Into the Void

Ronny Valtonen
Completed 4/11/2026, Reviewed 4/11/2026
2 stars

This was a tough book to review.  I know the author and this is his first work.  I like to give new, self-published authors the benefit of the doubt.  Unfortunately, this book is much like my own early attempts at writing, which I can look at with a more critical all these years later.  Valtonen chose a form that is difficult to be anything but exposition.  It’s the journal of the commanding officer of a mission to find a new habitable planet for humankind.  A lot happens on the trip, but there are no real details.  As one would expect in a journal, it’s just the highlights.  I never felt much empathy with the characters.  Instead, it just felt like a manifesto for an idealistic search for a new home rather than a work of fiction.

The crew consists of four members: Jonathan the commander, Jebidiah the security officer, Ellie the scientist, and Polly the photographer and documenter.  They are on a five-year mission to Proxima Centauri B, the most likely candidate for a new home.  On the planet they find ruins that contain a portal.  They opt to go through the portal and meet a race of beings that are far more advanced than humans.  They offer the crew the opportunity to travel farther in their search for the best planet to homestead.  This takes them up to a place known as the Void, where physics fails and new insights into the universe and its inhabitants are revealed.  

These journal entries were all about telling, not showing.  They were all recaps of what had happened aboard the ship.  There is almost no dialogue, no details of the characters’ interactions.  The entries are pretty strictly reports, not recounts.  It made for tiresome reading.  Jonathan praised the characters almost completely throughout.  There was almost no conflict.  The closest we get is that Jeb and Polly try to have a secret relationship which everyone figures out, and then Polly gets pregnant.  Even when the crew meets the extraterrestrials, everything goes super smoothly.  The crew does have differing opinions on things but always comes to a level-headed consensus.  

I also noticed issues a proofreader could have caught.  For example, some measurements are given in metric, others in imperial units.  I was also confused by the speed of light usage.  They were supposedly traveling at 5c, which would be five times the speed of light.  With Proxima Centauri B being about five light-years away, it should only have taken them about a year.  Valtonen throws in some calculations that are little suspect as well.  I didn’t do the math myself, but it seemed like there was some confusion of kilometers/hour versus miles/hour and the value of c as well, either 3 x 108 m/s versus 186,000 mi/s.  Finally, there’s the matter of time dilation.  Valtonen says that it was disproven in 2019.  However, I remember reports that experiments have proven relativity several times since the seventies.  Without time dilation or delay, they are able to communicate instantaneously with Earth most of their trip, like with an ansible.  But, I guess use of an ansible implies faster-than-light communication, which implies general relativity is still in effect, which contradicts the 2019 assertion.  

I think Valtonen could also have used a good editor to help flesh out the characters, adding more humanity, checking for continuity, and flagging hyperbole.  Once the crew make it to the Void, you get the sense that all they do is gaze in awe at their surroundings.  There are no descriptions of what they saw.  Then, Ellie does lots of interacting with the extraterrestrials and analysis of data input from their surroundings.  Polly takes a lot of pictures.  Jeb watches for everyone’s safety.  

When the crew finds the perfect habitable planet, it seems that there are already settlers for the planet.  So either I missed the description of the ship as carrying a chunk of humanity, or they arrived very soon after.  There’s a second wave of settlers as well, but the journal entries only cover about nine months.  So one would have to assume that the extraterrestrials taught us an even faster form of travel.  

My last big criticism is the handling of Polly’s pregnancy.  There’s no mention of any of the common issues she should be experiencing, like morning sickness, mood swings, swollen feet, and frequent urination.  In fact, we don’t hear about it again until the baby’s birth.  Then, there’s no mention of Polly being okay when the birth takes place.  She’s not mentioned again until two entries later, and then it’s about her work on the mission.  

I give this book two stars out of five.  I try to go easy on new authors, but this was the best I could do.  What I can say is that Valtonen has a marvelous vision for and faith in the goodness of humankind.  This could have been a terrific novel with more writing experience, beta readers, and a good editor.  I realize these are luxuries for the beginner indie writer.  But I believe he would find a lot of value and grow as a writer with this outside input.  I have his second novella, the sequel to this one.  I’m still going to read it because I believe indie authors have something to say, even if it’s rough at first.

