John Scalzi's Starter Villain had me laughing out loud. This twist on inheriting a wealthy relative's legacy is pure fun. Charlie, once a reporter turned struggling substitute teacher, unexpectedly inherits his long-lost Uncle Jake's business. But the surprise is it's a Super Villain business, complete with a volcano island lair and super intelligent cats. The comical journey from teacher to supervillain is a hilarious and imaginative ride. ~ Reviewed by Ben Parker
Martha Wells, author of one of my favorite science fiction series The Murderbot Diaries, returns with an interesting new fantasy. The demon Kai awakes to find himself buried in a watery grave. The book alternates between the past and present as we learn why Kai lives in a human body on our plane and he tries to determine who tried to kill him. And along the way he reminds his enemies why he is the Witch King. It takes a bit for the storylines to start to interconnect but I am pulled into wanting to know more about this new world and the dynamics between the friendships. ~ Reviewed by Ben Parker
A perfect title for this frantic whirlwind ride through the Building, a skyscraper in a metaverse where each floor is a world, as the forces of both science and magic battle for control. The pace can be frantic and absurd but sometimes you just need a storyline that is really out there. ~ Reviewed by Ben Parker
Continues the adventure begun in Kagen the Damned. Kagen is on the run from the army of the Witch-King. But he is pulling an array of allies to his cause as proves he can live up to the name Vale. But the Witch-King is not idle as he seeks more aid from the original dark gods and has no qualms about releasing some horrific weaponry. What has led the Witch-King down this dark road and how far will Kagen go to get those answers? ~ Reviewed by Ben Parker
A wonderful dark fantasy story of revenge. Kagen Vale, the valiant palace guard captain, wakes from a drunken stupor to find in one deadly strike all his royal wards have been killed along with his family including his famous duelist mother, the Poison Rose. Feeling his gods have turned their backs on him, Kagen is determined to have revenge against the invaders. But first Kagen has to climb out of the bottle and find himself again. ~ Reviewed by Ben Parker