun Omnian equivalent to the always entertaining Ankh-Morpork native, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, while the Sweeper, Lu Tze, gets a great introduction as a secret history monk who occasionally changes events for the better. Finally, the zealous Sergeant Simony, who leads the internal Omnian revolution against Vorbis, proves to be a very impressive figure who, despite being a fervent misotheist (someone who hates one specific god), has a belief in freedom and the turtle that matches Brutha’s faith in Om. Simony serves as a very good example of just how far Vorbis can drive someone trying to do the wrong thing to achieve their goals, and I felt that he matched the fervour and faith of the other major characters in some fascinating ways. This cast of characters was overall superb, and I really appreciated how well they complimented each other’s story arcs, as well as the intelligent themes Pratchett was trying to get across.

As with all the Discworld novels, I have enjoyed Small Gods as both a physical novel and an audiobook, and frankly this epic story comes across extremely well in all formats. However, I have a very special place in my heart for the Discworld audiobooks, and the outstanding stories, elaborate characters and impressive and clever humour always comes across extremely well in this format. I have had the great pleasure of listening to Small Gods multiple times over the years, and I want to highlight the two different unabridged version of Small Gods.

The first audiobook version of Small Gods is the original production narrated by Nigel Planer. Small Gods was a particularly impressive example of Planer’s voice work, as he had to come up with unique voices for a range of unusual characters. The Planer version of Small Gods is the one that I grew up with, and it is engrained in my mind as a result, especially as the narrator effortlessly moves through Pratchett’s many complex ideas and plots and brings them out in a fantastic and humours manner. Planer provides all the voices in his version of Small Gods, and he perfectly encapsulated all the key figures of the book with his exceptional narrations. You really get the full range of these character’s personalities and emotions through Planer’s voice work, and I loved his clever takes on Pratchett’s distinctive cast. As such, the Planer version of Small Gods is probably the gold standard for all Discworld fans, and it will always have a very special place in my heart.

There is also a recently released version of Small Gods that is narrated by three brilliant British talents, and which was the version I most recently enjoyed. This new Small Gods audiobook features a runtime of around 12 hours, which is a little longer than the roughly 10-hour long Planer version and provides an interesting new take on the novel. I really enjoyed the voice cast for this new audiobook, as not only do we once again get Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their recurring roles, but it also features the primary narration of actor Andy Serkis.

Serkis, who has also narrated a recent version of The Lord of the Rings books that is worth checking out, does an exceptional job in Small Gods, ensuring a very fun experience for all listeners. While there are some tonal shifts in this audiobook that fans of the Planer version may find a little surprising or jarring, for the most part I think Serkis matches and even occasionally exceeds Nigel Planer’s performance, and I very much enjoyed his take on the book. His basic narration of Small Gods matches Pratchett’s style and humour extremely well, and I love how effectively he moves the story along, perfectly capturing the complex tone and energy of the plot. However, it is Serkis’s entertaining voices that were the highlight of this version of Small Gods, as the characters are each given unique tones that fit their personalities in some fantastic ways. His voice for Brutha, the central character, was extremely good, and I loved how well Serkis captured Brutha’s transformative journey and complex personality. Utilising a fitting rural voice for the protagonist, Serkis successfully showcases Brutha’s changing mentality and deep moral roots with his narration, and you can honestly imagine this intriguing figure every time the narrator voices him.

In comparison to Brutha, the voices for Vorbis and the Great God Om were a lot more elaborate by necessity, and I really appreciated the fantastic tones that Serkis choice for these entertaining figures. My favourite was probably the voice used for Vorbis, as the narrator gifted this antagonist a deep, rich and lingering voice that honestly put me in mind of Tony Jay or Alan Rickman with some added oily sinisterness. This impactful voice perfectly fit Vorbis’ menacing personality, and whenever the listener hears the voice, you know bad stuff is about to go down for the rest of the cast. As for Om, Serkis provides him with an unrefined and laddish voice with a Liverpool accent. This interesting voice choice matched Om’s uncaring and selfish personality extremely well, and I liked how well Serkis’s chosen tone for this divine figure played into the overarching theme that gods on the Discworld aren’t as sophisticated as everyone assumes they are. Most of the rest of the voices in Small Gods work extremely well, with Sergeant Simony and Cut-Me-Own-Hand-Off Dhblah having memorable voices as a result. However, I felt that the strong American accents that Serkis assigned to Didactylos and Urn really didn’t work, and failed to match the tone of the rest of the audiobook. While Serkis was probably trying to distinguish these two from the other Ephebian philosophers, their voices honestly grated on me, and I really wish he’d have tried something else. Still, the rest of Serkis’ voice work was amazing, and I cannot emphasise how incredible most of his narration of Small Gods turned out to be.

Serkis’s main narration was perfectly enhanced with the inclusion of Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their recurring roles from the new Discworld audiobooks. Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which is a lot of fun as Serafinowicz has an extremely entertaining Death voice that captures the anthropomorphic personification in all his skeletal glory. His multiple appearances in Small Gods, leading key character towards the desert of judgement, were very awesome, and I loved hearing Serafinowicz converse with the other characters as Death. The audiobook production team does an excellent job sliding the Death voice into Serkis’s main narration seamlessly, and I love it when Serafinowicz’s voice suddenly appears during dangerous scenes, heralding that someone is about to die, and ensuring there is some great tension as you watch the other characters slowly realise something is very wrong. Nighy, on the other hand, narrates the various footnotes that Pratchett included in his text, providing an extra layer of humour. While there are relatively few footnotes in Small Gods, it is a key role that Nighy perfectly fulfils, and his calm, consistent tones, echoing Peter Jones’s similar role in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio and TV editions really highlighted the subtle comedy of these footnotes. These three exceptional actors come together perfectly and provide an outstanding overall performance that I could not get enough of. This was a truly exceptional audiobook that I think is on par with the previous Planer version, and I would strongly recommend both audiobooks as an amazing way to enjoy Small Gods, especially if you need to listen to something while travelling.

Well, as I am currently just getting to the end of page seven of my review for Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, I think it is a safe assumption to say that I love this amazing book. Easily one of my favourite Discworld novels, Small Gods perfectly blends a brilliant story and amazing characters with Pratchett’s amazing wit and his uncanny insights into compelling real-world issues. An incredible and addictive read from start to finish, Small Gods comes extremely highly recommended and can easily be enjoyed by anyone wanting a clever, funny and heartfelt read, especially on its two audiobook formats.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 15: Grasscutter II- Journey to Atsuta Shrine by Stan Sakai

On March 22, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday1 Comment

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics (Paperback – 1 February 2002)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Volume 15

Length: 184 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The classic adventures of Usagi Yojimbo continue as I look back at the 15^th brilliant volume, Grasscutter II – Journey to Atsuta Shrine, one of Stan Sakai’s more ambitious and powerful comics, which sees the protagonist and his friends caught up in the tides of fate and history.

Ever since I read the recently released 40^th volume of Stan Sakai’s iconic Usagi Yojimbo comic series, The Crow, I have been in a major Usagi Yojimbo mood, so I decided to go back and continue reviewing the older volumes of this classic comic, which follows a rabbit ronin in a version of Feudal Japan populated with anthropomorphised animals. I reviewed the first 14^th volumes during COVID lockdown, and had a lot of fun doing so, especially as Usagi Yojimbo is one of my favourite comic series. I have been meaning to restart reviewing the older comics for a while, and I’m not going to throw away this sudden surge of creative energy, so this is the perfect time to bring out my review for the 15^th volume in the series, Grasscutter II.

Grasscutter II is one of Sakai’s most impressive comics in the series. Featuring issues #39-45 of the first Dark Horse Comics run on the Usagi Yojimbo series, Grasscutter II serves as the gripping sequel and conclusion to the intense and pivotal story contained in the 12^th volume, Grasscutter. This previous volume saw Usagi and his friends become embroiled in the recovery of the legendary sword Kusanagi and the foiling of a major plot to rebel against the Shogun. A dark and compelling entry in the series, Grasscutter featured an amazing story with major implications for the Usagi Yojimbo series. This was such a key volume, and it is interesting to see how Sakai follows it up here, especially as he needed to make Grasscutter II’s story in just as epic, if not more impressive.

Following dark events of magic and death, few people are aware that the legendary Imperial sword Kusanagi has been recovered from the sea. Forged by the gods and wielded as a symbol of Imperial authority for generations, Kusanagi, or the Grasscutter sword has the potential to reshape the power structure of Japan, as whoever holds it could rally all the country to their cause, bringing war and destruction to a currently peaceful nation.

Hidden at a small temple, the sword is currently guarded by the honourable samurai Miyamoto Usagi, the irrepressible bounty hunter Gen, and the head priest Sanshobo. However, the three know that they cannot keep the sword hidden for long, with dangerous foes seeking to uncover its secrets. The only place that the sword will be truly safe and out of the hands of those who would use it for political gain is the sacred shrine of Atsuta, where a replica of the sword currently rests.

Embarking on a noble quest, Usagi, Gen and Sanshobo hope to sneak the sword to the shrine before anyone knows they have it. However, the road to safety is long, and it soon becomes apparent that dangerous foes know exactly what they are carrying. Pursued by two rival ninja clans who will stop at nothing to possess the sword as fuel for their own dark ambitions, Usagi and his comrades will need to fight tooth and nail to survive and keep the sword out of their hands. But with old friends and new bitter rivals revealing themselves, can even Usagi and his skilled companions avoid the tragedy that stalks them?

Grasscutter II was an epic and captivating classic entry in one of the best ongoing comic series. Serving as an effective follow up to the bloody events of Grasscutter, Grasscutter II blended together a ton of outstanding action with some great character moments to create a memorable and beautifully drawn addition to the series that gets a very easy five-star rating from me.

This 15^th volume of the Usagi Yojimbo series has a very gripping and intense storyline that seeks to combine Japanese history and mythology with the author’s action-packed style. Starting with a beautifully drawn prologue that gives some interesting historical and mythological context to the sacred shrine of Atsuta, Sakai quickly moves into the main story, with Usagi, Gen and Sanshobo starting their journey to the shrine after being forced to protect the sword in the previous volume, Demon Mask. At the same time, two rival bands of ninja, the Komori ninja and Neko ninja, discover that the existence of the sword and move quickly to intercept the companions, hoping to claim it for their own conflicting reasons. The Neko ninja, led by Chizu, who has a complicated history with Usagi, catch up to the protagonists around the same time as the Komori ninja, leading to a wild three-way brawl. Forced to work together, Chizu joins Usagi and his friends to recover the sword, which raises some interesting conflicts and issues, especially as Chizu has very different plans for the Kusanagi sword.

The second half of Grasscutter II is epic the entire way through, as Sakai continues to feature impressive action, while also allowing several character arcs to develop and conclude in tragic ways. This includes the companions meeting up with the excellent supporting character Ikeda, who had such a great redemption arc in the previous Grasscutter volume. Following some initial betrayal from Chizu, Usagi, Gen and Sanshobo follow her and enter battle with the Komori ninja, which ends in a dark moment of honour and loyalty from another interesting supporting figure. While this initially seems to wrap up the main story, a fun twist ensures that Grasscutter II enters a fantastic concluding arc that sees that protagonists enter one last battle before achieving their goal. This big battle is one of the most brutal and intense in the entire volume, and results in the book’s final tragic moment, which proves to be a fitting end to one amazing figure. Loaded with powerful emotion, sacrifice and grief, this ending to Grasscutter II wraps up the entire story perfectly and ensures you are hooked all the way to the final blow.

