Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction edited by Lincon Crisler (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted by Admin - April 1st, 2012


Read Meta-Morality Panel discussion between Authors (W. Ochse, W. Ligon, J. Tucker, E. Erdelac)
Read Meta-Misses Panel discussion between Authors (J. Strand, T. Wooldridge, A. Spencer)
Read the forthcoming schedule of Panel discussions
EDITOR INFORMATION Lincoln Crisler was introduced to the occult as a child and learnt about the Tarot in his childhood years. He then joined the United States Army and is a combat veteran who has done atleast three tours and currently is a non-commissioned officer. He is also the author of two short story collections (Despairs & Delights, 2008 and Magick & Misery, 2009) and one novella (WILD, 2011). His work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, to include HUB Magazine, Shroud Publishing’s Abominations anthology and IDW‘s forthcoming Robots vs. Zombies anthology. He is also a member of the Horror Writers Association. He lives in Augusta, Georgia with his family. His interests include spending time with his family, listening to music, cooking, web design and politics.

ANALYSIS: Most of us have always been fascinated by superheroes. In this anthology Lincoln Crisler dares to ask the question why people with powers would always turn to good? Focussing on the powerful words by the first Baron Acton, comes an anthology focussing on the shadier side of metahumans. I’ll be speaking about each story as it will be in line with the previous anthology FBC reviews and simply makes more sense.

Retribution by Tim Marquitz – The anthology begins with this exciting tale by Tim Marquitz. It’s about a person who has lost his family during the events of America’s biggest tragedy (9/11). The story then reveals as to what might happen to such a person who gains a certain type of power and decides to extract a certain kind of retribution. It’s not pretty and the author doesn’t really make any amends for the protagonist’s behavior. It is a stark story, which asks the reader to imagine what happens when a person’s reason to live is extinguished and they get a chance to do what their mind tells them. A rather good tale but on the shorter side and a good opener to this collection.

Hollywood Villany by Weston Ochse – This was a rather different story; it begins by shifting narratives and basically is about a boy who just “wants his two dollars back”. The story constantly keeps the readers on their toes and ends the story with a twist that might definitely get a lot of reader’s attention. I however didn’t quite the story as much, the constant narrative switches kind of ruined the read for me.

Mental Man by William Todd Rose – Mental Man is concept which has been explored in some horror stories and can be described as a cross between Dean Koontz’s Hideaway and Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon. However the twist being in this story that protagonist never manages to see the killer’s face as the killer shatters all mirrors and reflective surfaces. The tale is quite an excellent one as it basically examines the relationship between a hero and his nemesis. This story basically works as it has a sixth sense moment in the end and for me this was first of the standout stories in this anthology.



The Real Church by Jeremy Hepler – The real church explores an angle which is very interesting to read about. Owen McKinney is the protagonist of this tale which has him exploring what it means to follow in Jesus’s steps however there’s a catch to this power. That’s what makes this tale so absorbing and the way it ends, it makes you want to know more about Owen McKinney and the world of Real Church. Another very good story with a angle which will be interesting to read about.


Ozymandias Revisited by A.S. Fox – Originally I thought that this tale was perhaps revisiting one of Watchmen most intriguing characters. However turns out that it has noting to do with that iconic book but it is basically about the poem “Ozymandias” by Percy B. Shelley. The original poem talks mortality and human arrogance, A.S. Fox takes the gist of the poem and then turns it around by showcasing an omnipowerful, narcissistic persona who talks about his way and his whims which continuously affect the way and remolds it. A fascinating story but one that ends in a weird way.

Enlightened by Sin by Jason M. Tucker – This is one of the better stories in the book which showcases Victor, an individual who goes after killers a-la Dexter however the difference being that his power allows him to know about the person’s intimate wrong-doing and sins. Convinced about his tract he soon encounters a superhero Captain Justice and a killer Red Dahlia that to might lead to his doom. An excellent short story that if made into a longer book will be something, which I would love read more about.

The Origin of Slashy by Jeff Strand – This is one of the darker tales of the book and deals with a rape survivor called Kaylee who soon discovers her power thereafter. Its what she does with it that leads to the darkness of the story. A story about a fall in to madness of sorts, it very well could be the darkest story of the book and one which highlights the central theme of the collection.



Conviction by Edward M. Erdelac – This is one of the weirder tales in the book which does not do much to explain the origin of the main character’s powers however showcases how much powerful an emotional connection can be. Set from the perspective of a young African-American boy called Abassi who goes on a rampage of sorts a la King Kong because of sentimental reasons. The way this story is written really draws a chord with the reader however the ending is a bit ambiguous.

