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Liminal #1
The Liminal People
The Liminal People is the first of Ayize Jama-Everett's Liminal novels.
Membership
in the razor neck crew is for life. But when Taggert, who can heal and
hurt with just a touch, receives a call from the past he is honor bound
to try and help the woman he once loved try to find her daughter.
Taggert realizes the girl has more power than even he can imagine and
has to wrestle with the nature of his own skills, not to mention risking
the wrath of his enigmatic master and perhaps even the gods, in order
keep the girl safe. In the end, Taggert will have to delve into the
depths of his heart and soul to survive.
After all, what really matters is family.
The fourth and final Liminal novel, Heroes of an Unknown World , will be published in 2022.
Membership
in the razor neck crew is for life. But when Taggert, who can heal and
hurt with just a touch, receives a call from the past he is honor bound
to try and help the woman he once loved try to find her daughter.
Taggert realizes the girl has more power than even he can imagine and
has to wrestle with the nature of his own skills, not to mention risking
the wrath of his enigmatic master and perhaps even the gods, in order
keep the girl safe. In the end, Taggert will have to delve into the
depths of his heart and soul to survive.
After all, what really matters is family.
The fourth and final Liminal novel, Heroes of an Unknown World , will be published in 2022.
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
28 people are currently reading
1275 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
September 7, 2011
It's the best book ever! One of them at least. Reads quick like a beast and leaves you wanting more. I wish I wrote it... waitaminute!!!
Read
May 21, 2019Abandoned, at least for now, at page 52.
Not a terrible book by any means, just not what I was expecting or in the mood for. The use of "liminal" in the title had me expecting something much more speculative and intellectually engaging. This is more in the action-oriented region of sf/f -- although to be honest there hasn't been that much thrilling action so far, either. But I'm guessing that's just because the author was getting all the powers and characters set up and it will become more active now that the protagonist is, I assume, about to start trying to find the missing teen.
Part of what failed to engage me is the characters. This has a pretty classic save/help/get back the long-lost love interest plot motivation, and those are always weak to me unless there is really strong characterization and relationship-building. When you have a case like this, where the relationship ended many years ago and we never see what made it so great in the first place that he never got over her (she is beautiful and she also has an unusual ability, that's all I'm getting in terms of why he was mad about her) I find it more unhealthy than romantic that he invested so much in making sure she could find him and is dropping everything, risking angering his crime boss, flying to another country -- all because a woman who dumped him fifteen years ago calls? And then when he shows up she sulks and flounces. Obviously I didn't read the whole thing so maybe she gets more developed later, but so far I found Yasmine really uninteresting.
I could see this as an action movie. The long part about Taggert wandering Africa healing people and being unkempt could be reduced to a montage. The powers could be shown with not--too-ott special effects. I'm imagining something like the 2009 film "Push". I would recommend this for readers who are more interesting in action and plot rather than character and prose style and wrestling with deep questions.
Not a terrible book by any means, just not what I was expecting or in the mood for. The use of "liminal" in the title had me expecting something much more speculative and intellectually engaging. This is more in the action-oriented region of sf/f -- although to be honest there hasn't been that much thrilling action so far, either. But I'm guessing that's just because the author was getting all the powers and characters set up and it will become more active now that the protagonist is, I assume, about to start trying to find the missing teen.
Part of what failed to engage me is the characters. This has a pretty classic save/help/get back the long-lost love interest plot motivation, and those are always weak to me unless there is really strong characterization and relationship-building. When you have a case like this, where the relationship ended many years ago and we never see what made it so great in the first place that he never got over her (she is beautiful and she also has an unusual ability, that's all I'm getting in terms of why he was mad about her) I find it more unhealthy than romantic that he invested so much in making sure she could find him and is dropping everything, risking angering his crime boss, flying to another country -- all because a woman who dumped him fifteen years ago calls? And then when he shows up she sulks and flounces. Obviously I didn't read the whole thing so maybe she gets more developed later, but so far I found Yasmine really uninteresting.
I could see this as an action movie. The long part about Taggert wandering Africa healing people and being unkempt could be reduced to a montage. The powers could be shown with not--too-ott special effects. I'm imagining something like the 2009 film "Push". I would recommend this for readers who are more interesting in action and plot rather than character and prose style and wrestling with deep questions.
May 16, 2018
Interesting ideas about superpowered people and the kinds of powers they could have. The text was a bit dry, the story took a while to get going, and the author's female characters are on the thinly drawn side (and why the heck is the main character so focused on the love of his life's chest?)
That said, I liked the uncomfortable relationship between Taggart and menacing Nordeen.
That said, I liked the uncomfortable relationship between Taggart and menacing Nordeen.
Read
May 23, 2019A dark superhero story of the X Men type. The hero has healing powers he's learned to use for hurting, which works really well in a highly gory way, and it was galloping along, but the back end went *massively* problematic and I can't recommend.
Spoiler tags to cover ableism and racial slurs so as not to ruin anyone's day by accident:
Spoiler tags to cover ableism and racial slurs so as not to ruin anyone's day by accident:
May 19, 2019
I was raised on comic books. I read them and reread them dozens of times. I remember the look my parents gave me when I told them that I wanted to be an X-Men once I grow up. I guess they wanted a different career for me. And yet all I wanted to do was to go to X-Mansion and hang out with all the mutants and go to adventures. Sure, I had some backup plans but this was my dream.
Sadly, things didn’t go as planned. As I’m not gifted with omega level mutant power I finished as an HR Consultant and part-time yoga teacher. Not exactly Wolverine.
I accepted my fate. If I grow claws one day and teleport myself to Paris to grab a coffee and a croissant for breakfast, I’ll let you know. For now, though, I still enjoy superheroes, especially the ones with the mutant super powers. I still read some comic series but I have impression Marvel lost a sense of direction a bit.
