Interview with Evette Davis, author of The Others (The Council Trilogy, Book 1)

Today it gives the Speculative Fiction Showcase great pleasure to interview Evette Davis, whose debut novel The Others (The Council Trilogy, Book 1) was published on 17th September 2024.

The protagonist, Olivia Shepherd, is a political consultant, and so are you. How much is Olivia based on yourself?  

All her bad habits are mine. I’m only half joking…she’s a mix of dozens of consultants I’ve known throughout my career. She’s also an amalgamation of lots of women I’ve known over the years who have struggled with how to find their voice as they move through the world. 

The Others is set in contemporary San Francisco, where you live now. How far is the city itself a character or theme in the novel?

San Francisco plays a significant role in the story because the City is full of supernatural beings, sometimes obscured by our world-famous fog. Major landmarks are featured. For example, the DeYoung Museum is the headquarters of a secret society Olivia is asked to join. I love San Francisco and the Bay Area, and it was a pleasure weaving familiar places into the story. Hopefully, readers will get a kick out of seeing familiar landmarks in a new light.  

Olivia discovers that she is an empath and is drawn into a magical underside to San Francisco, the realm of “The Others.” What can you tell us about the Others and the world they inhabit? 

The Council is the magical entity we need right now: a secret society of supernatural beings – witches, vampires, shapeshifters, etc. – who intervene in world politics and events to maintain the balance of peace. Their members are, in some cases, hundreds of years old and have experienced many wars and events and try to avoid similar things from happening in the future. They are headquartered in San Francisco but have offices and members worldwide. As far as San Francisco goes, these supernatural beings are living their lives in parallel to humans, riding the subway and pitching in major league baseball teams just like anyone else. 

You have spoken of your dislike of fascism and xenophobia. How far are these themes woven into the novel? 

They’re woven into the entire trilogy. In The Others, Olivia runs an election for a congressional candidate, and there is an opponent. The political race allows me to explore the fragile nature of our public discourse and the stark choices people must make these days when choosing leaders.  It’s a theme that follows all three books in The Council Trilogy. Think of it as a supernatural West Wing. 

You describe The Others as an urban fantasy. What does that mean to you? 

Fantasy stories set in contemporary, urban settings. As opposed to Middle Earth. 

What characters does Olivia meet on her journey into the world of the Others, and who is William? 

The first person she meets is Elsa, her spirit guide and a time walker sent to look after her. From there, she’s introduced to Gabriel Laurent, the head of the Council and a powerful French witch. Her best friend is Lily. She is a San Francisco librarian and a fairy. William is a 190-year-old vampire. The two meet by chance and are drawn to one another. William becomes her lover, but his secrets threaten to keep them apart.  

How did you research and create the mythology of the story and set it against a contemporary backdrop? 

The backdrop was the easy part. I’ve lived in San Francisco for more than twenty years, so it’s very familiar to me. The mythology took some time as I explored the characters and fleshed them out. When I started writing, I knew I wanted my main characters to be modern versions of witches, vampires, and shapeshifters who hide in plain sight of the people around them. 

Would you call The Others a Romantasy, and how do you feel about writing romantic scenes?

I guess it is!  I like writing romantic/ sexy scenes, especially if my characters have great chemistry, like Olivia and William. 

Why is the theme of female empowerment important to you, and in your writing?

It’s the puzzle I try to solve in my own life as a leader and professional. How do women find their power, their agency? How do they learn to use it constructively? How do we get or stay comfortable with authority, especially in a world where many people dislike strong women? My stories examine those issues, albeit camouflaged by fantasy or dystopian themes. 

How do you balance life as a writer with a demanding day-job?

I’m also married and the mother of a college-age daughter. I guess my answer is that I continue to struggle for balance. Some weeks, I make plenty of time for writing. Other times, it must be postponed. Deadlines help me focus, and I haven’t watched television for many years. I’ve given up kicking back in the evenings after dinner to write. 

The Others is part of a trilogy - how do you see it developing? 

Great question! The second book in the series – The Gift – will be published in March 2025. The third and final book – The Campaign - will be out in the fall of 2025. In book two, Olivia finds herself in Eastern Europe hunting an enemy. Her revenge quest is almost her undoing, and then, in the last book, she battles a familiar foe while trying to elect a woman president. There will be lots of near-death experiences and some romantic twists and turns. 

The novel contrasts the politics of present-day San Francisco with that of the magical realm. How did you compare and contrast those different kinds of intrigue?

For the contemporary characters of The Council, their magic is secondary to the political conditions, and they find themselves reacting as any human might with a few twists. For example, the Nazis in WWII knew vampires were working in the resistance and killed them when captured but used traditional means: i.e., a wooden stake and the removal of their head. But there are specific rules that apply to their world. Witches are forbidden to mate with humans, for example, but here is Olivia, Gabriel’s daughter, through an ill-fated romance. 

What do you like to read, when you have time? 

I read lots of sci-fi, fantasy, and non-fiction. I’m reading The Black Bird Oracle, Book 5 in the All Souls Series by Deborah Harkness. Next up is The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo. I am also a sucker for historical romances. Especially series like The Ravenels by Lisa Kleypas. They all have happy endings and feisty female characters who defy the odds, and they’re so different from what I’m writing that I can laugh and enjoy myself without introducing problems for the characters dancing around in my head. 

Are there any writers whose work you particularly admire?

There are too many to list, but a few that I would mention are Deborah Harkness, Ursula Le Guin, Elizabeth Kostova, Samantha Whisky, Ilona Andrews, and Jesse Mihalik. Lisa Kleypas and Nora Roberts are my heroes. I return again and again to the poetry of T.S. Eliot and E.E. Cummings, and I’ve been known to re-read Macbeth from time to time. 

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About Evette Davis:

Evette Davis is a science-fiction and fantasy writer. She is most recently the author of “48 States,” which Kirkus named one of the Best Indie Books of 2022. The book was also a quarter-finalist for the BookLife Prize 2023 and longlisted in the 2023 Indie Book Awards.  