Threshold by Kris Ashton – Simply put this was my favorite story of the entire collection, its about a person who is compelled to kill because of the building pressure in his head very similar to migraines. The story pursues a very interesting thread as it fundamentally asks the question in a struggle between the heart and the head, what would triumph? The ending is also a great one and I would love to see this story be transformed into a novel-length story simply to see what happens in the end.



Oily by A.D. Spencer – Oily is about a super heroine who seeks guilty people as Cat’s eye with the help of her father’s words. She however meets someone that befuddles her directives. A story, which has an interesting premise but after the previous stories with similar premises, this one simply doesn’t manage to reach the levels of the earlier ones. A decent effort but definitely could have been better.

Hero by Joe McKinney – This story is built around the Cassandra myth and set in modern times. Robert Hanover is the man who can see seven minutes and twenty two seconds in to the future. However akin to his mythological sibling no one really believes him. This story is set from the perspective of the physician treating him, an excellent story and one whose twist in the end manages to completely surprise the reader.



Pride by Wayne Ligon – Probably my second favorite story in this collection, Pride shares characteristics with the X-men storyline of the 90s and a bit with the recently released Myke Cole debut. This story is set in Detroit and focuses on Calvin Carmichael, a metahuman who is forced to be a sub-human because of his past. This story deals about personhood, freedom and the right to pursue happiness, with an ending that definitely matches the premise of the story, Pride is one of the standout tales of this myriad collection.


G-Child by Malon Edwards – This tale is about a girl superhero who is team mates with a stronger hero and who is having a nervous breakdown. Set in the past and present, the story follows twin threads to show the readers why Aieesha is the way she is. The tale didn’t quite work for me as I couldn’t connect with the narrator or her can of woes. The ending, which tries to salvage the story doesn’t do enough.


Static by Jason Gehlert – Static is a story which begins on a bridge and the reader is immediately dumped into the happenings of the world. It has to do with why people are acting strange or killing themselves and its upto Licoln Carter and John Buchanan to figure out why. This story feels more of a part of a larger tale and the way it starts and ends might leave several readers with an acute sense of vrtigo or unfinished business.


Illusion by Karina Fabian – Illusion is another dark story in this collection and focuses upo Daryl Stephens, a teenager with an acute issue. Heart breaking in its execution and premise, this story dwells upon what happens to those who are given power and are yet unready to wield it. The story opens up with Daryl who chants a mantra to help him but often fails and yet it provides him with an illusion of sorts. An interesting story but again one which perhaps ends too starkly.



Sabre by Anthony Laffan – Sabre is a tale, which examines the Iron Man/Tony Stark story mode as it focuses upon Sabre the hero. However as an investigative reporter finds out to her chagrin what the hero’s presence has been actually doing. With a very neat twist inserted in the end, the athor quickly closes off this tale by showcasing what a Tony Stark-like persona might really aspire to. A highly entertaining story and one that makes the reader sit up and take notice.



Crooked by Lee Mather – Crooked is another interesting story dealing with mobsters and vendettas. The protagonist is a person looking to escape his past life with his loved ones however what happens when the past catches up with him and how de face it is the crux of this story. A bit Machiavellian in its premise, the story ends up with a strong twist and the protagonist has shades of Glotka from the Joe Abercrombie series, a good tale but perhaps could have been fleshed out better.



Fixed by Trisha J. WooldridgeFixed is a tale about a working woman Victoria Cheetham who has to decide on her priorities, sandwiched between her professional work and personal life she strives to strike a balance between her demanding boss and her family. The story was a bit of a hodge-podge effort for me, on one hand it had a comedic sheen to it and on the other it strove to be serious as well. The end result being that it managed to be neither, one of the weaker stories in the book for me.



Acquainted with the Night by Cat Rambo – Acquainted by Night is a tale of a person pushed to the very limits of his humanity and is told through a series of vignettes about the main character. What follows is a tale that might not sit lightly with some readers and follows a Greek tragedy of sorts. A dark tale which though powerful feels a bit incomplete.



Gone Rogue by Wayne Helge – The penultimate story in this collection is a quirky light hearted one, which pretty much surmises what the plot is going to be about. Focusing on a sidekick who plays the man Friday to Zooster the superhero. He pretty much finds out that the superhero biz isn’t that cracked out as its made to be. Hilarity and zany situations ensue thereby giving us an ending which very well surmises that for every hero to be one, there needs to be an arch-nemesis.



