Rogue Community College

David R Slayton
Completed 10/5/2025, Reviewed 10/8/2025
4 stars

This is the beginning of a new trilogy in the Adam Binder universe.  The first book of that trilogy was White Trash Warlock.  I loved that whole series and was delighted to find that a new series had begun.  This book is very different though.  It takes place in an interdimensional school run by the Elves.  Yes, a common trope since Harry Potter, but I almost always enjoy the variations that authors come up with.  This one educates and trains people who do not fit in more traditional schooling environments.  Enter Issac Frost, an assassin working for the “Undertaker” to kill the school itself.  With themes of loyalty, inclusion, found family, and morality, this book features an asexual M/M romance that is heartbreaking.  

The book opens with Issac coming upon a house where goblins have captured Vran, an Elf who made an appearance in the previous series.  To Vran’s dismay, Issac kills a few of the goblins, but a few get away.  Argent, the Elf queen from the Binder series, appears and Isaac explains he has escaped being a young, orphaned assassin for the Undertaker.  Argent takes him and Vran back to the school.  Little do they know that Isaac’s mission is to destroy the heart of the school.  Over time, Isaac assimilates into the environment.  He also slowly falls in love with Vran.  Isaac begins to question the reason he was assigned to destroy the school now that he has befriended his classmates and fallen in love.

The transformation arc of Isaac from ruthless young adult to empathetic, love-struck student who wants to save the school is very well done.  Slayton is a master at character arcs, as was evident in the Binder series.  At the beginning of the story, Isaac just wants to get this job done so he can go back to the Undertaker to help overthrow him.  Isaac is part of a small group of rebellious young adults who want to end the acquisition and abuse of orphaned boys who then are turned into paid assassins for their mysterious, dark master.  But finding the heart of the school is not easy as it magically changes its rooms and hallways until the school trusts the new student.  Isaac begins to appreciate the classes and assignments as well as his classmates.  Then Isaac falls for Vran, which exacerbates the cognitive dissonance over his original mission.

Another interesting thing about Isaac is that he is a Phage, a being that consumes a few drops of another being’s blood to ingest knowledge of them as well as some of their powers.  He’s not a vampire, as he does not need it to live.  It is more of a superpower.  During one battle, he ingests some blood from his classmate Ford who is half human, half troll and gains his super strength.  To complicate matters, Isaac may be the last Phage, not having known his parents or interacted with any other Phages.  In several really cool scenes, he visits a demon at the school who does a sort of regression therapy with him to try to get him to remember his parents and early childhood.

The classmates have very distinct personalities, which helped differentiate them and their voices.  One nice thing was that their class was small and other students were hidden in other parts of the school.  It made it much easier to keep track of everyone.  Ford is interesting as the sweet, optimistic jock.  Hex is the perfect student who doesn’t trust Isaac.  Vran, the sea Elf, is sweet, caring, and brooding.  He has an interesting relationship with the Elven King and Queen that is not fully explained until it becomes apparent towards the end.  He is also asexual, which Isaac accepts as part of their relationship.

The world building was terrific.  The school was Liberty House from the Binder series.  It was its own character with its changing halls and rooms as well as its “heart.”  It would take you where you needed to go if it trusted you.  It opened to the other dimensions, like standard Earth, the faerie world, the Underworld, and the sea kingdom.  The prose was just right as well, not too flowery or plodding.  It made for a fast-paced read.  I give this book four stars out of five.  It’s different in tone from Adam Binder, but just as enthralling.  I’m looking forward to the next volume.