This was another great volume from Sakai that successfully pushes the overall narrative of the series onwards and results in some intriguing changes to the comics, both in this book and the future. As with all of Sakai’s work, Grasscutter II features a great combination of action, intrigue, character work and beautiful art that comes together perfectly to create an exceptional comic that is impossible not to finish in one sitting. There are some truly great moments in Grasscutter II that help to make it stand out amongst Sakai’s other outstanding work, including the cool battle sequences. The various scenes that feature the protagonists caught between two different schools of ninja were the best, and Sakai had fun showcasing the scary fighting ability of the blade-winged Komori ninja, as well as the established tricks of the Neko ninja. This fantastic clash of styles allowed for some brilliant sequences, which were so damn epic to see unfold. While I had a lot of fun with Grasscutter II, I must say that it probably isn’t the best volume of Usagi Yojimbo to start the comic on. While Sakai does a good job revisiting some of the key plotlines and characters, you probably should read the previous Grasscutter volume to fully appreciate the plot, as well as some of the other earlier volumes to understand some of the character arcs. Still, this is a very impressive Usagi Yojimbo entry, and a key read for established fans of the series who will have an exceptional time with Grasscutter II.

While fans will probably enjoy Grasscutter II’s exceptional action the most, I personally thought that it was some of the great character work in this volume that helped to make it particularly good. Thanks to the volume featuring one extended storyline, Sakai takes his time to set up some outstanding character moments that work perfectly alongside the complex narrative and cool artwork. While Usagi and Gen are their usual fun selves (there opposing views on honour, duty and what is right is always fun), I thought it was several returning supporting characters who really stole the show in Grasscutter II, especially as Sakai wove some great storylines around each of them. This includes the former samurai turned monk Sanshobo, who has been an excellent recurring figure since his introduction in the series’ 10^th volume, The Brink of Life and Death. Not only does he mesh well with Usagi and Gen, acting as a voice of reason between the two strong-willed characters, but Sakai also brings one of his main character arcs full circle when he encounters his former lord. Sanshobo has some great moments in Grasscutter II, especially his grief at the end, and I liked how Sakai utilised him as part of the main trio.

Another impressive character in Grasscutter II is Ikeda, who Sakai has built up as a wonderful figure. Introduced in the moving story, The Patience of the Spider (contained in the 11^th volume, Seasons) and expanded on in the first Grasscutter story, Ikeda is a former lord and general who learned to enjoy the quiet life of a peasant after his defeat. Reunited by chance here with his former retainer Sanshobo, Ikeda proves to be an interesting addition to the cast. Not only do his insights into the Neko ninja, who he greatly distrusts due to his history with them, result in a key plot point, but he is also once again tempted to achieve power, something he decides against in a great continuation of his storyline. However, it is in the final sequence where Ikeda’s full character is revealed, where he serves as a willing rearguard to the companions to ensure the Neko ninja don’t get the Grasscutter sword. His big battle sequence is very well portrayed, especially with how Sakai features his old war wound, and his final scene is one of the most badass inclusions in any Usagi Yojimbo comic. An extremely well-written and complex character who is used to his full potential in this last appearance.

The final characters I want to mention are the various members of the Neko ninja who appear in this volume, primarily as antagonists. Long-time opponents of Usagi, the Neko ninja represent the more classic ninja styles in the Usagi Yojimbo universe and prove to be great foils to the protagonist’s samurai style. This includes their leader, Chizu, who has a long and complicated history with Usagi. Simultaneously serving as both an alternate protagonist, antagonist and potential love interest to Usagi, Chizu has a lot of storylines in Grasscutter II, which Sakai makes full use of. Forced to hunt for the Grasscutter sword against her better judgement, Chizu desires nothing more than to throw the sword back into the ocean to keep it out of anyone’s hands, and will betray anyone, including Usagi for that goal. This results in some intriguing personal issues amongst the protagonists, especially as Usagi tries to see the best in her, while Gen forms an instant, mutual dislike of her. Chizu’s inner conflicts become a key part of the plot, and her appearance here will have major impacts for her storyline going forward, especially when it comes to her ambitious number two, Kagemaru, who has been angling for power for several volumes now. Kagemaru proves to be a ruthless alternate antagonist in Grasscutter II, and I liked how well Sakai set him up as both a physical and political threat going forward. The final Neko ninja character I should mention is Saru, a former member of the clan betrayed by Kagemaru in the previous volume. Seeking revenge on Chizu, who Saru believes was behind the betrayal, Saru stalks Chizu for much of the volume, resulting in some excellent sequences of ninja-on-ninja violence. A compelling figure, Saru ends up redeeming herself in a particularly moving sequence and makes an impact despite her relatively short appearance. These great ninja characters, and indeed the entire case of Grasscutter II, deeply enhanced the impact of the comic’s narrative, and I had an outstanding time seeing their arcs unfold.

As with all the Usagi Yojimbo comics I review, I must highlight the outstanding artwork that is such a brilliant feature of Grasscutter II. Featuring Sakai’s classic pre-colour style of drawing, Grasscutter II’s art is very visually impactful, and I loved the fantastic black-and-white panels that cleanly show the complex actions and characters. Every panel is extremely striking, and I love how effectively Sakai showcases everything in such detail, including the actions of his many characters. I am always impressed with how well Sakai implies movement and activity with his drawings, and you really get the flow the scene from his panels. I particularly appreciate how well the intense fight sequences come across in Grasscutter II, especially as there are so many scenes of carnage that occur within this volume. The various battles, which usually involve a range of ninja, are so well drawn, and I loved the complex array of combat that flitters along the pages. Some of these scenes are quite elaborate, and I loved seeing all the multiple black-clad figures moving around the established cast, especially in some of the bigger fight sequences.

In addition to great fights, Sakai does a great job capturing the emotive nature of his cast with his fantastic drawings of the major characters. The intense reactions of many of his characters help to make the scene pop, and I love how well Sakai showcases the emotional range that the story elicits. Highlights include the final face of one badass warrior while the grief of another usually calm figure really hammers home the seriousness of the moment. All this amazing action and great character drawings is perfectly supported by Sakai’s trademark drawings of the picturesque Japanese landscapes, towns and temples that serve as an amazing backdrop to the main story. Sakai has some real talent of showcasing Feudal Japan with his artwork, and you can often feel the world through which the characters are trapsing. I particularly appreciated Sakai’s portrayals of a wild oceans beneath a ragged cliff, which was a setting for several of the volume’s more visually powerful panels. The harsh waves striking around the combatants was especially impactful, and you could almost feel the wave’s strength as the characters fight at their edge. Throw in Sakai’s interesting take on a classic Japanese legend at the very start of the volume in the prologue and Grasscutter II’s art comes together in a truly perfect manner, especially as this volume features some of the artist’s most ambitious fight sequences.

Based on my rambling paragraphs above, I think it is safe to say that I had an amazing time reading the 15^th Usagi Yojimbo volume, Grasscutter II. Featuring the exceptional storytelling and artwork of the legendary Stan Sakai, Grasscutter II achieves so much with its ambitious plot, long-term, character driven storytelling, and amazing sequences of combat and chaos. A brilliant, classic addition to a truly incredible comic series, Grasscutter II comes highly recommend, and I had such a great time getting through it yet again.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 40: The Crow by Stan Sakai

On March 10, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books7 Comments

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics (Paperback – 21 January 2025)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Volume 40

Length: 152 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Stan Sakai’s iconic Usagi Yojimbo comic series powers through to its 40^th volume, with the compelling and action-packed collection, The Crow, which proves to be another intense and impressive read.

Readers of this blog will know that I have a lot of love for the amazing Usagi Yojimbo series by Stan Sakai, which has remained one of my favourite comic series for years. Following a rabbit ronin in an alternate version of Feudal Japan populated by anthropomorphic animals, the Usagi Yojimbo series combines cool art and great characters with a fantastic Japanese samurai aesthetic to create a particularly awesome comic series. I love the various elaborate stories and scenarios that Sakai comes up with for the Usagi Yojimbo comics, and it is a real highlight of my reading year to check out the new Usagi Yojimbo volume.

This latest volume, The Crow, is the 40^th collected volume of the long-running Usagi Yojimbo comic and contains issues #275 to #279 of the series. This is the second volume of the current Dark Horse Comics run of Usagi Yojimbo, which started last year with volume 39, Ice and Snow (one of my favourite books of 2024), and continues some of the ongoing storylines from the other recent volumes. This volume is once again written and drawn by Sakai, with Hi-Fi Colour Design colouring in Sakai’s illustrations. The Crow was another interesting addition to the series I was really looking forward to, as it follows Usagi and his unlikely companions into deadly danger.

Following their encounter in the mountains with the murderous Jei, Miyamoto Usagi and his cousin, Yamamoto Yukichi, have finally escaped the freezing north of Japan and have journeyed to warmer climes. However, just because they are out of the ice and snow doesn’t mean they have escaped trouble.

Closing in on the nearest town, Usagi and Yukichi come across a man being attacked by four ruffians. Interceding in the fight and driving the attackers off, Usagi and Yukichi initially believe that the man they rescued was a merchant being robbed. However, when they arrive at their destination, they find the place overrun by disreputable bounty hunters on the hunt for a big reward, including Usagi’s old companions Gen and Stray Dog. Once again conned into paying for lunch, Usagi and Yukichi are shocked to discover that the focus of the bounty hunters’ attention is the person they saved, a dangerous bandit warlord known as Jimmu due to his crow companion.

Despite their intentions to avoid the hunt for Jimmu, the two rabbit ronin find themselves dragged into the fight by the deadly mercenary Inuyoshi, another acquaintance of Usagi who is also seeking Jimmu’s bounty. Initially forced into conflict with Inuyoshi, Usagi and his friends soon find themselves unlikely allies of Inuyoshi’s bounty hunter band, as they must work together to take down Jimmu and his massive bandit army. But with skilled warriors on both sides, and no mercy on the horizon, will Usagi and his associates survive unscathed?

The Crow was another exceptional comic from Sakai, who continues his Usagi Yojimbo series with masterful style. Featuring one major story that pitted the protagonists against an array of deadly warriors, The Crow had me hooked from the very beginning, and I finished the entire volume within an hour of getting my hands on it. An outstanding comic with great art and some brilliant character arcs, The Crow unsurprisingly gets a full five-star rating from me and was so damn good.

I felt that The Crow had a particularly strong story behind it, as Sakai continues his recent trend of featuring a single multi-issue story in the volume, rather than a series of smaller short stories like in many of his earlier volumes. This allowed the author to produce a complex, interwoven narrative that features several intriguing character-focused storylines. Featuring the old classic start, with Usagi and Yukichi rescuing a traveller from assailants, you are drawn into familiar Usagi Yojimbo ground of bandits and bounty hunters, as the rabbit samurai encounter two of Usagi’s oldest companions, the money-focused Gen and Stray Dog. This allows for some excellent early story tension, as the naïve and highly honourable Yukichi clashes with the morally flexible and cynical bounty hunters, especially when they discover that the traveller Yukichi helped was the notorious bandit chief Jimmu. Sakai quickly moves the story into its central arc, when Yukichi is kidnapped by returning figure Inuyoshi, who seeks to keep Usagi, Gen and Stray Dog out of his hunt for Jimmu.

This kidnapping arc proved to be quite interesting, especially as the formerly honourable Inuyoshi verbally clashes with Yukichi and is forced to find his honour in the face of betrayals within his own gang of bounty hunters. I really enjoyed some of the compelling interactions between some of the cast in the central part of the story, and Sakai cleverly works events so that Usagi and his friends can find and rescue Yukichi. This central part of the story also features some great action sequences, especially a brutal, multi-page ambush by Jimmu who robs a merchant convoy. The revelation about the true size of Jimmu’s bandit army inevitably results in Usagi’s group teaming up with Inuyoshi to find and defeat Jimmu, which results in a massive battle that takes up most of the final quarter of the volume. This battle was everything you could hope for, and Sakai is in fine form with his drawings as he portrays the various fights. The final duels between bounty hunters and Jimmu have some outstanding and memorable moments, and Sakai ensures there is some powerful tragedy that will live with a certain protagonist. Sakai ensures that all the key character-driven story arcs are well wrapped up, and there are some touching moments that perfectly define some of the major protagonist’s personalities or struggles in this volume, which I felt made The Crow really stand out. A very impressive overall story from Sakai, that shows just how interesting and intense his writing can be, even when he returns to his well-trodden tales of bandits and bounty hunters.

