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The True History of the Strange Brigade
Anthology fiction based on the highly-anticipated up-coming video game!
A SAFARI INTO DANGER!
There are remote corners of the British Empire where the supernatural lurks and the shadows linger, where few dare go and fewer return.
A TIME FOR HEROES!
This is the world of the little-known Department of Antiquities—the so-called “Strange Brigade”—tasked with confronting ancient and terrible evils that threaten us all. But who are these mysterious adventurers?
EIGHT RIP-ROARING NEW ADVENTURES!
Join rising stars Cassandra Khaw, Gaie Sebold, Tauriq Moosa, Guy Adams, Jonathan L. Howard, Mimi Mondal, Patrick Lofgren and Joseph Guthrie as they delve into the hidden origins of some of the Brigade’s finest, and marvel at these never-before-seen tales of our fearless and unflinching heroes…
A SAFARI INTO DANGER!
There are remote corners of the British Empire where the supernatural lurks and the shadows linger, where few dare go and fewer return.
A TIME FOR HEROES!
This is the world of the little-known Department of Antiquities—the so-called “Strange Brigade”—tasked with confronting ancient and terrible evils that threaten us all. But who are these mysterious adventurers?
EIGHT RIP-ROARING NEW ADVENTURES!
Join rising stars Cassandra Khaw, Gaie Sebold, Tauriq Moosa, Guy Adams, Jonathan L. Howard, Mimi Mondal, Patrick Lofgren and Joseph Guthrie as they delve into the hidden origins of some of the Brigade’s finest, and marvel at these never-before-seen tales of our fearless and unflinching heroes…
304 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2018
13 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
David Thomas Moore
13 books24 followersA lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy, an avid roleplayer and LRPer, an enthusiastic if unskilled swordfighter and a passable cook, David Thomas Moore is the author of several short stories and one roleplaying supplement, and the editor of a number of anthologies. He is the Fiction Commissioning Editor at Rebellion Publishing.
Born and raised in Australia, he lives in Reading in the UK with his wife and daughter.
Born and raised in Australia, he lives in Reading in the UK with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 8, 2021
Mathematically computed rating: 2.8875 stars.
With stories by my boyfriend Jojo's daddy (aka Jonathan L. Howard) and my girlfriend Babylon Steel's mommy (aka Gaie Sebold), this collection should have been Slightly Very Good Material (SVGM™). Yeah, well, um, no.
Moderately crushed I am, yes.
What makes this even more moderately crushing is that the collection is a scrumptiously diverse and most wonderfully NOT Eurocentric feast. Which, you have to admit, is quite the deliciously refreshing combo. And what makes this even more more moderately crushing is that some of the stories in the collection give off quite the titillating Indiana Jones vibes. And it is a truth universally acknowledged that Indiana Jones vibes =
BUT. It turns out most of the stories are meh as fish and all the glorious diversity, exotic settings and Indy vibes in the world just won't change a thing about this most distressing fact. Because life sucks and stuff.
(Oh, and by the way, this collection was apparently inspired by a video game called...Dun dun dun and stuff...Strange Brigade. I think. I mean, as I may or may not have mentioned before, I'm somewhat out of the loop when it comes to gaming—the last time I played a video game, it was Pac-Man. On my Atari 2600. Because I'm cool like that—so you might want to NOT trust me on this one.)
Okay, it seems that some of you actually have puny real lives outside of Goodreads and couldn't care less about thefascinating stuff I might have to say about each individual story in this collection, so kindly provide a with a time-saving YES Perhaps Maybe Then Again Maybe Not NO Recap (YPMTAMNNR™) I shall:
🥇 You really really want to read 🥇
✔ Where you Bury Things by Guy Adams.
✔ Tessie's Song by Joseph Guthrie.
✔ Peccavi, Or If Thy Father by Mimi Mondal.
★ You might want to read ★
✔ The Professor’s Dilemma by Tauriq Moosa.
✔ Nalangu’s Trials by Gaie Sebold.
💀 You do not want to read 💀
✘ And Was Jerusalem Builded Here? by Cassandra Khaw.
✘ Ripples In A Polluted Pool by Jonathan L. Howard .
✘ The Island Of Nightmares by Patrick Lofgren.
Now off You People of the Puny Real Lives (YPotPRL™) go, while off to share my insightful (if despicably short) insight on the individual stories in this collection I am. Here goes and stuff.
① And Was Jerusalem Builded Here? by Cassandra Khaw: DNF of Doom and Oblivion, as expected. (I thought that Khaw’s Food of the Gods was so captivating I abandoned the bookat least halfway through at the 21% mark, so I didn’t exactly have high expectations for this one.)
IDNFed read this story less than a month ago and already can't remember a bloody shrimping thing about it. I think that might possibly be a bad sign. Maybe. Oh wait, I do recall that it was boring as fish and made me yawn to death. Yay for my grey cells not being completely fried! Right. Moving on and stuff.
② Ripples In A Polluted Pool by Jonathan L. Howard: DNF of Doom and Oblivion, as absolutely NOT expected .
Why? WHY? I mean, WHY??????? This cannot have been written by my boyfriend Jojo's daddy. In fact, I'm pretty sure this was written by Jonathan L. Howard's evil twin. There is no other possible explanation, if you ask me. And I'll leave it at that. You're welcome and stuff.
③ The Professor’s Dilemma by Tauriq Moosa: 3 stars.
