Giveaway! A very merry unBirthday to you!

New release - $1.99!

$Free

Enjoy this very generous unBirthday gift!

All I ask is that you consider grabbing a copy of Life City, and make sure to leave a review of any books you read!

But act fast - the sale's only running today!

New Release - Life City, a novella

I've been really excited about this one and I hope you all enjoy it too.

The blurb:

THE LAMB LIFTED THEM UP...

...BUT THE BEAST WANTS TO TEAR THEM DOWN.

The uplifted animals of Life City are used to destructive alien incursions from above. Everyone knows how to fight back.

Heroic rock band Magikrash makes a living playing music and fighting invaders, but there are some threats they may not be prepared for...

When a new and disturbing trend pops up in Life City, punk singer Saqi and her bear bassist Barley must discover how to save their brainwashed friends, and the city.

Vibes of classic Saturday Morning cartoons, punk rock and metal, synthwave, and fast-paced adventure combine for an uplifting read with the Lamb at its heart.

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I was in between working on a space opera series and sequels to CTP and HBTS when this idea popped into my head. I'll do another post or video about it if anyone seems interested in the story (I think it's interesting), but ultimately I'd call this my first fully CF (Christian fiction) piece.

It is not what you'd normally find on the CF shelf.

But it's fun, accessible, and a quick read! Get your copy today.

More Hero's Metal is coming up next!

Book Review: The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin by L. Jagi Lamplighter

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The Blurb:

Roanoke Academy for the Sorcerous Arts – A magic school like no other!

Nestled amidst the beauty of New York’s Hudson Highlands and hidden from the eyes of the Unwary, Roanoke Academy is a place of magic and wonder. It offers everything a young sorceress could desire—enchantments, flying brooms, and the promise of new friendships.

On her first day of school, Rachel Griffin discovers her perfect memory gives her an unexpected advantage. With it, she can see through the spell sorcerers use to hide their secrets. Very soon, she discovers that there is a far-vaster secret world hiding from the Wise, precisely the same way that the magical folk hide from the mundane folk.

When someone tries to kill a fellow student, she investigates. Rushing forward where others fear to tread, Rachel bravely faces wraiths, embarrassing magical pranks, mysterious older boys, a Raven that brings the doom of worlds, and at least one fire-breathing teacher.

Described by fans as: “Lovecraft meets Narnia at Hogwarts”, The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is a tale of wonder and danger, romance and heartbreak, and, most of all, of magic and of a girl who refuses to be daunted.

Curiosity may kill a cat, but nothing stops Rachel Griffin!

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The first, delightful installment in Rachel's series of academy misadventures.

There are some fairly obvious surface comparisons to certain other magical student novels that can be made with this story but I assure you, they do not go deep enough to describe what you're really getting.

Plot:

The novel is tight, a spaghetti bowl of plots and subplots that all come together for a satisfying conclusion, with just enough loose threads to draw us into the next episode.

Every elements serves a function here, with no words wasted, drawing a wider world around Rachel that will be expanded upon in the following books.

There's action, drama, suspense, and even elements of horror. And even in spots where the action slows down for conversations and Rachel's thought life (it is primarily targeted at teen girls after all), there's always some riddle at the fore and something new to figure out, which of course is the young sorceress's forte.

Character:

Rachel herself is certainly competent in multiple areas, but she is no paragon or Mary Sue. She struggles with everything a teen girl should, even one who's used to generally being obedient. All of her weaknesses are attacked and her strengths are put to the test.

Through every scene, Rachel's general goodness, and her curiosity, carry us through to the next big beat.

There are a lot, and I mean a lot of other characters. It makes perfect sense that through Rachel's eyes we see and learn details about each of them, even if they don't have huge parts to play in the main plot. It's a school, there's a lot of people!

In some stories the huge supporting cast could tax the memory, but everyone is drawn with a strong silhouette and Lamplighter does an excellent job of using Rachel's perfect memory to jog our own wherever it's needed.

As could probably be expected from a male reading the story, my favorite character is the 'dragon slaying' orphan Siegfried, with his unflappable nature, reckless courage, and cute dragon familiar.

Craft:

Other authors (including mainstream ones) wish their books were written this strong. The plot structure worked out perfectly, with an extended action set piece to bring all the clues and surprises together. I found nothing out of place and everything to taste. The editing was clean and thorough.

More importantly, Lamplighter is simply talented. There's whimsy where it's needed and seriousness where it's called for. The voice of Rachel's POV is strong, pulling us deep into her head for the duration.

