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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Any Minor World immersed me from the first chapter. Completely. I started it on a bus that took me on a hiking trip and finished in the tent in the mountains of North Macedonia. So, yeah, I loved it.
It blends all the ingredients I crave - dark urban fantasy, noir, and horror. In addition, it offers an exciting twist to superheroes and excellent, tight plotting.
Set in two realities (including Noir York), Any Minor World follows an unlicensed PI and recovering addict named Roy Mackey. Roy gets a chance to earn BIG & EASY money. He just needs to track the dead writer’s manuscript that turns out to be a rip-off of The Midnight Jury, a canceled pulp-adventure comic.
After identifying and tracking the actual author, Lucy Langenkamp, Roy’s life gets bonkers. Up to around one-third of the book, Any Minor World reads like a fast-paced noir thriller, but then the story reaches an exciting and preternatural twist that speeds up the (already fast) plot. Lucy’s imagination is twisted, and her creations, including a flame-thrower wielding exterminator or ancient Egyptian necromancers and giant skeleton-snakes, somehow step into the real world.
Beneath a rough physique and an addiction, Roy attempts to forget a tortured past, that of a police job and forbidden love gone wrong. Schaeffer loves using archetypes and tropes to create memorable characters. Roy is a stereotypical down-on-his-luck PI who takes the case and understands his role in the story. He’s the guy who throws lines like this:
I couldn’t help but like the guy. Lucy starts as a mousy art restorer with steel hidden underneath her frail physique and a fear of the confrontation. Of course, the villains are over-the-top, but long-life fans of comic books, superheroes, and supervillains will be thrilled to meet them. We’re getting undead, psychopaths, The Network (Mafia of the Mafias), and more (without getting into spoilers).
Any Minor World is a fast-paced and clever superhero noir. Sign me up for the Midnight Jury fan club :) I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here. Schaefer is my favorite pulp writer, and Any Minor World cements her position.
It blends all the ingredients I crave - dark urban fantasy, noir, and horror. In addition, it offers an exciting twist to superheroes and excellent, tight plotting.
Set in two realities (including Noir York), Any Minor World follows an unlicensed PI and recovering addict named Roy Mackey. Roy gets a chance to earn BIG & EASY money. He just needs to track the dead writer’s manuscript that turns out to be a rip-off of The Midnight Jury, a canceled pulp-adventure comic.
After identifying and tracking the actual author, Lucy Langenkamp, Roy’s life gets bonkers. Up to around one-third of the book, Any Minor World reads like a fast-paced noir thriller, but then the story reaches an exciting and preternatural twist that speeds up the (already fast) plot. Lucy’s imagination is twisted, and her creations, including a flame-thrower wielding exterminator or ancient Egyptian necromancers and giant skeleton-snakes, somehow step into the real world.
Beneath a rough physique and an addiction, Roy attempts to forget a tortured past, that of a police job and forbidden love gone wrong. Schaeffer loves using archetypes and tropes to create memorable characters. Roy is a stereotypical down-on-his-luck PI who takes the case and understands his role in the story. He’s the guy who throws lines like this:
“Recent events have left me with some frustration to work out of my system. So I’m going to go out there, I’m going to politely introduce myself to Mr. Malone, and then I’m going to beat the undead shit out of him. It’ll be good for my overall sense of well-being.”
I couldn’t help but like the guy. Lucy starts as a mousy art restorer with steel hidden underneath her frail physique and a fear of the confrontation. Of course, the villains are over-the-top, but long-life fans of comic books, superheroes, and supervillains will be thrilled to meet them. We’re getting undead, psychopaths, The Network (Mafia of the Mafias), and more (without getting into spoilers).
Any Minor World is a fast-paced and clever superhero noir. Sign me up for the Midnight Jury fan club :) I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here. Schaefer is my favorite pulp writer, and Any Minor World cements her position.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Any Minor World by Craig Schaefer was my fourth and final full read planned for the second round of SPSFC-3 competition. The ratings, scored and thoughts below are of my own and in no way reflect team Peripheral Prospectors or judging for the competition in general. As this round is fully under way I just want to express my favorite part about these events. The chance to discover authors and stories I may never have come across without it.
