The shepherd grazed his flock on the steep hillside, among the ruins of an ancient palace. He heard a bleating cry from a sheep stuck in a crack in the earth near a massive, half-buried statue. As he pulled her free, something glittering on the statue’s breastplate caught his eye. Was it a jewel reflecting the sun? He pulled, and the armor unfolded, revealing a strange room with a chair in the center, the walls glowing with ancient magic. The flock scattered, leaving him with a choice. He could chase after them, but the pull of adventure was too strong.
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She met her magical destiny at fourteen, which was too young. They were all too young to carry the secret weight of the world. But they had won, even if it had nearly cost them everything. When it was all over, the five of them agreed to go back to their old lives and not let the magic stand in the way of their dreams. She’s a therapist now. She gives kids like her the support that she never had. She helps them fight monsters. And when they need to be strong, she takes out her old wand and transforms.
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Revenant: Star Trek Deep Space Nine Written by Alex White Audiobook read by Robert Petkoff Published by Simon & Schuster Audio
The Skinny: A thrilling and thought-provoking stand-alone story set in the middle of a sci-fi classic. Revenant by Alex White is an excellent reintroduction to the world of Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Set midway through the series, it follows one crewmember, Jadzia Dax, as she delves into a mystery concerning her own past. Dax is actually, technically speaking, two people in one. The humanoid Trill Jadzia and Dax, a long-lived symbiotic creature that is surgically implanted. The symbionts are implanted in the best and brightest of Trill society and can remember their hosts’ lives with such clarity that they are effectively a gestalt, granting their hosts lifetimes of experience. But when an old friend of both herself and Dax’s previous host comes to her with a problem, Dax becomes trapped in a conspiracy that stretches through lifetimes, and the highest echelons of their society. White does an excellent job of telling a fascinating science-fiction mystery that delicately balances introducing the story to new readers and giving sly nods to long-time fans. This is no mean feat for a series that has been off the air for over two decades. They pull the trick off by not merely presenting the characters who flit in and out of the story but establishing the characters from Dax’s point of view. As in their excellent Salvagers series, White balances character development and world-building to fill out their universes with style and panache. From the gaming tables of an alien casino to the tunnels beneath a sinister hospital, these don’t feel like a TV soundstage, but a living, breathing universe. As someone who fell off of Star Trek midway through the series, I felt like I got just enough of the characters to be reminded of who they were, and managed to catch a few of the winks directed to long-time fans. I listened to this book in audio, and narrator Robert Petkoff does a good job. The performance is not over-produced and doesn’t distract from the story. It was an exciting, fast-paced read as Jadzia and her allies delve into Dax’s past and uncover an imaginative sci-fi conspiracy. If you are completely uninvested in the series, this book probably won’t be what changes your mind. But as a former fan who hasn’t seen the series in decades, Revenant lit a nostalgic fire in my heart. You can find it wherever books and audiobooks are sold.
The fox demon stood on the rocky hillside and stretched her legs. She had been imprisoned in the stone for nearly a thousand years. A thousand years of descendants to take her revenge on was going to be a lot of work. But the quick little humans had also made much progress in a millennium, and she only managed to glean snatches of news from inside her prison. She shifted to her human form. From the slopes, she could see the lights of a city. Her revenge would keep a little longer. First, she was going to see the world.
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The puppet-maker set down his paintbrush and took in his work. She was magnificent: A demon princess with fully articulated wings and a cold, haughty expression. With so many intricate moving parts, she would require a master puppeteer to operate. He hoped she would find someone worthy of her. The art of puppet theatre was dying. It was being replaced with larger-scale, more convenient entertainment. He still kept to his traditional craft, refining the methods that his elders had passed down to him. Art was valuable for its own sake, even if the ability to manipulate his creations was lost.
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The Paladin sat in contemplation. She was caught between her duty and the voice of her heart. Was she any better than the supposedly evil people she killed? She rose and passed through corridors lined with holy relics. They were crafted from gold donated from pious kings or reconsecrated from heathen temples. But where had that gold come from originally? Was it faith or merely a display? She decided to lay down her sword and walk until she could say for sure. In the end, she never stopped walking but left a trail of mercy and hope in her wake.