Tournament Mage

Michael Taggart
Completed 4/6/2026, Reviewed 4/6/026
4 stars

Here’s another long series I’ve returned to, the Fledgling God series.  It began with Misfit Mage and ended with a little cliffhanger in Buried Mage.  It continues the story of Jason, the former professional gambler who now lives in a house of Mages in Louisville as he learns the ins and outs of being a Mage.  Once again, the world building is simply magnificent.  Taggart goes into tons of detail with the magic system and Jason’s ongoing training in it.  The main characters are often too good to be true, but it stresses found family and the love and support they provide each other.  The book contains a little spice, so this book is not for everyone.  But it’s not just an excuse for a full-on M/M romantasy; the emphasis of the book is on the magic, the character development, and the family that has evolved in the Louisville House.  

This book begins right at the end of the last book.  Just when Jason and the rest of the family return home from their latest adventure, they are greeted by a bank auditor who claims they owe three million pearls for all the cleaning of magical evidence needed after the battles the family had to deal with.  The bank is one of the oldest magical organizations in the world and not one to be trifled with.  However, Annabeth uses her magic to soften the auditor and help convince him they are not just a new house with two green first-year mages (Jason and Annabeth), but a tight family with some very gifted mages.  The auditor realizes that rather than put the mages into indentured servitude to pay off the debt, he can enter them in the big upcoming tournament which has a huge first prize.  The rest can be made from sponsorship income once the world of mages realizes how powerful Jason and Annabeth are.  He also tasks them with trying to find out more about the sudden popularity of something called Paths which groups of mages are incorporating into their practices.  

The whole family goes to the tourney but only Jason and Annabeth can compete.  They quickly discover that mage houses are looked down upon compared to the elite schools.  So the family must battle prejudice and hostility from the other contestants.  Once the first round begins, they realize their tasks are like an RPG (no doubt inspired by the rise in LitRPG books like Dungeon Crawler Carl).  J and A make it through the first level but are docked over 7000 points because they helped dozens of other teams evade the giant orcs and make it safely out of the first level.  They find out that their penalty comes mainly from a mage with a giant grudge against “house rats” and has powerful influence over the judges.  Starting with a massive point deficit, J and A begin the immensely more difficult second level.

That was a long plot summary for a long book.  And at over seven hundred pages, this doorstopper is only the first half of the Tournament.  Taggart spends a lot of time explaining how Jason absorbs, adapts, and incorporates new magic into his existing structure.  Jason is very puzzle oriented.  He is constantly working and reworking how he stores and access magic.  He also enhances his weapons which are primarily, his fists.  He shares this with Annabeth as well, helping refine her powers and weapons.  I have to say that for the first time, this became a little tedious in the middle when the two were fighting the giant, crazed, red-eyed ants.  The detail is amazing but went on a little too long as they encountered more and more powerful ants.  I plowed through most of the book, except for this section.  It took me about three days to get through battles with different levels of ants, reading only about twenty pages at time.  Happily, the book picks up again and the ending is terrific.  

The main characters are so sweet, it’s tough not to love them despite the Mary Sue characterization of Jason.  When the family decides to enter the tournament to save the house, it reminded me a little of a Brady Bunch episode.  There is a lot of hugging and cheeriness throughout the book which seemed excessive at first, but I guess I got caught up in the positive vibe they exuded.  I found myself looking forward to the hugs and words of support.  

Annabeth is wonderful.  She’s a seventy-year-old grandma who is a first-year mage developing into an incredible fighter.  Her magic is based on sound.  She uses music and her voice to enhance her fighting.  This comes in handy when she is blinded by Jason’s overzealous healing constructs.  Speaking of constructs, I love how they all had personalities of their own.  They range from the ones Jason makes to the attendants and servers at the tournament.  Even the Bank Crystal, which is Jason’s connection to the mage bank, has a personality with which Jason develops a relationship to enhance its assistance.  

And of course, there’s the cat.  Bermuda is a magical companion.  He has special powers but only comes to Jason’s aid when he feels like it.  After all, Bermuda is a cat.  He doesn’t speak like Princess Donut in Dungeon Crawler Carl, but he’s definitely an active participant in the story.  

