Tag: Urban Fantasy Page 8 of 42

On May 19, 2023

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 22: Animals Instinct

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #21
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: May 18, 2023

I was reminded of the one time my father took me to a natural park…We had been walking for nearly 20 minutes in silence before we heard it shuffle through the underbrush ahead. A bear. Larger than life than [sic] and certainly bigger than any TV picture could have prepared me for. There was a switch in my head that knew immediately how dangerous it was.

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out. But first, the interrogation kicks off—Bonaduke tries to work his grift to get him out, and while that effort starts off promisingly…it didn’t quite go the way he’d intended.

What’s Animals Instinct About?

Bonaduke has a quick fantasy about how he can get himself out of the station–and how it would probably go wrong.

Then he gets an unexpected assist (that will likely come with strings attached) and gets out in a very different way.

Well, that’s about it.

So, what did I think about Animals Instinct?

There were a couple of nasty typos that really took me out of the moment, and given the brevity of the episode, that’s not good at all.

This was a quick one and Slaywood acknowledges this in a note, but it does everything an episode needs to. Bonaduke gets out of the police station, we learned a little more about him, and there’s a good character moment. The story moved and it did so well.

And did we learn something about how the grift works? Mayyyybe. Now I’m excited.

3.5 Stars

Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire: Now, Where Were We? Oh, Right…

On May 15, 2023

In Fiction, InCryptid, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Backpacking Through Bedlam

by Seanan McGuire

DETAILS:
Series: InCryptid, #12
Publisher: Daw Books
Publication Date: March 07, 2023
Format: Trade Paperback
Length: 285 pg.
Read Date: March 30-April 3, 2023

Back to the Covenant Story

The first few books of this series featured an ongoing arc concerning the looming threat of an invasion of the Americas by The Covenant of St. George. In the fifth book, Chaos Choreography, Verity basically invited that invasion. In the next book, Antimony went undercover to infiltrate them in order to gather intel on the coming invasion—and we largely abandoned that storyline for the rest of the Antimony-trilogy (the Covenant was around, obviously, but other things seemed far more important most of the time). Then with the next three books, that storyline took a giant backseat and most of the action focused on non-Earthbound species and/or didn’t take place on Earth.

Now that Alice, Thomas, and Sally are back on Earth, we can rejoin the Covenant story, already in progress.

What’s Backpacking Through Bedlam About?

This is precisely what this novel is about—Alice trying to reintroduce Thomas and Sally to Earth (the latter will be far easier since she hasn’t been gone quite as long) while coming to fight alongside Verity’s ragtag “army” in New York to protect the dragon.

Thomas doesn’t have to just remember what Earth is like and catch up on a few decades worth of technological advances, political and cultural changes, etc.—he also has to get used to his wife again. They’ve both grown and changed—yes, still deeply in love and committed to each other. But…they’re not the same people they were when he left.

Meanwhile, Alice has to learn to accept Sally as the not-quite-adult-daughter she’s never met. And Sally has to figure out her place in her new family. All while Verity and the rest of the Prices are going to have to adjust to Thomas actually being alive.

And, yeah, they have to fight a war and protect as many cryptids as they can from the Covenant. Should be a walk in the park, right? Or maybe that’s where the titular Bedlam comes in.

So, what did I think about Backpacking Through Bedlam?

When Verity declared war, I remember being taken aback by it—but also thinking, “all right, now things will get really interesting!” Just for that to be pushed to the background—or not even discussed—for quite some time. After getting over my initial disappointment, I settled in and didn’t have a problem with it, because what we got was plenty entertaining and intriguing on its own—who needed them to be the focus of the antagonism when you had all this other stuff going on?

But, I tell you what, it felt good to get back to this story. I really appreciate that we came back to it as we did, with Alice and the others having to jump in and catch up. This made it easy for the reader to get backstory thrown at us and we didn’t have to go back to the time of Magic for Nothing or thereabouts to see watch the invasion.

This was a solid novel in the series, and I think will serve as a really good way for the next arc to launch—letting us see all the Prices (in one way or another) fighting the Covenant. I don’t have much to say beyond that—InCryptid books bring a lot of snark, a dash of romance, a good amount of action, and some interesting musings on life, family, and what makes a decent person (human or not). That’s what you get in Backpacking through Bedlam.

I have no idea what’s coming next—or who our primary character will be in the next book—and I don’t care. I’m just eager to see it.