Critique:

If I nitpicked, maybe I could possibly find something to critique, but likely it would have to do more with my personal taste and position outside the demographic for this novel than any technical issues. It's a very good book.

In a saner world, Lamplighter would have a shelf in every Barnes and Noble and fans of hers and the Hairy Porter would be duking it out in online forums to bestow the ultimate title of Best Magical Academy Series. Jagi would have my vote.

Get your copy at Silver Empire today!

Serial novel now available on Kindle Vella!

I just couldn't resist jumping in the pool on the ground floor of this bandwagon...

Aw come on, you know it makes sense.

Anyway, check out my latest, Children of Asha, in Kindle Vella now!

I tag this one as academy, survival, sci-fantasy, slightly dystopian (you'll see) and melancholy (at least compared to my other novels so far).

What's it about?

Rattan, like all second-born children of the nation of Asha, must report to a military academy/finishing school for training before serving the country in her tour of duty. She's always assumed, as most of us do, that the people in charge have her best interests at heart. Spoiler alert: they don't.

I sincerely tried to do something different with this one and I hope you enjoy it, along with the rest of Vella!

Asha is fully written and thus I'll update it every day until all 24 episodes are out. Check it out, and a thousand thanks should you deign to drop a fave on it.

Book Review: Unmasked by Kai Wai Cheah

Unmasked, Song of Karma Book 2, Heroes Unleashed Book 7, By Kai Wai Cheah & Thomas Plutarch

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The blurb:

If you take the king’s shilling, you do the king’s killing.

Problems are stacking up for former police officer Adam Song. His court case for killing a drug lord’s son in the line of duty approaches, and it feels like all of Chinatown…and superherodom… are on trial too. The city is a powder keg, and Adam might just be the fire that sets it off.

He has to keep his head low and pay his bills until the entire circus is over. An old spook friend from his military days has a tempting offer for him, but Adam isn’t sure he wants to go back to that life. Government favors come with strings, and Adam is tired of being a puppet.

When his old friend, the abbot of Bright Moon Temple, is threatened from abroad, Adam takes the job to defend him. He needs the money even if the temple can only pay half the normal rate.

What should have been a simple bodyguard job spirals out of control. Even more bodies stack up on Adam’s watch, each one feeding the coals of anger in Halo City.

Can Adam save the Abbot and keep Halo City from burning itself to the ground? And do it all without calling in a favor that will turn him into a shady black-ops weapon?

And who is the shadowy supervillian from Serenity City fanning the flames? Read Unmasked today to find out!

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This is our second outing with Adam Song, aka Amp, in a tense and tightly plotted story with thriller and procedural elements. He’s a no-nonsense kind of hero, willing to use maximum force to defend the innocent, much like the Punisher, but without a hint of the Marvel hero’s anger and possible psychopathy.

Plot:

As you can see from the blurb, and if you’ve read book one, Unmasked comes fully armed with multiple sources of tension, primarily the threat of Adam’s conviction for excessive force. Movement from one plot point to the next is smooth and efficient, no time wasted.

If a scene’s not action packed, it’s setting up a mystery. If not mystery, then intrigue, and just as an answer is revealed, Adam is forced to lay the smack down on his foes. Truly engaging and enjoyable.

Character:

Adam himself is developed further from book one, as his nearly supernatural focus and patience are stress-tested intensely.

Side characters are distinct and get their jobs done. Foremost among them is Adam’s abbot friend, who gets developed further from our brief interactions with him in book one. I really enjoyed this one, especially the interplay between his religious beliefs, martial practice and Prime power (unlimited stamina).

My second favorite side hero was Bloodhound, whose special powers you can perhaps guess from his name. We don’t necessarily go too deep with him, but he was still fun to have around.

Craft:

Cheah’s got good chops. If you follow him on his blog or Twitter, you know the man writes like a beast, and it shows. Keywords for his prose could be lean, efficient, yet detailed (where it counts).

In particular he’s got an aptitude for fight sequences, so if you enjoy getting really crunch with the punches and bullets, this is the author for you.

Critique:

Cheah’s writing often comes off slightly dry to me, apart from occasional bits of humor. And yet the author’s voice feels strong, pointed, direct and not wasteful of words. I never feel the temptation to skip or skim, because the things he’s describing matter to the story and the characters.