I give this book four stars out of five.  I was completely engrossed in it, except during the last few ant chapters.  If they were a little shorter, maybe edited a little tighter, I think I could have given this book five stars.  It’s not great literature, but it is so much fun and the magic system so amazingly detailed, it’s easy to overlook its shortcomings.  This book was released in 2024, so I was hoping book six would be released this year.  Unfortunately, the author has life happening and is struggling to find time to finish it.  This is a self-published series and Taggart has a full-time job and other life duties.  I hope things lighten up for him because I can’t wait to read what else he can come up with.  

Redneck Revenant

David R. Slayton
Completed 3/31/2026, Reviewed 4/3/2026
4 stars

I was worried that it had been almost three years since I read Deadbeat Druid, the third book in the Adam Binder Novels.  I was also worried that this book was an afterthought since Druid had such a climactic ending.  Instead, I melted into it like it had just been yesterday.  Yes, I forgot a couple of the details and secondary characters, but within fifty pages I was right back in this universe, excited to be reacquainted with Adam and his boyfriend Vic.  This has become one of my favorite series, mostly because of how sweet Adam and Vic’s relationship is.  I also liked the side series in this universe that began with Rogue Community College and can’t wait for the next book to come out.  The original three volume Adam Binder series, which began with White Trash Warlock, was nominated for a 2024 Mythopoeic Award.

Adam lives in his brother Bobby’s basement where Vic often spends the night.  On Halloween night, after all the kids have stopped trick-or-treating, Bobby’s wife Annie, who died in book one, appears on their doorstep.  Alarmed, they don’t know if this is really Annie brought back to life or if she is walking-dead or some other dark magic.  They invite her in and ask questions but get no resolution.  Bobby comes home and is equally flabbergasted, not know how to feel after grieving for so long.  Adam sets out to solve this mystery, going to the Faerie King, Death’s daughter, and others to figure out who or what’s behind this.  Adam also learns that some young witches from his niece’s coven have gone suddenly missing.  Then Annie’s rich, controlling, and emotionally distant parents show up, confirm that Annie’s been alive all this time, and try to take her home with them.  For the love of his brother and the safety of all the magical people in his life, Adam tries to get to the bottom of the mystery of Annie’s return.

I really enjoyed this book despite it being so long since the last one.   It’s not a cozy mystery/fantasy, but it felt that way.  Just being back in the Adam Binder universe felt wonderful.  I appreciated Slayton’s memory jogs of the past plots and other characters’ relationships with Adam minus large info dumps.  He even brought in characters from Rogue Community College with reminders of who they were.  It made for a very rich story and a good jumping off place for restarting after the crazy ending of Druid.  

I just love Adam.  He’s still broken, but he’s gaining more confidence.  His boyfriend Vic calls him out on his low self-esteem.  “Adam, do you know what a self-sacrificing narcissist is?” “I’m guessing me?  Is that my diagnosis?”  “No.  Though you’re a level five smart ass…it’s someone who puts the needs of others ahead of theirs to avoid dealing with their own issues.”  Adam realizes this and slowly starts to examine his own avoidance of marrying Vic and finding their own place by trying to save the world.  It’s a profound moment in the book and a gut punch into my own belief that Adam is angelically selfless.  In reality, he’s trying avoid the tough issues in his life, thus hurting the people he loves.  This metanoia made me love him and Vic even more.

I liked how this book went back to being told just from Adam’s perspective.  I missed being in his head.  I expect Slayton will change it up in future volumes.  That’s fine, because I love Vic’s journey as well.  From closeted cop to out bisexual chef to Grim Reaper, Vic has grown a lot in the three years that transpired since the first book.  And his mom is a hoot, a Latina history professor who supports her son despite not allowing them to sleep together under her roof until they are married.  I love how she constantly needles Adam about getting a degree.  “Vic feigned interest, because he’d had a lifetime of it, but for Adam it was a wonder to spend time with a parent who wanted to talk about that sort of thing, who had something to say about a world greater than her corner of Oklahoma.” 

I give this book four stars out of five.  It reminded me of why I love Slayton’s storytelling and imagination.  The world building, between Denver and the Faerie realm, is still wonderful.  I lament that it may be a while before getting another Adam book since Slayton has the Rogue CC series going as well as a separate series, which I haven’t started yet.  But I’m glad for all of them. 

The Wolf and His King

Finn Longman
Completed 3/25/2026, Reviewed 3/29/2026
4 stars

This book is a queer retelling of the twelfth-century tale of Bisclavret the werewolf.  I had no knowledge of this legend but still enjoyed the book.  It is a well written tale of love, betrayal, isolation, and fealty.  Like many of the books I’ve been reading lately, the big conflict in this book is hiding truth out of fear.  In this case, it’s Bisclavret’s “wolf sickness.”  The prose is wondrous and the character development was excellent.  Longman made an interesting choice by only naming Bisclavret.  All the other characters are known only by their relationships to each other.  I still don’t know how I feel about that choice, but I did enjoy the book.  

Bisclavret’s father was lord in the kingdom.  When he died while his wife was pregnant with Bisclavret, his land reverted to the King since he had no male heir.  Bisclavret and his mother lived on a small cottage on the far end of the property that they were allowed to keep.  They had almost no interaction with anyone lest the secret of the wolf sickness be revealed.  Years later, the King has died and his son, the quasi-exiled Prince, ascends the throne.  Bisclavret’s cousin convinces him that he must go to the capital to pledge fealty to the new King.  (I’ll abbreviate the main character’s name to B going forward) B is reluctant because he has no control over his wolf sickness.  His cousin assures him that he will take care of him.  He also advises B that he may be able to ask for his father’s lands back as the male heir.  B reluctantly goes.  There he captures the fancy of the new King who can relate to being more or less exiled from the rest of the kingdom.  Not only does the King restore B’s lands but also makes him a knight after seeing B’s fighting prowess.  The cousin becomes the manager of the lands.  Then B suddenly disappears and the King is fraught with fear, despair, and disappointment until one day, an unusual wolf tamely befriends the King.  

Again, I didn’t know the original story, but I found this retelling exciting and engaging.  B’s disappearance made me reflect on my own embarrassment for ghosting people because I was afraid of what they would think of me if I revealed who I really was.  Whether it’s being gay, being depressed, being afraid, I found it easier to run rather than be honest.  It takes courage to be authentic.  This book did an excellent job of using metaphor to express this concept.

I also liked the unrequited love theme.  The new King falls for B and wants to do everything he can to keep him around.  B sees this to some extent, but does not acknowledge the King’s feelings, nor has the wherewithal to acknowledge it or any sense of love in himself.  When the “tame” wolf appears and the King senses it is pledging fealty to him, it broke my heart.  

There’s also a kink in the story where the King’s Ward, a young woman about B and the King’s age, declares love for B.  The courtship is odd.  B sees it more as duty than as love.  The Ward is insistent in her feelings, and the King had always promised he’d respect her right to marry who she chooses.  However, this is what precipitates B’s disappearance which throws everyone into chaos.  

Longman did an excellent job of developing believable characters in B, the King, the Ward, and the cousin.  I was completely sucked into the story.  My only complaint is that once again, the fatal flaw of the protagonist is fear of being honest.  It has appeared in so many stories I’ve read recently, including the gay hockey romances.  I’m beginning to grow tired of it, but it is pervasive throughout literature, and not just in romances.  I guess at my age, I’ve come to realize life is too short to be afraid to be authentic.  Books like this reaffirm that belief.  I give this book four stars out of five.

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario

Matt Dinneman
Completed 3/22/2026, Reviewed 3/23/2026
4 stars

This is the second book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.  I enjoyed this book thoroughly.  However, it didn’t feel as original and exciting as the first book.  I expected that there would be a sort of sophomore slump with the second book.  These novels appeared online, similar to The Martian, and were published traditionally after developing a huge following.  So sophomore slump may be a misnomer.  Instead, maybe I can say that the author settled into a groove.  The story is still fast paced and exciting with a doomsday scenario for a climax.  But I know now it’s about settling in for the ride.