I'd also like to point out that all four of the books our group was assigned for the second round were very different from each other. I'm not sure I've ran across that from groups in the past when assigned reads like this. For me this kept things fresh and allowed each of the stories to stand alone and present their own unique qualities.
The pacing was fast but smooth in this read. I once again had the benefit of an immersion read both via Kindle as well as the audio version narrated by Susannah Jones who did an excellent job bringing this story to life. As creative and odd as this story was, I don't have much bad to say regarding the layout and how it was presented. No issues with names of characters or places that tripped me up. We do have a good number of characters but I never felt overwhelmed. Each character seemed unique and well fleshed out. Again Susannah's narration helped give each character their own feel as well.
The world building was nicely done. I believe this was my first read where a character/author's imagination was actually populating an directly affecting the worlds. I would assume this isn't the easiest thing to achieve. The first part of the book definitely seemed like we were being tossed into a rather dark world with peril around almost every turn. Well things don't get much better for our characters as things unfold. As a reader though, it only got more and more interesting.
I feel the character development might be this book's strongest aspect overall. As I mentioned we have quite a few characters to keep track up and I felt we got to know quite a bit about each of them whether they were a protagonist or antagonist. We have several that fall in both categories and a couple that might fall somewhere in the middle even. Without giving away spoilers I will say one of my favorite takeaways for this book and story is that each of us have different levels of heroes and villains within each of us.
All in all this was a solid read and I have enough fun with it that I'll be keeping an eye on where The Midnight Jury series goes from here. Again, this is a read and author I might never have come across without the opportunity given to me with judging for SPSFC-3.
I'd also like to point out that all four of the books our group was assigned for the second round were very different from each other. I'm not sure I've ran across that from groups in the past when assigned reads like this. For me this kept things fresh and allowed each of the stories to stand alone and present their own unique qualities.
The pacing was fast but smooth in this read. I once again had the benefit of an immersion read both via Kindle as well as the audio version narrated by Susannah Jones who did an excellent job bringing this story to life. As creative and odd as this story was, I don't have much bad to say regarding the layout and how it was presented. No issues with names of characters or places that tripped me up. We do have a good number of characters but I never felt overwhelmed. Each character seemed unique and well fleshed out. Again Susannah's narration helped give each character their own feel as well.
The world building was nicely done. I believe this was my first read where a character/author's imagination was actually populating an directly affecting the worlds. I would assume this isn't the easiest thing to achieve. The first part of the book definitely seemed like we were being tossed into a rather dark world with peril around almost every turn. Well things don't get much better for our characters as things unfold. As a reader though, it only got more and more interesting.
I feel the character development might be this book's strongest aspect overall. As I mentioned we have quite a few characters to keep track up and I felt we got to know quite a bit about each of them whether they were a protagonist or antagonist. We have several that fall in both categories and a couple that might fall somewhere in the middle even. Without giving away spoilers I will say one of my favorite takeaways for this book and story is that each of us have different levels of heroes and villains within each of us.
All in all this was a solid read and I have enough fun with it that I'll be keeping an eye on where The Midnight Jury series goes from here. Again, this is a read and author I might never have come across without the opportunity given to me with judging for SPSFC-3.
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I read this book as a judge for the third annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: graphic violence, gun violence, blood, gore, murder, death, kidnapping, drug use / addiction, cannibalism, swearing
--
Any Minor World is a fantastic clash of crime noir and superhero fiction that well and truly pulls you in for the ride.
