148 pages
Published 2023
Read from May 14 to May 22
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Vade is a Whisper, a magical operative employed by one of the totalitarian empires that runs the world. Althus is a Phantom Dragon, an occult anarchist fighting against the tyranny of the empires. What began as mutual spycraft, each working the other in hopes of compromising information, has turned into a doomed love, their brief meetings in enticing locales charged with eroticism and impending loss.
This is the most overtly erotic queer novella I’ve read yet from Neon Hemlock Press. Eroticism is Chaos’s greatest strength, charging the emotional stakes, underlining the betrayals, deliciously complicating its deadly weave of extradimensional magic, demon possession, and horrific colonialism. The worldbuilding is also outstanding, full of vivid sensory details and just outright cool touches.
Unfortunately, I felt that the second half gets bogged down in unlikely alliances, strike teams, and demon fights. I much preferred the sexy tension of the first half. But I know I’m not as much of a fan of action as most SFF readers are, so I’ll just note it as a completely subjective sense that I had. Overall, I quite enjoyed Chaos.
Back to the topic of Neon Hemlock: While this edition is beautiful, full of lovely design elements and decorative pages, the press’s proofreading standards have deteriorated. (This is a criticism leveled at the press, not the author. Goodness knows I miss all sorts of mistakes in my own drafts.) Whole chapters seem to have escaped the red pen altogether, leaving behind choppy sentences, missing words, incorrect homophones, and awkward punctuation. Even the summary blurb on the back cover mixes up the political allegiances of its two main characters. It doesn’t help indie publishing’s rep to have one of its most prestigious outlets be so cavalier about such important things.
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