Too bad this one was so revoltingly short. Okay, so it's supposed to be short, since it's, um, well, err, a short story. But some short stories seem to be shorter than other short stories (while they are not in fact technically shorter than those other short stories) and to end when they are only just beginning (or is it that they seem to begin when they are only just ending?) and I find that most frustratingly frustrating. This one has pretty good potential (because the mere mention of "female leaders of ancient Egypt" + Sumeria = YUM), but just as things were getting really
See what I did there? 😬
④ Nalangu’s Trials by Gaie Sebold|4385310: 2.75 stars.
This one was pretty meh but Sebold gets bonus points for writing about the Maasai . And also for being my girlfriend Babylon Steel's mommy. And that's about it. Yay.
⑤ Where you Bury Things by Guy Adams: 4 stars.
Definitely the best story in this collection. Because India + Australia + Aboriginal people + hahahahaha + slightly cool characters + funny dialogues + oops, is that a bullet I just put between those lovely eyes of yours? + hahahahaha again = I want more and stuff.
⑥ Peccavi, Or If Thy Father by Mimi Mondal: 3.5 stars.
There go my grey cells again. Bloody shrimping hell of the stinking fish, I can hardly remember anything about this one 🙄. Which should be a bad sign (as seen up there ↑↑) but probably isn't since I gave the story a moderately acceptable rating. Okay, so I remember it's set in India, and that it's about a family curse. Oh, and there's a philandering father involved, too. And spoiler spoiler spoiler. And also spoiler spoiler spoiler (aka all the stuff I don't remember about this story). And there you have it and stuff.
⑦ The Island Of Nightmares by Patrick Lofgren: DNF of Doom and Oblivion.
This story is set in Japan, which had me slightly very excited at first. Said excitement didn't last. And was quickly replaced by a Major Case of the Ewwww (MCotE™) . I have pretty high tolerance for all things deliciously bloody and gory, but there are some things that are too upsetting even for my beautifully nefarious stomach. Granted, maybe I should not have started reading this story while eating dinner. But I did, so I did. Oh, and by the way, this one is depressing as fish. And Not Very Fascinating (NVF™). Neither of which helped. In case you were wondering.
⑧ Tessie's Song by Joseph Guthrie: 3.85 stars.
All stories featuring a heroine who drinks bourbon and cognac as if they were water are worth reading. Especially when said heroine is an aviator who kicks derriere. And that, my Little Barnacles, is a scientifically proven fact. Also, non-stop action + somewhat undead monsters + “miss ma’am” + pterodactyls =
The end and stuff. Resume your puny human lives now you may.
With stories by my boyfriend Jojo's daddy (aka Jonathan L. Howard) and my girlfriend Babylon Steel's mommy (aka Gaie Sebold), this collection should have been Slightly Very Good Material (SVGM™). Yeah, well, um, no.
Moderately crushed I am, yes.
What makes this even more moderately crushing is that the collection is a scrumptiously diverse and most wonderfully NOT Eurocentric feast. Which, you have to admit, is quite the deliciously refreshing combo. And what makes this even more more moderately crushing is that some of the stories in the collection give off quite the titillating Indiana Jones vibes. And it is a truth universally acknowledged that Indiana Jones vibes =
BUT. It turns out most of the stories are meh as fish and all the glorious diversity, exotic settings and Indy vibes in the world just won't change a thing about this most distressing fact. Because life sucks and stuff.
(Oh, and by the way, this collection was apparently inspired by a video game called...Dun dun dun and stuff...Strange Brigade. I think. I mean, as I may or may not have mentioned before, I'm somewhat out of the loop when it comes to gaming—the last time I played a video game, it was Pac-Man. On my Atari 2600. Because I'm cool like that—so you might want to NOT trust me on this one.)
Okay, it seems that some of you actually have puny real lives outside of Goodreads and couldn't care less about the
🥇 You really really want to read 🥇
✔ Where you Bury Things by Guy Adams.
✔ Tessie's Song by Joseph Guthrie.
✔ Peccavi, Or If Thy Father by Mimi Mondal.
★ You might want to read ★
✔ The Professor’s Dilemma by Tauriq Moosa.
✔ Nalangu’s Trials by Gaie Sebold.
💀 You do not want to read 💀
✘ And Was Jerusalem Builded Here? by Cassandra Khaw.
✘ Ripples In A Polluted Pool by Jonathan L. Howard .
✘ The Island Of Nightmares by Patrick Lofgren.
Now off You People of the Puny Real Lives (YPotPRL™) go, while off to share my insightful (if despicably short) insight on the individual stories in this collection I am. Here goes and stuff.
① And Was Jerusalem Builded Here? by Cassandra Khaw: DNF of Doom and Oblivion, as expected. (I thought that Khaw’s Food of the Gods was so captivating I abandoned the book
I
② Ripples In A Polluted Pool by Jonathan L. Howard: DNF of Doom and Oblivion, as absolutely NOT expected .
Why? WHY? I mean, WHY??????? This cannot have been written by my boyfriend Jojo's daddy. In fact, I'm pretty sure this was written by Jonathan L. Howard's evil twin. There is no other possible explanation, if you ask me. And I'll leave it at that. You're welcome and stuff.
③ The Professor’s Dilemma by Tauriq Moosa: 3 stars.
Too bad this one was so revoltingly short. Okay, so it's supposed to be short, since it's, um, well, err, a short story. But some short stories seem to be shorter than other short stories (while they are not in fact technically shorter than those other short stories) and to end when they are only just beginning (or is it that they seem to begin when they are only just ending?) and I find that most frustratingly frustrating. This one has pretty good potential (because the mere mention of "female leaders of ancient Egypt" + Sumeria = YUM), but just as things were getting really
See what I did there? 😬
④ Nalangu’s Trials by Gaie Sebold|4385310: 2.75 stars.
