Kiba Snowpaw

Introduction 
Pool Portal by Alton Blair is a short-form science-fiction novella with cyberpunk, portal fantasy, and unconventional romance elements, published April 16, 2025. At 113 pages, it aims for fast, pulpy fun—an unemployed man, a backyard poo

Introduction 
Pool Portal by Alton Blair is a short-form science-fiction novella with cyberpunk, portal fantasy, and unconventional romance elements, published April 16, 2025. At 113 pages, it aims for fast, pulpy fun—an unemployed man, a backyard pool that becomes a dimensional doorway, and refugees from other worlds crashing into suburban Earth. On paper, this should howl. In practice, it splashes, sputters, and leaks potential all over the concrete.

I’m Kiba—38 winters deep, ice-alpha calm, strategist by nature. I’ve read a lot of genre hybrids. This one didn’t offend me; it frustrated me. The core idea is strong. The execution feels like a prototype that escaped the lab before the stress tests were done.

Hook and Thesis 
Thesis: Pool Portal is a high-concept setup that never commits to its own promise. It feels like a proof-of-concept novella that should have been either (a) a tight, focused Earth-first book or (b) the opening act of a two-book arc. Instead, it tries to be everything at once—and ends up confusing more than captivating.

The hook is obvious and good: a literal portal in a backyard pool. Domestic banality colliding with cyberpunk danger. That contrast should carry the story. It doesn’t, because the book rushes past the implications and skips the connective tissue.

Basic Plot Summary (No Spoilers) 
Will Hanna loses his job and retreats into apathy, spending his days staring at a pool he can no longer afford. The pool becomes a dimensional gateway. Out pops Sibyl Sparrow, a purple-haired cyberpunk fugitive enhanced with stolen nanobots. A corporate sentinel follows. Stakes escalate fast: if the enemy calls home, Earth gets pinned on the interdimensional map.

A nosy neighbor joins. Another refugee appears—an elf with her own cryptic past. The group scrambles to survive, evade detection, and stop a cyborg threat before things go global-apocalyptic.

That’s the spine. The problem isn’t what happens—it’s how it’s told.

The Author 
Alton Blair doesn’t present much visible pedigree here—no awards, no clear lineage, no established stylistic fingerprint. Pool Portal reads like an experiment: testing tonal range, genre blending, and spice-adjacent romance in a compact package. There’s ambition, but not yet discipline. This book feels less like a statement and more like a draft that made it to market.

Characters 
Will Hanna: Intended as an everyman, but written too passively to anchor the chaos. His emotional arc—job loss, detachment, sudden heroism—never fully settles. He reacts more than he decides, which makes the story feel dragged along rather than driven.

Sibyl Sparrow: The most interesting concept on the page: cyberpunk tech, stolen nanobots, hunted asset. Unfortunately, she’s underutilized. Her abilities are mentioned more than they’re explored. She should be proactive, adaptive, and terrifyingly clever. Instead, she’s often just… present.

Ronnie (the neighbor): Comic relief meets exposition device. Functional, not deep.

Nella Marien: Another strong concept—interdimensional elf with history—but introduced so quickly she feels like a patch rather than a pillar.

Overall, the cast suffers from overcrowding without development. Too many POV shifts, not enough grounding.

Structure 
This is where the cracks widen.

The novella jumps between characters and ideas without sufficient transitions. Scenes end before they land. Tension spikes, then dissolves. Information arrives late or sideways. The result is cognitive whiplash—less “thrilling chaos” and more “wait, did I miss a page?”

This needed either:
- fewer POV shifts, or 
- more pages, or 
- clearer chapter goals 

Instead, it tries to sprint with untied laces.

Themes & Analysis 
Themes present but undercooked:
- escapism vs. responsibility 
- corporate overreach 
- interdimensional colonialism 
- intimacy under pressure 
- apathy as a modern disease 

These are good bones. They never get marrow.

The story gestures at commentary but doesn’t slow down enough to say anything with weight. It wants to be clever, but keeps interrupting itself.

Scenes (Romance & Intimacy) 
There are intimate scenes and sexual tension, framed as unconventional romance. They’re not explicit to the point of being graphic, but they feel rushed and oddly placed. Instead of deepening trust or character bonds, they function as genre checkboxes.

This is a missed chance. Intimacy should reveal vulnerability, especially in a story about displacement and fear. Here, it’s mostly surface-level spice.

World-Building 
The cyberpunk universe? Glimpsed, not explored. 
The elf’s world? Teased, not realized. 
Earth as a battleground? Barely acknowledged.

The biggest loss is the house itself. Will’s home should have become an HQ—a defensive node, a digital fortress, a narrative anchor. The nanobots could have:
- hijacked signals 
- masked surveillance 
- manipulated infrastructure 
- turned suburbia into a stealth bunker 

Instead, those ideas flicker once (the Eye/statlet moment) and vanish. That’s not restraint—that’s abandonment.

Praise & Critique 
Praise: 
- Excellent core concept 
- Clean prose at sentence level 
- Genre mash-up potential 
- A hook that sells itself 

Critique: 
- Confusing pacing 
- Missed character depth 
- Underused technology 
- Too many ideas for the page count 
- Feels unfinished, not mysterious 

Comparison 
Compared to stronger portal or cyberpunk novellas, Pool Portal lacks focus. Where others choose a lane and floor it, this one keeps changing gears. Even compared to hypothetical future works by Blair, this reads like a test balloon—not a flagship.

Personal Evaluation 
As an ice alpha wolf, I value strategy and follow-through. This book made me feel more confused than pulled in. I kept thinking: slow down, pick a direction, use the tools you introduced.