If I could wish for anything more from Cheah’s prose it would be a slight loosening, allowing a little more humor through onto the page. My brain always places him on my Neal Stephenson shelf, so that may account for this opinion to some degree.

No matter what he does next I’m happy to follow this author through his next million words and see what comes about!

Don't settle for Perpetual Disappointment

It's E3 time - an avalanche of trailers and teasers and a weird mix of forced and real excitement while tubers and commentators drum up their content.

If you've spared any moments to watch the livestreams or breakdowns, you've probably seen and felt the primary vibe - disappointment.

We've heard a lot about games no one asked for, remakes most people never craved (but will still probably buy) and various games we've known were coming, sometimes for years. See Starfield and Halo: Infinite. All in all, few surprises.

And as has been the case for the last couple of years with E3 especially, people are looking to Nintendo for redemption of the event (later today).

Now there are various reasons a slowdown in the release of AAA games could be expected in the last year, and I'm certain I don't need to expound upon these. But I think it's also obvious that the rollout of truly new and innovative games has long since slowed compared to, say, the 16-bit golden age. In fact we have an example from the current batch of announcements, in Starfield, which is being specifically marketed as 'the first new Bethesda IP in 25 years'.

Catch that - the lack of new Bethesda IP isn't just a point of trivia, it's a selling point!

I'm not here today to analyze all this or harp on it and wallow in my own disappointments (if in fact that was how I felt). No, my little quest is to draw you away from investment in the notion of new, new, new from people who aren't terribly interested in providing it.

Don't settle for the perpetual disappointment.

How, you may ask.

Well there are a few ways, and most of them have to do with adjusting our own attitudes.

Do I really need hundreds or thousands of hours worth of new games in any given year? Or is that time better spent on my writing? [Insert your creative or other endeavors here]

Do I really want partially finished games released just to satisfy my jonesing for newness? See Cyberpunk 2077 as an example of this. I loved the game and got my money's worth out of it. In fact I think it's the best city in any game I've ever played. But there's no denying the game didn't live up to its potential, and may very well have already missed its chance to make up for that.

Not only does that system of hard release dates set us up for disappointment and result in the abuse of workers, it also feeds into the bad capitalism of game devs intentionally holding back content to sell as DLC, resulting in incomplete games sold as complete. More disappointment.

Do I really need a new game from that particular IP? Halo, Star Wars, Elder Scrolls, whatever. Am I so attached to that IP that only a game in that world, with that set of gameplay mechanics can satisfy me? Of course not! But it's easy to get wrapped up in the brand we like best. There is a slew of indie games to dive into as well, many of them taking risks that AAAs never would.

Obviously my answer to the questions above has become, 'no'. What then? I have all this free time (not really hahahahahah... *laughter trails off...*) and it needs to be full of something.

Pardon me for a moment as I run the risk of sounding like a conservative scold. Don't think I only find value in 'real hobbies' or that I believe 'fun' is a waste of time or 'childish'. Do what you want and accept the consequences. Learn and repeat. It's a little different for each of us.

But games aren't all we have. Get outside. Exercise. Make something with your hands. Play with your kids. Take your wife out on more dates. All of these things, if habitual, will not only fill up your time but introduce variety that makes your game time all the more enjoyable.

I recently picked up Resident Evil 8 after not having played much since Cyberpunk in December. It felt great! I'd gotten a new GPU before Cyberpunk and was pleasantly surprised at the graphical difference between RE8 and the last AAA game I'd played before the upgrade. (Cyberpunk looks good but it's nowhere near RE8's level)

What did I do with free time in the interim? Reading, writing, a little bit of music. And connecting to my next point, some hobbyist game dev of my own.

And that's where I want to end today's message. Just like writing or music or art, if there's a game you want to play and it doesn't exist, make it! Now I realize that's a tall order if what you like is big budget AAA with photorealistic visuals and complicated scripted level events. But, all of the elements of those games are things you can learn to do in engines like Unity or (my personal favorite) Unreal. You could have a low-poly, personalized version of Halo prototyped in a hundred hours or so. For the amount of time you've probably spent on Skyrim, Oblivion, or Morrowind, you could have something much deeper and more complete.

Not to say that's the solution for everyone, just an example. If games have been disappointing you lately, walk away for a bit and spend your time on something else. They'll be there when you return, and you'll find, much like abstaining from soda or donuts for a time, they taste even better after a break and detox, or at least with some variety mixed in.