This one was pretty meh but Sebold gets bonus points for writing about the Maasai . And also for being my girlfriend Babylon Steel's mommy. And that's about it. Yay.
⑤ Where you Bury Things by Guy Adams: 4 stars.
Definitely the best story in this collection. Because India + Australia + Aboriginal people + hahahahaha + slightly cool characters + funny dialogues + oops, is that a bullet I just put between those lovely eyes of yours? + hahahahaha again = I want more and stuff.
⑥ Peccavi, Or If Thy Father by Mimi Mondal: 3.5 stars.
There go my grey cells again. Bloody shrimping hell of the stinking fish, I can hardly remember anything about this one 🙄. Which should be a bad sign (as seen up there ↑↑) but probably isn't since I gave the story a moderately acceptable rating. Okay, so I remember it's set in India, and that it's about a family curse. Oh, and there's a philandering father involved, too. And spoiler spoiler spoiler. And also spoiler spoiler spoiler (aka all the stuff I don't remember about this story). And there you have it and stuff.
⑦ The Island Of Nightmares by Patrick Lofgren: DNF of Doom and Oblivion.
This story is set in Japan, which had me slightly very excited at first. Said excitement didn't last. And was quickly replaced by a Major Case of the Ewwww (MCotE™) . I have pretty high tolerance for all things deliciously bloody and gory, but there are some things that are too upsetting even for my beautifully nefarious stomach. Granted, maybe I should not have started reading this story while eating dinner. But I did, so I did. Oh, and by the way, this one is depressing as fish. And Not Very Fascinating (NVF™). Neither of which helped. In case you were wondering.
⑧ Tessie's Song by Joseph Guthrie: 3.85 stars.
All stories featuring a heroine who drinks bourbon and cognac as if they were water are worth reading. Especially when said heroine is an aviator who kicks derriere. And that, my Little Barnacles, is a scientifically proven fact. Also, non-stop action + somewhat undead monsters + “miss ma’am” + pterodactyls =
The end and stuff. Resume your puny human lives now you may.
Read
February 21, 2019An anthology of stories based around a secret-government-bureau team of adventurers dealing with Weird Stuff. This is actually a tie in, sort of supplying backstory to a video game (which I have never played), and it does slightly feel like that, in the sense that I am now waiting for the adventure to begin and to see where the characters go.
Nevertheless, I think it works perfectly well as a story collection. I grabbed it because Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L Howard are two of my favourite writers, and both their stories are creepy, morally twisty and very well written, but I read the whole thing with a lot of enjoyment. If you like Indiana Jonesish 1930s adventure and secret Government paranormal investigations, and who does not, it's good retro fun. If I played video games, I would now play this video game.
Nevertheless, I think it works perfectly well as a story collection. I grabbed it because Cassandra Khaw and Jonathan L Howard are two of my favourite writers, and both their stories are creepy, morally twisty and very well written, but I read the whole thing with a lot of enjoyment. If you like Indiana Jonesish 1930s adventure and secret Government paranormal investigations, and who does not, it's good retro fun. If I played video games, I would now play this video game.
August 10, 2018
Full review here
**I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review**
The book kicks off with a bang, literally, with the story of Gracie Braithwaite, a young woman in England who goes to work in what she believes is a normal run of the mill factory, but in reality, is a den of human-skinning demons. So, she does what any sane person would do in that situation: blows the whole sucker up. Thus, her place in the Strange Brigade is solidified. After that, the stories seemed to go downhill in my opinion. The next story, following a mind parasite which leads to obedient, meek, hive minded individuals was pretty interesting (very Invasion of the Body Snatchers-esque), but the rest of the stories just bored me. You had ghouls, pterodactyls, a vengeful tiger goddess, all the makings of what could've been really interesting stories, but they all just hit below the mark. It got to the point where I was just reading them to finish the book because I'm not one of those people who can leave a book unfinished. I was hoping for a lot of Indiana Jones-meets-Supernatural vibes, but really I got a lot of stories about people trekking through jungles with a dash of something unnatural going on.
**I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review**
The book kicks off with a bang, literally, with the story of Gracie Braithwaite, a young woman in England who goes to work in what she believes is a normal run of the mill factory, but in reality, is a den of human-skinning demons. So, she does what any sane person would do in that situation: blows the whole sucker up. Thus, her place in the Strange Brigade is solidified. After that, the stories seemed to go downhill in my opinion. The next story, following a mind parasite which leads to obedient, meek, hive minded individuals was pretty interesting (very Invasion of the Body Snatchers-esque), but the rest of the stories just bored me. You had ghouls, pterodactyls, a vengeful tiger goddess, all the makings of what could've been really interesting stories, but they all just hit below the mark. It got to the point where I was just reading them to finish the book because I'm not one of those people who can leave a book unfinished. I was hoping for a lot of Indiana Jones-meets-Supernatural vibes, but really I got a lot of stories about people trekking through jungles with a dash of something unnatural going on.
August 9, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing - Abaddon Books for the digital copy of this galley.
On August 28, 2018, the video game The Strange Brigade will be available. This book contains the stories (or mentions) of the adventurers who make up the Strange Brigade and what they were doing just before being recruited into that band of fighters of monsters and demons. Formed in England, probably during the reign of Queen Victoria, each recruit to DA-01 has a useful skill for the fights ahead. I watched video of the play of the game, but this review is of the short stories only.
Gracie Braithwaite - factory worker - "And Was Jerusalem Builded Here?" by Cassandra Khaw. Gracie feels gratitude when she is given a job in a factory. Her family will at least have money to live on even though she is required to lodge at the factory. Her troubles start when she begins to figure out where the product is coming from that she is sewing together.