Davis is also the author of The Others, the first installment of The Council Trilogy, released in September 2024 by Spark Press. 

Davis is a member of the Board of Directors for Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival. In 2023 and 2017, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library honored Davis as a Library Laureate. Her work has also been published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

When she’s not writing novels, Davis advises some of the country’s largest corporations, nonprofits and institutions as a consultant and co-owner of BergDavis Public Affairs, an award-winning San Francisco-based consulting firm. Before establishing her firm, Davis worked in Washington as a press secretary for a member of Congress. She previously was a reporter for daily newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Davis splits her time between San Francisco and Sun Valley, Idaho.

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The Sum of All Things (City States Cycle, Book 10) by Seb Doubinsky

Release date: November 5, 2024

Subgenre: Dystopian fiction

 

About The Sum of All Things:

 

The highly anticipated final installment in Seb Doubinsky’s City-States Cycle is smart, subtle and unputdownable! 

 

In New Samarqand, trouble is brewing: The king is very ill, nobody knows who will succeed him and terrorist groups are plaguing the city-state. In the eye of the storm, the National Museum is opening a new wing displaying the magnificent tomb of two Amazon sisters, who fell in battle together. Following parallel lines in this ominous labyrinth, Hokki, the new museum director, Ali the police commissioner, Kassandra, the poet, Thomas, the used-books seller and Vita, the secret agent from Planet X try to keep the pieces together and fight against the forces of chaos threatening their very existence.

 

Excerpt: 

 

VITA

The sun cut the bed sheets in two halves, one golden, one light blue. Through the open window, Vita could hear the early morning traffic, shouts, a woman’s laughter, the sound of a radio, the reassuring litany of daily life. For how long? she thought. For how long before all this is corrupted and gone, a washed-out memory, people will think it’s from old films and not from their own lives? Sitting up in the bed, she combed her short hair with her fingers. She had dyed it a boring brown to remain under the radar. Or the radars, plural. She had changed her looks right before arriving here, three weeks ago—an eternity you could say if you looked at her former life; an instant, a mere second if you looked at the bigger, cosmic picture. Time was the essence of her action—a paradox as she had both plenty of and yet not enough.

The sunrays caressed her naked body, feeling the muscles, appreciating the curves. She shook her head vigorously, chasing away the last inky drops of sleep that marred her consciousness. Her hand felt the empty space beside her, then the warmth of her pillow—her own warmth. How long since she had loved? Longer than she had been loved, in any case. Poor Thomas, Terrence, Paul, Vladimir and Hassan. She had loved Thomas. He had been the only one. She had loved him and they had killed him. The other guys, no, they had all survived—maybe because she hadn’t loved them. Love was lethal: it was the essence of death, not of life. The rarest and most dangerous poison. And if, by chance, you survived, you remained crippled forever.

She stood up and got dressed quickly. Jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket. The bare essentials. The hotel room was sparsely furnished, but comfortable—a table, two chairs, a cupboard (painted blue), the bed and nothing else. The smell of beeswax and dust floated around her, prickling her nose. She glanced at the blue sky framed by the window as a painting of impossible beauty and thought about the invisible machine in the sky, the Subliminal Empire’s technological eye, watching this planet while it was slowly destroying it.

 

HOKKI

The plane landed with a screech and a brutal sway, throwing all passengers both forward and sideways. Samarqandi Airlines were famous for their deadly crashes and Hokki muttered a silent prayer to an unknown God, which proved incredibly efficient as they stopped, unharmed, a few seconds later. Nobody clapped though, as they would have in the West. Instead the passengers turned to each other, smiled and shook hands. Hokki did the same with a wrinkled old lady wearing a traditional embroidered blue cotton gown and a flat cloth hat of the same color. She raised her hand above her head, saying something he didn’t understand. He then realized she was gesturing that he was very tall, which was true. He was a big man by Western standards, a giant of legends here. He nodded and they laughed together, the tiny woman hiding her mouth with her hand, he making the “ho-ho-hos” of a giant. Grabbing his bag to get off the plane, he told himself the adventure had just begun and that he had almost been killed from the start.

 

THOMAS

Thomas immediately recognized the short round man who walked into his shop, stumbling over the doormat.

“Commissioner-General Shakr Bassam!” he said from behind his counter, smiling. “Are you coming to my shop to arrest me or to buy a book?”

“Commissioner-General First Class,” the policeman corrected him as he made his way between the colorful shelves. “And don’t you joke about being arrested. It pains me. Can we go talk in your office?”

“Sure,” Thomas said, leading the way between the shelves.

The policeman’s somber look was a strange thing to behold with such a usually jovial man.

They both settled in the worn-out red designer leather armchairs decorating his tiny backroom office. He had bought the pair for a few bills at the flea market. The vendor had assured him they came from the Viborg City embassy when it was shut down during the Southeast Chinese world war—the war in which Thomas had directly participated with his hacker group by bringing down a Western Alliance military satellite, forcing him into exile in this city. He was now a political refugee, protected by New Samarqand through his friend Ali, who was the head cop of the city-state and who had helped him buy this bookstore and set up his new identity. Thomas considered the chairs as indirect spoils of war, enjoying their solid comfort with a zest of satisfying revenge.

“So?” Thomas said as Ali made sure he wasn’t sitting on the tail of his jacket.

“I have sad and worrying news, my friend. The king is very, very ill,” the policeman said, almost whispering.

Thomas nodded, waiting for his friend and protector to continue.

“I am worried about the rumors I am getting. Bad times ahead, I’m afraid.” the policeman added gloomily.

