May 2022 Indie Book Reviews by Joseph Poopinski
Aestus:
The City
By
S.Z. Attwell
Puzzling
People & Political Puzzles
4
stars
Ages
after Earth’s environmental ruination at the hands of mankind, the Founders
built an underground sanctuary for humanity to reclaim its glory. However,
their renaissance proved short-lived & technology stagnated then slowly
degraded over eons. Today engineers like Jossey, our intrepid main character,
must battle the elements (intense sun & desert heat) & the Onlar
(lizard-men, reminiscent of the Sleestak from an old dinosaur television show,
The Land of the Lost) to tinker with the ancient cooling & electrical machinery
just enough to prevent complete system failure. Sharp-eyed Jossey is more
open-minded & adventuresome than most folks. She’s a survivor too, having
inadvertently battled the Onlar twice & lived to tell. When she joins the
City’s army, called the Patrol, under the leadership of her dead brother’s best
friend Commander Tskoulis, everything becomes exponentially more complicated: She’s
kidnapped but escapes, her uncle watches her too closely, her partner Casper holds
an unlikely degree of martial prowess, she learns some secret information the government
conceals & rigorously suppresses. It’s dangerous knowledge.
You’ll
really dig S.Z. Attwell’s Aestus: The City, not just because most of the story
happens underground either! My favorite takeaways include the cool characters
(especially Jossey’s directness with a bully), mid-battle suspenseful moments, beautiful
celestial skyscapes, several mind-warping upside-down to right side-up
corrections & the overarching message of environmental stewardship with a
focus on human overpopulation. Only the bravest of spirits dare mention this
unpopular if not heretical fact. Kudos, it’s well done! Many authors resort to
R-rated profanity bombs to intensify lackluster scenes, however S.Z. Attwell
has no such crutch & readers will find a refreshing dearth of profanity’s
edgiest nukes. Lastly, I must caution fans of standalone novels: The first
portion of Jossey’s larger, enterprising saga just barely fits into this single
book
Stormsend:
Saga of the Freewilds, Book One
By
Michael Paul Scott
Honest,
Hardboiled Investigative Questing
4
stars
When
Stormsend begins, our hero Lukarde Alfans isn’t just down on his luck or
hitting a rough patch in his career as constable, he’s sickly, destitute, awash
in booze & wanted for murder! His enemies, a demon-worshipping cult filled
with high society’s wealthiest & most evil personages, assassinated
Lukarde’s psychic partner then framed him for the grisly deed. Escaping these
wicked sorcerers & dodging the authorities took a toll on Lukarde. However,
before drinking himself into the grave he decides to accept a mysterious
invitation & travel to the distant wildlands. With the assistance of an
incarnation of Time, he flees upon a pirate ship during a pause in the world’s
moments (fleecing the new, toady constable’s baggy drawers along the way).
The
story of Michael Paul Scott's first, adventurous novel is almost as interesting
at its printed words. Avid fantasy readers will actively speculate how several
separate threads of orphans & Watchers or the demons & werewolves tie
into the larger saga; there’s plenty of both magical & mundane happenings!
Lukarde (unanimously, my favorite character) slugs through challenge after
challenge often making more friends than foes, as only he can, with strength of
character. When your enemies can see you through the eyes of anyone, you are
the underdog! But Lukarde continually learns & astutely reads people,
applies this knowledge practically, rises to the occasion despite any
disadvantage or deprivation & often helps others especially those in need.
His keen eyes, anticipation & fast reflexes certainly help too!
As
for the occult creatures, the ymp is super cute & utterly captivating
whereas the big lion-faced, “More!” roaring demon (which by vocalizing its
language produces fire & pain) makes one truly ominous impression. Other
perks include: Many ten-dollar, evocative words (ex. tapestry, fledgling &
disenchantment), an appreciative style for both things beyond man & within
him (ex. accountability), colorful asides like the “paranoid sailor,” and Lukarde’s
Sherlockian prowess perceiving an invisible criminal’s clue of omission (the
spot where the blood had been, was clean, too clean!). When Stormsend ends, our hero Lukarde Alfans
isn’t just a sober, older & wiser version of the straight-shooting
detective he once was; he’s grown beyond the letter of the law’s rigidity &
enforces a new, higher-caliber justice with his bare calloused hands.
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