This wouldn’t be a bad place to jump on—there’s enough recapping of various and sundry storylines going on that it’s probably the best one since the fifth book (books 1, 3, 5, and now, 12 I think are the optimal jumping-on points). Just know that if you try it, you’re going to want to go back to the beginning.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 21: Turn Around by R. T. Slaywood: The Aftermath

On May 5, 2023

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 21: Turn Around

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #21
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: April 20, 2023

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out. But first, the interrogation kicks off—Bonaduke tries to work his grift to get him out, and while that effort starts off promisingly…it didn’t quite go the way he’d intended.

What’s Turn Around About?

The effects of his grift were a bit more than Bonaduke was prepared for, but he’s able to push through the carnage and escape from the interrogation room—now he just has to get out of the police station. Which turns out to be more difficult than he’d bargained for.

Trying to move surreptitiously around while looking for an exit, Bonaduke thinks about what he left in that interrogation room and what the ramifications will be for someone other than himself. This bit of reflection leads him to a decision—which we’ll probably get to see in Episode 22.

So, what did I think about Turn Around?

I was both eager and nervous after the last episode. Will we get some more water-treading or will he keep things moving in the same vein? Thankfully, the answer was pretty much the latter.

My initial reaction was that there was something missing from this episode, just a little something that would’ve really helped it come together. But I have no idea what that could be—the more I ponder, the less I can think of that’d be missing. I guess maybe knowing exactly what his plan is at the end would’ve helped, but that’s supposed to propel us into Ep. 22, so I can understand the choice to keep it from us.

Other than that, this really clicked—we get to see his reaction to the events of Room 5 and his scrambling to make the most of it. There’s a lot of tension from the anticipation of action—and Slayton executes it this time in a way that moves things forward, we’re not standing still with indecision here.

A great touch was Bonaduke thinking of others—and not just in a “how can I avoid or get something from them” kind of way. We haven’t really gotten a lot of that kind of thing in the previous 20 episodes, it’s been all about him. Slow character development, but noticeable. That’s always good to see.

I’m really looking forward to the next episode.

3.5 Stars

Catch-Up Quick Takes: Some Overdue Audiobook Takes

On April 20, 2023

In (Auto)Biography, Audiobook, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy

This is a post I’d hoped to get up the first week of February, making it…very late. But here we go…

As always, I want to say that the point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

Destructive Reasoning

by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: The Authorities, #2
Publication Date: November 16, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 9 hrs., 21 min.
Read Date: January 5-10, 2023

(the official blurb)
This sequel starts off with a sequence as silly, but slightly less cringe-worthy, as the first book before shifting to the major storyline. This one takes the team to Los Angeles to investigate a series of killings. The common thread amongst the victims is that they were playing a version of Dr. John Watson in a movie/TV series.

Not only have there been some killings, but there are three actors in the area who are currently playing Watson (or a Watson-figure), and the team has to investigate and keep them alive.

We get some mocking of the Entertainment Industry, general silliness when it comes to the team, and even a little more backstory on a couple of characters.

Overall, I didn’t like this quite as much, it felt like Meyer was trying too hard to be funny rather than tell a story in his signature way. Still, it was enjoyable enough to finish and want to see more.

Luke Daniels did his typical bang-up job. Ending the audiobook with bloopers was a fun bonus.

3 Stars

Ms. Demeanor

by Elinor Lipman, Piper Goodeve (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: December 27, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 7 hrs., 27 min.
Read Date: January 17-18, 2023

(the official blurb)
I saw this a few times on my Libby app and decided I wasn’t that interested as cute as it sounded, but at some point, I saw a cover blurb from Richard Russo. So, why not?

Jane Morgan is under house arrest and newly unemployed thanks due to a minor crime, a nosy neighbor, and a judge wanting to make an example of her. She’s forced to try to do things to help the time bearable—including making the acquaintance of someone else in her building also under house arrest.

There’s some romantic comedy here, some self-discovery, and just some warm-hearted fun. It’s not fantastic, but it’s a good way to spend some time. It’ll keep you engaged and entertained.

3 Stars

The Wizard’s Butler

by Nathan Lowell, Tom Taylorson (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: The Wizard's Butler, #1
Publisher: Podium Audio
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 12 hrs., 10 min.
Read Date: January 25-27, 2023

(the official blurb)
I feel like I should have a lot to say about this one, but I don’t (which kind of bugs me). It’s the story of a man being hired to be a butler/caretaker of an older man for a year. After that year, the unscrupulous relatives that hired him will pay Roger a disgusting amount of money and will ship Joseph Perry Shackleford off to a retirement home and take control of his money and property.

