Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Beside A Black Tarn
SERIES: Brimstone #4
AUTHOR: Angel Martinez
PUBLISHER: Mischief Corner Books
LENGTH: 120 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 10th, 2016
BLURB:
Beside a Black Tarn (Brimstone) by Angel Martinez – Romance>Fantasy
When Shax stumbles across rumors of an experimental house that responds to the occupant’s brain functions, creating scenarios to please and delight, naturally he wants to steal it. But with the return of a troubled and hunted Julian Parallax and an overabundance of Poe references, even Shax’s scheming may not be enough to get the Brimstone crew out alive this time.
REVIEW:
These books are just so much fun….. This is the latest installment of the fantastically creative Brimstone series, following the trials and tribulations of Shax, the demon captain of a space ship called Brimstone. Shax, along with his fallen angel lover Ness, fellow demon Verin, Verin’s human lover Corny, and their latest crew members, Mac, Leopold, and Heckle, traipse around space working as pirates. We have seen them through stories involving floating cows, frogs, bugs, and now a mystery house. First it was just Shax and Verin, we watched as they found their lovers, then accumulated the other members of their crew. Leopold the giant pink hedgehog appeared as a byproduct of Ness’s imagination and some DNA, Mac and Heckle were rescued during the last book. We also have the return of the mysterious Julian, from the Brimstone prequel.
So, this story contains two mystery houses, a confused wizard, ballet, Edgar Allen Poe, a pink millipede, and some emotional torture. Heckle is really the star of this one though, he is a little lost imp, Shax offered him a job at the end of the last book, but Heckle wasn’t sure he had much to offer the captain. Turns out in this story he really does! He gets a little loving from a certain big mechanic, and maybe some confidence in his own abilities. Julian pops up to cause trouble between Shax and Ness, and cause some drama for the whole team. Leopold the hedgehog also comes in to his own a bit, especially with the help of his new pet.
It’s a bizarre story, makes no sense when I try to explain it, or really as I was reading it! But you have to follow along through the twists and turns of Angel’s mind, and by the end it all fits together! This is part of a series, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t make sense if you haven’t read the other books first. I did start to read this one, realize I didn’t remember enough of the last one to know who Heckle and Mac were, read it first then went straight in to this one. That was a great plan! I also recently listened to the first in the series as it was released in audio not too long ago. It was fun to revisit the Brimstone boys, and makes me want to read the other couple again. This is just a fun series of books, they are short, with quick creative plots, cool characters, occasional bits of drama and angst, a little sex, and fantastic writing. Angel Martinez is my go to girl for sci-fi and urban fantasy books, I absolutely love her books!
RATING: 
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I can’t wait to read this – sounds like a great addition to the Brimstone series.