As books were always my true love, I’ve been trying to find good books about superheroes. I loved The Rook by Daniel O’Malley, but couldn’t get into most books in the genre. And I tried more than few in recent years.
I didn’t expect much when starting The Liminal people. The cover isn’t exactly exciting and there’s little information about it on my favorite online community (r/fantasy). After finishing the book I can say that it’s definitely one of the best books I read in months. Not the best, but it hit all the right spots. It’s ultra-violent but also layered and complex.
Meet Taggert:
He’s one of the Liminal People - folks with supernatural powers. Some of them go mad or borderline schizo, while others secretly run large portions of the world.
Taggert serves Nardeen Maximus – a terrifying crime lord with enigmatic powers. Taggert is a healer. He can perform ten thousand dollars’ worth of dental work in a blink of an eye. He’s able to heal cancer and rebuild himself after being cut into pieces. He can also burn your liver and intestines with lactic acid, turn your stomach into a Swiss cheese-like membrane and fill it with the remains of your bone marrow. He can make you allergic to your own blood. The extent of his powers is terrifying and the author describes them and their applications in vivid, visual and skilful ways.
One day he receives a call from the only woman he ever loved. Her daughter is missing. She asks Taggert for help. He risks the wrath of his enigmatic master to try and save Yasmine’s daughter.
It soon becomes obvious the daughter has more power than even he can imagine. She’s part a teenager feeling lost and insecure, part killing – machine. Taggert will have to question a lot of things and go through lots of trauma in order keep the girl safe. In the end, Taggert will have to use more than his power, he has to delve into his heart and soul to survive.
Taggert is, by nature, impulsive and obsessive. The book is told from his perspective and it makes good use of his limitations and his nature. While he is quite bright, he doesn’t really understand everything he sees and what’s happening around him.
He narrates events but sometimes isn’t the fastest on the uptake and connecting facts. His voice is quite emotional. There’s some underlying dark humor but don’t expect something a la Abercrombie.
The world building is introduced exclusively through Taggert’s viewpoint. As a result, we don’t get all the answers we would like to get – for example why do some people have powers or if they’re gods? Despite this, Taggert’s voice is engaging, intimate and strong. It’s one of few books in which I didn’t mind that some loose ends remained loose. It leaves place for some speculation. I’m ok with it.
The prose is interesting. It’ll appeal to some but for others it may be difficult to digest. It’s mostly creative, visual and strong, but at times it becomes a bit melodramatic. Some similes are over-the-top or purplish. Here’s an example:
It’s important to note Taggert isn’t a noble hero. He’s a killer. When he’s furious, anger and rage fill his thoughts and as readers we experience these outbursts vividly. He’s Taggert raging:
Nice bloke, right?
I liked the way villains and side-characters were written. Apart from one character who’s bad to the bone, other are complex and morally ambiguous. I like grey tones as they sustain the gritty and haunting atmosphere that’s both thrilling and horrifying.The heroes and villains alike dance the line between humans and gods. The powers displayed in the book are nothing new in concept but the way they are applied is creative and convincing. The prose helps to feel how it would be to experience them in gritty details:
Suddenly, shape-shifting sounds less fun.
The Liminal People is a fantastic novel about superheroes that touches many important subjects (family, race, faith) in entertaining and moving way. The prose is very vivid and, for me, it made this tale. The strength isn’t in the plot that’s relatively easy to predict but in the voice of the narrator with all his emotions and phobias present in the language.
The book is violent and some of body transformations performed by Taggert may hunt you for a long time. I highly recommend it to all X-Men aspirants.
Actual rating: 4.5/5
Sadly, things didn’t go as planned. As I’m not gifted with omega level mutant power I finished as an HR Consultant and part-time yoga teacher. Not exactly Wolverine.
I accepted my fate. If I grow claws one day and teleport myself to Paris to grab a coffee and a croissant for breakfast, I’ll let you know. For now, though, I still enjoy superheroes, especially the ones with the mutant super powers. I still read some comic series but I have impression Marvel lost a sense of direction a bit.
As books were always my true love, I’ve been trying to find good books about superheroes. I loved The Rook by Daniel O’Malley, but couldn’t get into most books in the genre. And I tried more than few in recent years.
I didn’t expect much when starting The Liminal people. The cover isn’t exactly exciting and there’s little information about it on my favorite online community (r/fantasy). After finishing the book I can say that it’s definitely one of the best books I read in months. Not the best, but it hit all the right spots. It’s ultra-violent but also layered and complex.
Meet Taggert:
The woman with the smell of donkey sausage on her hands behind me has broken two bones in her life. Ten people have hypertension. Five people are drunk. I’m swimming in their biorhythms..
He’s one of the Liminal People - folks with supernatural powers. Some of them go mad or borderline schizo, while others secretly run large portions of the world.
Taggert serves Nardeen Maximus – a terrifying crime lord with enigmatic powers. Taggert is a healer. He can perform ten thousand dollars’ worth of dental work in a blink of an eye. He’s able to heal cancer and rebuild himself after being cut into pieces. He can also burn your liver and intestines with lactic acid, turn your stomach into a Swiss cheese-like membrane and fill it with the remains of your bone marrow. He can make you allergic to your own blood. The extent of his powers is terrifying and the author describes them and their applications in vivid, visual and skilful ways.
One day he receives a call from the only woman he ever loved. Her daughter is missing. She asks Taggert for help. He risks the wrath of his enigmatic master to try and save Yasmine’s daughter.
It soon becomes obvious the daughter has more power than even he can imagine. She’s part a teenager feeling lost and insecure, part killing – machine. Taggert will have to question a lot of things and go through lots of trauma in order keep the girl safe. In the end, Taggert will have to use more than his power, he has to delve into his heart and soul to survive.
Taggert is, by nature, impulsive and obsessive. The book is told from his perspective and it makes good use of his limitations and his nature. While he is quite bright, he doesn’t really understand everything he sees and what’s happening around him.