Max and Rose by Andrew Bourelle – This tale ends the book and does so with something of a damp squib, focusing on the two titular characters it recreates and evening and perhaps acts as a spiritual prequel to the earlier tale “Ozymandias Revisited”. While the author cleverly shows the signs of trouble in the couple’s life, the tale overall doesn’t do much to impress the reader, it ends up being a decent effort.

CONCLUSION: Lincoln Crisler has taken pains to choose this myriad collection of stories exploring the theme of Metahumans acting out inhumanely and there are quite a few zingers to this collection. Some of the stories like Threshold and Pride are the jewels in this collection that perhaps should be further explored in the longer format IMHO. This is a collection very much in vein of “Masked” by Lou Anders however with a tenebrous and twisted bent to it. Give it a try and see what it feels like to be Corrupted Absolutely!

Fantasy Book Critic

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“Dark Eden” by Chris Beckett (Reviewed by Liviu Suciu)

Posted by Admin - February 14th, 2012


Official Chris Beckett Website
Order “Dark Eden” HERE

INTRODUCTION: I heard of Chris Beckett‘s work when The Turing Test collection won the prestigious Edge Hill Short Story prize in 2009. I immediately bought a copy of the collection and I read a few of the stories there. I generally enjoyed them and I plan to read all of them as time goes by, but they seem to work only in smaller doses for me maybe because they are quite concentrated.

However his previous two novels, Holy Machine and Marcher never really tempted me, so when Dark Eden was announced with the blurb below I was not sure either. Remembering vaguely that I read a story with the same title in The Turing Test, I checked the collection and sure enough the story Dark Eden is in there and it is precisely the tale of Angela and Tommy told through their two quite distinct voices in alternating parts. As I quite liked it and some reviews showering great praise on the novel appeared too, I decided to buy a copy for myself and try it immediately.

“You live in Eden. You are a member of the Family, one of 532 descendants of Angela and Tommy. You shelter beneath the light and warmth of the Forest’s lantern trees, hunting woollybuck and harvesting tree candy. Beyond the forest lie the treeless mountains of the Snowy Dark and a cold so bitter and a night so profound that no man has ever crossed it. The Oldest among you recount legends of a world where light came from the sky, where men and women made boats that could cross between worlds. One day, the Oldest say, they will come back for you….”

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In talking about Dark Eden, there are two different aspects that need to be considered, namely literary quality and sfnal scope. In short, Dark Eden is superb as a literary novel but something I’ve seen many times before as sf or (pre) historical fiction and not only that, but its scope is very limited since there is only so much you can do with a primitive society as sense of wonder and big picture – in other words the attributes that define high class sf – go.

After all, you are given a small grouping of people – no advanced tech to sustain too many or too hostile an environment and the tech base of the society is not able to tame said environment – relatively rigid rules which where justified once upon a time when survival was the first imperative, rules that lead to what the current younger generation perceive as stagnation, and the maverick hero/heroine who is set to change all that and in doing so breaks the social compact for better or for worse.

This is the sfnal structure of Dark Eden too and as mentioned I’ve read this so many times that in terms of the big picture there is not much to surprise and there is a clear logic of events that you can already guess from the blurb. The specific world building – planet in intergalactic space, with no sun but life, atmosphere and heat coming from underground volcanic activity – is interesting though and there is a lot of potential for complexity if the author chooses to develop this universe more.

If sfnally the novel is just good due to its limited scope, literary Dark Eden is superb. Its structure alternates narration mostly from John Redlantern and his girlfriend Tina Spiketree - they have 21 and respectively 16 of the 46 total chapters – with a few other characters with their own distinctive voices presenting their take on events at various points.

The rules and habits of the Eden society, their way of life, rituals, food gathering and hunting, mating, division into “normal” humans and the disfigured ones – as expected the descent of all 532 humans which live in Eden at the start of the book from Angela and Tommy has quite a few genetic negatives – are slowly revealed and the author balances action with world building and back story perfectly.

