Lisa Barry

This turned out very different than I expected, esp. regrading the expectations set by the blurb. I thought this would be a "laugh-out-loud urban fantasy mystery with lots of witty banter, humour, and snark". What I got was a very solid urban fantasy mystery with a few humorous remarks.

Which was not what I was in the mood for, but - despite being currently in one of the worst mood-reading moods ever: if I am not 100% vibing with it, I am not reading it, my brain simply refuses - I still kept show more reading, the story was so intriguing I just could not put it down. Despite the lack of humour, and even though the characters were far less funny or charming than I would have liked them to be.

Now, with all that kept in mind, I have a few points that really did not work for me at all:

1) A book set in Ireland, using plenty of Irish - and general British - slang, yet being written in American English (e.g. 'realized' instead of "realised") is one of my biggest pet peeves ever. If you write a "British" story - or an Irish story -, for the love of the grammar gods, use British spelling or the whole thing quickly becomes a farce.

2) This needs a better editor or proofreader. There were quite a number of typos, misplaced commas, and just plainly wrong - and sometimes at least highly questionable - terms throughout the book. It's not like every other sentence bad, but it was quite noticeable for me and it affected my enjoyment quite a bit; esp. in combination with #1 and the fact that this book was not entirely fitting my mood. Not to mention that there is not one correctly formatted dash in the whole damn thing, it's hyphens everywhere. Maybe I am a bit harsh here, but still...

3) The blurb should reflect the mood of the book better. I think it's currently setting the wrong expectations. It might be a me thing, but when I read the blurb I am expecting a fantasy mystery full of whacky humour, not a fantasy mystery with a tad of humour sprinkled in every so often. In short, I expected something way more heavy on the humour side than what I got, and that's - at least partially - the blurb's fault.

All that said, I still enjoyed the hell out of this book - after I adjusted my expectations to fit the book in front of me - and I am now going to directly dive into the second book of the series.

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"Do you sparkle?"

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review through Goodreads' First Reads program.)

A group of writers who come together for "support, inspiration and the occasional kick in the arse," the Ink Slingers Guild has published two anthologies of its members' work to date. Into the Abyss features ten essays (and one poem) based on one of the writing exercises performed at every ISG meeting. The authors were given three words - gravity, innocuous, and perilous show more - and directed to create a story that touches upon each concept. The result is an eclectic mix of noir ("The Scarab"), fantasy ("The Scarab," "Sending Sally Home," "The Heart of Ballion," "Beginnings"), science fiction ("The Room," "Revelation"), supernatural horror ("Jimmy," "Complications," "Rain") and young adult fiction ("Jimmy").

The Scarab - 1929, England. A PI discovers a strange, beetle-shaped amulet that transports him to ancient Egypt - and helps him unlock his destiny.

Sending Sally Home - A sweet fantasy romance in which a young woman, mistaken for a distant royal relative, is transported to another world where she falls in love with the wizard tasked with keeping vigil for her. From the title to the whimsical setting, the tale has a vaguely Whovian feel to it.

The Heart of Ballion - Ballion is a world created by men, not gods, as a safe haven for refugees. Forced to flee their own worlds by the genocidal Overlord, people from the worlds over are welcomed to Ballion by the Sorcerers, who open the Border at the direction of the Tower. But Ballion is also under attack: the Blackfire Riders have found a way in and are systemically destroying the Keystones, the heart of Ballion. Sorcerers Thryn and Aliell must transform Ballion in order to save it.

Jimmy - A suicidal teen befriends a ghost child while recovering from a overdose in the hospital. But what of those implants?

The Room - A gritty piece of science fiction about an evil, tentacled doctor; a genocidal madman; and two not-quite-friends who are searching for their best friend-slash-lover.

Beginnings - An elfin girl rescues a condemned man from the gallows and the two set off on a quest together. A somewhat charming tale, even if there's not much to it. (It almost feels like a prequel to a novella.)

Revelation - The Foo Fighters (the extraterrestrials, not the band!) transport a soldier involved with Project X from 1944 to 2012, in order to stop the army from developing an electromagnetic weapon capable of capturing or even killing them.

The Quarter - A child receives a lesson in economics in the most unlikely of places.

Complications - Three friends find themselves caught up in a vampiric lover's quarrel. It's from "Complications" that I borrowed the title of this review.

Rain - A woman who can see ghosts returns to her family's homestead in Oregon after the loss of her baby. Newly divorced from her abusive husband Jimmy, Loretta's solitude is shattered when the local sheriffs swarm her property in search of an escaped felon. She doesn't know him, but he seems to know her - he's carrying a picture of Loretta in his wallet. But why?

Anthologies almost always run the risk of unevenness, and Into the Abyss is no exception. A few of the pieces would have benefited from heavier editing; for example, italicizing characters' internal thoughts in "The Room" would make for an easier read, and missing punctuation abounds in "Revelation." Some of the stories seem to suffer from interesting idea/poor execution syndrome - I just couldn't get into "Revelation," and "Jimmy" takes an unexpected and rather dark turn, the meaning of which I'm still struggling with (it almost seems pro-suicide, but that can't be right!). And "The Quarter" just feels out of place, given the fantasy/scifi bent of most of the other stories.

On the plus side, "The Room" is a highly enjoyable read, and "Sending Sally Home" is straight-up adorable. (Oh, to have a magical paramour who is willing to bend time and space for you!) Though I'm not super-into fantasy, "The Heart of Ballion" and "Beginnings" both held my attention.

The real gem of this collection, however, is "Rain" - a truly enchanted tale that on its own is worth the price of admission. (Also, bonus points to the author for her most creative use of the three exercise words!) Normally I regift used books in some way, particularly if I don't foresee reading them a second time - but Into the Abyss has a permanent place on my bookshelf, thanks in no small part to "Rain." It really does sparkle.

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