Take your experience into your own hands, don't let the big publishers dictate how you enjoy the hobby. Don't pay them for incomplete products, and don't think that you are only capable of consuming when God made us all to be creative in one way or another.

As a novelty for you on this fine day, here's a link to the last video in which I and my bros celebrated E3 by mixing the clips with original music (by me). Oddly enough many of the games I mentioned are involved, and there's a clear message in the proceedings that our remix (inadvertently?) pulled out. Enjoy!

And finally, have a good book!

Travel to another dimension and battle the minions of a mad posthuman!

Updates

The year continues the trend of not adhering to the plans I specifically set for it. How dare it do this to me!

But seriously, while most things are on track, they are running slower than I'd anticipated, mostly for personal reasons. So, for those interested, here is the state of things.

Children of Asha is a sci-fi fantasy novel that starts in a military academy.

I wanted to have it out by this month, but in reviewing it myself when I sent it off to a beta reader, I discovered some broad changes I want to make, specifically concerning the characters. I'm waiting for a reader to be done so I can assess their critique too, and then will commence with the adjustments. The cover is ready, so as soon as the manuscript feels right to me, I'll get this one out!

I'd enjoyed rapid progress on the furry, punky, Christian novella Life City until my freelance queues got out of control. I've been on a slow down for a few weeks but I anticipate things speeding back up again soon.

This little story has been really fun, and I was intrigued by the way it insinuated itself into my schedule and demanded attention. So much for plans! I recently got the art for the cover, betraying myself by buying original art rather than using stock stuff as I'd considered. The wallet hurts a little but it's pretty to look at. I'm excited to share the cover when I'm happy with the typography.

After that I've planned a deep dive into Out of the Deep, sequel to How Black the Sky. It's long since drafted but needs a good hard look so I can make sure it's doing everything it needed to. I'm still surprised by how much different it was to write something unrestrained and sometimes gonzo on command, rather than just letting it flow like the first book. It's got a lot of fun to live up to!

Beyond that, one installment of my planned space fantasy trilogy is written and waits on editing. I had planned to finish that tril during the summer, but the advent of Kindle Vella has me revisiting my schedule. I've got some ideas for that I'll cover below.

Besides my cyberpunk, archaeological adventure, and a few other stories begging to be written/finished, I want desperately to dig into Arc Legacy 2, currently titled Song of the City, so that I and those interested can find out what happens next with Jon, Bahabe and Dahm.

On Kindle Vella:

I'm actually thinking of releasing Children of Asha in this format. I'll leave it up long enough to gauge interest, and when it seems to have run its course I'll take it off Vella and publish to Kindle.

I would also like to prepare one of two litRPG concepts I have in mind to release to Vella, but I very much want them to be complete so I don't have to worry about weekly deadlines.

What do you, dear reader, want to see from me on Vella? I'd love some comments!

All in all it's a lot to be working on, enough to be full time were I able to do so. If anyone out there is waiting on something in particular, I thank you and I pray patience! It will all manifest in due time, hopefully sooner than later.

Book Review: Somewhither by John. C. Wright

From the description on silverempire.com:

All Ilya Muromets wanted to do was save the girl. Maybe Penny would get his name right as he swooped in to rescue her from her mad scientist father’s machine. And then they’d get married and live happily ever after.

Armed with only a squirrel gun and a samurai sword, he manages to fall into another world entirely. Alone.

Without saving Penny.

Ilya is captured and brought to the Dark Tower. A place where every man knows all the failures and successes of his life. A place where every man knows the day he will die. Everything the Stars have written will happen the way they proclaim.

Ilya’s only way out is to swear fealty to the dark lord. An action the Stars claim he cannot avoid. They want his recently discovered power for their own, and they’re willing to torture Penny to make him submit.

But Ilya doesn’t believe in the destiny the Stars give him. He’ll make his own, even if he dies doing it.

And in the highest heights and deepest depths of the dark tower, Ilya must discover who he really is.

Science Fiction Grandmaster John C. Wright leads readers through a break-neck coming of age story as Ilya rushes to rescue the girl and save the world. His trademark imaginative world and over-the-top action will delight fans of his work.

Will Ilya find Penny in time to rescue her?

And can they escape the Dark Tower when the Stars know their every move?

Really it's more just some quick thoughts about it, for various reasons, one of which is that it's hard to say anything new about the cheeseburger everyone else has already chimed in on.

And that's really what the movie is. It's a popcorn kaiju flick that really belongs in the summer months.