A freelance personal investigator, Roy Mackey gets hired to find a lost manuscript. It’s a job that suspiciously pays too much and where all the details don’t add up. Roy follows the breadcrumbs to Lucy Langenkamp, the young author of a discontinued comic book series – The Midnight Jury – that has links to the mysterious manuscript but which she is clueless about. After saving her from being kidnapped and all but putting a bigger target on his back with the sketchy client who initially hired him, Roy soon finds that he may have more pressing concerns when characters from the actual Midnight Jury comic book start showing up trying to get their hands on Lucy too.
If I was to choose one word to describe this book it would be cinematic. From the first chapter the snappy pacing flows so well, you’re immersed right into the world and the characters fly off the page. Honestly Shaefer’s characterisation is phenomenal, each and every one of the characters fells well fleshed out and you get a real sense of their personalities within a few pages.
There is fair bit of violence in this one but the action is SO GOOD and alongside all the suspense there is this adventurous undertone that makes the book such a page turner.
The story has a very DC Comics feel to it, the setting was giving me flashes of Gotham for sure and I also found my mind drawing parallels to Watchmen and The Sandman too. Though I have to say that as a whole it leans much more towards gritty urban fantasy than science fiction for me and this is probably because when it comes to the more speculative elements there is a lot more magic/black magic involved than science.
As someone who loves it when SFF in paired with mystery/crime I still had such a fun time with it though.
Whilst the direction of the plot is unique there are some very cliché, classic comic book-esque moments along the way too. By the end the events that take place over this one book are concluded really nicely however, there are also some loose threads left early on which hint at a series continuation and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for that in the future!
**I read this book as a judge for the third annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: graphic violence, gun violence, blood, gore, murder, death, kidnapping, drug use / addiction, cannibalism, swearing
--
Any Minor World is a fantastic clash of crime noir and superhero fiction that well and truly pulls you in for the ride.
A freelance personal investigator, Roy Mackey gets hired to find a lost manuscript. It’s a job that suspiciously pays too much and where all the details don’t add up. Roy follows the breadcrumbs to Lucy Langenkamp, the young author of a discontinued comic book series – The Midnight Jury – that has links to the mysterious manuscript but which she is clueless about. After saving her from being kidnapped and all but putting a bigger target on his back with the sketchy client who initially hired him, Roy soon finds that he may have more pressing concerns when characters from the actual Midnight Jury comic book start showing up trying to get their hands on Lucy too.
If I was to choose one word to describe this book it would be cinematic. From the first chapter the snappy pacing flows so well, you’re immersed right into the world and the characters fly off the page. Honestly Shaefer’s characterisation is phenomenal, each and every one of the characters fells well fleshed out and you get a real sense of their personalities within a few pages.
There is fair bit of violence in this one but the action is SO GOOD and alongside all the suspense there is this adventurous undertone that makes the book such a page turner.
The story has a very DC Comics feel to it, the setting was giving me flashes of Gotham for sure and I also found my mind drawing parallels to Watchmen and The Sandman too. Though I have to say that as a whole it leans much more towards gritty urban fantasy than science fiction for me and this is probably because when it comes to the more speculative elements there is a lot more magic/black magic involved than science.
As someone who loves it when SFF in paired with mystery/crime I still had such a fun time with it though.
Whilst the direction of the plot is unique there are some very cliché, classic comic book-esque moments along the way too. By the end the events that take place over this one book are concluded really nicely however, there are also some loose threads left early on which hint at a series continuation and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for that in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
If anyone ever needs a noir-comic-book-as-novel rec, this is it! Roy reminded me of Slam Bradley from the Trail of the Catwoman comics. I look forward to a return visit to Noir York City.
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I started this book, but it wasn't what I got. I was expecting more science fantasy, since this can be described as a multi-world superhero book. Instead, the book felt more like a gritty crime noir story, with the first half of the book only barely touching on the superhero (or, more accurately, supervillain) aspects. The book always felt more focused on the detective angle than any SFF or superhero angle.