He narrates events but sometimes isn’t the fastest on the uptake and connecting facts. His voice is quite emotional. There’s some underlying dark humor but don’t expect something a la Abercrombie.
The world building is introduced exclusively through Taggert’s viewpoint. As a result, we don’t get all the answers we would like to get – for example why do some people have powers or if they’re gods? Despite this, Taggert’s voice is engaging, intimate and strong. It’s one of few books in which I didn’t mind that some loose ends remained loose. It leaves place for some speculation. I’m ok with it.
The prose is interesting. It’ll appeal to some but for others it may be difficult to digest. It’s mostly creative, visual and strong, but at times it becomes a bit melodramatic. Some similes are over-the-top or purplish. Here’s an example:
Yasmine’s voice sends my heart into spasms again. Cayenne-flavored honey. Extended vowels to cover a slight lisp. Well-manicured teeth massaged by a tongue that’s mastered so many languages she gets them confused in casual conversations.
It’s important to note Taggert isn’t a noble hero. He’s a killer. When he’s furious, anger and rage fill his thoughts and as readers we experience these outbursts vividly. He’s Taggert raging:
I didn't just feel it; I recorded each and every sensation. I can replicate each one. I will. I'll play it back plus ten for the bastard that caused my love to fall. And before they go down, I'll wet the concrete with their brain matter. I'll explode their marrow out of their bones and make a mess of their capillaries. I'll make a paste of their eyes, I promise. I'll make them bleed from their ears and turn their digestive system against them. They'll digest their own organs. I'll increase their pain receptors so that their clothes feel like sandpaper. I'll make their own breath sound like a DC-10 is landing in their chest. I'll fill their lungs with every excessive fluid in their body I can find. I'll make a decomposing mess of them, I swear I will. They'll pray to gods they don't believe in for the pain to end before I explode each taste bud in their mouth and inflame their genitals with the stray parasites they immune system usually fights off.
Nice bloke, right?
I liked the way villains and side-characters were written. Apart from one character who’s bad to the bone, other are complex and morally ambiguous. I like grey tones as they sustain the gritty and haunting atmosphere that’s both thrilling and horrifying.The heroes and villains alike dance the line between humans and gods. The powers displayed in the book are nothing new in concept but the way they are applied is creative and convincing. The prose helps to feel how it would be to experience them in gritty details:
Since I’m at a toiletI vomit up sixty-five pounds, making sure to check my discharge for too much stomach acids. I just need to lose the pounds, not my voice.
Suddenly, shape-shifting sounds less fun.
The Liminal People is a fantastic novel about superheroes that touches many important subjects (family, race, faith) in entertaining and moving way. The prose is very vivid and, for me, it made this tale. The strength isn’t in the plot that’s relatively easy to predict but in the voice of the narrator with all his emotions and phobias present in the language.
The book is violent and some of body transformations performed by Taggert may hunt you for a long time. I highly recommend it to all X-Men aspirants.
Actual rating: 4.5/5
September 6, 2011
I really hesitated in ordering this book. This was partly because it's a debut novel, and I wasn't sure I had the patience for one of those right now; but it was mostly because I'm getting a little burned out on the noir style, and I didn't know if I could give another noir-influenced SF/F novel a fair shot as a result.
The first half of the book went better than I expected. It was a very typical noir set-up, full of disconnected people carving out an existence on the fringes of society through the judicious application of violence and a relaxed (but not nonexistent) moral code. The hero, of course, gets drawn back into the world he gave up by a beautiful damsel in distress, and in trying to save her is forced to reexamine his life -- past and future. The nice thing about this familiar set-up was that despite some first-novel clunkiness in the exposition, the story was paced quite well; I would probably even describe it with all the appropriate t-words: taut, and tense, and thrilling.
It bogged down a little, for me, in the latter stages of the middle when it turned into a superhumans-with-powers novel, full of rhetoric about choosing sides in the coming war, a war in which mere humans are likely to be nothing more than pawns and casualties. I have liked noir in the past and am simply tired of its tropes at the moment; I've never liked the tropes of the superpower stories, so this turn of events made me wrinkle my nose a bit.
But the climax redeemed all, made me happy I requested the novel and happy to start pushing it on my friends. Because rather than playing the noir tropes straight, Jama-Everett neatly subverts them, proving the tag line of the jacket description accurate rather than a bunch of hot air. Ultimately, this is indeed a novel about hope and commitment, one about building communities rather than tearing them down. I suppose I should have suspected this from the beginning; Taggert is a healer, after all, not just a killer, and for the chance to read about that sort of hero (particularly a male one!) I'd put up with a great deal more than just some tropes I dislike.
The first half of the book went better than I expected. It was a very typical noir set-up, full of disconnected people carving out an existence on the fringes of society through the judicious application of violence and a relaxed (but not nonexistent) moral code. The hero, of course, gets drawn back into the world he gave up by a beautiful damsel in distress, and in trying to save her is forced to reexamine his life -- past and future. The nice thing about this familiar set-up was that despite some first-novel clunkiness in the exposition, the story was paced quite well; I would probably even describe it with all the appropriate t-words: taut, and tense, and thrilling.
It bogged down a little, for me, in the latter stages of the middle when it turned into a superhumans-with-powers novel, full of rhetoric about choosing sides in the coming war, a war in which mere humans are likely to be nothing more than pawns and casualties. I have liked noir in the past and am simply tired of its tropes at the moment; I've never liked the tropes of the superpower stories, so this turn of events made me wrinkle my nose a bit.
But the climax redeemed all, made me happy I requested the novel and happy to start pushing it on my friends. Because rather than playing the noir tropes straight, Jama-Everett neatly subverts them, proving the tag line of the jacket description accurate rather than a bunch of hot air. Ultimately, this is indeed a novel about hope and commitment, one about building communities rather than tearing them down. I suppose I should have suspected this from the beginning; Taggert is a healer, after all, not just a killer, and for the chance to read about that sort of hero (particularly a male one!) I'd put up with a great deal more than just some tropes I dislike.