What is going to make this easier is that Mr. Shackleford forward thinks he’s a wizard. Roger could use the money and likes Mr. Shackleford, so he doesn’t care what the old man thinks he is. Roger wants to help him—and he’s pretty sure that his new bosses are up to no good, maybe he can cause them some trouble.

It turns out, however, that the old man actually is a wizard. Roger gets introduced to a world he couldn’t have imagined was real if he tried.

This book was charming as all get out. I really enjoyed the story, the world, the magic system, the characters (I really enjoyed the characters), and the way that Lowell put this together—Taylorson’s narration was effective and engaging, too.

This is the slowest-paced Urban Fantasy I’ve ever read—with stakes that are so far smaller than we’re used to, which doesn’t stop it from being something that holds your attention. It could probably be safely described as Cozy UF—Fred, the Vampire Accountant books have more violence, and it’s typically tame 90% of the time. And I’m more than ready for more of this kind of story.

3 Stars

Really Good, Actually

by Monica Heisey, Julia Whelan (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: January 17,2023
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hrs., 13 min.
Read Date: January 20-25, 2023

(the official blurb)
This is a look at the ups and downs—and further downs, and deeper downs–of a young woman in the year after her divorce. It’s about grieving her relationship, friendship, dating (we’ll be generous/prudish and call it that), and accepting yourself–and accepting help.

I thought the prose and inventiveness in certain scenes were spot-on. There’s a lot of cleverness displayed throughout. But while there are some great moments, but I just didn’t think the journey was worth the destination—and I’m not that crazy about the journey, either.

It’s an utterly fine book.

3 Stars

How to Astronaut:
An Insider’s Guide to
Leaving Planet Earth

by Terry Virts

DETAILS:
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Publication Date: July 15, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hrs., 23 min.
Read Date: January 27-31, 2023

(the official blurb)
This is exactly what you want in an astronaut memoir—he talks about his interest in the program and why he wanted to become an astronaut, his training–both for the Space Shuttle and ISS—actual service on both—(obviously spending more time on the ISS because he spent more time on it and there was more to talk about), as well as what it’s like after returning to Earth. It’s not glowing about NASA or any space program—he’s frank and honest about problems, his own errors, and difficulties as well as what a fantastic opportunity it was for him.

He’s witty, thoughtful, and reflective throughout (in both the writing and his audio narration). I thoroughly enjoyed it and can see myself returning to this one in the future.

3 Stars

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, my opinions are my own.

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 20: Room 5 by R. T. Slaywood: Many, Many Things Happen and My Perseverance is Rewarded

On April 7, 2023

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 20: Room 5

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #19
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: March 17, 2023

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out. But first, the interrogation starts.

What’s Room 5 About?

We pick up in the interrogation room Bonaduke was shoved into last time–with questions about the disaster in his home. Stalling for time–and maybe starting to scheme–Bonaduke asks to borrow some water. This gives him the opportunity to start using his grift to get him out of the building.

But that doesn’t go as well as expected, and some sort of supernatural combat ensues–and we get introduced to a very intriguing mystery that might prove to be the most important part of this story.

So, what did I think about Room 5?

The typos in this one really marred things. If you can’t get your protagonist’s name right (repeatedly)…maybe you need to take more time during the revision stage. There’s a word or two that I’m not sure was correct, either–but I wasn’t sure that something spelled much like them would work in context, either. Also, exactly what was going on with Bonaduke’s “grift” would be better–Slaywood clearly enjoys being coy with this–but it feels more obscure and vague than mysterious. But I can get over that.

Slaywood does some interesting things with whitespace in this one to build suspense. At the end of the day, his typing really made me conflicted.

This episode starts off slow, and I was thinking that even if we don’t get much happening, the interrogation is going to be interesting–and I was okay with that. And then…BOOM! Action flows like crazy. I’m not sure exactly what happened (see my last paragraph), but it kept me gripped. This is one of the longer episodes in the series and by far the best. I can’t wait to see what comes next (it’s been a while since I felt that way).

4 Stars

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 19: The Station by R. T. Slaywood: It’s Time to Slow Down Again

On March 31, 2023

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 19: The Station

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #19
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: March 17, 2023

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out.

What’s The Station About?

The pair that Bonaduke had determined weren’t police detectives in the last episode drive him to a police station and bring him inside. Maybe he was wrong after all?