The biggest sin here isn’t being bad—it’s wasting opportunity. This could have been:
- Book 1: Earth, pool HQ, escalation 
- Book 2: cross-world fallout, corporate war 

Instead, it compresses everything and lets nothing breathe.

Impact 
Minimal. Not because the ideas are weak—but because the execution never commits long enough to leave a scar.

Conclusion 
Pool Portal is a novella with a killer premise and the follow-through of a rough draft. It feels like the author testing waters rather than diving in. I don’t hate it. I wanted it to be more.

Rating: 2.5 / 5 
Not a failure—just a sad, slippery bundle of lost opportunity.

Introduction
Horde by Aiden Phoenix is the fifth entry in the Outsider series, published September 1, 2023. This volume is where long-building threats finally collide: a massive monster horde threatens Terana Province, political danger sharpens into p

Introduction
Horde by Aiden Phoenix is the fifth entry in the Outsider series, published September 1, 2023. This volume is where long-building threats finally collide: a massive monster horde threatens Terana Province, political danger sharpens into personal vendetta, and Dare’s role as protector, leader, and father-to-be is tested harder than ever. While still firmly a harem fantasy with explicit content, Horde leans more heavily into action, danger, and consequence than several previous entries.

Plot Summary
A monster horde marches toward Terana Province, threatening both the town and Dare’s home at Nirim Manor. Dare joins the strongest guards and adventurers available, knowing full well that even their combined strength may not be enough to stop what’s coming.

At the same time, a far more personal threat looms. Dare has made a powerful enemy in Sir Ollivan Harling, nephew of the Duke of Bastion—an untouchable noble whose corruption, cruelty, and sense of entitlement have already caused immense harm. While everyone warns Dare to let it go, he knows that predators don’t stop unless they’re made to.

The book balances large-scale combat, political danger, and personal revenge with continued relationship growth, new lovers, and the ongoing challenge of protecting a growing family in a world that does not forgive weakness.

The Author
Aiden Phoenix continues to refine his formula: 
- escalating external threats 
- explicit harem dynamics 
- emotional loyalty 
- fast, readable pacing 
- light RPG progression 
- moral conflict rooted in Earth vs. fantasy-world values 

In Horde, Phoenix leans harder into action and consequence than in Nirim, while still maintaining the relationship-heavy structure that defines the series.

Characters
Dare: more decisive than before, but still wrestling with morality. In this volume, his protector instinct finally begins to override hesitation—especially when threats target his family directly. 
The family: now firmly established as Dare’s emotional anchor. Their presence raises the stakes of every fight. 
Sir Ollivan Harling: one of the series’ most hated antagonists—corrupt, protected by nobility, and terrifyingly realistic. His role adds genuine tension and catharsis. 
New companions and lovers: continue to expand the harem; reactions vary depending on reader tolerance for repetition vs. comfort reading.

As Kiba Snowpaw: this is where Dare finally starts acting like an Alpha under siege. When the den is threatened, hesitation fades—and that shift is deeply satisfying.

Structure
The book is structured around escalation:
1. Early action and preparation 
2. Rising tension from the incoming horde 
3. Political danger and personal vendetta 
4. Large-scale battles and coordinated defense 
5. Fallout, resolution, and setup for future arcs 

Compared to earlier entries, Horde is more focused and more event-driven, with fewer purely domestic slowdowns.

Themes & Analysis
Core themes include:
- defending home and family 
- leadership under siege 
- justice vs. law 
- power imbalance and corruption 
- revenge as protection, not ego 
- the cost of settling down 
- community vs. isolation 

One key thematic shift: Dare begins to accept that restraint is not always virtue. Some threats must be ended, not endured.

Scenes
Notable elements include:
- large-scale horde combat 
- coordinated defense with guards and adventurers 
- satisfying confrontations with a hated antagonist 
- dungeon exploration and ruins 
- frequent explicit romantic scenes 
- moments of humor amid tension 

The action scenes are among the strongest in the series so far, especially when the horde pressure peaks.

World-Building
The world expands through:
- provincial defense systems 
- noble politics and immunity 
- the reality of monster hordes 
- ruins and ancient dangers 
- the growing reputation of Dare and Nirim Manor 

The setting now feels less like a wandering adventure and more like a lived-in territory worth fighting for.

Praise & Critique
Strengths:
- strong action and pacing 
- real payoff for long-running antagonists 
- higher stakes than previous books 
- improved decisiveness from Dare 
- satisfying revenge arc 
- good balance between combat and relationships 

Weaknesses:
- harem scenes can feel repetitive 
- some readers feel the story is diluted by romance 
- RPG mechanics remain light 
- certain emotional conflicts repeat familiar beats 
- not everyone enjoys the shift toward domestic responsibility 

Comparison
Compared to Nirim:
- more action-focused 
- higher external stakes 
- less slice-of-life downtime 
- clearer antagonist resolution 
- stronger sense of momentum 

Within the harem LitRPG/gamelit space, Horde stands out more for its emotional loyalty and protective themes than for mechanical depth.

Personal Evaluation
As Kiba Snowpaw, this is the book where I finally felt Dare step into the role he’s been circling since Book 1. When monsters march and nobles threaten the den, an Alpha does not ask permission—he acts. Horde delivers that shift. It isn’t perfect, but it is satisfying, cathartic, and more confident than several earlier entries.

Conclusion
Horde is a strong, action-heavy installment that pays off long-running threats while pushing the series into a more dangerous and decisive phase. Fans invested in Dare’s family, territory, and reputation will find this entry rewarding, even if the harem elements remain a mixed bag depending on taste.

Rating: 8.0/10 — A high-stakes, action-forward entry with real consequences, solid momentum, and long-awaited payoff against a deeply hated foe.