March 25, 2015
Superior fantasy in Neil Gaiman's old fashioned style (American Gods, not the latter crap we had to deal with recently), delivered through a very original voice of a tough african smart-ass healer, who has to fight with a powerful entity for the love of his life. Can't wait for the sequel, due to appear this year, as well as his next novel, due for august 2015.
July 25, 2012
This novel was apparently self-published, then picked up by the illustrious Small Beer Press. Good pick. It’s not perfect, but it deserves much better than to languish in self-pubbed obscurity. I also applaud Small Beer for accurately representing the black protagonist on the cover.
Taggert has the power to control and transform his own body and the bodies of others: he can heal or kill, distract opponents with sudden physical urges or create the world’s best disguise for himself. Jama-Everett takes a geeky delight in exploring how exactly Taggert’s powers work, providing logical limitations and applications. This sometimes gets extremely gross and graphically violent, so be warned.
The storyline and tone are a pulp noir/superhero pastiche (complete with a fair amount of male gaze): Taggert’s ex-girlfriend summons him from Morocco, where he’s been working for a creepy supervillian/crime boss, to London, where she informs him that the daughter he never knew has powers too… and has gone missing. Cue chasing through the underbelly of London, meeting more mutant powered people and engaging in spectacular battles.
But it’s not all violent and dark. The relationships between the characters are often surprisingly sweet and moving, and I got very invested in Taggert, Tamara, and several of the mutants they meet along the way. Gritty, vivid, energetic, intense: very much worth reading if my description sounds good. I didn’t like the climax, due to several annoying clichés involving the villain’s nature and eventual disposal, but the ending was satisfying.
Taggert has the power to control and transform his own body and the bodies of others: he can heal or kill, distract opponents with sudden physical urges or create the world’s best disguise for himself. Jama-Everett takes a geeky delight in exploring how exactly Taggert’s powers work, providing logical limitations and applications. This sometimes gets extremely gross and graphically violent, so be warned.
The storyline and tone are a pulp noir/superhero pastiche (complete with a fair amount of male gaze): Taggert’s ex-girlfriend summons him from Morocco, where he’s been working for a creepy supervillian/crime boss, to London, where she informs him that the daughter he never knew has powers too… and has gone missing. Cue chasing through the underbelly of London, meeting more mutant powered people and engaging in spectacular battles.
But it’s not all violent and dark. The relationships between the characters are often surprisingly sweet and moving, and I got very invested in Taggert, Tamara, and several of the mutants they meet along the way. Gritty, vivid, energetic, intense: very much worth reading if my description sounds good. I didn’t like the climax, due to several annoying clichés involving the villain’s nature and eventual disposal, but the ending was satisfying.
February 28, 2015
Read this book. It's one of the best character-driven, emotionally gripping novels I've ever read.
The Liminal People are those with powers beyond the human possible. The Liminal People are those whose existence is a secret best kept from others like them.
The Liminal People is a book about what it means to be human, what it is worth to be human. It's a gritty, unforgiving look at the world--and a brutally honest portrayal of love and hope.
The Liminal People are those with powers beyond the human possible. The Liminal People are those whose existence is a secret best kept from others like them.
The Liminal People is a book about what it means to be human, what it is worth to be human. It's a gritty, unforgiving look at the world--and a brutally honest portrayal of love and hope.
October 3, 2017
Compelling. How many times have you seen that tired old word used in a blurb? It was not used in any of the blurbs on the book cover.
Dissuasive or Repellent. How many times have you seen those words used in a blurb?
I bought the book based on the deserved & stellar reputation of Small Beer Press fort finding the odd, the quirky, the literate and the fun works rarely published by major publishers. It helped a lot that both Nalo Hopkinson and Maureen F. McHugh blurbed the book. Fine writers both who do not readily blurb books; so it has to be a good book, right?
I bought the book "intellectually" knowing all the above. Had this not been Small Beer, had Hopkinson and McHugh not blurbed it, I wouldn't have given it a second glance. Why? To my taste the cover is not merely dissuasive but outright repellent. Nor does it accord at all with the blurb by Andrew Vachss on the front cover. So, while I bought the book 5 or 6 years ago I only got around to reading it this past weekend. Blame the cover; it's neither persuasive nor compelling.
Good thing I actually read though. From paragraph one I was sucked right in and felt *compelled* to read it. Whenever daily life tore me away, I itched to get back to it. So the work itself is compelling. Very compelling. Others will have written their precis; I'll content myself to say that I liked the book - a lot - and was particularly struck by the upbeat, optimistic and shall I say "human" turn the book took at the very end.
Recommended.
Dissuasive or Repellent. How many times have you seen those words used in a blurb?
I bought the book based on the deserved & stellar reputation of Small Beer Press fort finding the odd, the quirky, the literate and the fun works rarely published by major publishers. It helped a lot that both Nalo Hopkinson and Maureen F. McHugh blurbed the book. Fine writers both who do not readily blurb books; so it has to be a good book, right?
I bought the book "intellectually" knowing all the above. Had this not been Small Beer, had Hopkinson and McHugh not blurbed it, I wouldn't have given it a second glance. Why? To my taste the cover is not merely dissuasive but outright repellent. Nor does it accord at all with the blurb by Andrew Vachss on the front cover. So, while I bought the book 5 or 6 years ago I only got around to reading it this past weekend. Blame the cover; it's neither persuasive nor compelling.
Good thing I actually read though. From paragraph one I was sucked right in and felt *compelled* to read it. Whenever daily life tore me away, I itched to get back to it. So the work itself is compelling. Very compelling. Others will have written their precis; I'll content myself to say that I liked the book - a lot - and was particularly struck by the upbeat, optimistic and shall I say "human" turn the book took at the very end.