I hesitate to know how to talk about this book. If I had been at a bookstore and skimmed the first few chapters trying to decide whether to pick it up, I probably wouldn't have gone any further than that. This book is much darker and grittier than my usual fare. It's just not the kind of book that I will usually pick for myself. However, since someone else picked it for me, I did keep reading and I was fascinated by the concept. You could tell that there was a lot of depth to this book beyond what was shown on the page, and I found myself wondering more than once whether Schaefer had written / commissioned the actual Midnight Jury comic books to have as a visual reference.
The characters, for the most part, felt like comic book characters. (Which makes sense, all things considered.) Honestly, even the two main characters from the "real" world felt very frequently like comic book characters. And yet, for me, there wasn't much of a visual picture of the characters. The images that stuck with me were more about the characters' accessories than their appearance. (Except for Mr. Smith, who I couldn't help but picture as Agent Smith from the Matrix movies.) Roach had his homemade flamethrower. The Duke is a canvas for tattoos. Rumblebones has her teddy bear. But what do they look like? I'm not sure. (Though honestly, that feels very "comic book" to me, too, where the artists change periodically and the character appearances change with them but the accessories stay the same.)
I really enjoyed the (all too brief) discussion of the way authors create stories and some of the stories linger and create their own worlds that are populated by their characters. We got just enough of the creation stuff to move the main plot forward, though, and no more. I would have loved to see more of it, but that would have made for a slower book. This one was more focused on action, and that meant leaving the philosophical "what happens when we dream up other worlds" stuff for another time. We got enough of it in this book to understand why it was a plot point, but it stopped there.
When I got to "The End," I found that I had enjoyed my time with this book more than I expected to based on the opening. I don't know how many of my regular blog readers I can recommend this to, though, since I know that, like me, many of my regulars enjoy cozy books (which this is NOT). However, there are also some readers of this blog who like darker stuff than I do, and those of you who are looking for something interesting with great worldbuilding and more grit than is present in the kind of books I typically review might enjoy this book.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
I read this book as part of the judging process for the 3rd Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC3), and I was provided a review copy for judging purposes. My opinions are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of my SPSFC3 team or the competition as a whole.
I hesitate to know how to talk about this book. If I had been at a bookstore and skimmed the first few chapters trying to decide whether to pick it up, I probably wouldn't have gone any further than that. This book is much darker and grittier than my usual fare. It's just not the kind of book that I will usually pick for myself. However, since someone else picked it for me, I did keep reading and I was fascinated by the concept. You could tell that there was a lot of depth to this book beyond what was shown on the page, and I found myself wondering more than once whether Schaefer had written / commissioned the actual Midnight Jury comic books to have as a visual reference.
The characters, for the most part, felt like comic book characters. (Which makes sense, all things considered.) Honestly, even the two main characters from the "real" world felt very frequently like comic book characters. And yet, for me, there wasn't much of a visual picture of the characters. The images that stuck with me were more about the characters' accessories than their appearance. (Except for Mr. Smith, who I couldn't help but picture as Agent Smith from the Matrix movies.) Roach had his homemade flamethrower. The Duke is a canvas for tattoos. Rumblebones has her teddy bear. But what do they look like? I'm not sure. (Though honestly, that feels very "comic book" to me, too, where the artists change periodically and the character appearances change with them but the accessories stay the same.)
I really enjoyed the (all too brief) discussion of the way authors create stories and some of the stories linger and create their own worlds that are populated by their characters. We got just enough of the creation stuff to move the main plot forward, though, and no more. I would have loved to see more of it, but that would have made for a slower book. This one was more focused on action, and that meant leaving the philosophical "what happens when we dream up other worlds" stuff for another time. We got enough of it in this book to understand why it was a plot point, but it stopped there.