One of the things that I felt Sakai did particularly well in The Crow was to feature an array of great characters, whose combined arcs come together extremely well in the context of the larger story. There is an awesome collection of characters in this volume, including old favourites, returning one-shot figures, and some intriguing new characters who proved to be excellent additions to the overall story. Sakai does an excellent job balancing a number of these character storylines within the course of The Crow’s four issues, and there are some moving and compelling moments as a result.

A lot of the volume focuses on the three longer-term recurring members of the cast, Gen, Stray Dog and Usagi himself, who are the veteran presence in The Crow. While they are featured quite prominently, Sakai doesn’t provide a massive amount of development for them, as they mostly fall into the same routines as they previously have, with Gen being the money-fixated conman, Stray Dog being the seemingly selfish and unfriendly killer, while Usagi is his usual honourable self. I did like how Sakai once again painted Usagi more as a mature and world-weary figure, especially when compared to Yukichi, and it was interesting to see how much more realistic he is here than in some of his earlier encounters with Gen and Stray Dog. Sakai also has fun once again featuring the dichotomy of Stray Dog, whose selfish outer-shell is cleverly balanced by his actual charitable actions, which are used to great effect for a secondary character towards the end of the volume. Finally, Gen was his usual self, although considering how fun that is, I was happy with the result.

While these three long-running figures were well utilised, I felt that Sakai did his work with two more recent, returning additions to the Usagi Yojimbo universe with Yamamoto Yukichi and the mercenary Inuyoshi. Yukichi, Usagi’s cousin introduced in volume 36: Tengu War!, has proven to be an interesting traveling companion for the protagonist, especially as he is very similar to a younger Usagi. His naivety and unbending belief in honour without compromise is on full display in this volume, especially in his first interaction with Gen and Stray Dog, and it is interesting to compare him to the now more flexible Usagi. Inuyoshi on the other hand is an intriguing figure who was introduced in the story The Sword of Narukami in the series’ 27^th volume, A Town Called Hell. A formerly honourable samurai betrayed by his lord’s heir, Inuyoshi has become a much more deadly and disreputable figure since his last encounter with Usagi. I really liked how Sakai devolved Inuyoshi since his last appearance, both in his art and personality, as while he still maintains some of his honour, he has become even more ruthless, going so far as to capture Yukichi to keep Usagi and his companions away. These two characters are in a way antithesis of each other, with one strictly holding onto samurai ideals while the other has abandoned them and is now more interested in money and survival. The two play off each other extremely well, despite some major fractious moments, and I liked how they both gain something from the experience, with Yukichi getting a lesson in the real world, while Inuyoshi remembers some of his old honour. Inuyoshi’s appearance here also perfectly wraps up some of the open storylines from The Sword of Narukami, and I appreciated that Sakai finally provided some closure for a one-off tale from several years ago.

Aside from these great major characters, Sakai rounds out the cast of The Crow with some additional fun figures who each add some fantastic elements to the comic. The volume’s main antagonist, Jimmu, proves to be a ruthless and competent outlaw leader, and I liked how his crow companion gave him a distinctive edge and allowed for some intriguing and well-drawn battle scenes. The street urchin, Isamu, was a great mischievous figure who reminded me of a young, but brave, version of the recurring Snitch character. Isamu has some fantastic interactions with some of the main characters, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we see more of him in the future. Finally, Sakai has fun including a comedic merchant duo who get caught up in one of Jimmu’s raids. Their entertaining banter during several scenes had me chuckling, especially when their newly discovered brotherhood is ruined by some ill-matched confessions, and they provided an excellent bit of humour amongst the darker story elements. These great characters all filled their roles perfectly, and I deeply enjoyed how effectively Sakai utilised them in this fantastic narrative.

As with all the Usagi Yojimbo comics, I really need to highlight Sakai’s exceptional artwork featured within The Crow. Sakai does another remarkable artistic job in this latest volume, and the comics are just gorgeous as he effortlessly brings his elaborate stories and characters to life with his amazing drawings. All the characters are lovingly drawn, and their resultant actions, especially the cool battle sequences, are so intense and expressive. I was particularly impressed with Sakai’s portrayal of rival samurai Inuyoshi, who had previously appeared once some years ago. It was absolutely fascinating to see how Sakai’s drawing style has changed in the intervening years (I had a look at A Town Called Hell after reading The Crow), as Inuyoshi has so much more detail and depth in this appearance. His scarred and somewhat more deranged appearance perfectly matched his darker personality, and I really think that he looked even more impressive in colour, which has only been a recurring feature since volume 34, Bunraku and Other Stories.

These excellent character drawings are only matched by Sakai’s superb landscape drawings, which provide beautiful and powerful pictures of the story’s background setting. These background drawings, whether they be depictions of historic Japanese towns or of the shaded natural forests, come across extremely well, and you really feel yourself becoming immersed in the setting as a result. I must once again mention the awesome action scenes scattered throughout The Crow. Sakai is a master of drawing epic sword clashes in his comic style, and you can feel every thrust and cut that the various samurai characters make. Highlights for me this time included two massive group battle sequences that each have their own fantastic moments, cool duels against the bandit leader and his bird companion, and a somewhat graphic but very well-drawn decapitation panel which was both epic and gnarly. This art once again perfectly enhances and compliments Sakai’s outstanding writing, and I love how even after 40 Usagi Yojimbo volumes, Sakai is still producing such masterful and moving pictures.

Stan Sakai continues to impress and wow me with his outstanding Usagi Yojimbo comic series. This latest volume, The Crow, was another captivating comic, loaded with striking drawings, intense action, and some excellent samurai characters. I felt that The Crow was a particularly strong entry in this always incredible series, and I am so very glad we were gifted a volume this early in the year. I am hoping that we will get another volume later in 2025, but until then, do yourself a favour and make sure to check out the first exceptional 40 volumes of one of the best ongoing comic series.

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Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz

On March 10, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Thriller7 Comments

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 18 February 2025)

Series: Orphan X – Book 10

Length: 493 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of my favourite thriller authors, Gregg Hurwitz, returns with a powerful and particularly addictive new entry in his Orphan X series with the emotionally charged and pulse-pounding read, Nemesis.

Gregg Hurwitz is an author I have had a wonderful time enjoying over the last few years, primarily thanks to his exceptional Orphan X books. Following former government assassin Evan Smoak, formerly known as Orphan X, this compelling thriller series explores Smoak’s vigilante actions as the Nowhere Man, a source of lethal justice for those who can’t get help anywhere else. I started reading these books several years ago with the amazing fourth entry, Out of the Dark, which saw the protagonist go to war with a corrupt US President, and I have been hooked ever since, grabbing every subsequent entry in the series. This includes the outstanding novels Into the Fire, Prodigal Son, Dark Horse, The Last Orphan and Lone Wolf, each of which did an intriguing job of continuing the series while also exploring Hurwitz’s complex protagonist and his unlikely family. I really enjoyed all these books, and I have been eagerly awaiting the 10^th novel, Nemesis, for a while now, especially as it promised to follow on from the intriguing cliff-hanger at the end of Lone Wolf.

No greater friend. No worse enemy.

Evan Smoak, the Nowhere Man, has spent years taking on impossible vigilante missions, while also keeping his former government owners at bay. No matter how hard the mission, Smoak always succeeds, in no small part to the group of loyal friends who have his back. But Evan is about to discover the sad truth that it’s those closest to you that can cause you the most pain.

After foiling a lethal assassin with a penchant for taking out innocent bystanders, Evan is disturbed to discover that the assassin’s weapons were sourced from his trusted comrade and armourer, Tommy Stojack. Shocked and determined to get answers, an emotionally compromised Evan finds himself unwilling to forgive Tommy for his lapse in moral code, and the two strong-willed warriors soon find themselves at odds. When Evan’s next attempt to talk sees him ambushed by a flurry of thugs and shooters, he decides that it’s time to go to war, even if that means killing his best friend.

However, Tommy has his own problems to deal with. Receiving a call for help from the son of an old war buddy, Tommy travels to a dying American town, filled with anger, corruption and racial tension. Attempting to honour his debts, Tommy finds himself mentoring a group of neglected and angry young men whose uninformed actions have led to tragedy. However, Tommy’s seemingly simple mission soon turns deadly when Evan arrives in town and takes issue with the actions of those under Tommy’s protection. Thrown into opposite moral paths and plagued by assassins, local troubles and their own substantial personal issues, Evan and Tommy find themselves in conflict, with everyone around them caught in the crossfire.

Hurwitz continues to shine as one of the premier authors of thriller fiction with this particularly intense and complex entry in his Orphan X series. Featuring a compelling plot loaded with action and captivating character moments, Nemesis was an addictive read that hits the reader hard and never gives them a chance to recover. This was probably one of my favourite Orphan X books so far, and thanks to Hurwitz’s brilliant writing, I have very little choice but to give Nemesis a full five-star rating.

I was really impressed with the plot for Nemesis, which honestly went in some compelling directions that I didn’t expect, but which provides great closure and intense character moments, while also loaded up with the series’ trademark action. Following on from Lone Wolf, Nemesis sees a preoccupied protagonist, Evan Smoak, distracted and distressed by the revelations that his best friend and armourer Tommy Stojack supplied weapons to a deadly assassin who killed multiple innocent people in the previous book. Forced by his moral code into a confrontation, Evan finds himself in conflict with a stubborn and unapologetic Tommy. However, what starts as a major disagreement between friends turns into a full-on war, when the two find themselves on different sides of an ethical fence, while also fending off assassins and killers after Tommy.

Hurwitz paced this narrative out extremely well, with a great intro and an early action set piece that worked to showcase the protagonist’s emotional instability. The initial confrontation between Evan and Tommy sparks up the intensity of the plot, and the reader becomes engaged in seeing how the conflict between them will continue, especially after the second sequence forces Evan to fight for his life. The author then takes the book in a very interesting direction, as Tommy journeys to a small town in heartland America to help the son of an old comrade and finds himself mentoring a group of young want-to-be militia members who have gotten into trouble. Hurwitz spends a lot of time focusing on Tommy’s attempts to guide the group and trying to gently resolve the dark things they have done.

While this journey to middle-America initially seemed an odd choice for plot progression, Hurwitz utilises it perfectly to showcase Tommy’s character and the differences in approach and personality between him and Evan. Conflict inevitably emerges when Evan arrives and attempts to solve matters in a black-and-white manner, forcing Tommy to intervene. This provides even greater emotional turmoil, and I loved how well the author set it out. You find yourself getting really drawn into the nuanced situation that emerges, and I loved seeing the alternating methods and personalities of the two protagonists. After an impressive action sequence where Evan and Tommy come together one time to face off against a scary group of assassins, Hurwitz sets up the book’s final confrontations, which are loaded with some brilliant moments that pushes both main characters to the edge. I deeply enjoyed how Hurwitz resolved the entire situation, and you are on the edge of your seat the entire time, which results in a particularly addictive read. I honestly was very satisfied with this book, right up to the final twist, which was impactful and clever, but for which I may never forgive Hurwitz. This was easily one of Hurwitz’s best narratives, and I really appreciated the complex, character-driven thriller storyline he envisioned for this latest Orphan X book.