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Eastward Developed by Pixpil Published by Chucklefish Played on Nintendo Switch
The Skinny: An on-rails sci-fi story presented with a gorgeous pixelated aesthetic Eastward is a beautifully rendered action RPG in pixelated graphics that doesn’t quite follow through on what it promises but is still a lot of fun. The game follows John and Sam, two refugees from a post-apocalyptic underground village as they travel by train on a quest to save the world and uncover the secrets of Sam’s burgeoning psychic powers. As they steam along, they fight their way through a series of linear, puzzle-filled dungeons and meet a huge cast of charming and wacky characters, but the chapter-based structure and frantic pace made the game feel a bit cramped and rushed. The game is broken into chapters, with the duo arriving in a new town, meeting the locals, and solving some dungeons before the plot pushes them back aboard their train to a new locale. The towns are probably the game’s best feature, with creatively designed and gorgeously rendered locations like a city built into the side of a dam and a film studio on rails filled with uplifted apes. Each is depicted with HD pixels in loving detail. The world is filled with faded advertisements and overgrown ruins. It is a testament to environmental design. I just wish I got to spend more time in each area before being pushed ahead. Towns are crammed full of mini-games, sidequests, and unique NPCs to talk to, and I always felt like I didn’t get enough time before being pushed ahead. The one mini-game that is always available is Earthborn, an in-world game that is a mix of turn-based RPG and rogue-like presented in a Gameboy aesthetic. It’s charming, and intersects with the story in interesting ways, but is ridiculously difficult. Dungeons are more linear than the sprawling towns and feature a mix of puzzle and combat. John has a variety of weapons that he gains over the adventure, starting with his trusty melee frying pan. Sam wields psychic energy to stun enemies or heal, but she can’t attack directly. Combat involves constantly switching between the two to keep hordes of enemies back in order to stay alive. Combat, which uses a Zelda-like formula, is clever, but fighting doesn’t feel as good as the puzzles. Eastward is a joy to look at and listen to, even if the gameplay isn’t quite as fun as the production. Still, it is well worth your time. You can pick up a digital copy via Steam or the Nintendo Switch eShop.
The four technicians took their places and checked the fittings on their gloves. Above them, the solar model glowed orange even through their tinted masks. Millions of miles away, their movements would be precisely mirrored by the massive drones deployed to catch the runaway debris. They were only going to get one chance. Even a single spent fuel rod or chunk of hull reaching the Sun’s core would create a chain reaction that would doom the solar system. They got to work. When it was over, and they’d saved the world, they celebrated with the most epic high-five ever recorded.
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Mission control was filled with tension as the space probe launched. All systems showed green. There was an air of heady anticipation as the instruments powered up and began to gather data. They had spent years of work and vast sums to get the probe into space, but the data it would provide would revolutionize astrophysics. Readings started coming in, and the scientists’ faces fell. They made no sense. The probe, they concluded, must be faulty. Elsewhere, far beyond human perception, dwelt the Cosmic Giants. “Hey, want to see me juggle?” One asked, and scooped up a trio of galaxies.
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Rockstar and Softboy Written & Drawn by Sina Grace Lettering by Rus Wooton Published by Image Comics
Rockstar & Softboy
The Skinny: Sina Grace’s latest oversized one-shot is a paen to queer friendship mixed wit and wackiness.
I was not sure what I was getting into with Rockstar and Softboy, but I’m glad I picked it up. On the surface, it is an autobiographical slice-of-life comic. When Softboy is having trouble dealing with the stress of his day job, Rockstar convinces him to throw a party. With the help of their shapeshifting, talking cat.
Inspired by his real-life friendship with fellow comics creator Josh Trujillo, This oversized, super-gay one-shot story deftly blends the fantastic and the mundane to create a lovely tribute to the power of queer friendship. Grace’s writing is lovely and constantly surprising. This is certainly a book full of surprises, and I found new delights with each turn of the page. His madcap and unabashedly queer energy infuses the book and render his characters in a charming light even when it highlights their flaws. By the time the book reached the inevitable Sailor Moon parody, I was giggling in my chair, drawing curious stares from my husband.
The art is whimsical and transformative, keeping pace with the story and helping to ground the reader in the off-the-wall antics.
At a hefty sixty-seven pages, this book is a bit too long and a bit too short for the story it is telling. I would’ve like to have spent either a little bit more time with these characters, or maybe pared the story down a bit. There are quite a few data pages and explainers mixed in, which occasionally break the story’s flow. Cramming this story into a single issue also raises the price tag, so I’m not sure if I can recommend this book if you’re unsure if you’ll like it. But if you like queer slice-of-life stories that also take big swings, this book is for you.
At the end of the day, this book isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and at $8.99, I can’t recommend that you give it a try if you’re unsure if you’ll like it. But the world could use more unironic stories that believe in the power of friendship and being your true self. And also the power of power bottoms. You can purchase it online or at Your Local Comics Shop!
Hugh J. O'Donnell 