Captain Francis Fairburne - British Secret Service Bureau - "Ripples In A Polluted Pool" by Jonathan L. Howard. When a traitorous SSB agent is killed Fairburne sees something crawl out of his mouth. Who controls these creatures?
Professor Archimedes DeQuincey - British archeologist - "The Professor's Dilemma" by Tauriq Moosa. The professor is determined to return to Iraq for the dig even though his father has disappeared.
Nalangu - an African tribal woman - "Nalangu's Trials" by Gaie Sebold. Nalangu has the gift of seeing things unseen by most others. She undergoes four years of training to become a Sister of the Night.
Mr. Bey - "Where You Bury Things" by Guy Adams. Mr. Bey volunteers to join the Strange Brigade after his adventure in Alice Springs.
Anjali Singh Rathore - "Peccavi, Or If Thy Father" by Mimi Mondal. A blood curse is on the children of the Kishangarh Maharaja. Both of Anjali's brothers have died and now she is fighting for her life.
Lieutenant-Commander Hachiro Shimizu - ship's captain in the Japanese Imperial Navy - "The Island of Nightmares" by Patrick Lofgren. A secret island contains an ark filled with monsters to be unleashed on the world. Hachiro is rescued by the Strange Brigade.
"Brash" Conaghan - American cowboy - a mention of him but no story for Brash.
Tessie Caldwell - Texas - aviator - "Tessie's Song" by Joseph Guthrie. Lady Webster from the Department of Antiquities (DA-01, Strange Brigade) recruits Tessie to be a reconnaissance pilot for Strange Brigade missions. Her first one is to rescue the members while her plane is being attacked by a pterodactyl.
I was pleased to find that all the stories were well written and when combined gave me a lot of background information about the Strange Brigade, its history and the types of missions the members would be involved in. This will be a great way for players of the game to give the characters a lot of added depth, but the stories also stirred my interest enough to want to read more missions with the brigade. The cannibalism in one of the stories made me cringe, but it certainly did get the point across about how far the ruler had fallen in his humanity. Altogether an interesting peek into the recruitment of those who will become members of the Strange Brigade.
On August 28, 2018, the video game The Strange Brigade will be available. This book contains the stories (or mentions) of the adventurers who make up the Strange Brigade and what they were doing just before being recruited into that band of fighters of monsters and demons. Formed in England, probably during the reign of Queen Victoria, each recruit to DA-01 has a useful skill for the fights ahead. I watched video of the play of the game, but this review is of the short stories only.
Gracie Braithwaite - factory worker - "And Was Jerusalem Builded Here?" by Cassandra Khaw. Gracie feels gratitude when she is given a job in a factory. Her family will at least have money to live on even though she is required to lodge at the factory. Her troubles start when she begins to figure out where the product is coming from that she is sewing together.
Captain Francis Fairburne - British Secret Service Bureau - "Ripples In A Polluted Pool" by Jonathan L. Howard. When a traitorous SSB agent is killed Fairburne sees something crawl out of his mouth. Who controls these creatures?
Professor Archimedes DeQuincey - British archeologist - "The Professor's Dilemma" by Tauriq Moosa. The professor is determined to return to Iraq for the dig even though his father has disappeared.
Nalangu - an African tribal woman - "Nalangu's Trials" by Gaie Sebold. Nalangu has the gift of seeing things unseen by most others. She undergoes four years of training to become a Sister of the Night.
Mr. Bey - "Where You Bury Things" by Guy Adams. Mr. Bey volunteers to join the Strange Brigade after his adventure in Alice Springs.
Anjali Singh Rathore - "Peccavi, Or If Thy Father" by Mimi Mondal. A blood curse is on the children of the Kishangarh Maharaja. Both of Anjali's brothers have died and now she is fighting for her life.
Lieutenant-Commander Hachiro Shimizu - ship's captain in the Japanese Imperial Navy - "The Island of Nightmares" by Patrick Lofgren. A secret island contains an ark filled with monsters to be unleashed on the world. Hachiro is rescued by the Strange Brigade.
"Brash" Conaghan - American cowboy - a mention of him but no story for Brash.
Tessie Caldwell - Texas - aviator - "Tessie's Song" by Joseph Guthrie. Lady Webster from the Department of Antiquities (DA-01, Strange Brigade) recruits Tessie to be a reconnaissance pilot for Strange Brigade missions. Her first one is to rescue the members while her plane is being attacked by a pterodactyl.
I was pleased to find that all the stories were well written and when combined gave me a lot of background information about the Strange Brigade, its history and the types of missions the members would be involved in. This will be a great way for players of the game to give the characters a lot of added depth, but the stories also stirred my interest enough to want to read more missions with the brigade. The cannibalism in one of the stories made me cringe, but it certainly did get the point across about how far the ruler had fallen in his humanity. Altogether an interesting peek into the recruitment of those who will become members of the Strange Brigade.
April 15, 2020
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
Like all anthologies of short stories written by different authors some are far better than others.
They were all enjoyable though.
Hence giving 3 stars but maybe should be 3.5
Like all anthologies of short stories written by different authors some are far better than others.
They were all enjoyable though.
Hence giving 3 stars but maybe should be 3.5
October 31, 2018
Well I guess I was due another random choice of book and here it is.
Now to start off I had never heard of the Strange Brigade let alone knew anything about it (the fact that its a 3rd person shooter computer game certainly was a surprise to me). It was more the fact that Guy Adams an author I am currently reading has a story included in this book was the reason it caught my eye.