Hurwitz did an exceptional job bringing Nemesis’s complex and captivating narrative together, and I honestly feel that this is some of his best writing. Featuring a fantastic continuation of the ongoing series, Nemesis had the perfect blend of action, intrigue and character-focused drama, which allowed for quite an addictive read. The various action sequences scattered throughout the book are intense, brutal and very-well put together, and I loved how they showcase the various moods of the protagonist, as we go from his usual smooth sequences to more frenetic fights when he is emotionally compromised. While these typical thriller elements are a lot of fun, it is the focus on the characters and the intense emotions between them that makes Nemesis particularly impressive. Hurwitz sometimes struggles with the balance between action and character development, but I felt that this one was perfect, especially as he featured an array of damaged figures, including two former best friends in deep conflict. While I do think that Nemesis could have gone without another manufactured conflict between Evan and his ward, Joey, for the most part it was exceptional to see the various character interactions and dives into the protagonist’s psyche that emerged. This blended extremely well with the overarching thriller narrative and the fantastic action of the plot, and resulted in a particularly powerful read that, while more emotionally charged than most thrillers, worked extremely well in the context of this series. I really appreciated how carefully Hurwitz set out these elements in Nemesis, and there is really something for everyone here including some thought-provoking discussions, awesome action scenes, and some major emotional moments that will hit you hard and really stick with you.

As with most books in the Orphan X series, Nemesis can be read as a standalone novel, as Hurwitz does an excellent job of recapping key events, elements and characters from the previous novels for new readers. I personally felt that to get the full emotional impact of Nemesis, readers really need to have read some of the previous books in the series first. Not only does the cause of the key conflict of Nemesis occur in the previous novel, Lone Wolf, but seeing just how close the emotionally shuttered Evan is with Tommy ensures you understand the emotional stakes of Nemesis and how far apart these two former friends have gotten. However, if you decide to make Nemesis your first entry in the Orphan X series, you’ll still be in for an amazing treat, and I feel that Hurwitz features enough context and recaps to allow any reader to enjoy Nemesis. This honestly was a very impressive book in the Orphan X series, and it will be very interesting to see where Hurwitz goes with this next. The author has set up some big emotional hurdles for the next novel, and I look forward to seeing how his protagonist overcomes them.

As I have mentioned a few times above, I felt that Hurwitz’s character work was the element that made Nemesis particularly exceptional. Not only does Hurwitz cleverly build on a range of existing character storylines and developments from the previous book but he also introduces several compelling one-off characters whose interactions with the main cast make for some impressively powerful moments. Naturally a lot of the development is reserved for series protagonist Evan Smoak, the former government assassin turned vigilante. Evan has always been an exceptionally complex character due to his unusual upbringing, lack of emotional awareness and OCD, and many books have dealt with his inability to deal with other people in his life. Hurwitz does an excellent job revisiting that here in Nemesis as Evan faces another emotional hurdle when he is forced to come into conflict with his one true friend. The emotional stress this puts him under turns him into a bit more of a deranged and careless creature. The fantastic emotional range showed by Evan in Nemesis was fascinating, and Hurwitz writes some great story moments around his anger, poor judgement and strict moral code. Few Orphan X books have pushed the protagonist in more ways than Nemesis, and I honestly felt every emotional bruise that occurred in this book, including the final one that is going to have some major repercussions for the protagonist.

Aside from Evan, the main character of Nemesis was the protagonist’s former friend turned opposing figure, Tommy Stojack. Tommy, the gruff and cantankerous old soldier, has always been one of the more entertaining characters in the Orphan X books, and it has always been fun to see the unlikely friendship between him and Evan. Given a much larger role in Nemesis, Tommy serves as a secondary protagonist and major point of view character, which really suits him. I deeply enjoyed seeing more of Tommy’s perspective, especially as it is starkly different to Evans. His interactions with many of the supporting characters of Nemesis really help to showcase his personality and mindset, especially when he takes on a stern mentor role for several younger characters. However, it is the intense and strained relationship with Evan that is the major highlight of this book, as Hurwitz provides a compelling deep dive into their friendship. Thanks to both characters pride and belief that they are right, the two face off several times in this book, proving that friends really make the worse enemies. I really appreciate how well Hurwitz used Tommy in Nemesis, and the emotionally charged circumstances that surround his inclusion help to deeply enhance this book.

Aside from Evan and Tommy, there is a very fun and intriguing supporting cast in Nemesis who add to the story in some compelling ways. Evan’s ward, Joey Morales, is her usual fun, rebel self, and while I think some of her conflicts with Evan are a little unnecessary, I liked her continued coming-of-age storylines, as well as a fun scene she has with Orphan V. I felt that the highlight of the supporting characters was a small group of rebellious, angry young men who Tommy chooses to look out for. Although they’re a hard group of characters to initially like, Hurwitz provides some fascinating context to their actions as the story continues. I really appreciate the intelligent social commentary that Hurwitz featured around these characters, and you end up feeling a little sorry for them, despite what they have done. Throw in some great villains, including four related assassins who are honestly quite freaky in their appearances, and this was an outstanding cast of characters, whose complex and captivating personal stories and interactions ensure that Nemesis is a particularly powerful read.

The always impressive Gregg Hurwitz continues his Orphan X series in incredible manner with Nemesis. An exception and memorable entry in this always fun series, Nemesis had a brilliant and emotionally charged narrative behind it, loaded with amazing character moments. Guaranteed to hook you with its fun action and complex character dynamics, Nemesis was so damn good, and I am still not over all of Hurwitz’s excellent, and brutal, twists.

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Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett – Supplementary Audiobook Review

On March 4, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books4 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1991)

Series: Discworld – Book 10

Length: 9 hours and 54 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Thanks to a recent road trip, I have once again reviewed the exceptional Terry Pratchett novel, Moving Pictures, which is one of my favourite books in late Pratchett’s exceptional Discworld series. The 10^th Discworld book, Moving Pictures was a Pratchett classic that provided a satirical look at the golden age of the film industry when it mysteriously emerges on the chaotic and magic-laden Discworld.

Plot Synopsis:

The alchemists of the Discworld have discovered the magic of the silver screen. But what is the dark secret of Holy Wood hill?

It’s up to Victor Tugelbend (”Can’t sing. Can’t dance. Can handle a sword a little”) and Theda Withel (”I come from a little town you’ve probably never heard of”) to find out…

MOVING PICTURES, THE TENTH DISCWORLD NOVEL IS A GLORIOUSLY FUNNY SAGA SET AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF A WORLD GONE MAD!

Now, I feel this is a good time to point out that I have already reviewed Moving Pictures on this blog a few years ago. I provided a pretty detailed examination of Moving Pictures in the review HERE, and lauded it’s many good points, including its compelling plot, its fantastic comedic take on the golden age of film, as well as the impressive way that Pratchett introduced or expanded upon an array of key supporting Discworld characters, many of whom went on to have key roles in other novels in the series. All these previous points still stand, and I still deeply enjoy Moving Pictures after this new re-read, indeed I picked up on another joke or two that I have missed in previous outings. As such, I am not going to do a whole new review about this book here, although I do want to quickly spend some time talking the new audiobook version of Moving Pictures.

Fans of this blog will know that I am a massive audiobook lover, and I love checking out compelling series in this format. The Discworld books are one of my favourite audiobook series, and there have been some awesome versions released over the years. When I last reviewed Moving Pictures, I talked up the original audiobook narrated by Nigel Planer, who provided his voice to over half the Discworld audiobooks. The Nigel Planer version of Moving Pictures is the one that I grew up with, and I deeply enjoyed his exceptional take on book, especially as he provided a huge array of incredible voices to the production. In many ways the Planer version of Moving Pictures is still the best audiobook adaptation out there, but with the recent release of all the Discworld audiobooks with a fresh team of high-profile narrators, I thought I’d give the new version of Moving Pictures a try, especially when engaged on a road trip.

The new Moving Pictures audiobook is part of a recent re-recording of all the Discworld novels, each of which features a famous British performer voicing the main plot, while acclaimed actors Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy have key roles in every single production. While these have been out for a little while, I have only listened to a couple, including Guards! Guards!, and I have so far been really impressed with how they have turned out. This new recording of Moving Pictures was a fantastic addition to the series, and I really enjoyed the fresh take on the audiobook production. Featuring a run time of just under 10 hours, which is slightly shorter than the Nigel Planer version, this proved to be an easy audiobook to power through in a couple of lengthy car-contained sessions.

This latest Moving Pictures audiobook production is primarily narrated by major British actor Jason Isaacs, who does an outstanding job bringing this audiobook to life. Providing a compelling and different take on the basic narration and some of the characters, Isaacs breaths new life into the production, and I really enjoyed how he presented the book’s entertaining narrative. Issacs’s basic voice works very well in conjunction with the other narrators working on this production, and I appreciated how smoothly and effectively he moved the plot along. Isaacs also provides a range of excellent voices to the various characters featured within the audiobook, and I liked some of his interesting takes on Pratchett’s outrageous characters, especially as it casts them in a somewhat different light to how Planer featured them.

The main protagonist, Victor, got a pretty satisfying voice that captured both his intelligence and his role as the straight man of the story perfectly, and I felt that it was a very solid choice by Isaacs. I also quite liked his takes on some of the more outrageous figures in the book, including the various wizards, who get fantastic crazy old men voices, Detritus the troll, whose voice has a layer of more complexity to it, and Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, who Isaacs gifts a great greasy film producer voice. I personally thought that his voice for Gaspode the dog was one of his better choices, especially as he perfectly captured the talking dog’s sarcastic personality and occasionally self-pitying manner. The corresponding voice of Laddie, a dog of normal intelligence, was fantastic in comparison, and it was one that Isaacs had fun matching the dog’s breading and intentions. Many of the other voices were also extremely well done, and while I think that Planer might have had a better grasp on a few of the characters, such as Ginger, Isaacs proved to be quite exceptional in his own right and masterfully steered this new production along.

As with all the entries in this new run of Discworld audiobooks, Isaacs’s primary narration was backed up by Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their respective roles. Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which works out extremely well even with Death’s relatively limited role in Moving Pictures. Serafinowicz has an awesome Death voice, and I loved when it appears throughout the audiobook as it blends with Issacs’ voices very well. Nighy continues to voice all the footnotes in the book, which is a perfect role for Nighy, as his calm, consistent tones bring some fantastic class to the story and proves to be an excellent way to highlight Pratchett’s amusing and clever annotations. While Nighy doesn’t have too much to do in Moving Pictures as there aren’t too many footnotes, some of his takes were pretty fun, especially when he had to translate an exaggerated troll song. These three distinctive actors did a great job vibing together in this new Moving Pictures audiobook, and they brought some great life and a unique take on this classic Discworld book.

Overall, I felt that this new version of Moving Pictures was a very worthy adaptation, and the team of Jason Isaacs, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy worked extremely well together. While Nigel Planer’s original narration is always going to be the gold standard for me when it comes to Moving Pictures (both due to his talent and my own nostalgia), this new version was also extremely good, and will be a great way for a new generation of Discworld audiobook fans to experience this amazing entry. As such, I would recommend this version to anyone interested in checking out Moving Pictures, and after the outstanding time I had last week, I can guarantee it is an excellent accompaniment for any descent length road trip you might need to take.

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Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

On February 11, 2025December 2, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction2 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 15 February 2022)

Series: Mickey7 – Book One

Length: nine hours and 15 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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I finally got around to reading the awesome and darkly funny science fiction novel, Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, a very cool read that is set to have an intriguing film adaptation later this year.

