An intense novella of ideas that looks into the heart of faith and generosity.
Strassberg presents a brief fantasy novella about discussions in a psychiatric hospital between two men who resemble Jesus Christ and Santa Claus.
In this short, somewhat whimsical tale, two very different men meet in a ward for patients with mental illness: a short Jewish man named Josh with a brown beard, and Nick,a big-bellied fellow with white whiskers. Josh was just committed by paramedics because he was found wandering in traffic after breaking up with his boyfriend; Nick is the former CEO of Myra Toys who used to travel frequently on business (“I basically lived my life out of a big red sack,” he says, in one of Strassberg’s many winks at the reader. “I must have carried that bag over my shoulder forever”). Both men find themselves in the ward during the Christmas season, and they initially find themselves in conflict as they fall into arguments about metaphysics in the common rooms. Josh is spiritual and empathetic, assuring Nick that “God doesn’t want our independence; he wants our interdependence.” Nick, guessing that Josh is an unhoused person, is sharply intolerant at first: “I know if you’ve been bad or good, and you’ve all been bad,” he rumbles. “My tax dollars go to pay for the land where you illegally squat in your tents.” In the slow, skillful development of the relationship between these two men, Strassberg plays on the initial gimmick of having Jesus and Santa analogues meet, and steadily broadens the story into a more ambitious meeting of the minds, drawing on elements of philosophy. Nick is predictably jolly, but Strassberg’s greatest creation is Josh, who prays only for “an ordinary mortal life” and is the source of most of this slim book’s most memorable passages: “Perfection is the enemy of the good, but for me, I’ve met perfection,” he complains at one point. “And perfection has met me and just won’t leave me alone.” Very little happens in the book other than these verbal encounters, but readers will be too interested to notice.
An intense novella of ideas that looks into the heart of faith and generosity.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798337610870
Page Count: 95
Publisher: Nat 1 Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A compelling and skillfully written end to a thrilling fantasy series.
In the final book of Corland’s dark fantasy trilogy, a ragtag band works together to liberate a colony and dethrone tyrants.
A group of spies, thieves, and murderers, united by a common goal of ending the treacherous rule of King Joon of Yusan, regroup after a bloody battle claims the life of one of their own—the banished Yusanian prince, Euyn. However, there’s little time for Mikail, Aeri, Sora, and Royo to mourn. Bounty hunters and assassins are after them, in part because they now possess three of five legendary Relics of the Dragon Lord. Mikail, who’s just found out that he’s the last surviving member of a royal family, wields the Water Scepter of Wei, while Aeri, King Joon’s daughter, holds the Sands of Tim and the Golden Ring of Khitan. The remaining relics—the Flaming Sword of Gaya and the Immortal Crown—remain with King Joon, who’s desperate to have all five to wield a great deal more power. Meanwhile, the cruel Count Seok, who once indentured Sora, has usurped the throne of Yusan. The group has two goals: overthrow the king and liberate the Yusanian colony of Gaya—Mikail’s homeland—so that it can again be a thriving, independent realm. The relics are powerful tools in combat, but using them is adversely affecting Aeri and Mikail’s health. They need allies, but trusting strangers is a dangerous gamble. Corland’s final book in her Broken Blades trilogy is a relentlessly thrilling and action-packed dark fantasy featuring memorable characters, intense battle scenes, romance, and a satisfying conclusion. Alternately narrated by Aeri, Mikail, Sora, Royo, and their long-lost friend, Tiyung, readers benefit from watching the story unfold through the perspectives of each compelling, well-drawn character. The author’s passion for the fantasy genre shines through in the novel’s richly detailed worldbuilding, including vivid descriptions of landscapes and palace layouts, as well as its exploration of magic. Readers will also delight in the sardonic humor sprinkled throughout, as when Mikahil narrates, “Rune thinks he fathered Seok’s son. Truly, the nobility of Yusan has too much time on their hands.”
A compelling and skillfully written end to a thrilling fantasy series.Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781649379153
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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