So what to say - okay without spoilers - the Strange Brigade is an ad hoc super secret organisation set around the beginning of the century (there are references to the great war) where a rather strange band of characters defend the empire against all sorts of supernatural forces - with me so far.
So this book is a series of stories which plots the course several major characters (I presume since I have not played the game) and how they came in to the employ of DA-01 or as others like to call it the Strange Brigade.
Now each story is by a different author - all who excel in this genre however it does mean that each story is slight different in style and feel. Now on the whole the stories fit the authors and the characters - no mean feat I can tell you.
The result is a remarkably additive read - I just feel at times it was just a rather elaborate advert for the game (still not played it). However I have to admit that some of the stories just make you want to read more and follow the Brigades further exploits (but not by playing the game).
So all in all a rather intriguing project and one I have not seen used for some time (I remember when the table top role playing games regularly used to issue tie-in fiction) and I think it worked rather well.
Now to start off I had never heard of the Strange Brigade let alone knew anything about it (the fact that its a 3rd person shooter computer game certainly was a surprise to me). It was more the fact that Guy Adams an author I am currently reading has a story included in this book was the reason it caught my eye.
So what to say - okay without spoilers - the Strange Brigade is an ad hoc super secret organisation set around the beginning of the century (there are references to the great war) where a rather strange band of characters defend the empire against all sorts of supernatural forces - with me so far.
So this book is a series of stories which plots the course several major characters (I presume since I have not played the game) and how they came in to the employ of DA-01 or as others like to call it the Strange Brigade.
Now each story is by a different author - all who excel in this genre however it does mean that each story is slight different in style and feel. Now on the whole the stories fit the authors and the characters - no mean feat I can tell you.
The result is a remarkably additive read - I just feel at times it was just a rather elaborate advert for the game (still not played it). However I have to admit that some of the stories just make you want to read more and follow the Brigades further exploits (but not by playing the game).
So all in all a rather intriguing project and one I have not seen used for some time (I remember when the table top role playing games regularly used to issue tie-in fiction) and I think it worked rather well.
December 30, 2018
I don't know why there are two versions of this book in two places but one had good reviews and one has shitty, so let's hope the folks who like it come bump up this book.
I also don't understand why people who didn't know what this book is (a history of a video game) are reading it. I hate it when people rate something badly because they didn't take the time to find out what it was. Too over the top? Well it is about a VIDEO GAME with SUPERNATURAL creatures. SMH
Rant over. Maybe. I liked the book and I hope to get the game sometime after it comes out. Damn not having the money for it right now! I really wanted to read the book to see what these characters are going to be like.
The book was a collection of stories about each of the 8 characters. I enjoyed some more than others, but overall enjoyed them all. For me, Fairburne was the least memorable and I actually had to go back to see what his story was because I couldn't remember. I didn't love Nalangu's story, but it wasn't bad. The rest I really enjoyed, my favorite's being Gracie's, Anjali's and Tessie's.
I hope I can get the game, because I will love it. :) Great book for those fans of the game or who think they will be fans of the game, as it's not actually out yet. Lucky you that get to play it soon! Enjoy!
I also don't understand why people who didn't know what this book is (a history of a video game) are reading it. I hate it when people rate something badly because they didn't take the time to find out what it was. Too over the top? Well it is about a VIDEO GAME with SUPERNATURAL creatures. SMH
Rant over. Maybe. I liked the book and I hope to get the game sometime after it comes out. Damn not having the money for it right now! I really wanted to read the book to see what these characters are going to be like.
The book was a collection of stories about each of the 8 characters. I enjoyed some more than others, but overall enjoyed them all. For me, Fairburne was the least memorable and I actually had to go back to see what his story was because I couldn't remember. I didn't love Nalangu's story, but it wasn't bad. The rest I really enjoyed, my favorite's being Gracie's, Anjali's and Tessie's.
I hope I can get the game, because I will love it. :) Great book for those fans of the game or who think they will be fans of the game, as it's not actually out yet. Lucky you that get to play it soon! Enjoy!
August 16, 2018
Orignally posted at ragdollreads.co.uk
Ragdoll Rating: 3.5/5 Buttons
Recommended For: People who have bought, or intend to by the game. People who like short adventure stories.
About the Book
This book is a short story collection about the Strange Brigade and how its various members came to join it. The Strange Brigade is - if I've understood correctly - a secret branch of the British Empire that fights demons and investigates the paranormal.
What I thought
Overall, I quite like this book. More often than not I found myself wishing the stories were longer, sometimes wishing I could have a whole book dedicated to one character - the stories of Anjali (Peccavi, Or If Thy Father by Mimi Mondal) and Nalangu (Nalangu's Trials by Gaie Sebold) spring to mind.
Since this is a short story collection, I will try and briefly give my thoughts on each story.
Was Jerusalem Builded Here (Cassandra Khaw) - this may be my least favourite reading experience ever, and I am including the time I dropped a book in the bath. The story jumped all over the place, and I just barely finished it with an understanding of what the plot was. It also included some seriously weird writing...for example:
"...hair the hue of menstrual tissue..." and "Agatha snapped, quick as a crime".
The first is just gross and the second doesn't make any sense at all, and these are not the only examples to be found.
If I had to sum up this story using a quote from the story itself, it would be this:
"You're still not making any sense. Gracie ventured closer, feeling out of her depth. "What are you talking about?"
Ripples in a Polluted Pool (Johnathon L. Howard) - This story follows Captain Fairburne from an ambush in Marseille to an outbreak of pacifism in India. It's actually a shame this one was a short story. The first part was alright, and I lost track of things during the transition from British Army Captain to member of the Strange Brigade in India, but the second half was great and deserved to be told properly.
