3.4 stars
Brief disclosure before I get started on this review: I made the cover for this book a few months prior in collaboration with Mr. Rowland, and he was so kind as to mail me a signed copy in return. (Thanks again for the book!)
Now, on with the review.
TO:MM follows an extensive roster of characters, nearly all of which are POV characters at some point, as they root out the cause of monsters cropping up in Clovis, New Mexico. The Department of Superhuman Activities, or DSHA, and their team of Operators quickly pick up a trail leading to a genetics lab where a battle for the facility ensues. A purple crystal filled with some kind of alien intelligence is being utilized to mutate people into monsters, but once the facility is taken by the Operators, the trail goes cold.
And that’s where I’ll stop spoiling the story. This is essentially a superhero story, and it focuses heavily on the plot. Scenes happen quickly, and often from an eagle’s eye view as a dozen characters go to and fro chasing down leads and getting pulled into combat.
Here’s a quick rundown of some (yet still not quite all of) the POV characters:
Peter/Hunter – The Operator’s leader, no powers
Henry/Fusion – Made of energy
Adam/Dr. Atomica – Mech suit and brains
Dr. Sonia/Talon – Wolverine with blood rage problems
Kyle/Mountain – Steel skin and stronk
General Cross – The general, obviously
Margaret/Mindwave – Telepath, telekinetic
Lyla/Shade Walker – Magic I guess? She’s the Dr Strange-adjacent
Alan – Data analyst
Lauren/Valkyr – If Wonder Woman could fly
Yuriko/Shadowbird – Gen Z Shade Walker
Dave/RockStar – Solar panel staff & matching bling
I think this book could’ve done to slow down a little and/or narrow the perspective down to a smaller number of characters. By the midpoint of the story, so many people had been introduced that I began mixing up who was who and what each was doing. It reads a bit like a movie plot as it hops from person to person in the same chapter. Some people like this style, but I think it can sometimes steal away weight and drama that would’ve otherwise been naturally present.
The story is straight forwards, sometimes point blank, and doesn’t make a mess of itself while solving the mystery at hand. There are plenty of action packed scenes that read cleanly, though they are reminiscent of some 90s video games I grew up playing. The way the narrative is handled, the plot itself, and the characters sometimes felt like they belonged in a game. Specifically, the fight at GeniTech kept bringing up some nostalgia from Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Crystals that imbue power, ridiculously large mech suit battles, and I’ve gotta mention it – occasionally cheesy dialog.
This entire fight scene has almost the same vibe:
I love this game to death by the way. I’ve played it through at least 25 times. If you’ve never played it, it’s worth a try despite being dated. Just good ‘ol single player hack ’n slash.
Anyway, that’s it for this review! You can find the author on Minds @rowlands_laws for hundreds of daily quotes and for updates on his other book, The Girl Who Lost Her Self.