Recommended.
August 30, 2022
Es como un caramelo para mi. Me lo he pasado muy bien
October 21, 2015
It feels overly facile to call this the action/adventure version of Wild Seed, but . . . it basically is. It's not just the African setting and heavily black cast that calls Butler's classic to mind, but the push-pull dynamic between the healer protagonist and his ominous mentor/master, who wants to control the protagonist as part of a plan to bring together more of "his" people: the psychics and other powers of the world. But while Butler writes about the delicate balance between collaboration and resistance, Jama-Everett has a more straightforward story in mind (and a much more gruesome touch for detail).
That's not criticism. No one except Butler can live up to Butler, and not every story needs to be drenched in philosophy and moral shades of gray. The Liminal People is fast-moving, with a gripping first-person voice, and just the right length to satisfy. The ending is perhaps a little on the sweet side for my taste, but there's enough loose ends and uncertainties that it doesn't feel saccharine. If you're looking for a superhero-tinged thriller to entertain you on a plane ride or a day at the beach, you could do a lot worse.
I'm not sure I'll hunt down the sequel, because one of the things I enjoyed here was the small scale of the story, and I gather as the series continues it expands into broader worldbuilding. But if a copy appeared in front of me, I wouldn't turn it down.
That's not criticism. No one except Butler can live up to Butler, and not every story needs to be drenched in philosophy and moral shades of gray. The Liminal People is fast-moving, with a gripping first-person voice, and just the right length to satisfy. The ending is perhaps a little on the sweet side for my taste, but there's enough loose ends and uncertainties that it doesn't feel saccharine. If you're looking for a superhero-tinged thriller to entertain you on a plane ride or a day at the beach, you could do a lot worse.
I'm not sure I'll hunt down the sequel, because one of the things I enjoyed here was the small scale of the story, and I gather as the series continues it expands into broader worldbuilding. But if a copy appeared in front of me, I wouldn't turn it down.
December 27, 2015
A unique and refreshing take on superpowers and post humanism that is as relevant and as important to science fiction and or urban fantasy as Otomo Katsuhiro's Akria and Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons' Watchmen.
Told thought the eyes of an African-American anti-hero named Taggett who's on a mission of rescue, then later, revenge, we see Africa, then London though the eyes of a man, who reads peoples bodily functions like a book and can manipulate them at will. We watch as he slowly begins to question his purpose and motivations as well as reassess his loyalties.
Gritty, adult and challenging in places, Ayize Jama-Everett's debut novel signals him a writer to watch out for. I look forward with great anticipation to the forthcoming books in this trilogy.
Highly recommended.
Told thought the eyes of an African-American anti-hero named Taggett who's on a mission of rescue, then later, revenge, we see Africa, then London though the eyes of a man, who reads peoples bodily functions like a book and can manipulate them at will. We watch as he slowly begins to question his purpose and motivations as well as reassess his loyalties.
Gritty, adult and challenging in places, Ayize Jama-Everett's debut novel signals him a writer to watch out for. I look forward with great anticipation to the forthcoming books in this trilogy.
Highly recommended.
dnf-not-my-cup-of-coffee
August 28, 2020It's not a bad story, on the contrary, the idea is very interesting - a (some) guy(s) with special powers, who can sense the heartbeats of people even if they are not in close range and who have the ability to heal and hurt with his (their) mind at distance.
It's just that the setup is not for me: the main character is the pawn of a drug dealer and terrified by him and his right-hand, which is supposed to be his friend also. Actually, the relationship between them is the one I have a problem with, more than the setup: seems forced and I didn't feel pity, or sympathy, or hate or anything else for neither one of them.
I read about 10% of it and could not advance further. But for dark-fantasy fans I guess it will be a very pleasant reading.
It's just that the setup is not for me: the main character is the pawn of a drug dealer and terrified by him and his right-hand, which is supposed to be his friend also. Actually, the relationship between them is the one I have a problem with, more than the setup: seems forced and I didn't feel pity, or sympathy, or hate or anything else for neither one of them.
I read about 10% of it and could not advance further. But for dark-fantasy fans I guess it will be a very pleasant reading.
February 11, 2013
Cyberpunk-ish only more streetwise. The author takes the wounded healer archetype through its paces. The character of Nordeen is seriously scary -- "All the royalty of Malaysia send him birthday cards, all at different times of the year." Somehow one knows not to mess with that guy...
"Healers are poison to the warrior soul," says a Dogon chief. A thriller that leaves you thinking many thoughts about the use and abuse of power.
"Healers are poison to the warrior soul," says a Dogon chief. A thriller that leaves you thinking many thoughts about the use and abuse of power.
November 7, 2016
I stayed up until 3am reading this because once I started, I just couldn't put it down.
I chose to read this just because I liked the name and didn't really have any expectations and so was super pleased to find such an enthralling read. The characters are all fantastic, the world very engaging and I was just totally hooked. I'd definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading the next book!
I chose to read this just because I liked the name and didn't really have any expectations and so was super pleased to find such an enthralling read. The characters are all fantastic, the world very engaging and I was just totally hooked. I'd definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading the next book!
July 30, 2014
A quick and engaging read - refreshing to see People of Color in leading roles, likewise for superheroic action set outside of good ol' 'murica. Present-tense keeps the pacing fast, but also limits chances for exploring language and pacing. Excellently suggests a larger, scarier world beyond that of the narrative without spoiling it.
May 4, 2018
Take into consideration my personality and the kinds of books I like and don't like. I like books that are creative. I tend toward science fiction and fantasy. This book looked interesting at the start. However, I wish there were a rating system in books. This one had a lot of foul language and violence. Sometimes, I don't mind that if the language and violence if the story is interesting enough. An example I would use is Jade City. In that story, there is most certainly violence and bad language. However, it is well placed. In Liminal People, I felt annoyed almost immediately by the way the characters behaved and how it seemed as though every other word was F this and F that. Maybe it was partly because I had just read Jade City and the stories were too similar to me.