The Professor's Dilemma (Tauriq Moosa) - This story has a hint of Indiana Jones about it, and I love it. A professor is all set up to go on an archaeological dig when his father goes missing and he is attacked by a vicious beast! This one was well written and definitely left me wanting more.
Nalangu's Trials (Gaie Sebold) - This story follows Nalangu, a girl who becomes a demon hunter, and sets off on a quest to rescue a child from Leopard people. Some of the writing seemed a bit off to me at times, but the story itself was really good. Definitely wanted to know more.
Where You Bury Things (Guy Adams) - A man on the run from British law finds himself seeking his fortune in Australia. We learn about his past ask he follows a group of strangers into a mysterious cave. The story started off interesting, and I liked the idea of it, but it sort of lost steam towards the end. It built itself up to be really interesting and then just sort of ended.
Peccavi, Or If Thy Father (Mimi Mondal) - Anjali is cursed - her whole family is cursed, and it's her fathers fault. She is destined to be killed - her brothers have both just died, and her father is on deaths door. Reading that back I realise how terrible I've made this story sound, and I sincerely apologise to the author - but this story is actually my favourite one so far. I would really like to find out what happens to Anjali (and her other not-dead secret brother Mahesh) after this story ended, which I suppose is exactly what this book is supposed to be doing...
The Island of Nightmares (Patrick Lofgren) - Lieutenant-Commander Hachiro Shimizu and his squadron were sent on a mission - to capture a mysterious island and establish a base to help Japan run the Europeans out of Asia. But they've been captured by the cannibalistic inhabitants of the island. Just when Hachiro thinks things couldn't get any worse, he learns that the ruler of the island plans to unleash the terrible monsters that live there on the rest of the world, killing everybody. Hachiro must find a way to stop this from happening. This story was pretty cool. It was well written and an interesting story, although I am left with one considerable query about just how the Bad Guys were supposed to carry out their plans since you are not supposed to be able to sail out from where their ship is. But maybe I missed something. It also mentioned a cowboy member of the Brigade I have no memory of, which either I've forgotten or was never told about, either way I feel like I'm missing out.
Tessie's Song (Joespeh Guthrie) - Tessie, pilot extraordinaire, is attacked by the undead in a bar, and promptly recruited to the Strange Brigade as a pilot. On her first mission she finds herself struggling to extract the Brigade from an island infested with undead and dinosaurs! This story was the only one that had the main character join the Brigade within the first few pages, it also felt like very little happened. I realise its a short story and you can't cram too much into it, but in comparison to say, The Island of Nightmares which I had just finished, it just felt sort of hollow. It was fun, don't get me wrong, was just a bit underwhelming.
Final Thoughts
I nearly stopped reading this book after the first story - and I'm glad I didn't because the rest of it was enjoyable. Actually it seems quite odd to me that the first and last stories were the ones I enjoyed least, which is unfortunate, but then very few people enjoy every story in a collection of shorts by different authors.
I get the feeling that reading this book would be a lot better if you had literally any clue about the game it was written to accompany - which I don't. That said, reading this book has persuaded me to look up the game and see what it's about so I suppose it did it's job quite well.
This book lost a few points in my ratings because of how much I disliked the first story, and a bit more because it felt a bit rushed. Please note, I am not saying it felt 'short'. It's a book of short stories, they are supposed to be short. What I mean is that many of the stories felt like the authors had a whole book in mind, and then were forced to condense it into a half-hour read, which led to a lot of things that weren't explored in the way it felt they needed to be. I would have preferred to read a series of short books, or even a collection of slightly longer stories, just so the characters could have been done justice.
___________________________________________
Please Note: I received a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained within are my own and have not been influenced by any external entity!
Ragdoll Rating: 3.5/5 Buttons
Recommended For: People who have bought, or intend to by the game. People who like short adventure stories.
About the Book
This book is a short story collection about the Strange Brigade and how its various members came to join it. The Strange Brigade is - if I've understood correctly - a secret branch of the British Empire that fights demons and investigates the paranormal.
What I thought
Overall, I quite like this book. More often than not I found myself wishing the stories were longer, sometimes wishing I could have a whole book dedicated to one character - the stories of Anjali (Peccavi, Or If Thy Father by Mimi Mondal) and Nalangu (Nalangu's Trials by Gaie Sebold) spring to mind.
Since this is a short story collection, I will try and briefly give my thoughts on each story.
Was Jerusalem Builded Here (Cassandra Khaw) - this may be my least favourite reading experience ever, and I am including the time I dropped a book in the bath. The story jumped all over the place, and I just barely finished it with an understanding of what the plot was. It also included some seriously weird writing...for example:
"...hair the hue of menstrual tissue..." and "Agatha snapped, quick as a crime".
The first is just gross and the second doesn't make any sense at all, and these are not the only examples to be found.
If I had to sum up this story using a quote from the story itself, it would be this:
"You're still not making any sense. Gracie ventured closer, feeling out of her depth. "What are you talking about?"
Ripples in a Polluted Pool (Johnathon L. Howard) - This story follows Captain Fairburne from an ambush in Marseille to an outbreak of pacifism in India. It's actually a shame this one was a short story. The first part was alright, and I lost track of things during the transition from British Army Captain to member of the Strange Brigade in India, but the second half was great and deserved to be told properly.
The Professor's Dilemma (Tauriq Moosa) - This story has a hint of Indiana Jones about it, and I love it. A professor is all set up to go on an archaeological dig when his father goes missing and he is attacked by a vicious beast! This one was well written and definitely left me wanting more.