The transitions between chapters are very smooth and all characters that narrate even for only a chapter come alive. Of course as they have the bulk of the story John and Tina are the most nuanced and developed of all and we see their growth from a wondering but confused boy who is well liked by most women in the colony to a mature and determined leader in John’s case:

“And in the back of my mind a little thought came to me that there were other worlds we could reach that weren’t hidden away in Starry Swirl, or through Hole-in-Sky, but here on ground, in Eden. They were the places where the woollybucks went, the places they came from.”

and from a young girl who cherishes her “desirability” by men but does not really question her society and its way of life to one who discovers the courage to confront the “public opinion” and follow John in looking for a better life:

“John was interesting. I mean he looked nice, and I fancied him in that way, but what fascinated me most was the way he behaved. All that hunting trip he was trying to be different, trying not to be the same as all the other newhair guys. He went right up that icy ridge. He annoyed Old Roger and David by questioning the True Story.”

So despite that almost everything that happens is predictable as it follows the logic described above, I was still captivated by the novel and turned the pages to see what happens with John, Tina and their growing band of followers.

While a standalone novel and with a very good ending that leaves open a lot of possibilities, I wish the author will return to Eden and tell us more about the fascinating human society he created there. Dark Eden is a highly recommended novel of 2012 and excellent literary sf that I can easily see shortlisted for both genre and mainstream prizes that appreciate writing style and “realistic” characters rather than sense of wonder and big picture speculations.

Fantasy Book Critic

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New Dark Tower Artwork

Posted by Admin - January 26th, 2012

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen KingThe Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King is one of my Best Bets of 2012. It is a new Dark Tower novel, and with all Dark Tower releases it features a new artist. This time Jae Lee.

A few days ago, I received a flyer in the mail from Grant Books, the publisher responsible for producing the gorgeous limited and signed edition of The Wind Through the Keyhole. Here is that flyer featuring some new, unseen art!
Suvudu » Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, Comics, and Games

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Badass Comic Book Cover: Dark Tower: Gunslinger #1

Posted by Admin - December 17th, 2011

badass-gunslinger1Every week I’ll be bringing you a comic book cover that I feel eclipses others out there—to the point I might just have to own it when released!

This week: Dark Tower: Gunslinger #1 #1! And the Gunslinger followed!
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Our 2012 Best Bets: Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey

Posted by Admin - December 15th, 2011

2012 is nearly upon us. It’s a new year of authors publishing books; it’s a new year of fans reading them. And of course, there are some great novels coming out in the New Year.

After highlighting the Best of 2011, we at Suvudu decided to look at what is coming in 2012—and post those titles we think will be the best bets of the year!
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Lauren McLaughlin’s ‘Scored’: The Dark Side of Meritocracy

Posted by Admin - October 25th, 2011

In novel Lauren McLaughlin’s new novel Scored, young people are burdened by a ubiquitous, real-time system that grades them based on criteria known only to its administrators. Young people with good scores have more opportunities open to them – college, better jobs – while those with low scores have a hard time getting by. [...]
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Don’t be Afraid of the Dark: Toward an Understanding of Guillermo del Toro, Alien as Auteur

Posted by Admin - August 6th, 2011

blackwood
Guillermo del Toro is horror and fantasy filmmaking’s resident auteur. The Mexican filmmaker’s visionary aesthetic, drawn from a youth steeped in traditional folktales, the pagan-tinted Catholicism of his native Mexico and a steady diet of horror movies, casts an unnervingly long shadow in an anemic industry dominated by cookie cutter Halloween and Friday the 13th knock-offs. An outsider, culturally and aesthetically, del Toro has more in common with the mutants and slashers of Hollywood’s mainstream horror films than any of the beautiful young people they bedevil.
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Dark Horse Unveils the 2011 Comic-Con Exclusive Marvel Spider-Man Syroco!

Posted by Admin - June 24th, 2011

SDCC SPIDERMANAs part of the recently announced Marvel Syrocos program, it is announced today that these highly anticipated statues will make their debut at next month’s Comic-Con International in San Diego!
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“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Plus Five Fantastic Facts About Our Lunar Neighbor

Posted by Admin - May 30th, 2011

In Peter David’s official Transformers: Dark of the Moon tie -in novel, the discovery of a secret Cybertronian structure on the moon sparks a new conflict between the good Autobots and evil Decepticons, with humanity in the crossfire. Featuring explosive action on the surfaces of the moon and planet Earth, Dark of the Moon thrills [...]
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New Dark Tower Book Artist Named

Posted by Admin - May 11th, 2011

lee-rolandWhen the door to Roland Deschain’s world opens up to Stephen King he takes notice, and that door opened last year with interesting results for all us Dark Tower fans.

The new book, titled The Wind Through the Keyhole, will be published sometime in Spring 2012. But like all of the Dark Tower novels, the new novel will be fully illustrated in the Grant Books release.

Now we know who the artist will be!
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