McAllister's Mates Twenty Seven

Hi all

A highly inventive and engrossing science fiction saga by the The Black Knight. This is a long, involved story that I decided to give its own solo review to.

These reviews are part of Reviewstack run by the great writer and pillar of the Substack Community : Thaddeus Thomas

McAllister’s Mates - An ongoing series of reviews of some of the wonderful articles, poems, and stories I’ve discovered on Substack (and other places) and more importantly the beautiful souls behind the works.

P.S Subscribe for your chance to get your work reviewed here!

Please take a few moments to read the works of these authors, artists, and creators and if you find their work as life-affirming and life changing as I do, then please let them know. We need to support and cherish these voices.

You can meet some of my other friends in the previous instalments: 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

If you want to keep me in caffeine (and keep the ghostly voices whispering for the poetry side of things) - consider clicking below. For any who do so, you have my deepest gratitude.

The Black Knight

This is a very interesting idea - a semi-interactive democratic novel. Black Knight finished each chapter with a poll and a choice of possible plot directions. This offers exciting possibilities for both author and audience, and I think is an interesting approach to one of the biggest conundrums in the modern publishing landscape. How do writers and artists engage and involve an audience while staying true to their intuition and vision? While we may have missed the interactive period we are still left with a cracking story, which I will talk about momentarily. I just wanted to point out Black Knight’s versatility and creativity as an author. I very much hope he takes this approach again in the future.

The story opens with beautiful John Keats-esque descriptions of a gorgeous village arising out of the landscape. The narrative moves into stranger territory as we realise we are in an alien world in a distant future, as opposed to the 1950s Kent countryside, still the reassuringly beautiful prose sweeps us along… Even as the poetically harmonious, visually delightful writing starts describing (possibly cybernetic) shock troops. The juxtaposition is ingenious and thrusts us deep into the mindset of the (intentionally?) oblivious villagers. As an aside I think it’s a trick Orwell missed - a passage or two of a still indoctrinated Winston gleefully celebrating his existence of constant surveillance and thought control, could have cranked the tension even higher in Nineteen Eighty Four.

However, just as we are beginning to fear and loathe the military presence something even worse appears. A band of Space Pirates terrorising a young family. The pirates are realised in terrifying detail, their ramshackle yet futuristic equipment capable of horrifying effects on their victims: motorised rapidly vibrating swords, laser pistols capable of reducing rooms full of people to ash, and heat rays capable of destroying any armour. Their dialogue oozes with casual cruelty and malevolence. It is clear they have subjected many to this treatment, danger palpable in every line from the pirates’ brutally minimalist dialogue, to the young woman’s screams of terror, and the descriptions of the pirates’ dreadful appearance and weaponry.

The soldier we were led to believe to be a brute a few moments ago is revealed to be a noble, caring Knight frantically searching for a way to save the endangered family. This is where we (the audience) are first asked to intervene. We are given a list of detailed strategies that the Morale Officer (the protector’s designation). These are presented confidentially with detailed descriptions of martial arts moves, enemy reactions, and possible consequences. Black Knight has clearly put a great deal of thought into this process. This gives the choices weight and forces readers to fully engage with the process. The stakes are incredibly high and each scenario is loaded with potential heroism and very real potential failure with anxious descriptions of just how things could go very wrong. This is a fun, exciting and truly collaborative approach to storytelling.

To go further into plot details would be a spoiler (and as previous readers know I cannot abide spoilers, especially when the writing is worthy). So I’d like to talk about the writing itself, and there’s a lot to talk about. The world building is immense - this is a living, breathing planet with sprawling, appropriately messy histories. Warring factions steeped in prejudices, competing (often questionable) philosophies vying for dominance. The characters’ behaviours and speech call back to medieval and feudal periods of history which gives the dialogue a timeless richness and makes perfect sense. Such customs were born in times of chaotic violence bringing forth both the best and worst in human nature. Rich honour and chivalry battles with greed, avarice, and Machiavellian cruelty. It also stirs the imagination to wonder how such callbacks to historic values came about. Fragmented histories partially collected from remains of an abandoned Earth? A renaissance (or degradation) of societal structures in a society endowed or burdened by omnipresent technologies?

On the subject of technology - everything feels grounded while still exciting and wondrous. The innovations feel useful and within the realm of possibility, if still far off from our current era. Amazing as the various devices may be, characters are still forced to make do and mend - cobbling together mismatched tech, and falling foul of opponents more advanced or with greater resources. This is not a world of Star Trek-esque wonders and miracle devices. It is one of powerful, advanced circuitry and incredible motorisation, but caked in sand and dirt, and close to burning out.

The interactions and relationships of the characters are touching, funny, and sometimes tragic. In a world of relentless danger and loss - we see intense bonds of brotherhood, friendship, and family love. Just like the tech and environments - these bonds are rich, fiery, messy and real. The triumphs and losses hit deep and hit hard. The characters have complex motivations, surprising depths and contradictions that unfold over time drawing you deeper into their world.

This story is an impressive piece of work - in its depth of lore, thrilling action, touching relationships, and creative presentation. I certainly enjoyed the finished product, but would be absolutely delighted if Black Knight went down this communal interactive road again. Highly recommended — please enjoy!

The province of Terrans

I hope you enjoy this beautiful works as much as I enjoyed reading and writing about it.

You can meet some of my other friends in the previous instalments: 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Substack has proven to be a treasure trove and I already have a few more gifted writers lined up for my next review newsletter.

P.S Subscribe for your chance to get your work reviewed here! You can also claim your FREE book of Poetry and art Hypnos Hermes - an epic poem presented as a medieval manuscript. A fantastical story written in verse enriched by many colourful and vibrant artworks.

If you want to keep me in caffeine (and keep the ghostly voices whispering for the poetry side of things) - consider clicking below. For any who do so, you have my deepest gratitude.