Nalangu's Trials (Gaie Sebold) - This story follows Nalangu, a girl who becomes a demon hunter, and sets off on a quest to rescue a child from Leopard people. Some of the writing seemed a bit off to me at times, but the story itself was really good. Definitely wanted to know more.
Where You Bury Things (Guy Adams) - A man on the run from British law finds himself seeking his fortune in Australia. We learn about his past ask he follows a group of strangers into a mysterious cave. The story started off interesting, and I liked the idea of it, but it sort of lost steam towards the end. It built itself up to be really interesting and then just sort of ended.
Peccavi, Or If Thy Father (Mimi Mondal) - Anjali is cursed - her whole family is cursed, and it's her fathers fault. She is destined to be killed - her brothers have both just died, and her father is on deaths door. Reading that back I realise how terrible I've made this story sound, and I sincerely apologise to the author - but this story is actually my favourite one so far. I would really like to find out what happens to Anjali (and her other not-dead secret brother Mahesh) after this story ended, which I suppose is exactly what this book is supposed to be doing...
The Island of Nightmares (Patrick Lofgren) - Lieutenant-Commander Hachiro Shimizu and his squadron were sent on a mission - to capture a mysterious island and establish a base to help Japan run the Europeans out of Asia. But they've been captured by the cannibalistic inhabitants of the island. Just when Hachiro thinks things couldn't get any worse, he learns that the ruler of the island plans to unleash the terrible monsters that live there on the rest of the world, killing everybody. Hachiro must find a way to stop this from happening. This story was pretty cool. It was well written and an interesting story, although I am left with one considerable query about just how the Bad Guys were supposed to carry out their plans since you are not supposed to be able to sail out from where their ship is. But maybe I missed something. It also mentioned a cowboy member of the Brigade I have no memory of, which either I've forgotten or was never told about, either way I feel like I'm missing out.
Tessie's Song (Joespeh Guthrie) - Tessie, pilot extraordinaire, is attacked by the undead in a bar, and promptly recruited to the Strange Brigade as a pilot. On her first mission she finds herself struggling to extract the Brigade from an island infested with undead and dinosaurs! This story was the only one that had the main character join the Brigade within the first few pages, it also felt like very little happened. I realise its a short story and you can't cram too much into it, but in comparison to say, The Island of Nightmares which I had just finished, it just felt sort of hollow. It was fun, don't get me wrong, was just a bit underwhelming.
Final Thoughts
I nearly stopped reading this book after the first story - and I'm glad I didn't because the rest of it was enjoyable. Actually it seems quite odd to me that the first and last stories were the ones I enjoyed least, which is unfortunate, but then very few people enjoy every story in a collection of shorts by different authors.
I get the feeling that reading this book would be a lot better if you had literally any clue about the game it was written to accompany - which I don't. That said, reading this book has persuaded me to look up the game and see what it's about so I suppose it did it's job quite well.
This book lost a few points in my ratings because of how much I disliked the first story, and a bit more because it felt a bit rushed. Please note, I am not saying it felt 'short'. It's a book of short stories, they are supposed to be short. What I mean is that many of the stories felt like the authors had a whole book in mind, and then were forced to condense it into a half-hour read, which led to a lot of things that weren't explored in the way it felt they needed to be. I would have preferred to read a series of short books, or even a collection of slightly longer stories, just so the characters could have been done justice.
___________________________________________
Please Note: I received a copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions contained within are my own and have not been influenced by any external entity!
August 10, 2018
This book was a collection of short stories. They are about the characters in a video game. So if you have no interest in the game it's really a strange read. The short stories were ok some were a little too much for me. I really didn't enjoy the book because I was unaware it was about the characters in a game.
September 3, 2022
I'm not much of a gamer, so I don't know the first thing about Strange Brigade, which makes me an odd choice to read a tie-in book . . . but I couldn't resist the concept of a Department of Antiquities that is tasked with confronting ancient and terrible evils.
Fortunately, The True History of the Strange Brigade is more an origin story than a tie-in, so no prior knowledge of the franchise is required to enjoy it. David Thomas Moore has gathered an impressive array of authors, who have contributed an eclectic range of genres.
"And Was Jerusalem Builded Here?" by Cassandra Khaw serves as an absolutely killer opening to the collection, a creepy tale of Victorian horror with the darkest of morbid imagery - eyes the color of linen and soot, hair the hue of menstrual tissue, and more. A stunning read.
"Ripples In A Polluted Pool" by Jonathan L. Howard merges pulp adventure and sci-fi horror, with a unique take on symbiotic parasites and hive mentality, with a truly chilling question of fate left open at the end.
"The Professor's Dilemma" by Tauriq Moosa returns to the Victorian horror theme, layering in some archaeological adventure, with a story that offers some dark, intriguing insights into the members of the Strange Brigade.
"Nalangu's Trials" by Gaie Sebold and "Where You Bury Things" by Guy Adams were two stories that didn't really work for me, distractions that caused me to put the book down for an extended period of time before coming back to it.
"Peccavi, Or If Thy Father" by Mimi Mondal got things back on track with the story of a family curse, of a young woman struggling against death, in a well-written story that surprised me with the way it developed.
"The Island of Nightmares" by Patrick Lofgren was a very cool story about a mysterious island, cannibals, monsters, and a mad villain. A truly heroic adventure.
"Tessie's Song" by Joseph Guthrie was the pulpiest adventure of them all, and yet one of my favorites, a perfect way to end the collection on a high note. What begins with the undead in bar ends with a pterodactyl attack and a rescue from an island of dinosaurs.
Aside from the soft spot in the middle, The True History of the Strange Brigade was a fantastic collection that delivered exactly what I was looking for. Some great characters, fun monsters, over-the-top adventure, and solid writing.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2018/...