Thomas knew that if Ali Shakr Bassam said he was worried about the situation, then things were indeed really bad, as the policeman was prone to understatements. They both stared pensively at the poster of the goddess Nut decorating the opposing wall. She was the symbol of their secret congregation, the Egregorians, keepers and protectors of culture. Founded in 1934, just after the first Nazi public book-burnings, by a group of Jewish and non-Jewish writers, artists, psychoanalysts, politicians and intellectuals, the Egregorian Society was dedicated to fight intolerance in all its cultural forms. An égrégore was the spiritual and carnal manifestation of the common desire of a community, becoming an extremely powerful negative entity. It was, in short, a political monster. For them, Nazism was an égrégore, announced by the cultural wave of antisemitism that had preceded it. The same was true for Stalinism and any totalitarian movement that suddenly seized power through a revolution, be it political or religious. In their eyes, the only way you could efficiently fight and ultimately destroy such monsters was by using the same weapon against them: to build a cultural positively charged invisible “Golem,” ultimately stronger than the negatively charged spiritual monster.

The Egregorian Society had moved to New Istanbul in 1936, and after the war had one chapter on every continent and main city-states, each with a secret library, containing manuscripts and publications of authors censored in their own countries. Commissioner-General First Class Ali Shakr Bassam was the head of the Egregorian Society Section in New Samarqand and Thomas was its librarian and archivist.

“I can make some tea,” Thomas offered, but Shakr Bassam placed his hand on the young man’s forearm before he could move.

“No time,” he said. “I am only here to tell you of the situation and to organize a meeting as soon as possible. I had a quick talk over the phone with our fellow members. They agree that the times are dire. Something bad is going to happen. I know it. We all know it. Who knows what will happen with the twins when the king is dead? What will they do? Is there going to be a civil war when one of them is chosen to be king or queen?”

The twins were the ailing king Ujal’s children, Princess Farah and Prince Hamad. If New Samarqand was a relatively functioning democracy, with various parties and a rather precarious freedom of speech, it was also a monarchy.

Allied with the Chinese Confederation, it was considered one of the “evil powers” by the Western Alliance, and had therefore suffered many years from a strict economic blockade. The timid political reforms undertaken by king Ujal in the past three years had gradually thawed the city-state’s relations with the Western Alliance, but it was still under hard scrutiny, and the question of who was going to be his successor was considered a crucial test.

“What do you want me to do?” Thomas asked.

“I need you to do some . . . um, research for me. You know, check the usual suspects’ emails and such. And some embassies too.”

Thomas nodded. He was not only the Egregorians’ librarian and archivist, he was also their best hacker.

“Sure,” he said.

The policeman got up and turned around before leaving the small room, like a chubby Inspector Columbo.

“One last thing,” he said. “Before all the rest, check this person out. It might be important.”

He handed Thomas a small piece of paper.

“Hokki Makkonen,” the librarian read out loud. “Who’s that?”

“Exactly what I want to know,” the Commissioner said, before disappearing among the unsorted piles of books.

 

KASSANDRA

Naila walked into the little study and frowned at the gray cloud of smoke surrounding her companion and official employer, the world-famous poet Kassandra Alexopoulos, who was sitting at her desk, typing on her laptop, smoking her pipe, and dressed in her bathrobe.

“Phew!” Naila said. “You could have at least opened the window, Kassie!”

“I am working,” Kassandra quipped.

“You can work, take a pause and smoke in the garden. Here, I brought you a glass of tea. And you should get dressed. We’re going to be late.”

Kassandra sighed and picked up the hot glass from its saucer, holding it by the rim.

“I don’t want to go,” she said.

Naila rolled her eyes. “You’re like an impossible child sometimes,” she scolded her partner. “It’s important. People are counting on you.”

“It’s a just a poetry festival. Nobody cares about poetry anymore.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk! Don’t be a diva.”

“But I am a diva,” Kassandra smirked.

“So be a diva in front of your audience. It’s much more gratifying.”

Kassandra put down her glass and stretched her arms with a long sigh.

“Yes, you are right.”

She turned off her laptop and got up.

“I will get dressed and sing my poems to the world,” she said dramatically, then burst into a laughter, joined by Naila.

“Who said poetry should be a serious thing, anyway?” she asked no one in particular, and disappeared into her bedroom.

 

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About Seb Doubinsky:

Seb Doubinsky is a bilingual writer born in Paris in 1963. His novels, all set in a dystopian universe revolving around competing cities-states, have been published in the UK and in the USA. He currently lives with his family in Aarhus, Denmark, where he teaches at the university.

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About Meerkat Press: 

 Meerkat Press is an independent publisher committed to finding and publishing exceptional, irresistible, unforgettable fiction. And despite the previous sentence, we frown on overuse of adjectives and adverbs in submissions. *smile*

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Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for November 1, 2024

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with Masters of the Universe in general, Agatha All Along and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, Star Trek Lower Decks and Star Trek in general, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars in general, What We Do in the Shadows, Venom: The Last Dance, season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina, The Penguin, Generation Z, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, The Franchise, Teacup, Before, Time Cut, Terrifier 3, allegations against Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, tributes to Teri Garr, a whole lot of horror and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Reactor shares the most iconic speculative fiction books of the 21st century.
  
• Gabino Iglesias shares four new horror novels to enjoy this month.
  
• Ratika Deshpande shares nine SFF stories about living with magical creatures. 
• Yvonne Battle-Felton shares horror novels set in beautiful places.
  
• Delilah S. Dawson shares five horror novels featuring writers, artists and other haunted creatives. 
• J.R. Forasteros shares ten overlooked recent horror novels and movies. 
• Andrew Michael Hurley takes a look at the connection between folk horror and climate change.
  
• Joe George notes that horror has always been political.
  
• Joshua Rothman wonders whether Steampunk can save the world.
  
• Micaiah Johnson talks about feeling discomfort with stories of rebellion against political oppression after the riots on January 6, 2021 in Washington DC. 
  
• Alan Moore declaims that fandom has become toxic.
  
• Alexandra Alter profiles Susannah Clarke.
  