My apologies to the author. I am not going to finish the book. I returned it after I read only a small portion of it. Perhaps this is not a fair review in that case. I might have to change my review if I finished it.
My apologies to the author. I am not going to finish the book. I returned it after I read only a small portion of it. Perhaps this is not a fair review in that case. I might have to change my review if I finished it.
October 21, 2023
This book was fine I feel like the narrating spelled it out for me a little too much like I had no room to think through the eyes of Taggert. Interesting concept, fun style to do like comic book style dialogue story arc in a normal book. Idk the ending was a little to -put a bow on in- vibes? I guess that reaction is me not leaning into the comic book nature of it. I thought the descriptions/story around Yasmine was like meh… like super sexualized thought process and not so much beyond that?
June 22, 2019
I loved this setting. The open-ended hierarchy of vague yet menacing Powers always just down the street in every corner of the world reminds me of the best parts of John Wick. I never got close to getting bored of descriptions of how the characters used their abilities, they were always evolving and finding clever new approaches.
September 4, 2017
Loved this and looking forward to the second book. Text is riddled with typos though!
April 6, 2016
Taggert, the main character of Ayize Jama-Everett’s debut novel The Liminal People, is one of a growing number of people with supernatural powers, called the liminal people. Taggert’s power is his ability to heal, which also gives him the abilitiy to read body functions, change and stop them. The Liminal People reads like a superhero comic told in a noir prose style. Now, there are a lot of superhero stories in lots of mediums available at the moment, and I’m usually hesitant when it comes to this trope. But The Liminal People gripped me and drew me in, and I found Jama-Everett’s work manages to offer a fresh spin on the genre.
Taggert is part of the razorneck crew in Morocco, hired muscle to the mysterious and extremely dangerous Nordeen. When his ex-girlfriend calls for his help in finding her missing daughter, Taggert asks for leave and flies to London’s seedy underbelly. In a smart move, the author tells the story in the first person perspective from Taggert’s point of view. He presents something of an anti-hero, acting in a morally ambiguous area between his power as a healer and his work interrogating and harming others and liminal people with his abilities under Nordeen. His relationship with his boss is more of master-slave than mentor-mentee relationship, and over the course of the story, Taggert comes to seek freedom and his own version of a family.
In a genre that still loves white characters, a Black superhero main character is a welcome change. And not only is Taggert a complex character but he is furthermore allowed to be an anti-hero. I also loved the global aspect of the book, showing us characters of color as on the move and at home in different countries, travelling and making connections in all of them. The whole cast of characters is diverse and the author’s willingness to adress such issues as racism and slavery is one strong aspect of what sets The Liminal People apart from most superhero stories we are flooded with everyday. Because Taggert’s powers over bodies also means that he is capable of altering his appearance, and so he is very aware of how stature and lightening his skin tone allow for entering different spaces. This is a wonderful perspective from which to comment on issues of race and class. This is how you demonstrate the perspective of characters of color, the everyday issues, without it being the plot of the story.
I may have one or two nitpicks with Taggert’s approach to the female characters but overall this is a strong story with good pacing and wonderful world-building. Having the stomach for genre-typical violence is a requirement but other than that definitely recommended, I am looking forward to seeing this author and his stories grow. The one benefit to always being late to reading exciting books is that there’s already a sequel out. The second book is called The Liminal War and there’s also a spin-off, The Entropy of Bones, available already. This is the second novel I’ve read in a short time that was published by Small Beer Press. I’m happy to see some of their books offered on Scribd, so that I get to try them. I think I need to browse their catalogue!
(review from my blog http://ifyoucanreadthis.wordpress.com/ )
Taggert is part of the razorneck crew in Morocco, hired muscle to the mysterious and extremely dangerous Nordeen. When his ex-girlfriend calls for his help in finding her missing daughter, Taggert asks for leave and flies to London’s seedy underbelly. In a smart move, the author tells the story in the first person perspective from Taggert’s point of view. He presents something of an anti-hero, acting in a morally ambiguous area between his power as a healer and his work interrogating and harming others and liminal people with his abilities under Nordeen. His relationship with his boss is more of master-slave than mentor-mentee relationship, and over the course of the story, Taggert comes to seek freedom and his own version of a family.
In a genre that still loves white characters, a Black superhero main character is a welcome change. And not only is Taggert a complex character but he is furthermore allowed to be an anti-hero. I also loved the global aspect of the book, showing us characters of color as on the move and at home in different countries, travelling and making connections in all of them. The whole cast of characters is diverse and the author’s willingness to adress such issues as racism and slavery is one strong aspect of what sets The Liminal People apart from most superhero stories we are flooded with everyday. Because Taggert’s powers over bodies also means that he is capable of altering his appearance, and so he is very aware of how stature and lightening his skin tone allow for entering different spaces. This is a wonderful perspective from which to comment on issues of race and class. This is how you demonstrate the perspective of characters of color, the everyday issues, without it being the plot of the story.
I may have one or two nitpicks with Taggert’s approach to the female characters but overall this is a strong story with good pacing and wonderful world-building. Having the stomach for genre-typical violence is a requirement but other than that definitely recommended, I am looking forward to seeing this author and his stories grow. The one benefit to always being late to reading exciting books is that there’s already a sequel out. The second book is called The Liminal War and there’s also a spin-off, The Entropy of Bones, available already. This is the second novel I’ve read in a short time that was published by Small Beer Press. I’m happy to see some of their books offered on Scribd, so that I get to try them. I think I need to browse their catalogue!