A very small percentage of films like this (not just kaiju, but other potentially 'brainless' genres) will hit the scene with unexpected depth or artistry, such as the original Gojira, Shin Gojira, and perhaps a few others. Most exist to give monster-lovers what they want - big monsters fighting and destroying things.

This movie does that, and does it reasonably well.

The human plot is predictably (and understandably?) simple, using them primarily as an excuse for us to have POVs in the story's various locations, and secondarily as a source of humor.

That bit is one of my biggest complaints about the script. The humor is terrible. I'd prefer the cheese of goofy Japanese side characters to this style of humor any day. Despite being set up as hyper-competent in their fields, the two male leads are framed as clueless goofballs, a quality which emasculates the African American Brian Tyree Henry somewhat more than his counterpart, to the movie's detriment. The main issues there are that 1. I would have liked a strong male lead and 2. while scientific and engineering geniuses might be awkward, this is not the type of humor you'd expect from them.

The adult female lead, Ilene, doesn't fare much better in the character department. She escorts the only character that matters, Jia, and doesn't do much else.

It's easy to have empathy for Jia of course, especially as a parent. Small, deaf, child, big eyes. That's really all it takes. But she plays her part well enough. If anything should have been expanded in the human department, it should have been her relationship with Kong. There is a solid tradition of children connecting with the monsters of kaiju films, and it might have been interesting to see a deeper dive with good writing.

The teens are forgettable and pointless. Millie was wasted and given an unlikeable character.

The villains are villainous, and that's just fine. It was a little bothersome to me that Maya, the villain's daughter, and most attractive character, existed only to reveal the predictable twist and then die. Not that eye candy is much of a thing in most kaiju films, but it never hurts. I'm not a sensitive viewer but I did note that she was also shoehorned into the 'evil Asian girl' trope. Whoops.

The hollow earth and conspiracy angles fit nicely in this Monsterverse setup, and I enjoy that kind of stuff anyway, so it gets an A in the writing department.

One last bit concerning the script I'm tempted to critique is the amount of Godzilla in this Godzilla movie. Kong is really the protagonist, with Godzilla framed as the villain. It works, but I'm a G man and would rather an excuse for them to have equal time, even to the detriment of the plot (which I wouldn't consider a given).

On to what matters - the kaiju themselves.

Visually it looks good enough, probably better in a theater. While the CGI is decent, there's something about suits and models that computers can never touch. Overall, Shin Gojira was more visually believable, and if I'm not mistaken that movie leveraged both types of visual effects.

If anything bothered me visually, it was that Godzilla seemed to have been scaled down to Kong's size rather than the other way around. I understand various reasons for that, such as wanting Kong to be able to hold onto a skyscraper or two, but it nagged at me seeing Godzilla as being small. Especially after the apparent scale of the kaiju in King of the Monsters, this was sometimes jarring.

Minor spoilers in the next section. Skip if you don't want to hear fight details.

The fights are good too, with some real tension over Kong's submersion in the ocean, where Godzilla is right at home.

It bothered me that depth charges would not be enough to wrench Kong from Godzilla's grip in the ocean, and if they were, they'd have injured the monke too.

The Hong Kong fight is the best one, both during the main fight and after the final 'twist' which was actually spoiled in a trailer. I was surprised when some of the action in the main G v K fight pulled me in as well as it did. The monster posturing, roaring, and really hammering their strength home was all very enjoyable. Naturally it did my atomic reptile heart good when Godzilla broke some dumb monke ribs, but I was truly impressed at the fight choreographer/animator's use of Kong's flexibility and speed to disrupt, dodge, and stunlock Godzilla's fire breath. Even as a G fan I had to smile at Kong's moves.

Now, should something that big be able to move like that? No, but we don't mind. This is not a place for realism.

The 'twist' fight was also great, if a bit short. Kaiju teamups are always welcome. The 'twist' looked nice as well, though I would have preferred a more traditional rendition - more Megazord style and less Transformers. Still, his special moves and laser breath looked awesome. I'd love to see him come back.

Really, that's it. It's an above-average kaiju film (if that makes sense with the number of them that we actually get in a year) and a solid installment in the Monsterverse. If you like kaiju movies, give it a shot.

You know what else has a hollow earth and kaiju?

How Black the Sky is a fast-paced tale of heroes coming together to face a threat from deeper in the earth that they don't understand. Magic, fighting, monsters, violence, betrayal, and transcendence.