Mickey7 is a book that has been on my radar for a while, as it was one of the top science fiction books of 2022. I heard a lot of buzz about Mickey7 when it first came out, and I liked the sound of the entertaining plot that author Edward Ashton came up with. Thanks to some excellent early praise I saw about this I really meant to read Mickey7 when it first came out but could never quite fit it into my reading schedule. However, inspired by the upcoming film adaptation, I used a recent road trip to finally check out Mickey7 and I regret not reading it sooner.

Plot Synopsis:

Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living.

Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous—even suicidal—the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. After six deaths, Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal…and why it was the only colonial position unfilled when he took it.

On a fairly routine scouting mission, Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead. By the time he returns to the colony base, surprisingly helped back by native life, Mickey7’s fate has been sealed. There’s a new clone, Mickey8, reporting for Expendable duties. The idea of duplicate Expendables is universally loathed, and if caught, they will likely be thrown into the recycler for protein.

Mickey7 must keep his double a secret from the rest of the colony. Meanwhile, life on Niflheim is getting worse. The atmosphere is unsuitable for humans, food is in short supply, and terraforming is going poorly. The native species are growing curious about their new neighbors, and that curiosity has Commander Marshall very afraid. Ultimately, the survival of both lifeforms will come down to Mickey7.

That is, if he can just keep from dying for good.

Mickey7 proved to be an outstanding and highly entertaining book that I had a wonderful time getting through in one extended listen. Edward Ashton masterfully crafted together a memorable science fiction narrative that is clever, thought-provoking, and particularly hilarious. As such, I felt that Mickey7 deserved a full five-star rating, and I am very much looking forward to the upcoming film adaption.

I deeply enjoyed the unique, fun and compelling narrative that Ashton pulled together for Mickey7, especially as the author blends interesting science fiction concepts with entertaining characters. Starting off with the initial event that sees the titular seventh iteration of protagonist Mickey Barnes thrust into a situation that would lead to his death, only to survive and encounter the next iteration of himself in his bed, Mickey7 has an awesome start to it that Ashton expertly introduces and leans into. What follows is a fantastic, character-driven tale, as Mickey7 attempts to work things out with his clone, Mickey8, while trying to hide the fact that there are duplicate versions of themselves from the rest of the colony. Forced to also contend with other personal dramas, as well as the emergence of a dangerous alien threat, the protagonist has a lot of balls to juggle at this point, and it proves to be quite captivating to see all the chaos unfold. There is some great drama as the story continues and the two duplicates are inevitably found out, especially as the reactions that the other characters are quite varied.

At the same time as all the crazy events of the book are occurring, the protagonist also uses his narration to dive into his own past, including the reasons he became an expendable and all the dark deaths he has already experienced. This character history proves to be very integral to the protagonist’s journey in the current adventure, and you grow to appreciate his motivations for surviving after learning about his previous deaths. Mickey7 also uses his narration to examine some intriguing insights into the wider universe the book is set into. These details of the wider universe are very cleverly worked into the plot of the story, and these expansions in the lore are not only fascinating but also provide some interesting context to the protagonist’s situation and the reasons behind the actions of himself of his fellow colonists. This includes history of the wider universe, discussion about other colonies, as well as the reason why duplicates of expendables are so reviled. While this examination of the human expansion and experience in the future does take up a fair bit of the book, I think that Ashton got the right balance between the focus on modern day events and these insights and commentary from the protagonist, and they come together to make quite an entertaining tale.

Everything leads up to the big conclusion of Mickey7, as the protagonists are forced to face off against the aliens with the threat of execution hanging over their heads. Ashton does a good job of wrapping up some interesting character interactions and development towards the end of the book, especially as the protagonist grows, while also learning to deal some of the toxic personalities in his life. The author also builds on some interesting foreshadowing that had been present since the start of the book to provide a solution to one of the main issues the protagonist is forced to deal with, and I think that Ashton used it well to help bring his entire plot together. The final confrontation with one of the book’s main antagonists was very therapeutic for both the protagonist and the reader, and Ashton leaves the plot in a fun place that I felt wrapped up the narrative and the character growth extremely well.

This proved to be a very impressive novel, and the author ensured that Mickey7 had the right blend of character development, harsh science fiction adventure, and comedic charm to be especially captivating. Ashton makes great use of the first-person perspective for Mickey7, as he presents a very entertaining and personal tale of survival, rebirth and finding oneself in a science fiction setting. Simultaneously telling his own personal story while also exploring the universe that the book is set in, Mickey7 proves to be a very amusing narrator, and I really liked his take on the events and the history going on around him. Even with the commentary on both the protagonist’s history and the wider universe, which I maintain is essential for the how great the book turned out to be, Mickey7 is still a sleek and fast-paced read that gets its messages of self-determination, human nature and the continued desire to survive out in an entertaining way. I honestly was hooked on this book from the very beginning, and the way it was presented allowed the reader to quickly power through it, while also enjoy its message.

One of the main reasons that Mickey7 was so enjoyable was the well-written and complex characters featured within it. This includes the main protagonist and point-of-view character, the seventh Mickey Barnes, who quickly steals your heart. A kind but irresponsible figure, Mickey7 is the sum of his original experiences and the dark deaths he encountered as part of this expedition. Ashton does an excellent job showcasing both his personality and his history, and I liked how well he worked them into the plot of the book. Mickey’s many foibles and shortcomings are well expressed throughout the book, and at times the protagonist seems a little dumb, especially when you learn his history. However, thanks to his insightful narration, you really grow to appreciate Mickey’s take on the world, and it proved quite fun to see him interact with the unique situations he encounters, especially his fraught relationship with his own clone, Mickey8. Thanks to a few weeks’ difference in memories, Mickey8 is a surprisingly different personality to Mickey7, and I loved seeing the impact that experiences and revelations can have on a person. I really enjoyed seeing Mickey7 come to terms with his own nature, as well as his desire to survive, and he proved a great central protagonist for this ambitious novel.

The rest of the key cast of Mickey7 proved to be intriguing in their own way. Love interest Nasha proved to be a great companion for Mickey, and I liked the dive into their relationship, especially when it comes to how Mickey’s deaths affect her. She also helps initiate one of the more memorable scenes in the book when she finds out there are two Mickeys running around, which is honestly very amusing (I know I sniggered a lot). Mickey’s friend Berto is also a fantastic figure in the book, mainly because his one-sided relationship with Mickey proves to be quite detrimental to the protagonist. The way that Ashton explores Berto’s personality and actions is quite clever and compelling, and I liked the full explanation for his actions when it comes to Mickey’s previous deaths. I also really enjoyed the expedition’s commander, Hieronymous Marshall. A strict, militaristic figure, Marshall serves an antagonistic role in the plot, especially when he lets his prejudice against expendables impact his decisions. While at times Marshall is a bit of a cliche controlling boss figure, he proves to be a good foil for the rest of the characters, and I loved his outraged reactions when things don’t go his way. These characters, and a couple more, serve as a great supporting cast to Mickey’s tale of life, and I really loved the compelling edge they gave to the plot.

As I mentioned above, I chose to check out Mickey7 on audiobook, primarily because it made for good road trip entertainment, but I ended up really enjoying this format of Mickey7, which really got the book’s unique tone and narrative across. Coming in with a runtime just over 9 hours, this proved to be a very easy audiobook to power through quickly, and I really appreciate how much it made Ashton’s compelling and complex narrative easy to experience and enjoy. This was primarily because of the audiobook’s main narrator, John Pirhalla, who really dove into the key characters for this book and moved the plot along at a quick and exciting pace. Pirhalla brought some very fun voices to the Mickey7 audiobook, and I loved how effectively he captured the main character, Mickey, with his voicework. You get the full emotional range with Pirhalla’s take on Mickey, although I loved the continued exasperated tone that seemed to capture a lot of Mickey’s personality, as the protagonist continues to encounter more over-the-top problems and experiences. This more humorous vocal tone for the main narration certainly lightened the mood, even in some of the more tense scenes, and I personally felt it added a lot to the audiobook’s charm. Pirhalla also provides some effective alternate voices to capture the rest of the supporting characters, including the female figures, and you really got a great sense of personality and mentality with these fitting voices. My personal favourite would have to be the voice that Pirhalla gave to Commander Marshall, and the rough, irritated and commanding tones matched so many stereotypical older, military leaders from film and television, that you could easily picture the character every time he talked. Throw in some effective audio effects to capture the times that the characters were communicating digitally (which also featured a second narrator, Katharine Chin, who voiced the digital communications from female characters), and this proved to be a well performed audiobook that effectively captured Mickey7’s unique plot and tone. As such, this audiobook comes highly recommended, and I can personally guarantee that the Mickey7 audiobook is an excellent entertainment for a road trip of several hours.

Thanks to its addictive and humours narrative, cool characters and intriguing universe building, Mickey7 lived up to its hype in my estimation, and I am very glad I decided to check out this novel by Edward Ashton. Clever and continually entertaining, Mickey7 was so much fun, and I am really glad I finally got the chance to check it out. I am quite excited to see how the film adaptation, Mickey17 turns out, which has some real potential thanks to its top rate cast and director. I am also planning to read the sequel to Mickey7, Antimatter Blues, very soon, and I cannot wait to see how Ashton continues the story from the first book.

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Warhammer 40,000: Titanicus by Dan Abnett

On January 30, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer3 Comments

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 1 September 2008)

Series: Warhammer 40,000/Sabbat Worlds Crusade

Length: 13 hours and 38 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The Titans walk to war in this brutal and captivating Warhammer 40,000 novel from the legendary Dan Abnett, Titanicus.

Of the many great Warhammer 40,000 authors out there, few are as impressive as Dan Abnett, who has envisioned an incredible number of awesome battlefields and unique character-focused war stories across the Warhammer universe. Abnett has written a ton of exceptional and powerful books around the franchise, including several series considered to be the seminal texts of the extended universe. This includes his brilliant Eisenhorn trilogy (Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus), and he has multiple entries in my favourite Warhammer 40,000 books list. However, his best-known series is the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, which I am currently in the middle of reading.

The Gaunt’s Ghosts books are a key series of Warhammer 40,000 fiction that follows the frontline human soldier of this grimdark universe. Set in an extended multi-planet campaign, known as the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the Gaunt’s Ghosts books follow a ragged regiment of soldiers as they attempt to survive the dark servants of Chaos coming for them. I am having an exceptional time reading the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, with books like First and Only, Ghostmaker, Necropolis, Honour Guard, The Guns of Tanith, Straight Silver and Sabbat Martyr, really impressing me with the complex stories and intense action. While I need to read more of the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, I have taken a quick break to read some of the spin-off novels Abnett wrote around his main series. Also set around the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, these spin-off novels follow other campaigns in this massive sector spanning war and provide Warhammer fans with a more in-depth view of these battles. These spin-offs include the exceptional Double Eagle, which I had the great pleasure of reading last year, and which featured so many awesome duels between flyers. Titanicus was another spectacular book shows a new and highly destructive battlefront of the crusade by focusing on the iconic Titan Legions of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

As war rage across the stars, the forces of Chaos constantly seek a way to disrupt the vital Sabbat World Crusade and destroy the human forces fighting to bring new worlds into the Imperium of Man. To that end, the archenemy launches an ambitious and devastating surprise assault on the vital forge world of Orestes, whose under-strength defenders find themselves under mass attack from Chaos Titan war engines. With both the citizens of the Imperium of Man and the forges of the Adeptus Mechanicus under threat, the planet appeals for help and soon finds its prayers answered from the stars in dramatic fashion.

Fresh from their own wars and heading out to join the crusade, the Titans of the Legio Invicta arrive on Orestes, determined to help their Mechanicus brethren. Finding the forces of Orestes severely outwatched, the Invicta Titans stride to war, causing everything to tremble at the god-machines wrath. Soon the world is engulfed in an engine war, with both sides wielding enough firepower to crack the planet and the entire population of Orestes caught in the conflict.

