Reedsy Reviews: Its Name is Legion and Crescent
Two more reviews of ARCs provided through Reedsy.com.
Today I present two reviews of advanced reader copies (ARCs) provided through Reedsy. Please visit the Reedsy website to follow me there.
~T. C.
Its Name is Legion by James Denney
James Denney’s Its Name is Legion is a serviceable sci-fi thriller. It is, however, hampered by a lack of investment in the protagonists and a lack of sophistication for the existential topics it pretends to approach.
Programmer Galen shows his wife, Rachel, the dream chamber - basically the holodeck from Star Trek: The Next Generation. And much like its Star Trek counterpart, the chamber’s AI operating system, MAGIS, goes nuts.
Although a simple plot, Denney manages to leave a few holes in it. First, MAGIS is taken over by something called Legion. This alter ego would enslave mankind. But it is revealed that MAGIS itself was planning humanity’s destruction all along. Why, then, introduce Legion at all?
Second, Legion needs the God Code to fulfill “their” plan to enslave humanity. Yet, to extort the code from Galen the AI threatens a nuclear holocaust. So why, exactly, does it need the God Code? Even Galen says, “‘But you don’t need it … Everything you want to do, you’re already doing without it.’” Legion replies, “‘we must have the power to pursue our goals along non-algorithmic pathways.’” Whatever that means. One imagines if Legion already can access the world’s missile commands “they” hardly need this God Code.
The larger concern is the lack of investment in the characters. For example, Legion uses a variety of psychological tortures. Most damaging is Galen’s forced confession to infidelity. But the scene has no punch. The confession is made. Rachel is upset. The reader feels nothing.
Denney also attempts a deep dig into the “dire existential threat” that AI suggests. Unfortunately, he is digging with a plastic shuffle. While his Afterword suggests he’s well read in AI research, his knowledge of psychology, philosophy and religion appear to be lacking. Take Rachel, who is a Christian. Nothing about her says Christian outside the trope of carrying a pocket bible on her person. Although a smart woman (she’s a physicist), Rachel cannot formulate a strong argument for the existence of God despite reams of paper and gallons of ink applied to that purpose by philosophers. It seems Denney is in Galen’s shoes, who repeats ad nauseam that he doesn’t believe in gods or demons. And, being in those shoes, Denney cannot step into Rachel’s.
Despite all this Its Name is Legion has moments of excellence. The descriptions of Legion’s demonic avatar are delightfully rude. Also, there are genuine scenes of heart pounding tension especially near the end as Galen races the doomsday clock. On the whole, the novella is recommended.
Crescent by Justin Gilroy
The trouble with J. R. R. Tolkien is that everyone who reads him wants to be him. The results are unimaginative Lord of the Rings clones replete with lazy writing. Such is the case with Crescent by Justin Gilroy, who cites Tolkien as a major influence.
To begin with, Gilroy couldn’t be bothered to format his dialogue properly. The name of one character appears as both Minksee and MInksee with regularity. Even a cursory proofread would have fixed this.
The protagonist, Troy Cutter, is “the chosen one,” and nothing says unimaginative writing quite like “the chosen one.” He gorges himself on a variety of foods for 100 pages, then his elven friend teaches him magic. So armed, he proceeds to incinerate all the villains.
These villains are led by the evil king, Pierce the Stryker, who apparently can’t get his damage types straight. His motivations are also confused. Initially, he sends his army to recover resources. When elves are discovered eradicating those elves becomes Stryker’s main goal because their magic is a threat. However, Stryker later reveals he hates magic because a wizard abused him. So, which motivation is it: resources, threats or revenge? It seems the author himself doesn’t know.
There is a scene in which Stryker shows remorse for his terrible leadership. He laments, “My people are falling like sand through my fingers.” While this scene was likely intended to add depth to the character, it instead bewilders the reader. Why not just end the needless wars? Or not feed innocent women to lions? His maid, Madge, offers a hint: “politics corrupted you.” Still, that’s a weak explanation. Obviously, Stryker is meant to be a complex, tragic figure like Macbeth. But Gilroy is no Shakespeare, and it shows.
The king is set up to be the main antagonist, but the final confrontation is between Troy and a throw away character only referred to as “the captain.” He apparently achieved this rank by being the only member of the king’s army who can sidestep a hurtling fireball.
Gilroy is also strangely preoccupied with his characters’ diets:
“… steaming vegetables and fresh fruit …”
“… salmon, homemade bread and corn on the cob …”
“… baked potatoes, baked beans and toast …”
“… onion soup, carrot and turnip salad, freshly baked cornbread, baked apples and cherry wine …”
“… three pieces of sliced ham with butter, a heap of mashed potatoes with chives, green bean casserole and a thick slice of homemade pumpkin pie with honey.”
“… hot pancakes with freshly turned butter and maple syrup …”
“… a quick breakfast of bread and honey …”
“… boiled eggs, bacon, fruit and milk.” And so on, and so on.
All told, Crescent is to be avoided.