Buy your copy today!

Hero’s Metal Book 1: How Black the Sky

Justice League - Snyder Cut Flash Review

I was walking past the TV store window and the Snyder Cut just happened to be playing, so I dutifully stood there for four hours and watched it in its entirety.

Here are my thoughts in brief.

First off, I think the film is notable for its unusual nature - that of a cut not simply released due to demand, but finished and probably iterated on in response to that demand. If this has happened before with a film, I am not aware of it. Viewing the product was at the least a curiosity.

My experience with AAA games brings to mind some issues that could arise from this practice, but that’s something we might tackle later on.

If you find yourself asking whether the effort put into this rerelease was worth it, I would have to say yes, with a qualifier.

The qualifier is that the millions spent on this massive correction to the record could have been spent on something new and shiny rather than a recut. Alas, I am not the producer, so this notion shall die here.

For what the movie was, it worked.

It made vast improvements on the Whedon cut by setting up each character’s motivations, including - or perhaps especially - our villain’s. While none of these were particularly special or new (Cyborg’s was the best), they provide a flow to the narrative that was previously missing.

Naturally this accounts for a large portion of the increased runtime, which begs the question of whether the thing feels too long.

I am one to enjoy extended cuts. In fact I rather love it when I can find a free day to watch LOTR extended editions all in a row. Thus going in knowing that the movie was going to be mostly crescendo with occasional peaks, my expectations were reasonably set. Really it has a good pace and gains enough momentum so that it doesn’t feel like a slog.

I felt none of the type of mental exhaustion that I might watching something like a Transformers movie, nor was I bored.

So let’s do some quick hits on the high points.

The expansion of Cyborg’s role and story felt the most like new material to me, though to be fair I don’t have a clear recollection of the original cut. I felt for the character and would happily follow him into another adventure.

If I’m not mistaken, Batman’s role in the finale was expanded, and it was great fun to watch. Batfleck looks so solid and burly, it’s just satisfying to watch him (or his CGI double) commit bone-crunching violence against the baddies.

The movie really loves Wonder Woman, almost to the point of cheese, but it treats her respectfully enough and shows her strength with fun visuals.

Steppenwolf was a huge improvement, even shining through my blurry memory of the original. His design is better if not perfect and his action is enjoyably brutal. Again, though his motivations are simple - pleasing his master to regain favor - they help in providing a reason for him to do what he’s doing beyond mere destruction.

The teaser of Darkseid is cool. I appreciated his aura of menace and the depiction of his Omega Beam. But this brings me around to our low points.

At four hours, and with no plans that I’m aware of for a direct sequel to this iteration of the JL, Darkseid should have been brought into full play. We could have edited some of the setup and various other scenes, ditched some of the copious slo-mo, cut the epilogue that felt like a vestigial appendage, and gained enough time to include Darkseid in at most another plot thread (perhaps he’s working at odds with Steppenwolf or about some other villainous business) and at least a second boss fight. He wouldn’t even have to die.

I don’t get the sense that the teaser will actually bear out into a real sequel, so I fear that DC fans will miss out on the resolution of this Darkseid’s plot.

Other cons.

The casting of Flash is not my favorite. I know these movies have a hard time crossing line between TV and Film, but Grant Gustin’s Flash is a great fit (or was last time I watched a few seasons back) and he should have been pulled in for this. He knows the character, people love him. It just makes sense.

Aquaman is still underdeveloped. There is no other solution to this than to have released his movie first.

And of course, Superman is underutilized. Characters like this are very difficult to write into team situations. Captain Marvel suffers the same issue in Avengers Endgame. I have a few characters of my own who need careful management in order to keep from making everyone else on the team irrelevant.

In fact this is a theme in the Arc Legacy.

But needing to perform a macguffin ritual to resurrect him is one of this story’s greatest flaws.

I would have much preferred if his return was more similar to the comics run after his death in the 90s, where he himself takes action and eventually returns. This way we get to see him doing things and still get him coming in as the cavalry charge.

Instead we get a contrived and confusing process involving the motherbox. While this does provide action for Flash and Cyborg, and allows for the ‘Superman is crazy’ fight, I still just don’t think it was worth it.

Finally, despite my overall enjoyment of the viewing experience and the pleasure of seeing a work improved, the film isn’t more than a one-watch movie. The story is too simple to require repeat viewings from someone who remembers plots - if not all the small details - very well. So rent it or buy in the bargain bin, if you buy it at all.