But as the war continues, a far more insidious threat arises that could impact far more than just the war on Orestes. Deep secrets from within Orestes Forge soon begin to spill out, risking a schism between the Imperium of Man and the Adeptus Mechanicus. With the planet trembling under the battling machines and enemy forces growing by the day, can Legio Invicta overcome the peril growing within their brotherhood before Orestes and the entire galaxy is put to the flame?

Dan Abnett presets another brilliant war story that is epic in every definition of the word. Successfully presenting the awesome power of the Titans, Titanicus is a deeply compelling and impressive Warhammer 40,000 novel that I honestly could not get enough of. Intense, exciting and so darn cool, Titanicus gets an easy five-star rating from me, as Abnett once again shows just how talented he is.

Titanicus had a particularly awesome and multi-layered standalone war narrative behind it that hooked me thanks to the author’s nuanced take on the destructive conflicts of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Starting off with some dark death to hammer home how grim the situation is, you are soon thrust into the main story as the planet of Orestes comes under attack and the defenders are pushed to the limit. However, hope soon arrives with the landing of Legio Invicta, who back up Orestes’s existing Titans and defenders with their own engines and troops. Abnett quickly and effectively sets up multiple character specific storylines as the book progresses that show various alternative viewpoints of the war. The author works hard to showcase multiple levels of the conflict, from the top commanders all the way to the lowliest of soldiers, and I really enjoyed some of the intriguing storylines that emerged. This includes desperate tales of survival by following human troops caught behind enemy lines and pursued by mechanical monsters, compelling dives into the minds of the Titan pilots, looks at the various political forces on Orestes, and even some fascinating storylines inside the Adeptus Mechanicus forge. Abnett did an amazing job highlighting the desperate strife and the complex conflicts these figures endured, and you get a fantastic overarching look at the machine war that proves hard to look away from.

As the plot of Titanicus continues, the various storylines go in some interesting directions, as you follow each of the characters or groups on their own unique journeys. Abnett did a really good job of ensuring these unique storylines effectively played off each other as the book continues, and the way characters reacted to events from other plotlines was quite clever and helped to produce a cohesive and intense overarching narrative. The introduction of a compelling storyline around intrigue and dissent amongst the Adeptus Mechanicus characters provides some extra drama and character conflicts, which added some interesting complexity to the plot, especially as it gave you an alternative group of antagonists which worked well alongside the menacing forces of Chaos, whose perspective you don’t see. I appreciated how well Abnett set this storyline up in advance, and there are some clever hints to this, and other big events, earlier in the plot.

The final third of Titanicus is particularly impressive and intense, as the author brings together his various storylines extremely well. I especially enjoyed some of the massive action sequences, while the resolution of the Adeptus Mechanicus storyline was powerful and full of drama as big personalities try to overcome mistrust and dissent. While I would have liked to have seen the final battle in full, I think Abnett’s effective summary worked pretty well, and I understand that spending another few hours in combat would have watered down the author’s main message. Each major character’s arc is resolved in a very satisfying manner, and there is an excellent blend of dramatic moments and intense action to keep the reader hooked. I appreciated how a couple of these conclusions were more depressing, rather than being uniformly happy, which fits both the grimdark nature of Warhammer 40,000 as well as Abnett’s overarching themes that war has no true winners. This story really came together well, and I deeply enjoyed the complex standalone narrative that Abnett came up with.

This was another insanely well written novel from Abnett, who excels at telling dark, deeply personal war stories from multiple perspectives. The author provides the perfect balance of excitement, deep intrigue and fantastic character growth in Titanicus, all expertly set within the amazing Warhammer 40,000 universe, and it proves to be such an addictive read. I personally became engrossed in the various character-driven storylines that emerged throughout the plot, especially the long-running storylines that lasted the entire book. However, even the more minor character arcs, such as the occasional scene from a normal citizen living in the city to an extended look at the crew of a doomed machine, was hard hitting and Abnett really gets you invested in these personal tales. As I mentioned above, these often-separate storylines worked extremely well in concert with each other, and Abnett did such a good job pulling them together into a brilliant, overarching narrative.

Of course, you can’t talk about Titanicus’s writing without going into how incredible the action sequences are. Abnett crafts together so many deeply intense and powerful battle scenes throughout Titanicus that constantly had the blood pumping as you watched your favourite characters brave the dark gauntlet of battle time and time again. The author had a lot of fun envisioning war on multiple fronts, and I loved how we got to see infantry fights, tank battles and entertaining skirmishes between various augmented foes as the story continued. However, easily the most awesome thing about Titanicus is the Titans themselves. Insanely massive and powerful walking war machines, the Titans steal any scene they are in, and there are so many great reactions as the normal human characters see the Titans fight, especially when the despoiled enemy machines advance on them. However, it is the sequences shown from the perspective of the Titan pilots themselves that are the best, as you become fully immersed into the battles in the scenes as the machines rain down destruction and depth. You can honestly feel the insane powerful and destructive ability of the Titans as you move throughout Titanicus, and every single battle involving one of these massive walkers is epic on so many levels.

As with the rest of Abnett’s books, Titanicus proved to be a particularly strong entry in the Warhammer 40,000 canon. Serving as a companion piece to the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, Titanicus is a must-read to anyone who has enjoyed Abnett’s main series and the overarching campaign it is a part of. However, as there are no overlapping characters or major storylines, Titanicus can also be easily read as a standalone novel, and indeed would be a great introduction to Abnett’s writing style and his ability to write awesome war stories. Titanicus would also be the perfect entry novel to anyone interested in exploring Warhammer 40,000 fiction, especially science fiction readers who love the idea of giant piloted war machines. The cool action, complex character arcs and fantastic standalone narrative ensures that anyone can really dive into Titanicus and have a brilliant time, and I honestly think this book would appeal to a wide range of different readers.

However, as with most books in the franchise, Titanicus will mostly appeal to those established Warhammer 40,000 fans who will love Abnett’s dive into some unique aspects of the universe. Naturally, this is primarily going to be around the Titans, who are a very awesome part of the Warhammer 40,000 setting that are often underutilised in fiction due to being too overpowered (or getting badly nerfed when they do appear). I think Abnett did these war machines perfect justice in Titanicus, and you really come away appreciating every aspect of them, including their raw power, their powerful spirit, and the love the crews have for them. However, Abnett also dives into the dark side of the machine, and some of the sequences that show the pilots losing their humanity were particularly jarring. Honestly, I thought Abnett’s portray of the Titans was just brilliant, and I have yet to see another Warhammer author do any better. Abnett also takes a lot of time to dive into the lore surrounding the Adeptus Mechanics. While these parts of the book might be slightly confusing for newer readers, established fans will love seeing Abnett explore these machine-worshipping figures, especially as a theological schism becomes a major plot issue. Other cool lore aspects include examining the uneasy relationship between the Imperium and the Mechanicus on planets they share, the dark side of human life on a planet under siege, and even little fun moments, like a toy maker finally finding success as he makes models of the Titans battling across the world. All these elements make Titanicus a particularly epic read for fans of the franchise, and I personally loved seeing Abnett’s take on all these cool universe inclusions.

While the writing, story and Warhammer 40,000 elements are all exceptional on their own, what really brings them together and makes Titanicus truly awesome are the multiple cool characters scattered throughout the plot. Abnett introduces a huge range of fantastic and complex characters in Titanicus who you grow quite attached to as the plot continues. All the characters, from major figures to minor one-scene characters, are fantastically written and cleverly influence the plot in their own cool ways. Highlights for me included the desperate crew of a destroyed tank who try to escape on foot, only to find more danger in front of them. A group of inexperienced conscripts who are completely unprepared for the horrors of war also prove to be really entertaining, and you grow invested in their struggles to survive and the tragedies that await them. Abnett also examines several intriguing Adeptus Mechanicus figures within the Orestes Forge, whose frustrations, ambitions and struggles for power are far more human than they’d like to believe. However, the best character arc for me was the one that revolved around the crew of a Legio Invicta’s Titan who are forced to accept an Orestes’ Princeps (the pilot plugged into the Titan’s mind) when their own dies without a successor. The resulting conflicts between the inexperienced and arrogant outsider pilot and the veteran Legio Invicta crew, which includes the Titan’s moderati (second-in-command), who finds himself under a suspended death sentence, sets the scene perfectly, and you become really intrigued in seeing how the Titan will survive. Watching these figures come together as a crew is a highlight of Titanicus, although Abnett does an excellent job twisting that around later when internal conflict splits the protagonists. All these characters, and many more, gave Titanicus some real emotional heft, and I became so damn invested in seeing the final fate of so many of these outstanding protagonists.

I think that it’s kind of a given that I listened to Titanicus on audiobook rather than seeking out a physical copy of the book. Warhammer audiobooks are so damn good, and frankly there is no better way to enjoy the franchise’s awesome narratives and compelling action. This is particularly true for Titanicus, as the intricate details and impressive combat sequences really shine through even better when read out. I especially loved how incredibly epic the various Titan-on-Titan battles came across in this audiobook format, and the fantastic voice of narrator Toby Longworth ensured that you were enrapt by every single second of carnage. Longworth, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, always does an exceptional job bringing Abnett’s amazing stories to life, and he was once again exceptional here in Titanicus. Longworth captures all the characters in Titanicus perfectly, and you get a real sense of their personalities, emotions and their reactions to the insane events of the book. This includes the various Adeptus Mechanicus figures, which Longworth voices in all their mechanical glory, and you can just imagine these augmented figures, and indeed all the complex characters of Titanicus, as Longworth describes them. This makes for such an exceptional experience, and I flew through the audiobook’s near 14-hour long runtime extremely quickly. There is honestly no other way to enjoy Titanicus than on audiobook, and you are guaranteed to have an amazing time.

Dan Abnett continues to showcase why he is such a highly regarded author of Warhammer fiction with the brilliant and captivating Titanicus. Perfectly showcasing a war between one of the franchise’s most epic components, the massive Titan war engines, Titanicus was an exceptional read from start to finish and one that I cannot recommend enough. I had such a great time with Titanicus, and I look forward to reading even more Warhammer 40,000 books from Dan Abnett this year.

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Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 39: Ice and Snow by Stan Sakai

On December 31, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Five-Star Books4 Comments

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics (Paperback – 26 November 2024)

Series: Usagi Yojimbo – Volume 39

Length: 160 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Acclaimed comic author and artist Stan Sakai continues his iconic Usagi Yojimbo series in a big way with the exceptional 39^th volume, Ice and Snow.

Fans of this blog will know that I am a massive fan of the incredible Usagi Yojimbo comic series, which I have been reading for many years and is one of my favourite comic book series. The brainchild of Stan Sakai, who both writes and draws the comic, Usagi Yojimbo is a unique series that follows a rabbit ronin samurai as he wanders around an anthropomorphic feudal Japan, getting involved in all manner of deadly and dangerous adventures, both mundane and supernatural. The Usagi Yojimbo comics are so much fun, and I love the compelling stories, distinctive artwork and memorable characters who are contained within its beautiful pages. This series has been so damn awesome of late, with some amazing coloured volumes, including Bunraku and Other Stories (one of my favourite books of 2020), Homecoming (one of my favourite books of 2021), Tengu War! and Crossroads (both of which were among my favourite books of 2022) and The Green Dragon (one of my favourite books of 2023).

This latest volume, Ice and Snow, is an intriguing addition to the series as it continues to follow some of the storylines from the previous volumes while also featuring a single overarching narrative rather than several shorter stories. Ice and Snow is also the series’ return to Dark Horse Comics, who previously published the series for 22 years (from Volume 8: Shades of Death to Volume 33: The Hidden). This return to Dark Horse has allowed for another intriguing read that featured a major confrontation between Usagi and one of his most dangerous foes.

