I have always enjoyed a good dystopian book. There is something relatable about reading how people have systematically voted their own rights away or had them ripped from them. How every horrible aspect of history that we believe we have learned from shown to be nothing. I am now adding Enemy to my collection of dystopian novels that I will reread when I feel as though I need to escape what I tell myself is a stressful reality. Someone certainly has it worse.

Enemy follower several characters as they attempt to plot and kill their way to the top, or to assume freedom. They kill, they steal, they like and they sneak. Both the clear bad guys and the assumed good guys. People will do what they need to survive in the horrible world that they now live in. 

Enemy jumped between various characters, telling you their stories as it goes. The characters are realistic. They fit well in the dystopian world, and are so well written that you want to learn about them, even the ones who appear the villains. Each one has their reasons for doing what they do, selfish, or assumed greater good.

The story itself is a classic dystopian post ‘end of war’ setting that while done multiple times by other novels is handled well, my the author and does not feel like a tired cliche but a well formed and built dystopian world.

Pick up this novel, you will not regret it.

Righteous Assassin by Kevin G. Chapman is a fantastic thriller following Detective Mike Stoneman and his peers as they try to hunt down a serial killer who seems to think he is murdering bad guys in the name of God. This clearly insane individual continues monthly killings, leaving the detectives to search high and low for a way to end the deaths for good. As well as bringing up several moral concerns.

Chapman’s writing is great. The characters and story fit a thriller mystery. The interactions between the characters seem rather real and natural. There seems to be no forced chemistry between characters and the issues that they have with one another are realistic. 

The story itself is a fascinating mystery. I actually wondered what this villain would actually look like once they found him. The climax of the story is exciting, and I had a hard time putting the book down. If you are a fan of dramatic police stories, you will want to take a look at this book!

Here I am again talking about someone I met at Central Florida Comic Con! Marcus Roberts the COO of Second Sight Publishing, was there with a few of the companies’ creatives. Marcus has been in to comics a long time. He told me he started reading them back in the 60s and 70s. That’s an impressive length of time to enjoy something. No fair-weather fan here.

Marcus told me he enjoys horror comics the most and that he created his own stories because he has always been a storyteller. I picked up one of his comics, The Protector. While I could not read it yet, I really am looking forward to it. He also admitted to pretending to be an extrovert, which is a really relatable statement for any introvert who wants to get their work out there!

I really hope I get to speak to Marcus Roberts again! And I look forward to reading his work.

Now the second awesome person I got to speak with at Central Florida Comic Con was Elmon Dean Todd. Now, as readers and friends of mine will happily confirm, if there is one thing I like more than books, it’s games. So it thrilled me to not only discover the Godshard series of books, but to also hear that it is being turned in to a video game with a hesitant 2023 due date. I do not know about the rest of you, but I certainly enjoy a game that has been carefully created as opposed to something thrown out the door to meet deadlines. So I hope they take their time and produce an outstanding game.

Now I can’t say I have finished the books I bough when I was at CFCC, even a voracious reader such as myself has to stop, eat, drink, and get the day job out of the way. I will give a full review of the books once I finish them. I can however say that it is a quality, well made paperback with some fine art that I am looking forward to officially cracking.

I also had fun speaking with Elmon Dean Todd who was kind enough to speak to me. He’s been writing for some time, saying he was inspired by classic RPGs and series he found while he lived in Japan. As a huge fan of the JRPG genre it gives me a lot of hope for his series, both book form and the upcoming game! I hope to talk to him more in the future.

The first writer I spoke with was Steve Conley. Steve was super friendly and willing to talk about his work and his work and his history with comics. He is the author of The Middle Ages, which before this day I had not read before, and since, I have probably spent wayyyyy too much time reading. I have deadlines to meet, but this comic is really great! The art work is reminiscent of classic newspaper comics and the story is entertaining as well.

Steve himself has been drawing most of his life. And as he told me he got in to the comic business because it was “the thing I was least bad at” tell me that’s not a relatable thought?

I hope to discuss his history, and The Middle Ages with Steve in more detail once I have finished the comic, or at least caught up to it. If you are interested in learning more about him or reading his work, you can find it at https://steveconley.com/

Once again, Tom Vater gives us an overwhelmingly realistic and painful view on the world as he walks us through another glorious tale from Asia. This time his story takes us to Cambodia in the 90s where we follow a German journalist turned private detective as he searches for his client’s son, pulling together pieces along to form in to a greater and more painful story than anyone would have imagined.

As with Tom Vater’s other works, the details in to the time and location that the story takes place are so methodically displayed that you feel as if you are sitting there with the character. Those characters? Well, they are wonderfully realistic in their twisted dark ways that make you feel as if they are another damaged person you could have actually met. 

This one was hard for me to read. I actually had to put the book down a couple times because of the content, but I was more than happy I picked it back up and finished it. Vater never skimps on the dark aspects and while they can be a bit much for the reader, they are always placed there for a reason. 

Is the Cambodian Book of the Dead worth reading? Yes, yes, it is! This book, like other Vater stories I have reviewed is certainly a must read.