Readers hungry for something different on the bookshelf are often left wanting. Between the deluge of bloated, lackluster romance masquerading as YA fantasy, mass re-printings of Brandon Sanderson and George RR Martin, and cozy reads with no stakes, it is no secret that modern-day Tradpub is a wasteland that has lost the zest for innovation and imagination. Jason Anspach and Ryan Williamson have provided something different in Doomsday Recon.
From the outside looking in, indie-published novels can seem like a wild west market with anyone and everyone crying out for you to give their work a try. It can be difficult to find the true gems amidst the cacophony of voices, but as the Macho Man Randy Savage once said: “The cream rises to the top.”
From the Indies comes a new cream of the crop: Ryan Williamson, a weird Western author I’ve read and followed for years now. Ryan Williamson brings his unique author voice to bear in the first book of a new trilogy in conjunction with Jason Anspach to be published by Wargate Books. He’s paired with Jason Anspach of Galaxy’s Edge fame to make a great duo. Everything that made Ryan Williamson’s Weird Western The Widow’s Son such a unique supernatural adventure is brought to bear in Doomsday Recon. I was provided an advance copy of the book for review purposes.
Doomsday Recon is a military sci-fi portal fantasy about a group of Army Cavalry Scouts from 1989 being brought to a fantasy world by a dark god. The book is first person from the perspective of Specialist Nephi Bennet, a young man of strong morals and faith. The opening chapters toss him and 31 of his fellow Scouts into a Mesopotamian world called The Land of the Black Sun. A brutal world of Aztec mythology and interesting monsters where they have only their dwindling supplies and fellow brothers-in-arms to survive.
From here, Ryan Williamson’s strengths as an author come into play. Being a veteran himself and working with Jason Anspach, this book is drenched in military tech, jargon, and know-how. It would be easy for the book to become a parody of the idea of military men in a portal fantasy, but it resists turning them into caricatures of the military in the vein of a low-budget sci-fi movie. They are competent, calculating, and, all together, very human. They operate exactly how I would imagine a military unit trapped in a monster-infested jungle world would act. Most importantly, they stick together and stay true to their rank and order.
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Another of Jason Anspach and Ryan Williamson’s strengths is the bestiary. At almost every turn is a new monstrosity. Beasts, dark gods, ravenous undead, giants, warrior women, and other humans trapped from the past or future. The Land of the Black Sun is rife with so many dangers that it can feel like a place of overwhelming, endless war. Allies are few and far between, but the story never feels hopeless or bleak. The variety of the world would make a fantastic tabletop roleplay setting.
I mentioned faith earlier because I was surprised to find this book is unapologetic in its representation of faith as a force of good in a dark world. As the plot unfolds, dark gods and their minions are revealed, and faith in the Christian God is presented with genuine respect and reverence. At times, it is even critical for the character’s success. It’s a refreshing change from the deconstruction and subversion we usually see faith play. There is very little vulgarity, as the story is told as a recounting by Bennett, who states within the book that he leaves out the vast majority of the vulgar language common amongst military men. (There is only one F-bomb that I found).
The pacing of the novel is brisk and never sits still for too long. This prose is concise and polished, and there’s a vein of dry, sarcastic military humor that pervades throughout the text. This is not to say characters make light of every situation like a cringe MCU movie–especially ones where they lose their own. There are aspects of internal strife, from dealing with the constant death-dealing and not losing your humanity in the process. Another area in the narrative is where faith becomes a positive attribute.
The overall plot of Doomsday Recon unveils through the travels of the unit from one danger to the next, making allies and enemies in unexpected places. The plot always offers up a new objective, and the characters march forward with an undeterred drive to survive against all odds while staying true to each other.
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Discerning readers should be aware that Doomsday Recon has a lot of instances of violence. While violence is not shied away from, neither is it gratuitous or glamorized. A few scenes involving potion-making might not be palatable if one has an aversion to gross-out imagery. (These are few and over quickly).
This book is a solid Five Star recommendation from me. Ryan Williamson is a highly underappreciated author with a unique voice and a talent for writing exciting adventures, heroic and masculine characters that don’t feel like parodies and believable tales of strong faith in the face of overwhelming evil. Jason Anspach brings his experience in the military sci-fi genre to bear in the narrative. This book is unlike anything you’ve read in the past and is a strong start to a trilogy while feeling like a complete story in and of itself.
Readers who would like a sample of both his writing and the world he’s created can get a free Novella courtesy of Wargate titled “Land of the Black Sun”. It’s an exciting intro to the world, following a group of 1800s Cavalry soldiers being brought to the world. It helps establish a side character who appears later in Doomsday Recon.
Doomsday Recon is available via Amazon or via Wargate Book’s website. The sequel Death or Glory is available for pre-order and release on April 4th.
What do you think of Ryan Williamson and Jason Anspach’s Doomsday Recon? Leave a comment and let us know.
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