This book takes place on level three.  Everything is more challenging and there is much more room for getting killed.  Carl, still running around barefoot, in boxers and a one sleeved bomber jacket, is accompanied by Princess Donut, the talking cat, and her pet dino raptor, Mongo.  Because of the race and class Donut chose, their advisor, Mordecai, has become their manager.  Now they have much more information and guidance about the dungeon and their options.  In this book, they are sidetracked by side quests.  One involves a terrifying circus, another, the disappearance of sex workers.  There is still a lot of violence and gore, as one would expect in a DnD game, but also compassion exhibited by Carl and Donut towards the NPCs who were changed into terrifying clowns as well as the women who were forced into sex work.  Mordecai tries to keep the team from accepting these side quests, but their conscience gets the better of them.  Since they’ve leveled up, their stats are better and their weapons more effective.  But the scenario still requires the finesse of Carl and Donut to complete their quests without causing massive loss of life of the NPCs and the other crawlers.

This description makes the book sound more somber.  It really isn’t, as the first book was also full of moral questions Carl asks concerning the humans and the others who are dying in this game.  It is still a lot of fun but never loses sight of its humanity.  One of my favorite lines in the book is towards the end where Carl thinks, “And now that I had a moment to breath, my heart couldn’t stop pounding.  I found myself sitting on the bathroom floor, my hand to my chest.  How is this real?  How is this my life?”   So poignant!

The big character development here is with Princess Donut.  She becomes more aware of the moral issues involved and the reality of their situation.  She learns about caring for a pet with Mongo, who is an adorable menace, and helps Carl make tough decisions with a more humane perspective.  

Mordecai, on the other hand, remains somewhat of an enigma.  As an incubus, Mordecai can’t handle alcohol but goes on binges anyway.  He is very knowledgeable about the dungeon but carries the scars of having been a crawler himself.  He doesn’t make the best decisions for himself but does for Carl and Donut.  He gives them insight not only into the game, but also the galactic corporations who are controlling the strings and the effect Carl and Donut have on the media.  

I give this book four stars out of five.  The newness has worn off, but the enjoyment hasn’t.  I’m looking forward to seeing how Dinneman keeps the story fresh through all the dungeon levels.

Tough Guy

Rachel Reid
Completed 3/18/2026, Reviewed 3/18/2026
4 stars

This is the third book in the Game Changer series, aka Heated Rivalry.  This is also spicy M/M hockey romance.  I was initially worried I would find more of the same, but the plot is very different.  I was pleasantly surprised that I devoured this book in a matter of hours (a few last night, the rest this morning).  It’s a very sweet romance between a big, burly, anxiety-ridden ginger enforcer and his slender, makeup-wearing crush from when they were seventeen in a small town in Nova Scotia.  An enforcer is a defense player whose main job is to get into fights on the ice to protect his teammates.  It’s a toxic job and both characters struggle with its implications.

Ryan is the enforcer.  He’s a 6’7” bearded ginger who is kind of out, but really just doesn’t talk about it.  He is on heavy anti-anxiety and anti-depression meds which severely affect his sexual performance.  At the age of thirty-one, he has been traded almost annually between hockey teams.  The last trade was after a meltdown on the ice.  In his new team hometown of Toronto, he runs into the guy whose family he stayed with for a year during his junior career.  Fabian is the same age.  He’s almost the complete opposite, an indie musician and femboy who likes makeup and lacy things, trying to make ends meet working in a pharmacy.  Despite hating most of the junior hockey players who boarded with his family, Fabian had a huge crush on Ryan, who was quiet, polite, and friendly towards him.  When they run into each other all these years later, they can’t believe their eyes.  They exchange phone numbers, despite Ryan’s painful shyness.  After a few tentative texts and meetings, they let their old passions take over.  They are falling for each other, but both believe they are not right for each other.  Fabian hates hockey because of the toxic environment he grew up in, and because of the innate violence.  Ryan believes a man as beautiful as Fabian would never fall for a pathetically introverted oaf whose job is to beat up people.  Thus is the conflict that threatens their bourgeoning relationship.

The best aspect of this book is how the characters deal with mental illness.  This theme eventually ties into the mental health foundation that Shane and Ilya created in Heated Rivalry.  I was surprised and pleased to see it appear so prominently in this book.  Ryan is lovable and damaged.  There’s a beautiful scene on a plane to another game where his only friend among his teammates, Wyatt, talks him through his severe anxiety during takeoff and landing.  At the pharmacy, Fabian cues into Ryan’s anxiety and takes the lead in the mostly one-sided conversation.  It’s awkward, but also very sweet.  The scene makes you fall for both of them.  

I really liked how Reid came up with different plots for each book so far.  They’re similar in that there is some kind of conflict that may keep the two men apart.  Toxic masculinity in male team sports runs through all the books as well.  But the circumstances in each book are different enough to keep you turning the pages.  You can pooh-pooh this as romantic fluff, but the issues that the main characters deal with are very real and unique to the circumstances.  I give this book four stars out of five.  I could barely put it down and my heart was so warmed by the end.  Definitely a strong addition to the series.

Elatsoe

Darcie Little Badger
Completed 3/15/2026, Reviewed 3/16/2026
3 stars

This is the first book in the Elatsoe series.  Last year, I read Sheine Lende which is the prequel.  It won last year’s Lodestone Award, the YA novel award presented at the Hugo Ceremony.  Elatsoe was nominated for the 2021 Lodestone but didn’t win.  I thought Sheine Lende was the superior book, richer in world building and character development.  Elatsoe is good, but it wasn’t as rich in the history of the Lipan Apache.  It spent a lot of time recounting the main character’s six times great grandmother’s adventures.  It felt more like info dump than world building.  Still, for a first novel, it’s good.

Elatsoe, shortened to Ellie because people mispronounce her name, is a seventeen-year-old whose cousin Trevor was killed in a single vehicle crash under very suspicious circumstances.  Upon his death, she is visited by his spirit who reveals his murderer and begs her to bring him to justice.  She accedes, investigating the murderer with her bestie, Jay, and the support of her family.  Ellie can raise the spirits of animals from the Underworld, among other gifts.  Her dog is a raised spirit.  She’s very tempted to bring Trevor’s spirit back and is even urged to do so by his widow, but her parents warn her of the danger of the evil that comes back with the spirits of people.  What she uncovers about the murderer unlocks a huge mystery of magic and its abuse by the people in Trevor’s hometown.  She also learns more about her own gifts, her six-great-grandmother’s experience, and their relationships with the Underworld.

Ellie is a pretty cool character.  At seventeen, she’s torn between college and opening a private investigator business where she can use her gifts to help solve mysteries.  She’s smart, funny, and a very responsible teen.  She is asexual, not having any predilection for sexuality, which she declares to Jay.  She has a great relationship with her parents who support her in her exploration of her gifts while teaching her the lessons of her six-great.  There were times, however, when I felt she was a little too good to be true, almost a Mary Sue, with too few flaws and unrealistic cheeriness for a teen on the cusp of adulthood.  Still, it’s hard not to like her.  There’s one poignant scene in a rock souvenir shop where she exhibits her ability to deal with the prejudices of white people.  Again, a little too perfect of a behavior, but it does exhibit how she deals with racism.  

I also liked Jay.  He’s a descendant of the Fae.  He even has pointy ears that are usually covered by his hair.  The relationship between Jay and Ellie was sweet, if a little too sweet.  At their age, I think it would have been more realistic for Jay to have some feelings toward Ellie despite her orientation.  Instead, he’s relegated to a quasi-Gary Sue sidekick.

The overall tone of the book is rather cartoonish.  I rolled my eyes at some of the dialogue because of the language used.  I really bristled when one of the bad guys refers to the “meddling kids.”  That was just too banal for the generations who grew up with Scooby Doo.  It betrays the build-up of tension and makes the confrontation with the evil seem extreme and out of place.  Sheine Lende was also a YA novel, but it worked more effectively from this perspective.

My favorite part of the book was her ability to call to the spirits of animals.  There’s a particularly wild scene with swarms of trilobites.  And who wouldn’t love a ghost mammoth.  No spoilers 😉 It also explores her relationship with the Underworld and compares and contrasts it with her six-great, who was the most skilled wielder of magic in her family history.  

I give this book three stars out of five.  It was a little too juvenile for a book about seventeen-year-olds dealing with mortal danger.  It’s an enjoyable, easy read despite the gruesome climax.  It’s worth reading for context for its prequel, although they can both stand alone.  I do like this alternate-Texas that Little Bear created and am interested in what her future books will explore.