(review from my blog http://ifyoucanreadthis.wordpress.com/ )
February 26, 2012
Liminal People is a super-powered mystery story featuring an unlikely detective. Taggart is a healer, with the power to control human bodies on a cellular level for good or ill. He's also a secret weapon for a drugs-and-other-things cartel based out of Morocco, headed by Nordeen, a boss with powers of his own and a predisposition to usefully complex plans. The self-reflection in Taggart, the part of him that is able to tell someone he wants to respect him that the best healers are the ones who know how to hurt, with the full knowledge that he has used his powers to turn a human body against itself, is what drew me in early.
The plot quickly moves from Taggart's settled life in Morocco, when he returns to London to answer a call for help from "the only woman I ever loved", Yasmene, and finds himself in the middle of a situation created by people with powers as unusual and deadly as his own. The mystery is centered on the disappearance of Yasmene's daughter, Tamara. When we do get to meet Tamara, she becomes my favorite character nearly immediately, with her strength of will, her teenager-ness, and her disregard of BS.
I'm writing vaguely on purpose, because an interesting aspect of the character reveals in this book is what flavor of superpowers they have - like a gritty Heroes or the X-Men. The trappings of the story are familiar to me from reading comic books (a trait I share with Taggart), but the weight of the story derives from the character arcs and emotional freight underpinning the story action. While the plot points themselves will read like an action movie, the philosophy and character development leave that genre behind and strive for something a little more hard-boiled, and a little more thoughtful.
I speak as someone who loves her comic books, but reading The Liminal People is like getting a glimpse of what superhero comics will be if they grow into depth of character. This book fed something in my soul, just by telling Taggart's story.
I received my copy through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
The plot quickly moves from Taggart's settled life in Morocco, when he returns to London to answer a call for help from "the only woman I ever loved", Yasmene, and finds himself in the middle of a situation created by people with powers as unusual and deadly as his own. The mystery is centered on the disappearance of Yasmene's daughter, Tamara. When we do get to meet Tamara, she becomes my favorite character nearly immediately, with her strength of will, her teenager-ness, and her disregard of BS.
I'm writing vaguely on purpose, because an interesting aspect of the character reveals in this book is what flavor of superpowers they have - like a gritty Heroes or the X-Men. The trappings of the story are familiar to me from reading comic books (a trait I share with Taggart), but the weight of the story derives from the character arcs and emotional freight underpinning the story action. While the plot points themselves will read like an action movie, the philosophy and character development leave that genre behind and strive for something a little more hard-boiled, and a little more thoughtful.
I speak as someone who loves her comic books, but reading The Liminal People is like getting a glimpse of what superhero comics will be if they grow into depth of character. This book fed something in my soul, just by telling Taggart's story.
I received my copy through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
April 17, 2012
not bad for a first novelistic effort. i had higher hopes for it at the beginning than proved out, but there was still a lot to like.
one: it starts in africa. wishing deeply for more sf not from the US or britain, so i was happyhappyhappy. even if the main character is american, at least he's not your standard white guy, and fortunately he's not even white. and he lives in morocco.
i do wish the narrative had stayed there, but alas, we had to go to london.
and our protag himself... he starts out a definitely confused guy. he's got powers he doesn't fully understand, or know what to do with. he's fundamentally a thrall to an even more weird moroccan, doing the boss-man's bidding even tho he doesn't always like it.
and then he gets the call... and we're off to london. where the story becomes sort of a missing-person mystery.
genre-bending, all to the good! i'm still happy, altho not happy to have left morocco. our protag is called to a former love's aid, and he goes. and we have a couple of clunky scenes, and a downright weird description or two (a woman's breasts "flowing" struck me as particularly odd. just how do a woman's breasts flow? i would think that would be pretty icky.).
and then.... things blow up! mayhem starts! R-E-V-E-N-G-E!!!!!!!!!
most of the mayhem is handled pretty well, altho our body-guru seems to lose track of his testosterone levels with alarming regularity. the end is left a bit open, no doubt for the sequels on their way.
i do hope when the sequels hit the presses, the author will have taken more time with them. by which i mean, relaxed. thrown in some stuff that doesn't move the plot along. he's actually pretty good at making whole people, but in a book like this, that just makes a person want more of the whole person, not just the superpowers and the things-blowing-up and the cosmic war in the offing. so... here's hoping.
one: it starts in africa. wishing deeply for more sf not from the US or britain, so i was happyhappyhappy. even if the main character is american, at least he's not your standard white guy, and fortunately he's not even white. and he lives in morocco.
i do wish the narrative had stayed there, but alas, we had to go to london.
and our protag himself... he starts out a definitely confused guy. he's got powers he doesn't fully understand, or know what to do with. he's fundamentally a thrall to an even more weird moroccan, doing the boss-man's bidding even tho he doesn't always like it.
and then he gets the call... and we're off to london. where the story becomes sort of a missing-person mystery.
genre-bending, all to the good! i'm still happy, altho not happy to have left morocco. our protag is called to a former love's aid, and he goes. and we have a couple of clunky scenes, and a downright weird description or two (a woman's breasts "flowing" struck me as particularly odd. just how do a woman's breasts flow? i would think that would be pretty icky.).
and then.... things blow up! mayhem starts! R-E-V-E-N-G-E!!!!!!!!!
most of the mayhem is handled pretty well, altho our body-guru seems to lose track of his testosterone levels with alarming regularity. the end is left a bit open, no doubt for the sequels on their way.
i do hope when the sequels hit the presses, the author will have taken more time with them. by which i mean, relaxed. thrown in some stuff that doesn't move the plot along. he's actually pretty good at making whole people, but in a book like this, that just makes a person want more of the whole person, not just the superpowers and the things-blowing-up and the cosmic war in the offing. so... here's hoping.
January 9, 2012
Tried this one on the strength of a good review. I thought it was decently well done, but not enough for me to recommend for book club.