• Dalya Alberge reports that Tove Jansson's notes on the Moomins will be published for the first time.
• Issue 86 of Journey Planet on the subject "Dracula - Friend or Foe" has been published. 
• Weird fiction scholar Scott Connors has died.
  

 

Discussion of the allegations against Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki:

• Erin Cairns accuses Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki of unethical conduct. 
• Mike Glyer shares Erin Cairns' report as well as a round-up of responses from the SFF community. 
• Jason Sanford shares responses to the allegations against Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki.
• Camestros Felapton discusses the allegations against Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki in the context of various violations of community trust in the SFF community in 2024.
• The African Speculative Fiction Society shares a statement on Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
  
• SFWA reports that Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpekihas been removed as director-at-large in response to the allegations.

 

Comics and Art:

• Charlie Jane Anders explains why she dislikes the Death of Superman storyline.
• Artist Alex Ross shares his history with the Fantastic Four. 
• Leah Thomas talks about the manga series The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren and what it told her about herself.
  
• James Bacon shares his thoughts on the Stop Project 2025 comic project initiated by several comic creators.
• Sam Wolfson interviews Charles Burns.
  
• Tom Gauld shares a cartoon about relaxing with a book on Halloween. 
• Fan artist Bruce Townley has died aged 70.
• Comic artist Larry Todd has died aged 76. 
  

 

Film and TV:

• Peter Bradshaw calls Heretic a religious horror film starring a suave, dapper and evil Hugh Grant
  
• Phil Hoad calls Slingshot a solid science fiction film and praises the performance of Casey Affleck. 
• Jack Seale calls Nautilus half-baked and badly acted. 
• Luck Buckmaster calls The Moogai a haunting but somewhat underdeveloped horror film from Australia.
  
• Tara Bennett calls Your Monster a mess of conflicting genres. 
• Judith Tarr declares that The Loch Ness Horror is surprisingly not awful
• Stuart Heritage calls Team Jay one of the ugliest, most mindless kids shows ever 
• Lucy Mangan declares that it is impossible not to be horrified by the documentary Eternal You about an attempt to create facsimiles of dead people via AI. 
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the documentary Doc of Chucky
  
• Ryan Gilbey calls Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story a fascinating tribute undermined by bombast
  
• Imogen Tilden shares her thoughts on the documentary Music by John Williams 
  
• James Melzer reports that the Irish horror movie Oddity has been named one of the scariest movies of all time. 
• Anne Billson traces the evolution of the horror movie from the silent era to today.
  
• Aaron Jones shares his favourite spooky movies and TV shows to enjoy this Halloween. 
• Writers of the Guardian list their scariest horror movie villains.
  
• Olivia Rutigliano wonders which horror movie villains would make the best detectives.
  
• Pamela McClintock explains why Hollywood studios are worried about a looming horror fatigue.
• Katie Rife discusses how horror and crime movies like Longlegs and Red Rooms use the cursed aesthetics of true crime
• Lorna Wallace shares five horror movies with subterranean settings. 
• The AV-Club shares horror movies where sex scenes actually move the plot forward.
  
• Maya Salam shares a compilation of newspaper headlines announcing the impending end of the world from SFF movies and TV shows. 
• Tim Robey lists ten movies which flopped upon release and then went on to become classics.  
  
• Spencer Bolletieri shares seven SFF movies which had tie-in cartoon series.
  
• Ben Child wonders how many more Tolkien inspired movies and TV shows we are going to get. 
• Justin Carter interviews Luci Christian and Leah Clark, two of the voice actors in the English language dub of My Hero Academia.  
• Amelia Tait interviews various former child actors who appeared in horror movies.
  
• Horror director James Wan shares his favourite vampire movies.
  
• Tyler Dean shares his ten favourite filmic Dracula portrayals.
  
• Jesse Hassenger revisits the Universal Frankenstein horror movie series from the 1930s and 1940s. 
  
• Fiona Moore revisits the 1960 science fiction horror film Village of the Damned. 
• Joe Reid revisits the 1969 science fiction movie Change of Mind.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1973 horror film The Baby and the 2006 horror film The Abandoned. 
• Don Kaye revisits the 1974 horror musical Phantom of Paradise.
  
• Emily Hughes revisits the 1976 horror movie The Omen. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 1978 horror movie Halloween.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1978 horror film The Manitou and the 2005 horror film The Descent.
  
• Arturo Serrano revisits the 1979 horror movie Dracula. 
• Haley Zapal revisits the 1979 science fiction horror movie Phantasm. 
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1980 slasher horror movies Friday the 13th and Prom Night.
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1980 horror movie The Changeling and the 1990 horror movie The Haunting of Morella.
  
• Arturo Serrano revisits the 1982 horror movie Poltergeist.
  
• Scott Tobias revisits the 1984 science fiction film The Terminator. 
• Ann Michelle Harris revisits the 1986 horror musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors.
  
• Ann Michell Harris revisits the 1994 vampire movie Interview With the Vampire. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1994 Babylon 5 episode “A Spider in the Web”
• Kenneth Lowe revisits the 1995 horror crime series American Gothic.
  
• Dan Persons revisits the 2014 horror movie The Babadook. 
  
• Adam Chitwood and Sharon Waxman report that Disney is about to launch a massive AI initiative focussing on post-production and visual effects.
  
• Brent Lang reports that according to a recent study, teenagers would prefer to see less sex in movies and TV shows.  
• Kim Willsher reports that the sexual assault trial of actor Gerard Depardieu in Paris, France, has been postponed, because Depardieu is allegedly too ill to attend. 

 

Comments on Masters of the Universe in general: 

• For Eternia reports that according to showrunner Kevin Smith, the possibility of the third season of Masters of the Universe Revelation/Revolution is up to Mattel and Dreamworks making a deal about the She-Ra rights.
  
• Isaiah Colbert interviews David Howe, Samuel Deats and Adam Deats of Powehouse Animation, the studio behind Masters of the Universe Revelation and Revolution, Castlevania, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, Blood of Zeus and many others.
  