When I got to "The End," I found that I had enjoyed my time with this book more than I expected to based on the opening. I don't know how many of my regular blog readers I can recommend this to, though, since I know that, like me, many of my regulars enjoy cozy books (which this is NOT). However, there are also some readers of this blog who like darker stuff than I do, and those of you who are looking for something interesting with great worldbuilding and more grit than is present in the kind of books I typically review might enjoy this book.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
I read this book as part of the judging process for the 3rd Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC3), and I was provided a review copy for judging purposes. My opinions are my own and do not reflect the thoughts of my SPSFC3 team or the competition as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gore, Cannibalism
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was another of my SPSFC semifinal reads and the views represent my own and not my team's.
The story opens with Roy Mackey who is recovering a kidnapped kid from the addicts who did the abduction. I loved how it established Mackey's skills and the kind of work he does. He's hired by a man calling himself Mr. Smith to track down the manuscript of a deceased author. The chase leads him to realising that the author has plagiarised her work from an old comic book which only ran for three issues before the publisher went bankrupt due to a recession. He tracks down the author of the comic book, only to discover that Smith has been after her from the beginning, and Roy has just become expendable. He saves the author, Lucy Langenkamp from the goons Smith has sent, but neither of them are prepared for what comes after them. Characters from the comic book are coming alive and all of them want Lucy.
While this reads more like fantasy than Sci Fi, the theory of alternate parallel universes gives it a Sci Fi slant. It was a highly entertaining and enjoyable read and I finished it in two days. There were times I had to put it aside for a bit because I got so anxious for the characters.
Roy and Lucy are both well rounded characters, with depth and dimension. They are both battling their own traumas even as they're running from enemies. The side characters are mostly the comic book people but even they have some depth to them. I loved how it ended, and how everything led to that conclusion. As someone who hates confrontation and was afraid to say no for a long time, I found Lucy relatable on a personal level. I want to give her a hug and keep her safe and warm. Same with Roy. For all his faults, he is a man struggling to do the right thing.
If you love Sci fi, fantasy and alternate dimensions with characters who are both believable and likeable, this is the book for you.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
In theory Any Minor World by Craig Schaefer should have been a book that I enjoyed more than I did. The story opens as Roy Mackey, a former officer turned PI, takes on what seems to be an easy case: retrieve a dead author’s final manuscript. As is wont to happen in these stories, nothing is what it seems, and things go pear-shaped rather quickly. The clues bring Roy to Lucy Langenkamp, a timid art restorer living outside of Las Vegas, and the author of the cancelled pulp comic, The Midnight Jury. A thwarted kidnapping attempt, and several attempts on their lives by “unique” individuals lead Roy and Lucy to the conclusion, as impossible as it seems, that Lucy’s story has come alive, and it wants Lucy to fulfil some darker purpose.
The story’s narrative falls squarely in the pulp noir genre, filled with snappy (if somewhat generic) dialog, seedy locations within a run-down cityscape, and a bevy of stock characters including a boozy detective, a femme fatale, a questionable hero, and a powerful criminal over lord. However, Mr. Schaefer’s pulp world includes magic and pocket worlds. The characters were not well developed, each falling into a prescribed role or character type found in pulp noir. The plot was straightforward, a heist mixed a crime drama, and the pacing was quick.
Although there were some enjoyable elements to Any Minor World the story felt incomplete with gapping plot holes that detracted from my overall enjoyment. While I might not pick up future installments , I did enjoy Mr. Schaefer's writing enjoy enjoy to check out his other works.
The story’s narrative falls squarely in the pulp noir genre, filled with snappy (if somewhat generic) dialog, seedy locations within a run-down cityscape, and a bevy of stock characters including a boozy detective, a femme fatale, a questionable hero, and a powerful criminal over lord. However, Mr. Schaefer’s pulp world includes magic and pocket worlds. The characters were not well developed, each falling into a prescribed role or character type found in pulp noir. The plot was straightforward, a heist mixed a crime drama, and the pacing was quick.
Although there were some enjoyable elements to Any Minor World the story felt incomplete with gapping plot holes that detracted from my overall enjoyment. While I might not pick up future installments , I did enjoy Mr. Schaefer's writing enjoy enjoy to check out his other works.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced