The Cold Hell

The Cold Hell: A Penny Dreadful Review

          A brutal taster of a series that sounds fascinating, “The Cold Hell” is a short story by Augusto Chiarle published by DieGo Comics Publishing. Thanks to Kickstarter, the Shadow of Mars saga is set for publication. In fact, as I write this, the first book, Clockwork, should be available. I know I would love to find a copy.
          Mr. Chiarle drops us into the middle of a Polish winter with an engineer who loves his family. Inevitably, something horrific happens. It is an intoxicating taste of a fascinating world. Due to a Martian invasion, the power structure of the world is not as we know it. There's a portion of that in this story, but I would love to know more.
          This story does exactly what it intends: it makes the reader hungry for more of this world. Four gears all around. I highly recommend examining this saga from DieGo Comics Publishing.

Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Sausages, Steam, And The Bad Thing

Sausages, Steam, And The Bad Thing: A Penny Dreadful Review

            The queen of intriguing titles has done it again. Rachael Acks, author of the delightful Marta Ramos mysteries, released a collected compendium of her novellas with Musa Publishing. But Miss Merriweather, you say, I already have all her books. Why should I buy them again? For the extras, my readers, the extras. This is so much more than a simple collection.

            Sausages, Steam, and the Bad Thing features bonus material to accompany each of the novellas, in addition to brand new stories. Fans will get an exclusive look into the world of Captain Ramos and Colonel Douglas through newspaper clippings, recipes, and more. Much of the bonus material focuses on secondary characters and What Happened Next after Captain Ramos waltzed out of their lives, mysteries solved. I especially adore the brief interlude from the point of view of Chippy the Exceedingly Tiny Dog entitled “Sniff, Sniff. Adventure!”

            A new story, “The Jade Tiger,” involves a daring train robbery and the liberation of a young girl. It offers a quick glimpse into Captain Ramos’s past, a subject on which she is all but mute. It also introduces us to a new character, the fierce, clever mother Madam Xing, who I hope we will see again.

            I give this compilation five gears out of five, and highly recommend it to any fan of intrigue and swashbuckling. I am madly in love with Captain Ramos and her strange world, and I delight in her quirky adventures.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather