Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

  “Uncertain Magic”: A Review of Dawn of the Construct (Book 1 of the Soul Machine Saga), by Eric Lard (Winchester, UK and Washington, USA: Cosmic Egg Books, 2022). ISBN: 978 1 80341 079 1. Although one could lump Dawn of the Construct into the fantasy/sci-fi hybrid that coopts much of its monsters, characters, and content from Tolkien, Martin, and D&D , that would be doing Eric Lard’s opening book in what promises to be an action-packed saga a disservice. Two things set it apart, which I will focus on here. First, the narrative happens in three timelines. One is Earth, centering on the war in Afghanistan. Another is sci-fi and futuristic, taking place on a forbidding planet. The third—where most of the story unfolds—is a fantasy/ D&D world where goblins and orcs menace the simple folk just trying to survive. Enhancing this triple-timeline structure is the literary device of “constructing the team.” Because the three heroes representing the timelines come from other...

   (Stories I Found in the Closet, 2022). ISBN: 979-8-5424346-7-4 About a month ago, I had the opportunity to review Book One of this series, Psycho Hose Beast from Outer Space , which I am hoping will be at least a trilogy. In that review (of a book I thoroughly enjoyed), I talked about the classic roots of the series—Stephen King’s Stand by Me , ET , Goonies , and Stranger Things —and the great appeal to the American psyche of middle and high school kids coming together to beat the Big Bad in an inspiring Coming of Age adventure. It’s right up there with the mystique of the Hollywood Western. Revenge of the Space Surfing Butt Monkeys (as I said about the first book, don’t let the title throw you—there is plenty of substance here) lives up to the myriad pressures that a second book in a series must manage. Similar to the follow-up to a Triple Platinum debut (music is a core part of this series, from chapter subtitles being songs of the era to the characters’ teenage obs...