Miyamoto Usagi, travelling ronin and occasional Yojimbo, continues to wander the lands, seeking adventure and helping his friends where possible. Now travelling with his cousin Yukichi, Usagi finds himself moving through the cold and snowy mountain tops of Northern Japan, having just escaped a confrontation between rival ninja clans in the pair’s last adventure. Determined to return to warmer climates, Usagi and Yukichi once again find themselves in trouble amongst the mountain peaks.

Cold and seeking shelter, Usagi and Yukichi encounter nothing but bandits and mysterious creatures as they continue their journey. Desperate for warmth, they decide to spend the night inside the hut of strange woman, only to find themselves trapped by the cold heart of a dangerous spirit, Yuki-Onna, the lady of the snow, who is determined to feast on them.

However, the attentions of a powerful spirt of the snow are the least of Usagi and Yukichi’s problems, as a far more terrifying monster haunts the mountains. The demonic black spearman Jei, the Blade of the Gods, has long hunted Usagi, believing that by killing the rabbit ronin he will ascend to godhood. Now leading a group of mountain bandits, Jei relentlessly chases after Usagi and Yukichi, determined to end their feud once and for all. Can Usagi once again weather the dark storm that is the unstoppable Jei, or will this be the moment he finally falls to his deranged nemesis’s black blade?

Ice and Snow was another amazing volume from Sakai that provides a cool new adventure for the author’s iconic protagonist. Featuring an excellent main storyline loaded with peril and dark confrontation, Ice and Snow had me hooked the entire way through, especially as it featured Sakai’s gorgeous artwork.

Made up of five separate issues, Ice and Snow features a powerful single storyline which plays to the author’s strengths as he places his protagonists in mortal danger against foes new and old. The story starts immediately after the events of the previous volume, The Green Dragon, with Usagi and his current travelling companion, Yukichi, still moving through the frigid mountains of Northern Japan. Encountering the usual array of bandits, Usagi and Yukichi are thrust into action quickly and the initial combat sets the scene nicely for the rest of the comic. The two soon move from mortal concerns to the supernatural, as the mysterious woman that Usagi and Yukichi seek shelter with predictably turns out to be a deadly monster (Usagi really should know better by this point), determined to eat their lifeforce.

While these initial battles between Usagi, Yukichi and their various opponents are compelling and exciting, especially the intense fight against Yuki-Onna that was so well showcased by Sakai’s artwork, the best part of the early story involves the return of deranged supernatural warrior Jei. Travelling with his young companion, Keiko, Jei brings his trademark terror to the local bandits, taking over their gang with violence and fear. However, when he discovers that Usagi is nearby, he leads his new forces on a lethal hunting mission. Jei honestly steals the entire comic in these sequences, as he terrorises and murders various members of the bandit gang to make his point. There is also a fantastic fight between Jei and Yuki-Onna, which was a fantastic battle of the monsters that really highlights Jei as a powerful supernatural threat.

The final major sequence of the comic involves Jei catching up to Usagi and engaging in a brutal fight on a frozen river. The sheer fear that is shown by the usually implacable Usagi really highlights to the reader just how dangerous Jei is, and I love how well Sakai utilises him as a villain here. The battle between the two was dark, personal and pushes Usagi more than his usual fights, especially as the sinister Jei just won’t stop coming for him. Sakai makes sure to have no conclusive end to this conflict, as Usagi will continue to be hunted and haunted by Jei. This is honestly the best end you could imagine at this point in the series, especially as it plays into the horror movie inspiration for Jei, and readers are left wanting another awesome encounter between the two.

The final issue in Ice and Snow wraps up this mountainous arc of the series on a somewhat ironic note, as Usagi, Yukichi, and the few survivors of Jei’s bandits seek shelter in an isolated village, only to encounter more monsters in the form of cat demons. This last battle serves as a great horror cherry at the end of an impressive supernatural Usagi Yojimbo volume, and Sakai had fun with the artwork around the monstrous opponents. I really enjoyed the overall narrative that Sakai stuck into this volume, and frankly I had and exceptional time with the high-threat, quick paced, multi-issued narrative that took up the entire volume.

This was probably one of the stronger recent Usagi Yojimbo stories, and I loved watching the protagonists attempt to survive an onslaught of supernatural foes. Sakai cleverly continues a multitude of long-running storylines, including the winter journey from the last couple of volumes, which sees Usagi act as a wise mentor to his younger companion, Yukichi. However, I was extremely happy that we got to see the continued enmity between Usagi and Jei that has been such an impressive part of the series since the third volume, The Wanderer’s Road (which was first released in 1989). Inspired by Jason from the Friday the 13^th series, Jei is a brilliant villain, and Sakai has done a wonderful job to continuously make him the most intimidating figure in the entire franchise. Jei honestly seems unstoppable at times, and I love the way he manages to destroy all his opponents except the final rabbit, Usagi. Sakai manages to make Jei even more sinister by continuing to include Jei’s unlikely travelling companion, Keiko. A young child who accompanies and is cared for by Jei, Keiko is a true innocent who has been adopted by the Jei as a herald. Watching this harmless child play in the background of Jei’s various atrocities honestly makes the entire situation even more creepy, and she is such a brilliant part of the antagonist’s aesthetic, especially now that her flute which warns people of Jei’s coming (I loved Usagi’s dark comments about this at the end of issue 4). Combine this with Usagi’s absolute dread at encountering Jei again, as well as the sheer certainty of his inevitable return, and Jei was so damn intimidating here it was just amazing.

I can’t move away from this latest Usagi Yojimbo volume without highlighting the brilliant artwork that Sakai features within his comic. Every page of this comic is loaded with well-drawn and powerful pieces of art, which effortlessly combine with the compelling writing to tell the powerful story. Drawn exclusively by Sakai and featuring colouring from Hi-Fi Colour Design, the art in Ice and Snow is beautiful and highly impactful, as Sakai showcases the actions of his characters and the settings they find themselves in. While every scene is fantastic in its own way, I must highlight the multiple nature shots featured throughout Ice and Snow. Sakai channels his love for winter throughout this volume, and you are gifted with some breathtaking drawings of the snow-covered landscape the characters are travelling through. These landscape shots are so pretty, especially now they are in colour, and the contrast between the white of the snow and the orange sky is amazing. This includes some wonderful full-page drawings that feature multiple characters within them and all of them look so damn cool.

In addition to the wonderful landscapes and backgrounds that each of the outdoor scenes contain, I also must highlight how well the character actions are drawn throughout Ice and Snow. Sakai does such an effective job of drawing his characters moving around the world, and you can easily envision what movements are implied from each picture. The artist’s drawings work really well to portray combat, as the multiple sword fights and other encounters look so cool, and you can see the moving swirl of combat around each panel. Some of these fight scenes are really dramatic and well set out, and I loved how effectively showcases the skill of his protagonists.

I also love at how impactful some of the character drawings were in this volume, especially when it came to the monsters that Usagi encountered. Not only do we get some cool cat demons in the last issue, but the lady of the snow, Yuki-Onna, has a great monstrous look around her that makes her seem quite intimidating. I personally loved the cool panel where an enflamed Yuki-Onna flees from Usagi, and the screaming skull shots that resulted from it were freaky. However, it is the drawings of Jei that really hit me the hardest in Ice and Snow. Sakai cleverly backs up his great writing around this character by showing him at his psychotic best, with his unnatural face and expression looking so awesome. Jei was honestly intimidating or crazy in every single panel he appeared in, and I loved how scary he comes across in colour. I especially love how impressive the fight between Jei and Usagi looked, as the desperation of their battle and the powerful emotion on both participants faces (with Keiko playing in the background) really hammers home the hatred and fear shared between the two. I particularly enjoyed this really cool panel where a near-defeated Jei emerges from the frozen river to strike one more time. Not only does this look so awesome, but it is a clever homage to Jei’s Friday the 13^th inspiration, with the deranged killer getting one last surprise swing in. All these impressive drawings were so amazing to look at, and I loved how Sakai’s artistic style is as impactful and powerful as ever.

Based on my gushing review above, I guess it is obvious that I had an exceptional time with this latest Usagi Yojimbo volume, Ice and Snow, which featured a powerful story loaded with the author’s best supernatural inclusions. Stan Sakai’s writing and drawings are still very impressive, and I love how moved I was by them in Ice and Snow, even after all these years of being an Usagi Yojimbo fan. This was such a great comic and it gets a very easy, if inevitable, five-star rating from me. I cannot wait to continue this series into 2025, especially as the next volume is out very soon and features another awesome sounding story.

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The Dragon in Winter by Jonathan Maberry

On December 31, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books3 Comments

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 20 August 2024)

Series: Kagen the Damned – Book Three

Length: 20 hours and 57 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The damned rush to their final battle in the epic dark fantasy novel, The Dragon in Winter, which brings an exceptional conclusion to author Jonathan Maberry’s Kagen the Damned series.

As I mentioned in my recent review for the author’s other 2024 release, NecroTek, I am a huge fan of Jonathan Maberry, having really gotten into his elaborate and deliciously gritty thrillers and other pieces of fiction since I started this blog. While I am most familiar with the author’s long-running Joe Ledger series, one of his more intriguing recent bodies of work has been the Kagen the Damned series. A dark fantasy fiction series that follows a highly damaged figure who seeks bloody revenge after the dastardly Witch-king uses magic to destroy his kingdom and kill the royal children in his care, the Kagen the Damned books were an incredible pivot into the fantasy fiction genre for Maberry that I deeply enjoyed. Both of the previous books in the series, Kagen the Damned (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022) and Son of the Poison Rose (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023) were five-star reads, and I have so much love for this series (which also includes the novella I Say Your Name in the Dark Nights) due to its elaborate storytelling, damaged characters, and intriguing take on the fantasy genre. Because of how impressive the first two entries in this series are, I have been eagerly awaiting the third and seemingly final book, The Dragon in Winter, for a long time, and it was one of my most anticipated books of 2024.

Nearly a year after the bloody massacre that saw the dread Witch-king of Hakkia conquer the former Silver Empire in a single night, the war to reclaim the throne is finally here. As the Witch-king continues to plot, planning to ascend to godhood, his enemies have rallied around the unlikely figure of Captain Kagen Vale, better known as Kagen the Damned.

Once the loyal guardian of the Silver Empire’s heirs, Kagen has survived despair, damaging revelations and damnation from his gods to stand against the Witch-king and gain the bloody vengeance he so desperately needs. Having proven his valour in combat and his ability to face off against the darkest of magic, Kagen has managed to gather a massive army of rebels, outlaws and the soldiers of various allied nations determined to stop the Witch-king for good. But this army of flesh and blood men will not be enough to stand against the destructive power of the Witch-king alone.

As magic continues to return to the land, Kagen and his allies soon find themselves beset by the Witch-king’s sinister powers and dread allies, as vampires, demons, magic users and other fell creatures emerge, determined to keep the Witch-king on his bloody throne. To survive, Kagen will need to find magic of his own that will allow him to withstand the Witch-king’s power. But the more he looks, the darker secrets he unravels, and soon everything he thought he knew about the world will come tumbling down around him. Worse, an even more dangerous threat is rising in the frozen north, as a tortured dragon calls out in despair and is answered by a being of unimaginable power. Can Kagen stop the Witch-king before his dark plans come to pass, or will the dread flames of vengeance consume the entire world?