• For Eternia has a page dedicated to the alphabet, grammar and lexicon of Kudu-Kesh, the conlang used in Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Revolution.
  
• James Eatock reports that the "Spirit of Evil" from the Filmation He-Man episode "The Wizard of Stone Mountain" was censored to make him less devilish to appease enraged parent groups.
  

 

Comments on Agatha All Along and the Marvel Cinematic and TV Universe in general: 

• Katie Campione shares her thoughts on the penultimate episode of Agatha All Along. 
• Dessi Gomez shares her thoughts on the finale of Agatha All Along.
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on the finale of Agatha All Along.
• Jen Lennon shares her thoughts on the finale of Agatha All Along. 
• Gordon Jackson shares his thoughts on the finale of Agatha All Along.  
• Avery Kaplan shares five things she loved about the Agatha All Along finale.
  
• Adam B. Vary interviews Jac Schaeffer, creator and showrunner of Agatha All Along. 
• Emiliana Betancourt interviews Daniel Selon, costume designer of Agatha All Along.
  
• Gordon Jackson takes a look at the comic book origins of the character Rio Vidal from Agatha All Along.
• Matt Schimkowitz declares that Marvel should lean into horror tropes more often.
  
• Watch a teaser for various upcoming Marvel projects. 
• Germain Lussier lists 21 cool things he spotted in the Marvel overview trailer.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek in general: 

• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks. 
• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.  
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel”, the latest episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.   
• Avery Kaplan shares eight excellent ensemble episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks.
  
• Jeri Taylor, producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation and co-creator of Star Trek Voyager, has died aged 86.
• Natalie Oganesyan shares an obituary for Jeri Taylor 
• Matt Schimkowitz remembers Jeri Taylor.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars in general: 

• Ramin Setoodeh interviews Jude Law, star of the upcoming Star Wars series Skeleton Crew.
• Germain Lussier notes that a potential season 2 of Skeleton Crew could be facing the same issue facing Stranger Things and other shows with an overwhelmingly young cast, namely that child and teen actors grow up faster than movies and TV shows can be made. 
• Lucas Seastrom interviews Iain McCraig, concept and storyboard artist for The Phantom Menace.
  

 

Comments on season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina: 

• Kathryn Porter declares that The Legend of Vox Machina will never let us down
• Cassie Holguin shares her thoughts on the season 3 premiere of The Legend of Vox Machina. 
• Cassie Holguin shares her thoughts on the second episode of season 3 of The Legend of Vox Machina.  
• Anna Govert interviews the voice cast of The Legend of Vox Machina. 

 

Comments on Teacup: 

• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the penultimate episode of Teacup.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the season finale of Teacup.
  

 

Comments on What We Do in the Shadows: 

• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In the Shadows.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In the Shadows.
  

 

Comments on Venom: The Last Dance: 

• Emmet Asher-Perrin hopes that Venom: The Last Dance won't be the final cinematic outing for Eddie Brock and Venom.
• Jesse Hassenger wonders what, if anything, the Venom: The Last Dance post-credits scenes mean?
• Brian Davids interviews Juno Temple who plays Teddy Paine in Venom: The Last Dance. 
• Gordon Jackson interviews Peggy Lu who plays Mrs. Chen in Venom: The Last Dance.
  
• Pamela McClintock reports that Venom: The Last Dance did decently at the box office, mostly due to international moviegoers.
  

 

Comments on Generation Z:  

• Lucy Mangan calls Generation Z a fun zombie Brexit satire that feels like The Walking Dead’s oddest spin-off yet
  
• Joel Golby declares that zombies are back with Generation Z. 

 

Comments on Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: 

• Pete Hammond calls Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl a cause for celebration 
• James Whitbrook declares that Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is a greatest hits movie, for better and worse
  

 

Comments on The Penguin: 

• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Penguin.
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Penguin.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Penguin.
• Ben Child explains why The Penguin is TV’s biggest surprise of the year
  
• Drew Taylor interviews Matt Reeves, executive producer of The Penguin.
  

 

Comments on The Franchise: 

• Jarrod Jones shares his thoughts on the latest episode of The Franchise.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of The Franchise.
  

 

Comments on Before: 

• Joel Golby calls Before a creepy drama that is perfect for Halloween. 
• Lucy Mangan calls Before a brilliant horror film. 
• Saloni Gajjar calls Before a glacially paced psychological thriller and another prestige misfire led by a big Hollywood name 
• Cheryl Eddy calls Before a chilling drama.
  

 

Comments on Time Cut: 

• Benjamin Lee calls Time Cut a time-travel slasher film with too much deja vu
• Jim Vorel calls Time Cut a limp time travel slasher.
  
• Matt Donato declares that Time Cut is not even the best "time-travel back to save your relative" slasher of the last few years.

 

Comments on Terrifier 3:  

• Germain Lussier wonders about the origin of Art the killer clown from the Terrifier movies. 
• Germain Lussier and Cheryl Eddy share their favourite horrifying kills in the Terrifier movies.
  

 

Tributes to Teri Garr:

• Actress Teri Garr, best known for her roles in Young Frankenstein, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Sting II, The Conversation and After Hours, has died aged 79. 
• Emma Keates remembers Teri Garr.
  

Awards:

• The finalists for the 2024 Kitschies have been announced. 
  
• The winners of the 2024 Geffen Awards have been announced.
• The winner of the 2024 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize has been announced.
  
• The winners of the 2024 Pegasus Awards have been announced.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Mike Glyer shares the results of the SFWA special elections.
  
• Scott H. Amdrews points out that the practice of not paying editors is limiting the range of editorial voices in SFF.
  
• Ella Creamer reports that Booker Prize winner Bernadine Evaristo has set up a writer's retreat in her cottage in Ramsgate, UK.
• A group of hundreds of authors including Irish writer Sally Rooney has called for a boycott of Israeli publishers and cultural institutions because of the war in Gaza.
• Another group of 1200 authors and other creatives, including thriller author Lee Child and Nobel Prize winners Herta Müller and Elfriede Jelinek resoundedly renounces the boycott of Israeli publishers and cultural institutions, pointing out that artists and writers are often opposed to the policies of their government.
  

 

Interviews:

• Scott Edelman interviews Wole Talabi.
• Imaginize World interviews Wole Talabi. 
• Any Brady interviews Jeff VanderMeer. 
• Shane Whaley interviews Nick Harkaway. 
• Lincoln Michel interviews David Small.
  

 

Reviews:

• Niall Harrison reviews Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Abigail Nussbaum reviews Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews The Tongue Trade by Michael J. Martineck
  
• Paul Di Filippo reviews Nether Station by Kevin J. Anderson
  
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Great When by Alan Moore  
• Sam Thielman reviews The Great When by Alan Moore  
  
• Blue Book Balloon reviews The Vengeance by Emma Newman  
• Liz Bourke reviews Oath of Fire by K. Arsenault Rivera
  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Ending Fire by Saara El-Arifi 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews The Mountain Crown by Karin Lowachee 
• Grimdark Magazine reviews A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon
• Alex Brown reviews Metal From Heaven by August Clarke
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The City in Glass by Nghi Vo 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Bloodless Princes by Charlotte Bond  
  
• Jen Lucas reviews The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman 
• Rob Bedford reviews Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh.
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Candle and Crow by Kevin Hearne 
• Jenny Hamilton reviews Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Magic by Sarah Pinborough  
  
• Tobias Carroll reviews The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry. 
• Clara Cohen reviews He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan 
  
• Leah Ning reviews Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell.
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Jekyll & Hyde: Consulting Detectives by Tim Major
• Aunt Agatha's reviews A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke.  
• Alexis Ong reviews Napalm in the Heart by Pol Guasch
  
• Chris Power reviews The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk 
• Tobias Carroll reviews The Repeat Room by Jesse Ball.
  
• Ian Mond reviews Ultra 85 by Logic a.k.a. Sir Robert Bryson Hall II
  
• Paperback Warrior reviews Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke 
• Runalong the Shelves reviews The Shetland Witch: Or, Atropos Wants Her Shears Back by Kate Macdonald
  
• Fiona Denton reviews The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister 
• Alex Puncekar reviews The Nightmarchers by J. Lincoln Fenn
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews The Hushed by K. R. Blair
  
• Randy Money reviews Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones. 
• Randy Money reviews The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones. 
• Rob Bedford reviews A Misfortune of Lake Monsters by Nicole M. Wolverton.
  
• Paperback Warrior reviews Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies by John Langan.
  
• Niall Harrison reviews A Jura for Julia by Ken MacLeod 
• Alex Preston reviews The Hotel by Daisy Johnson
• Sarah Crown reviews The Hotel by Daisy Johnson 
• John Mauro reviews The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror Volume 5, edited by Paula Guran 
• Mark Yon reviews Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews Fight Like A Girl - Volume 2, edited by Roz Clarke and Joanne Hall
  

 

Classics reviews:

• Randy Money revisits the 1897 horror novel The Beetle by Richard Marsh.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1923 horror novella Ooze by Anthony M. Rud.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1955 science fiction horror novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. 
• Joachim Boaz revisits the 1967 collection Best Science Fiction Stories of Clifford D. Simak by Clifford D. Simak
  
• Gideon Marcus revisits the November 1969 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
• Fiona Moore revisits the November 1969 issue of New Worlds. 
• Gideon Marcus revisits the November 1969 issue of Analog.
  
• Randy Money revisits the 1971 horror novel The Other by Thomas Tryon. 
• Alan Brown revisits the 1975 anthology The Best of Planet Stories, edited by Leigh Brackett
• Brian Collins revisits the 1976 speculative fiction story “My Boat” by Joanna Russ
• Brian Collins revisits the 1977 science fiction story “Manatee Gal Ain’t You Coming Out Tonight” by Avram Davidson
• Brian Collins reviews the 1978 horror story “Hear Me Now, My Sweet Abbey Rose” by Charles L. Grant
• Sarah McCarry revisits the 1979 fantasy novel The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.
  
• Randy Money revisits the 1981 occult detective collection Lonely Vigils by Manly Wade Wellman.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1986 horror novel Chopping Mall by Brian G. Berry.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1988 horror novel Blood Farm by Sam Siciliano.
  
• Octothorpe revisit the 1989 science fiction novel Grass by Sheri S. Tepper. 
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1990 horror novel Thrill by Patricia Wallace. 
• Warner Holme revisits the 1993 historical fantasy novel A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer reports that Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, is bidding for the 2030 Worldcon.
  
• Mike Glyer reports about the 2024 Trieste Science+Fiction Festival in Trieste, Italy, which is also the 2024 Italcon.
  
• James Folta reports that Bob Dylan, singer/songwriter and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, accidentally found himself at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, and went looking for Crystal Lake Publishing. 
• Locus shares a photo of the Brooklyn Books and Booze event in Brooklyn, New York.
  
• Mitch Speed reports about the H.R. Giger and Mire Lee exhibition at the Schinkel Pavillon in Berlin, Germany.
• Hannah Frishberg reports that showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with full audience participation are on the rise in New York City with more than forty happening in October alone.
  
• Elizabeth McCafferty talks about a haunted house in San Diego, California, that became steadily more extreme over the years until abuse and injuries were common  
• Vivian Wang and Muyi Xiao report that authorities in Shanghai, China are increasingly cracking down on Halloween celebrations in the city.
  
• Tobias Carroll reports that literary publishers are increasingly embracing the type of midnight release party once pioneered by highly anticipated YA and SFF books.
  

 

Crowdfunding:

• The 2024 WMG Publishing Holiday Spectacular is looking for funding.

