Title: Clock’s Watch | Author: Michael Reyes | Publisher: Pronoun | Pub. Date: 11/15/2017 | Pages: 159 | ISBN13: 9781387298341 | Genre: Dark Fantasy | Language: English | Rating: 3 out of 5 | Source: Received from the author for review consideration
Clock’s Watch
Clock the Chaos Mage. A stranger out of time, hidden in the folds of shadow. He is the guardian of Coney Island’s supernatural borderlands, and the only thing standing between our reality and the demons that thirst to destroy it. Clock’s Watch. An anthology of heroic dark fantasy and terror. Illustrations by Sean Bova, Jay Campbell and MV.
Clock’s Watch Review
Clock’s Watch is a nice collection of dark fantasy stories. I love the title Clock’s Watch. I really liked the character of Clock, he was interesting and entertaining. He felt very well-developed as did the characters around him. Some of the periphery characters were not quite as well fleshed out but the stories weren’t long enough for that to matter. I really liked the mini-synopses before the stories. They reminded me a lot of the fifties serials.
I really liked the stories themselves. The various demons and monsters were interesting and creative. The stories were also wrapped up in a good manner with each one self-contained. In fact, that’s the only real problem with it. I think that the book would have worked better as a novel. I’d have liked to have known more about the mythology of Clock’s world. And Clock himself. He’s really funny and interesting. We get a bit of knowledge about him but the stories and supernatural elements don’t have a lot of explanation behind it. I think if this were reworked into a novel length work with more room for backstory it would be great.
The illustrations are good on the front and back. I really like the one on the back in particular. I actually wished there would have been more in the book, like one per story would have been great. I would recommend the book for those who want short, well-written stories of supernatural action and shenanigans with Clock as your guardian through it all.
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GracieKat was the first co-host of Sci-Fi & Scary, Lilyn’s partner-in-crime, and sub-head of the Kali Krew. She reviews horror books, movies, and games for the site. She also does a weekly Focus on the Frightful feature, and is the site list-maker. She is also in control of the Sci-Fi & Scary podcast which will relaunch soon.
This seems like an interesting book! Thanks for sharing it with me, I put it on my TBR list.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy it!