What an outstanding end to one of my favourite new fantasy trilogies! The Dragon in Winter was another exceptional novel from Jonathan Maberry that serves as a fitting and powerful end to the Kagen the Damned dark fantasy series. Loaded with insane action, brilliantly damaged characters, and some fantastic storytelling, The Dragon in Winter was an incredible book that perfectly utilises Maberry’s distinctive style. I had an amazing time listening to this impressive book, and it gets an easy five-star rating from me, especially on audiobook.

Maberry had to achieve a lot with this third Kagen the Damned novel, as not only did readers require a satisfying end to the trilogy, but this book needed a distinctive story much like the previous entries. I feel that Maberry achieved both these goals, as The Dragon in Winter was a compelling and dark read that provided a great mixture of adventure, war, intrigue and character growth, all while continuing and concluding the storylines from the previous books. This third novel starts shortly after Son of the Poison Rose and sees Kagen taking on the role of general by leading a small army against the Witch-King’s forces, while the previously established story threads about the various nations building their armies to join the war come to fruition. Maberry does a great job of resetting the scene in these early chapters, and not only do you get to see the situation from Kagen’s perspective but multiple scenes are shown from the antagonists’ side as they make their preparations to foil the protagonist and his allies.

Much of the middle of the story follows Kagen and his unlikely allies as they prepare for the inevitable final confrontation, attempting to gain additional ways to fight against the Witch-king. While some of Kagen’s sequences aren’t entirely necessary for the full advancement of the plot (the goblin cave sequence, for example), they are all generally intense and character building, and they all tie in nicely amongst the other storylines about war preparations and the Witch-king unleashing his dark minions upon the world. A secondary major storyline focuses on the characters of Jheklan and Faulker, Kagen’s brothers, who journey up to the frozen Winterwilds in search of the last dragon. This storyline proves to be quite an interesting addition to the story, as while the characters are disconnected from the rest of the plot due to distance, their actions have big impacts on the overarching narrative. This middle part of the story ends with a major confrontation between a memorable supporting character and a dark set of antagonists, which was not only very awesome but helped to set the scene for the rest of the book.

The final third of The Dragon in Winter is all action and excitement as the final battle of the war is unleashed on multiple fronts. Maberry expertly brings all the various ongoing storylines to the boil, as the protagonists find themselves in mortal peril. There is a little bit of everything here, including massive war sequences, smaller battles with huge sacrifice and big revelations finally coming to the surface. The author keeps the tension extremely high during this third act, and you are constantly on the edge of your seat, especially as your favourite characters face doom and destruction at every turn. I loved the way many of these storylines came together, and while a couple of big moments were easy to see coming (although for me that just increased the anticipation), there were also some reveals I couldn’t have predicted. This includes the book’s massive twist that turns around much of what you thought you knew for the last two entries in the series. I felt that this twist was very clever, especially when you consider the subtle hints leading up to it, and I appreciated how it changed the emotional impact of some previous scenes. Everything leads up to the big final confrontation, which was as bloody and hard-hitting as you would expect. This confrontation was chaos, carnage and catastrophe, and I felt that it was a fitting end to a dark trilogy that revelled in bloodshed. While I do feel that the final boss takedown was a tad anticlimactic due to who got the kill, and Maberry reigned in the tragedy far more than I expected, this conclusion was extremely awesome, and I hung on every word right to the very end. Everything was very nicely wrapped up, although there is potential for Maberry to revisit this series in the future, which could result in some more gripping adventures.

I always love the way that Maberry manages to apply his distinctive writing style to all his novels, no matter the genre, and it always works to create a powerful and exciting read, especially in The Dragon in Winter. The large number of short chapters allows for a quick pace, and you are constantly jumping from sequence to sequence, eager to see what will happen next. Maberry also excels at featuring a huge range of alternating perspectives as the book continues, with the point of view jumping around various interesting characters chapter to chapter. While much of this focuses on the main protagonist, you are often following many of the fascinating and fun supporting characters as they go about their own adventures. There are also multiple chapters shown from the perspective of the villain or his minions, and I love how the reader are constantly let into the antagonist’s plans, which helps to raise tension as you worry that they are one step ahead. Throw in several additional perspective chapters from one-off characters, which often help to highlight some of the darker events going on in the wider setting, and this great jump in perspectives allows for a particularly complex and layered narrative that is so fun to navigate. Of course, the real highlight of any Maberry book is the exceptional action sequences that pump some massive excitement into the plot. Maberry is extremely talented at envisioning fight scenes of any size or shape, and I found myself constantly enthralled by the many, many battles that were contained in The Dragon in Winter. This includes deep personal battles, running skirmishing or even a truly massive full-on war sequence with unique participants, all of which come across extremely well thanks to the author’s powerful and descriptive writing that captures every sword thrust or slice of the protagonist’s blades.

The Dragon in Winter continues to exhibit many of the dark fantasy elements that made the first two Kagen the Damned books so awesome to read. Maberry really dove into the genre with a vengeance in this series, and I love how he pulled together a rich and powerful fantasy world loaded with both unique features and classic fantasy creatures and monsters. Thanks to the author’s detailed writing and tendency to effectively recap key elements of the series, readers can easily absorb all the key elements of this universe, and it proves to be fascinating to take in, especially as Maberry loads it with secrets, deep history, and hints of other lands yet to be visited. Of course, as this is Maberry, there is also a strong Lovecraftian vibe to this universe, as many of the elder gods and other associated beings have a place in this realm. The author does a great job of exploring these classic Lovecraftian creatures throughout the course of the series, and the way they are worked into the main plot of The Dragon in Winter is extremely clever, especially if you have seen examples of them in some of Maberry’s other series. For readers expecting a typical fantasy read, I should warn that The Dragon in Winter, like the rest of the Kagen the Damned series, gets very dark and brutal at times, and there are a lot of strong references to violence, torture, sexual assault and other troubling features that probably won’t appeal to every reader. I feel that while Maberry occasionally goes a bit overboard with these darker inclusions, for the most part it helps to create a powerfully grim overarching tone that raises the stakes and ensure you are constantly rooting for the protagonist to succeed and bring a bit of justice to the world. It also works very well alongside the awesome action sequences, and for those fans of some very bloody fights, including those featuring pure evil fantasy and horror creatures, you are in for an amazing time here.

While the action, setting and clever storytelling is an exceptional part of The Dragon in Winter, I also need to highlight the various impressive characters featured throughout this book. Due to The Dragon in Winter being the last entry in this trilogy, Maberry spends much of this book finalising key character storylines, allowing for a much more personal entry in the series that will really appeal to those readers who have grow attached the protagonists in the first two books. As such, this final Kagen the Damned novel features an array of great characters who are so well written and who often feature their own powerful and personal character arcs.

Like with the rest of the series, much of the book’s character work is focussed on the main protagonist, Kagen Vale, who thanks to the dark deeds he has witnessed has been given the title Kagen the Damned. A moody and deadly figure, Kagen has gone through so much despair and darkness in this series, and it has been a powerful journey following him this far. Maberry did an outstanding job continuing Kagen’s story in The Dragon in Winter, and it was great to see how far Kagen has come, especially as he now uses his inner darkness, past trauma, and even the damnation of his gods, to fuel his desire to fight. While he has overcome many of his past traumas, Kagen does experience new ones in The Dragon in Winter, as he finally understands the full scope of the evils unleashed upon the world, including by his own people. This allows for some more dramatic sequences from the protagonist, and part of the emotional strength of the story is watching Kagen overcome even these revelations, especially with the help of his friends. I have really appreciated how well Maberry has written Kagen’s pain and deeper heart throughout the series, and it was fantastic to see some of this pain finally come to an end in this final novel.

Aside from Kagen, the rest of the supporting cast proves to be quite exceptional, and there are many fascinating characters you become attached to as a result. I personally loved seeing more of Kagen’s two friends and comrades, Tuke and Fillia, who form a hilarious put powerful trio as they fight together against the odds. Essentially Kagen’s conscience and voice of reason, Tuke and Filia are the perfect supporting characters to the protagonist, and I love how they constantly anticipate Kagen’s behaviour and manipulate events to ensure he does what they want. However, they also have their own compelling adventures outside of Kagen, especially when they lead the final battle, and you care nearly as much for them (if not more) than you do Kagen by the end of things. Maberry also invests a lot of time in The Dragon in Winter to the amusing characters of Jheklan and Faulker Vale, Kagen’s brothers and mischievous adventurers. While they have had minor appearances in the previous novels, Maberry only featured them as major, fleshed out characters in this final book, as they lead their own expedition to the frozen Winterwilds. While they are relatively new figures, the reader quickly becomes intrigued by their storylines, especially as it is loaded with adventure and a certain comedic charm thanks to the brother’s juvenile nature. However, while they are often unserious, when the chips are down Jheklan and Faulker get serious quick, and Maberry ensured that they encounter some real tragedy that shows the true heart of these figures.

While there are other great supporting characters I could talk about, including a vengeful widow and a scarily powerful vampire elf, I want to finish by mentioning the various villains, who are some of the best characters in The Dragon in Winter. This includes the sinister Witch-king and his court, who are constantly plotting to destroy the world and kill Kagen. The Witch-king is particularly malevolent in this book, and Maberry continues to build on the revelations surrounding him in this final book, providing even more fun context and twists. I also love the continued focus on the Witch-king’s terrified advisors, Lord Nespar and Jakob Ravensmere, who find themselves way over their heads as they try to serve their lord and their own agendas. However, the devilishly fun character known as the Prince of Games easily steals every scene he is in, and I loved his constant manipulations and chaotic nature, especially as it brings great fun to the Witch-king’s dark court. The Prince of Games, who has some interesting links to some of Maberry’s other series, perfectly rounded out this cast of villains, and I really appreciate how much depth and complexity these antagonists, and indeed every character in the Kagen the Damned series, brought to the overall story.

As with all Maberry’s previous books, I chose to check out The Dragon in Winter on audiobook, which is the best format to enjoy the author’s captivating narratives in. Maberry’s short chapters, elaborate world building, intense action and over-the-top characters really come to life when they are read out loud, especially when it is done by the legendary Ray Porter. Porter has long perfected the tones to get the most out of Maberry’s writings and his infectious and compelling voice expertly captures the inherent dark nature of Maberry’s writing and helps to send the crazy scenes of carnage straight into the listener’s head. The narrator knows exactly how to portray Maberry’s great, larger-than-life protagonists and villains, and you can easily imagine each of the figures and their actions as Porter reads them out. I particularly enjoy how well Porter captures the various emotional states of these characters, and you always hear the despair, anger or fear of each of these figures when they speak. This especially true for the primary protagonist, Kagen, and I always appreciate how well the narrator showcases his many dark emotions as he goes through the wringer time and time again. Throw in some truly chilling voices for the various villains and evil monsters that the protagonists encounter, and Porter’s performance was once again exceptional, allowing for quite an awesome audiobook. With a runtime just short of 21 hours, this is a long audiobook to check out, although you really don’t mind as it becomes hard to stop listening to The Dragon in Winter, especially during the various climatic or intense sequences. I had such a great time listening to The Dragon in Winter, and this such an amazing format to enjoy this latest Maberry novel on. Indeed, I loved it so much I listed it as one of my favourite audiobooks of 2024, even before I finished it, so do yourself a favour and check out this novel on audiobook right away.

Thanks to its powerful story, intense action and damaged characters, The Dragon in Winter was another incredible read from Jonathan Maberry that I could not get enough of. One of the best books of 2024, The Dragon in Winter was an outstanding final entry in the Kagen the Damned series, and I loved every single second I spent reading it. Highly recommended on all formats, especially those read out by Ray Porter, The Dragon in Winter is so damn good, and it will be interesting to see if Maberry decides to return to the fantasy genre again the future. In the meantime, we’re only a few months off from Maberry’s next book, Burn to Shine, which will probably be one of the best things I read in 2025.

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