They pass some of those arrested from the camp as they’re being processed and dump Bonaduke in an interrogation room.

Then the questioning begins–but not where he (or the reader) expects.

So, what did I think about The Station?

This is a good step in the right direction, but it’s difficult to have the patience I want to possess. If I knew that episode 20 would advance things, I’d be okay with this. But I’m afraid we’re on the verge of another 2-3 episode standstill.

I did like the last paragraph, though. It’s enough to keep me going.

3 Stars

Justice Calling by Annie Bellet: A Fast Intro to a UF series

On March 20, 2023

In Fiction, Urban Fantasy

Justice Calling

by Annie Bellet

DETAILS:
Series: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Book 1
Publisher: Doomed Muse Press
Publication Date: July 30, 2014
Format: eBook
Length: 154 pgs.
Read Date: March 7, 2023

What’s Justice Calling About?

In the college town of Wylde, Idaho (which I’m guessing is inspired by Moscow more than anything else—definitely not Wilder, Idaho, but isn’t anywhere near any actual college), the residents are essentially college students or some kind shape-shifter. And those who are neither are likely associated with the supernatural somehow. Like our protagonist/narrator, Jade Crow.

A Justice comes to town, convinced that Jade is going to do something to kill several shapeshifters. At about the same time, the mother of Jade’s best friend is found in her animal form—apparently after a taxidermist. Which is pretty disturbing no matter what—the fact that this is someone she knows makes it all the worse. With the law enforcement arm of the supernatural world (the Justice) considering her suspect number one, Jade’s life has gotten very complicated.

She’s able to get the Justice to step down (momentarily) while she and her friends start looking into things. What they find is terrifying—but it does get the Justice to start trusting Jade. Sadly, she has to expend enough power to draw attention to herself—old enemies are probably going to come looking for her.

Jade has to decide—is it time to leave and save her skin, or does she stick around and try to stop whatever dark thing is afoot in Wylde?

Jade Crow

Jade Crow strikes me as a variation on Atticus O’Sullivan with a little bit of Ree Reyes thrown in. Her past makes you think of Atticus—she used to throw around a lot of power and was a force to be reckoned with—but then she stopped using her power, changed her name, and did all she could to stay under the radar to save her life.

Her attitude and interests make me think of Ree.

I’m obviously not suggesting that Bellet ripped off Hearne and Underwood—or anything like that. I’m just saying as a reader, those are things I was reminded of.

So, what did I think about Justice Calling?

This is a fast read. A breezy introduction to this world and the magic in it.

I thought everything felt a little rushed—the action, as well as Jade’s need to leave town (and her budding relationship with Kirov). But most of that occurred to me after the book was over—in the moment it worked really well.

I’m curious about where the series goes from here—the fact that there are 9 more is a little on the intimidating side. But if this is anything to go off of, there’s a lot of reason to keep going.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

The Ballad of Bonaduke—Episode 18: The Takedown by R. T. Slaywood: Hey! Things happened!

On March 17, 2023

The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 18: The Takedown

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #18
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: March 17, 2023

I heard the beeps of their radios as the shouts of “Gas!” became intermixed with the sound of wood and fists against riot shields. Then deep fear as, pop, pop, pop, the sound of guns going off. I ducked, covering my head with hands that wouldn’t stop shaking.

Please tell me those are rubber!

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp.

What’s The Takedown About?

There’s a big action scene involving the police raiding the camp—Carp is looking out for Bonaduke, if the police get him, he’s in for worse than whatever they have in mind for the homeless. So he arranges for Bonaduke to get away—and Bonaduke takes him up on it.

While the camp is decimated, a few people are beaten, and his escorts disappear, Bonaduke almost makes it out of the park only to be detained by a couple of detectives. He tries to evade them but gets detained.

As their car pulls away, Bonaduke realizes that this isn’t a department-issued vehicle. These aren’t detectives, and things are getting worse for him.

So, what did I think about The Takedown?

There’s a paragraph or two that needed editing—it was just hard to understand the details of what was happening—but I got the gist (I just hate to have to slow down and decipher things in the middle of an action scene).

Still, this is a great improvement. Action’s good in a story that really doesn’t have a defined plot arc yet. Hopefully, this propels us into something that will start to resemble a plot. Slaywood’s still being coy with answers, and that’s okay. I just hope we start to get something concrete and can leave vague pronouns and allusions behind and start using titles and names.

3 Stars

The Friday 56 for 3/17/23: Backpacking through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire