K.B. Spangler

When the first chapters came out (I'd been following this in serial, waiting anxiously for each new part), I wrote this to the author: "The prose writing is not only stunningly consistent with the characterization in your comic dialogue, but it's also plain fun without taking away from the fact that you're dealing with a pair of detectives who are actively working to shift a long-held paradigm (several, actually)."

It only got better. One of the things we lack in the comic (of which I have show more been a fan for so long) is narration. There are some comic artists that I am glad of that fact. But in the case of Spangler, it makes me a little sad. Her writing has a beautiful rhythm to it, flowing naturally where the reader needs to process information quickly and easily, but balancing itself with complex phrasings that not only cause the reader to pause and take note - Something important is happening here! - but also to consider that which they have already read. Layers are hidden within layers and I love to get lost in them, because the story is such a wonderful reward.

Also, I need to take a moment to talk about the characters, because there is not enough good that can be said. I loved Rachel and Santino when they first showed up, not long before the release of Digital Divide. There was a pleasant banter that already had a history to it and this novel is the beginnings of that history. But even more than the main detectives in the story, who I already loved, this book was an exercise in falling in love with fictional characters. I'm used to doing so, as I'm a recovering literature major, but I was surprised by the depth I felt so quickly. Detective Matt Hill, who is the epitome of a pleasant surprise; Detective Jacob Zockinski, with his temper tantrums, absolute loyalty, and surprisingly hot wife; Agent Jason Atran, who I fully expected to loathe and came to understand, even care for; and, my personal, absolute, hands down favorite Agent Phil Netz, who spouts nonsense and comfort at just the right times while being the kind of bad ass that EVERYONE wants to keep around. I SO look forward to seeing them in the near future.

The good news is, the comic cast - of which I am so fond - makes the necessary cameos without ever intruding on the novel cast's personal space. They are barely there at the fringes, but I still get a wonderful dose of Assistant Director Josh Glassman and Director Pat Mulcahy.

One marvel of this novel is the way that Spangler's mind works communicates so well through the plot. I have a friend who I introduced to the comic who just couldn't make it through, not because of content or personal taste, but because Spangler has a truly unique way of presenting things. He could not connect (aside: I am not saying it takes adjustment or effort or is hard to connect to Spangler's style). Her phrasing is like a dialect all on its own, and I love it. Seeing the plot unfold was like seeing an old friend. The dialect of her language is apparent through every point of the plot. It is just as complex, just as hilarious and thought-provoking as the words, but in the kind of way that makes a mind run a jungle gym of potentials and possibilities while laughing uproariously at being lost and found at turns. We receive enough information to do better than "keep up," but we never receive so much that we are in any way ahead, and I love authors who can keep me on my toes like that. They are few and far between.

Please don't misunderstand the title of my review. I have a deep and abiding love of the web-comic. I love that I have been able to see small, non-pertinent details in the novel's pages, buried there for tandem readers. But the timbre and flavor of the comic, which I have long been attracted to, has been so enhanced by the presence of the novel that I can only categorize the novel as her best work. A Girl and Her Fed still has my full support. I love the community. But this? This is miles beyond and well worth the trip.

A+ - best work by author thus far show less

My book club’s choice ;)

Only a few pages in, I thought: “Right, this is going to be a NICE book, YA sci-fi novel that knows exactly what it’s doing. Yay!”

The book drops you in the middle of the action right away, so the worldbuilding feels quick and effortless. For a reader, it’s like putting on a pair of well-worn slippers. I still have quite a few questions, but I hope they will be answered in the next book – because I’ll definitely read it.

Tembi, the main character, is cool, show more inquisitive, eager, badass, has anger management issues and keeps her head (mostly) cool in a crisis. I adored her. Coming of age stories and plots where someone with special abilities goes to a very special school have been told countless times before. Telling such a story yet again, without making the reader yawn and cringe, is impressive.

I really enjoyed the idea of Deep, the alien intelligence, and its efforts to communicate and build relationships with Tembi and other Witches.

The second half of the book gets darker and darker – there is war and genocide, complicity through inaction, difficult choices.

And wait, supply chains? A sci-fi book that takes supply chains seriously? Give me more, please. show less

The YA prequel, Stoneskin, has grown up, painfully. It has become “Blackwing War” – a grimmer, very angry tale. There is anguish and tragedy, and characters that make horrible choices for the right (or so they seem to them) reasons. The horrors of genocide and concentration camps are described in such a way that I could almost hear the author screaming in the background “why can’t they see?”

Tembi is more mature. I really liked how she becomes stronger, smarter, angrier, more show more independent, and makes her own difficult choices.

The Deep is also developing in interesting ways, and things that were hinted at in the prequel are beginning to come together in the end. Exciting…

I find that I have trouble letting this book go. I will now wait, somewhat impatiently, for the next one. show less

Just a couple of chapters in: Loving the setting (my home turf, Washington DC) and the protagonist, a woman, cyborg, POC, ex-military, police liaison. Can't wait to read more.

Finished: This was really excellent. Tight cyberpunk mystery, well executed. It could have used a quick and dirty copyedit, as I found some typos in the Kindle edition, but they're easy to ignore in a book this good. I'll dive into the second one posthaste. Do like.