Strengths:
a non-white, non-American main character. Most of the book features characters of color, and it begins in Morocco. I would liked to have seen more of the book take place in Africa, actually.
the powers were interesting and slightly different. We never get an explanation for them- are they magic, psychic, mutants? also slightly unusual- the main character can manipulate and heal bodies. One woman can give you a psychic connection with someone else if you sleep with her.
the story was fast-paced and kept me involved.
there was compassion even for the villains, who were complex and fully realized
Weaknesses:
the main character was kind of a self-involved douche. I saw the twist with the teenager coming a mile away.
females were more idealized than real- maybe this was because we were seeing them through the eyes of someone who was kind of a douche.
the main character does not always act very smartly in a fight.
If this is a set-up for a series, I'm willing to read the next one. You can see that there are stages of powers that have not been accessed yet, and I'm interested to see where the characters go. The main character did grow and change, and I think there's a lot more to explore in this world.
Also, really liked the title and the concept of "the liminal people".
Strengths:
a non-white, non-American main character. Most of the book features characters of color, and it begins in Morocco. I would liked to have seen more of the book take place in Africa, actually.
the powers were interesting and slightly different. We never get an explanation for them- are they magic, psychic, mutants? also slightly unusual- the main character can manipulate and heal bodies. One woman can give you a psychic connection with someone else if you sleep with her.
the story was fast-paced and kept me involved.
there was compassion even for the villains, who were complex and fully realized
Weaknesses:
the main character was kind of a self-involved douche. I saw the twist with the teenager coming a mile away.
females were more idealized than real- maybe this was because we were seeing them through the eyes of someone who was kind of a douche.
the main character does not always act very smartly in a fight.
If this is a set-up for a series, I'm willing to read the next one. You can see that there are stages of powers that have not been accessed yet, and I'm interested to see where the characters go. The main character did grow and change, and I think there's a lot more to explore in this world.
Also, really liked the title and the concept of "the liminal people".
August 21, 2011
I was engrossed in the world where magical superpowers are superimposed on the world that we know and love, and yet is intertwined with it. The narrative is more technical than comic books and more occult than the sprawl trilogy, although it is reminiscent of both. Each character is strategically navigating a web of power by way of super-human abilities that are dialed in like some quantum-computer although their motivations retain recognizably human sentiments. The powers of each character counterpoint each other, providing limitations to their seeming immortality, also contributing to the human aspect of the narrative. The gritty, global, feel made it seem down-to-earth, while the veils of hallucination and omission curtaining off the theater for paranormal conflict raise this story above what one is familiar with.
Read it.
*I won this on Goodreads, and it was part of the first-reads program"
Read it.
*I won this on Goodreads, and it was part of the first-reads program"
April 19, 2015
An amazing and refreshing take on superpowers.
Be forewarned, this book will suck you in. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going in but several people had recommended it so I went in knowing very little. By chapter four I couldn't put it down, I had to keep reading. The characters, Taggert and Tamara in particular, are incredibly developed. Even smaller (as in time on 'screen') characters, like Samantha, are written such that the reader gets a true connection and feeling for the character.
The way Jama-Everett approaches "superpowers" in this world is invigorating. There are so many possibilities for how things could play out but you only start to get a tease of the broader powers at play throughout the book. Taggert's quest for freedom and his humanity is profound and despite his flaws he is an easy hero to root for.
I am so thrilled I finally read this book and am already counting down the days until I can get my hands on the next installment in this world.
Be forewarned, this book will suck you in. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going in but several people had recommended it so I went in knowing very little. By chapter four I couldn't put it down, I had to keep reading. The characters, Taggert and Tamara in particular, are incredibly developed. Even smaller (as in time on 'screen') characters, like Samantha, are written such that the reader gets a true connection and feeling for the character.
The way Jama-Everett approaches "superpowers" in this world is invigorating. There are so many possibilities for how things could play out but you only start to get a tease of the broader powers at play throughout the book. Taggert's quest for freedom and his humanity is profound and despite his flaws he is an easy hero to root for.
I am so thrilled I finally read this book and am already counting down the days until I can get my hands on the next installment in this world.
December 2, 2012
Excellent. A very well-written paranormal-scifi-fantasy. No vampires.
The blurb is an adequate overview; what it cannot convey is the author's engrossing prose and lifelike characters. There is a well thought-out conflict for the protagonist to navigate, with a mix of cliched and innovative twists. Bonus points for a black protagonist and several strong female characters.
Read it.
Oh: Also recommended by IO9.com ("We come from the future") with a lengthy review at The Liminal People is the twisted superhero story that Heroes should have been .
And: the book's website is quite artsy.
The blurb is an adequate overview; what it cannot convey is the author's engrossing prose and lifelike characters. There is a well thought-out conflict for the protagonist to navigate, with a mix of cliched and innovative twists. Bonus points for a black protagonist and several strong female characters.
Read it.
Oh: Also recommended by IO9.com ("We come from the future") with a lengthy review at The Liminal People is the twisted superhero story that Heroes should have been .
And: the book's website is quite artsy.
December 30, 2012
This slender novel, told in the first person, does what the best superhero-base entertainment only very rarely achieves -- for the duration of reading, of experiencing, it, you believe that this world of telepaths, firestarters, telekinetics, and many more living alongside normal humans (norms) is real. In that world, older powers warp the younger ones and war against each other, and a healer must (rather graphically) kill and kill again, before chossing whether or not to suffer the repercussions of defying his powerful master. If you were ever thrilled by watching the very best episodes of HEROES, then you should read this book.
October 15, 2014
This ultra-violent superhero crime/revenge story was a functional page-turner, but was not precisely my cuppa. The protag was supposed to read as a dark, conflicted antihero, but he was kind of just a piece of garbage. (Cruel, ragey, crappy towards women, blames most of his flaws on his mentor/crime boss, etc.) And even ignoring him there were plenty of problems, what with the love interest killed off for motivation and the evil psychic disabled person and all.
Well-staged action, mildly intriguing urban fantasy set-up, frustrating and gross characters and plot.
Well-staged action, mildly intriguing urban fantasy set-up, frustrating and gross characters and plot.
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