So is it worth your time?

If you feel like sitting down to watch a high-budget superhero epic with the director’s passion for the project on full display, then yes.

If you’re already weary of superheroes or accustomed to the tight writing of MCU films, probably not.

Either one of you will enjoy my novel RawJack of course, in which plucky superheroes take on the elite blood magic practitioners of a society dominated by sorcery.

Heroes, magic, a futuristic city, call it superhero magipunk!

Review - Teen Heroes Unleashed, Book One, from Silver Empire Press

Blurb from the author's website:

Penance – by Paula Richey and “Thomas Plutarch”

Penance Copper is tired of being a tool for evil.

She’s been working for Acid ever since she was small. She had no other choice, he owned her. Even with her superpowers, she’s never been able to escape. But at least he only has her steal. Never anything worse than that.

Until he orders her to use her powers to kill the superhero Justice for investigating trafficked girls.

Penance doesn’t want to be a murderer. She uses the opportunity to run away from Acid and make a new life. One where she can make up for everything she did on Acid’s orders.

But events larger than Penance are spinning into action, and soon she is embroiled in an intergalactic encounter with an alien boy named Kail, who is perhaps as lonely and broken as she is. Even if he is infuriatingly arrogant.

The first young adult series in the shared Heroes Unleashed universe launches with the Teen Heroes Unleashed series. Readers will love hardworking, sassy Penance as she tries to learn to use her superpowers to save the world instead of to steal.

Can Penance and Kail find the missing girls and save the Earth from an alien invasion? Or will Acid find her again and punish her for running away?

Read Penance today to find out!

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This novel from Silver Empire's Heroes Unleashed series is a strong debut from author Paulie Richey. Kinetic and touching, it fits right in with the rest of the brand. Despite its YA branding, I have to say I think superhero fans of any age will enjoy it.

Plot

It's tight and moves smoothly from one event to the next. The characters have agency and this drives things forward almost the entire time. There is a bit of a slowdown for our main characters going into the third act, where I itched for them to be back in the action, but this slow spell serves the characters and their budding relationship well. It also provides time for exploring some of the tropes necessary to the YA angle. Ie: the mains getting to know each other.

Really that's something we come across in all action fiction with romantic subplots, and I think Paula handled it well. The finale was appropriately painful and exciting, setting us up for the next installment.

Character

Characters are distinct and well drawn. Penance is both likeable and pitiable, a girl locked in a hard place but with the inner conviction to find her way out. It was a bold decision to run her discovery of faith in parallel to her ascent into heroism, and I think it worked. As with most unmasked depictions of the Gospel in fiction, the faith elements feel 3 dimensional in a way no fiction can. While this may be a bump in the road for non-Christian readers, I assure you that the author's treatment is sincere here, not at all ham-fisted. Understand that Penance's faith is linked to her heroism and enjoy.

Kail makes a great counterpart and foil to Penance, the straight man to her comedienne. It will be interesting to see what he does with the life he gains over the course of this story.

The supporting characters are varied and memorable, some with powers and others mundane. Readers with a penchant for many POVs will enjoy the scenes focusing on these people swept up in Penance's storm.

Craft

My first impression of Paula Richey's prose was smooth. The novel is well-written and lean. I never had the urge to skip or skim, quickly finding myself able to trust the author with where things were going. Scens flow sensibly and the whole structure is snappy enough that we get to see several locations without feeling confused or lost.

This is an excellent debut and I am eager to see how Paula's writing grows and continues to improve.

Critique - no spoilers, but may affect your perception on first read.

It's always hard for me to do this part. I'm a positively oriented person and tend to give the benefit of the doubt when I disagree with a decision. With that in mind, and considering how good this book was overall, I can only note where I might have done things differently. I may or may not be correct 'objectively'.

The main thing is the section where things slow down for our mains so they can have time to romance a little. Again I argue (against myself?) that this is necessary for the novel, but I might have (being male) kept the two on the run rather than allowing them respite. If there were to be tender moments between them, they would happen in an even more fleeting place of hiding, and quickly.

Paula handles the potential loss of momentum by switching POV to characters who are still in danger, which works. Had the supporting characters been less interesting people, this could have backfired, but Paula pulls it off nicely.

There is a good twist in the finale that I wouldn't change, but it does have the effect of dimming the sense of victory ever so slightly. I won't say more specifically, just that I wanted the trouble to ramp up a little higher and the win to feel bigger.