 

Science and technology:

• Elizabeth Howell reports that an astronaut aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was inujured during splashdown.
• Chandelis Duster reports that witch and curse marks have been discovered on the walls of a manor house in Gainsborough, UK.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Omar Gallaga reviews the Rocky Horror Picture Show Video Game.
• Justin Carter calls Dragon Age: The Veilguard solid, familiar and well overdue
  
• Garrett Martin interviews John Epler, creative director of  Dragon Age: The Veilguard 
  
• BBC Witness History interviews Luke Gygax, son of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons. 
• Stewart A. Shearer shares a Little D&D adventure called "Night of the Dragon-Sitters"
  
• Tim Clare talks about the benefit of games or whether it even matters if games have any benefit at all.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• For Eternia reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection She-Ra, Mantenna and Ram-Man.
  
• Gordon Jackson shares a look at an upcoming wave of Hasbro Marvel Legends action figures that ties in to Captain America: New World Order.
• Cat Eldridge shares a photo of their collection of Baby Groot figures.
• Adam McComb takes a look at the 1986 Mattel Masters of the Universe Stilt Stalkers accessory set. 
• Watch "The Collector", a stop motion animated film featuring the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection action figures.
  
• Cora Buhlert shares a Masters-of-the-Universe-Piece Theatre Halloween Special toy photo story called “The Tomb of Sibor”
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Sully the God" by Philip Gelatt and J.T. Petty in Lightspeed. 
• "Things Lost Forever" by Auston Habershaw in Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 
• "Where They Sleep" by Heather Clitheroe in Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
  
• "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackened Husk of a Planet" by Adeline Wong in Strange Horizons. 
  
• "All the Rainbows We Shed" by Jennifer Lesh Fleck in Trollbreath.
• "Tell Me The Count" by Jonathan Olfert in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "Just a Little Chat" by Steven French in Wyldblood. 
• "The Empty Ones" by Vivian Shaw in The Deadlands.
  
• "After Stasis" by R.T. Ester in Interzone Digital.
• “Patrons” by Cassidy McFadzean in Future Tense Fiction.
  
• "Die Ravanche" by Leanna Renee Hieber by The Sunday Morning Transport. 
• "NotRob" by Isabel Cañas in Nightmare Magazine.
  

 

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for That Christmas. 
• Watch a trailer for Paddington in Peru. 
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Squid Game. 
• Watch a trailer for Presence.
  
• Watch a trailer for Frank Miller: American Genius.
  

 

 

Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for October 2024

 

It’s that time of the month again, time for “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of speculative fiction by indie and small press authors newly published this month, though some September books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Once again, we have new releases covering the whole broad spectrum of speculative fiction. This month, we have urban fantasy, epic fantasy, historical fantasy, fantasy mysteries, fantasy romance, paranormal mysteries, paranormal romance, space opera, military science fiction, near future science fiction, horror, space marines, lost starships, immortals, demons, guardian angels, ghosts, crime-busting witches and much more.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

Recon Marine by Jonathan P. Brazee:

Anxious to forge her own path away from her father's shadow, the newly minted Second Lieutenant Esther Lysander jumps into her first command, an infantry platoon. Driven to excel, she's not going to let anything get in her way as she climbs to the top.

Leading a pack of Marines, however, requires more than just courage and understanding the tactics of war.

She has to lead, not merely command.

As much as she wants to succeed in her own right, it isn't that easy. For good and bad, everyone knows who she is and the legacy she carries.

She can't escape the Lysander name.

Sentinel of Time by Lindsay Buroker:

Kaylina must dodge assassins and kidnappers while revelations about her past, and power she never knew she had, stun her to the core.

She has the support of Lord Vlerion, the ranger she’s developed feelings for, but he has problems of his own, and an insidious plot threatens to take him from her forever.

The Unknown by M.R. Forbes:

A starship lost. An enemy revealed. A galaxy on the precipice of extermination.

Soren hasn’t found his daughter, but the terrifying truth of her disappearance has come to light, and with it knowledge of a threat beyond imagination. With the Federation woefully unprepared and the Wraith and her crew grounded, nothing can slow the coming storm.

Like his father, Alex refuses to give up, and he’s not about to let anything stand in his way. He’ll do whatever it takes to see Soren and the Wraith back in the fight.

Otherwise, there won’t be anything left to fight for.

All Heck Broken Loose by Rachel Ford

Halloween is finally here, which means it’s finally time for Marshmeadow’s festival to celebrate the opening of the all-new downtown. It also means it’s the time when the veil between the worlds of the living and dead is thinnest and most vulnerable.

Tennessee Evans couldn’t be more excited. Her big plans for the town have finally come to fruition, and Marshmeadow is buzzing. Little did she expect a group of rogue souls to take advantage of the same weekend to break out of the afterlife.

With the town flooded with malicious spirits intent on some serious haunting, it looks like her triumph might become a disaster.

Fortunately, her guardian angel is on the job, dispatching friendly ghosts to help round up the escapees.

Unfortunately, there’s something far more malicious than rogue souls prowling Marshmeadow. There’s also a killer haunting the busy streets…

The Hawthorne University Witch Series Collection by A.L. Hawke:

The Hawthorne University Witch Series, Books 4-6, is now available in this three-book collection. This trilogy is a standalone series that can be enjoyed without having read the previous books.

Witch Mirror, Book 4:Reflections of a wicked witch. Cadence Hawthorne's love life is threatened by a demon-witch, but she has her teacher’s magic to protect her. Actually, not only does she have her magic, she has Alondra’s spirit inside her, possessing her.

Ravens, Book 5: When evil lands on my doorstep. Cadence’s friends believe she is fighting a curse. But Cadence feels like she has to do whatever it takes to save the town, even if it means teaming up with her archenemy witch, Enora. Evil empowers Cadence, but her dark spellcasting threatens to drive a stake right through her heart and the heart of Hawthorne University.

