Staff Writer: Kathleen
Published Date: August 6, 2024
Number of pages: 213 pages
Format: Physical book
Genre: Fantasy
Tags: Novella, High Fantasy, Assassins, TW: Violence, POC Author, Black Author, POC Protagonist, Black Protagonist, Standalone
Cardigan rating: 4 out of 5
To quote Doctor Who, this novella is really a ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff, and it’s a whole lot of fun. Clark leans into the “dark but likeable” trend we’ve been seeing with main characters the last couple of years, which is made even more clear as the novella progresses. I mean, the protagonist, Eveen, is an assassin known as the Eviscerator, which is pretty darn dark- even if she does insist it was just one time, and it wasn’t just for kicks and giggles! An assassin with a heart of gold, I suppose? Clark really built a full, fascinating world in just over 200 pages- or just under, depending on what edition you get- with a festival setting that jumps off the page. It sort of gives Mardi Gras vibes, but with magic, steampunk, and undead assassins mixed in. Speaking of the assassins, though, the whole guild has their own personality and style of… completing the job, which was cool to see. Not to give anything away, but seeing Eveen’s… coworkers, for lack of a better word, in action was cool. Clark’s action sequences are cinematic in a way that makes me wonder if he’s ever written for TV or movies.
The only real complaint I have is the ending- I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s very deus ex machina- it still requires wit from Eveen and her allies, but it’s not satisfying. Also, there is some use of dialect that I struggled hard with. I almost wonder if I would have understood it more in audio, but alas, while it is on Libby in audio, I couldn’t get a hold of it. I don’t follow fantasy very well in audio, and this is a twisty one! It’s definitely fantasy, but there are sprinklings of sci-fi, which is exactly the amount of sci-fi I want in my books. It’s also stuffed with humor, but not in a “ha ha, I’m so funny” kind of way, if that makes sense. It’s not trying to be funny in a Marvel movie sort of way. It’s more wryly sarcastic, kind of like John Scalzi’s recent books.
Okay, yes, I am disappointed by the lack of cats in this book, but I’ll forgive Clark for that because he still wrote a killer little book- little only in length, but not remotely in quality. While it does revolve around an undead assassin and contains a lot of violence, it wasn’t nearly as bloody and gory as one might expect. There’s really only one time it made me wince, and for me, that’s pretty good! It’s not a light read, but it’s quick and fun, and I’d recommend it to any teenage or adult fantasy reader!