Shadow Cast, Book 6: You can't cast shadows in darkness.Enora claims Cadence is haunting her coven’s dreams. A séance is performed. But during the séance, Cadence doesn’t just see ghosts or spirits, she sees evil. Her new revelation might be enough to protect Bryce and her unborn baby—or save her greatest adversary.

Content warning: The Hawthorne University Witch Series is a new adult college paranormal romance containing profanity, sexual scenes, adult situations, and, of course, witchcraft.

Hexy Hijinks by Amanda M. Lee

Luna Thorn was happy being a witch. Being a traveler is another thing entirely. Just when she thinks she’s ready to wrap her head around her new reality, though, things fall apart.
Again.

Absolute chaos descends on Detroit when a federal investigator focuses his attention on Luna…and he seems determined to take her down.

Paranormal problems are one thing. Being considered a suspect in the death of a man masquerading as a police officer is another. Wherever Luna goes, the Feds follow…and it’s seriously cramping her style.

The last thing she needs is another problem. So, of course, the past she can’t remember comes back to haunt her at the exact wrong time.
With her powers going haywire—the past overlapping with the present at regular intervals—Luna is in big trouble. It’s the sort of trouble a jail cell won’t help.

Between mob bosses, gorgons, federal agents, and a past that just won’t quit, Luna is in over her head.

Then the mage and god come to town and make things worse.

Strap in for excitement, because Luna’s world is about to explode. Will she survive to rebuild it yet again?

The Starlight Contingency by Kyoko M.

Orphaned siblings Scarlett and Duke Nam have had it rough. Cast aside by society, they've managed to stay afloat as thieves on the streets of Alexandria, Virginia. Things plunge straight to hell when a heist goes wrong and they're on the run from the cops, but after they stumble into a nearby home to escape, something seemingly impossible happens - the house transforms into a spacecraft and leaves the Earth's orbit.

Scarlett and Duke awaken to find that they are now prisoners aboard the Titan International Spaceship. The Earth has been destroyed by the Bergleute des Todes, AKA The Miners of Death. Scarlett and Duke are given the chance to become soldiers to fight the alens who destroyed the world.

The only thing left for them is the hardest thing of all: Survival.

The Starlight Contingency is the new space opera from USA Today best selling author Kyoko M. (She Who Fights Monsters, Of Cinder and Bone).

The Dream Haunters by Megan Mary

Hannah Skye, a young woman in search of meaning, receives a cryptic letter from her missing and eccentric Aunt Jewelia. Her experience of a recurring powerful pumpkin patch dream unfolds into a spiritual journey to a mysterious island of eternal autumn, Maple Hollow, where she discovers the mystical Skye Manor and her magickal family legacy.

Haunted by shapeshifters bent on trapping people in their nightmares, Hannah, with the help of wise villagers and feline companions (including a talking cat dream guide), must solve the riddle, unlock her powers, and dive into the dream dimension to save her aunt by Halloween night, when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.

Escape into this metaphysical mystery of magick, where spells, music, and dreams converge in a vortex of secret societies and spiritual inheritance. Travel beyond time and space into a world of unexpected portals, ancient traditions, and dreamscapes.

Lifers by Keith G. McWalter

Electric with compelling action and trenchant social commentary and perfect for fans of Nikki Erlick’s The Measure, this genre-straddling work of speculative fiction examines ageism from a new and challenging perspective.

In the year 2050, the man known as Zinn is on the run from the consequences of his greatest creation: an artificial genome that wildly increases the human lifespan. His “Methuselah gene” has gone viral, and he’s being hunted by Adele, a semi-retired CIA biowarfare specialist who hopes to find a way to reverse the genome’s effects before it’s too late.

As the longevity plague spreads, populations explode, economies are upended, and intergenerational resentments boil over. Adele searches for a cure while her former lover, Dan Altman, and his wife, Marion, wealthy political operatives both, become leaders of a movement of hundred-plus-year-old “lifers” and fight to create a sanctuary for the ultra-aged in the wilds of Colorado. Meanwhile, the Altmans’ son, Nolan, thinks he has the answer to the longevity crisis: a suicide pill that kills after one year, a death wish algorithm that will influence the super-aged to take it, and his beautiful daughter, Claire, who is a spokesperson for the growing anti-lifer backlash and the head of the federal government’s new Department for Longevity Management.

Combining a hugely topical premise with a vein of social-political satire, Lifers evokes a world where society’s ingrained ageism turns lethal and the fear of death is replaced by the challenge of living on . . . and on.

Point of Knives by Melissa Scott

Nicolas Rathe and Philip Eslingen are back, drawn together from opposite sides of the law to investigate a series of murders whose impact stretches deep into Astreiant’s underworld. Eslingen is now a professional knife working for a prominent crimelord while Rathe is an Adjunct Point, sworn to uphold the city’s laws. By rights, they should be wary foes, but instead they find themselves sharing an investigation as well as a bed as their search takes them into the heart of Point of Knives and at its center, the Court of Thirty-two Knives, the hub of Astreiant’s underworld. A single misstep could mean disaster, a single doubt could be the end of all their hopes.

The Demon by Victory Witherkeigh:

The Demon is now in full possession of the Girl's body, and she is starting her journey in Berkeley, California. She should be thrilled and ecstatic?the plan worked!

Except she doesn't remember the plan. The Demon has memories of the Girl's life and vague impressions of a deal made with the Filipino warrior LapuLapu. She reconnects with her former master, Death, and discovers that her bargain went against his will.

Death's punishment is beyond her comprehension - enduring the cruelties of mortality and leaving her imprisoned in the former Girl's university life. Life experiences, toxic friendships, emotional and physical attachments, and finally, heartbreak prove sadistic even for a Demon.

Can a demon have an identity crisis? What happens when the Demon shows more independence of thought and understanding of the cycle of dependency?

Death isn't the only one waiting to find out...