Fortunately, The True History of the Strange Brigade is more an origin story than a tie-in, so no prior knowledge of the franchise is required to enjoy it. David Thomas Moore has gathered an impressive array of authors, who have contributed an eclectic range of genres.
"And Was Jerusalem Builded Here?" by Cassandra Khaw serves as an absolutely killer opening to the collection, a creepy tale of Victorian horror with the darkest of morbid imagery - eyes the color of linen and soot, hair the hue of menstrual tissue, and more. A stunning read.
"Ripples In A Polluted Pool" by Jonathan L. Howard merges pulp adventure and sci-fi horror, with a unique take on symbiotic parasites and hive mentality, with a truly chilling question of fate left open at the end.
"The Professor's Dilemma" by Tauriq Moosa returns to the Victorian horror theme, layering in some archaeological adventure, with a story that offers some dark, intriguing insights into the members of the Strange Brigade.
"Nalangu's Trials" by Gaie Sebold and "Where You Bury Things" by Guy Adams were two stories that didn't really work for me, distractions that caused me to put the book down for an extended period of time before coming back to it.
"Peccavi, Or If Thy Father" by Mimi Mondal got things back on track with the story of a family curse, of a young woman struggling against death, in a well-written story that surprised me with the way it developed.
"The Island of Nightmares" by Patrick Lofgren was a very cool story about a mysterious island, cannibals, monsters, and a mad villain. A truly heroic adventure.
"Tessie's Song" by Joseph Guthrie was the pulpiest adventure of them all, and yet one of my favorites, a perfect way to end the collection on a high note. What begins with the undead in bar ends with a pterodactyl attack and a rescue from an island of dinosaurs.
Aside from the soft spot in the middle, The True History of the Strange Brigade was a fantastic collection that delivered exactly what I was looking for. Some great characters, fun monsters, over-the-top adventure, and solid writing.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2018/...
June 13, 2020
Old School Fun
Normally a tie-in doesn't work very well if you've never played the tied-in video game. Here, though, we have an origin story prequel, so it predates the video game action and the book doesn't depend on knowing anything at all about the game beyond the fact that it involves a group of daredevil adventurers in a British Department of Antiquities who fight supernatural evil.
Thought of, then, as a multicharacter anthology, with a different character featured in each story, and some overlap as the Brigade is formed, this book was a satisfying hoot. It's uneven, of course, and probably not all of the stories will be to the reader's liking. But there was a nice range of styles and approaches, some very solid hits, and not much, for me, in the way of misses. This had a pulpy, moody, old school feel that I enjoyed.
(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Normally a tie-in doesn't work very well if you've never played the tied-in video game. Here, though, we have an origin story prequel, so it predates the video game action and the book doesn't depend on knowing anything at all about the game beyond the fact that it involves a group of daredevil adventurers in a British Department of Antiquities who fight supernatural evil.
Thought of, then, as a multicharacter anthology, with a different character featured in each story, and some overlap as the Brigade is formed, this book was a satisfying hoot. It's uneven, of course, and probably not all of the stories will be to the reader's liking. But there was a nice range of styles and approaches, some very solid hits, and not much, for me, in the way of misses. This had a pulpy, moody, old school feel that I enjoyed.
(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
November 13, 2024
Oh, the back of this book pulled me in as I read in Barnes & Nobles pre-pandemic:
"remote corners of the British Empire"
"world of the little -known Department of Antiquities--the so called Strange brigade"
but, alas, this was not to be. I should of been forewarned by seeing "based on the hit video game" elsewhere on the cover.
Jonathan Howard's contribution to this volume is serviceable and decent enough for a pulp style story. The rest though seem like comic book story outlines--stereotypical characters, a variety of tropes pulled in from elsewhere, and just simple, bland writing. So, not promising at all...
"remote corners of the British Empire"
"world of the little -known Department of Antiquities--the so called Strange brigade"
but, alas, this was not to be. I should of been forewarned by seeing "based on the hit video game" elsewhere on the cover.
Jonathan Howard's contribution to this volume is serviceable and decent enough for a pulp style story. The rest though seem like comic book story outlines--stereotypical characters, a variety of tropes pulled in from elsewhere, and just simple, bland writing. So, not promising at all...
June 23, 2019
As a fan of the game, this was super fun to read!
I really enjoyed reading all these different adventures but I just wish there was more. Half way through each story it just felt rushed, as though each author was only allowed 40 pages. I feel like these stories could have been so good if they were allowed just a little more.
Still, I had fun and I just wanna know so much more about the wacky Strange Brigade!
I really enjoyed reading all these different adventures but I just wish there was more. Half way through each story it just felt rushed, as though each author was only allowed 40 pages. I feel like these stories could have been so good if they were allowed just a little more.
Still, I had fun and I just wanna know so much more about the wacky Strange Brigade!
August 25, 2021
I’d not heard of Strange Brigade before this, which I got for the Cassandra Khaw & Jonathan Howard stories. An enjoyable set of adventures, each focussed on a different character and how they joined the brigade.
August 10, 2018
I thought this was interesting.
September 12, 2019
Diverse stories. Some are better than others.
Good introduction to the characters. Needs the narrator for some humour and to bridge the stories.
Good introduction to the characters. Needs the narrator for some humour and to bridge the stories.
May 27, 2023
Abaddon Books/Rebellion Developments is usually good for a fun bit of B-tier entertainment. So it was for the Sniper Elite and Zombie Army series, both games and books, and so it is with Strange Brigade.
The Strange Brigade game doesn't really tell a compelling story -- it's mostly focused on co-op shooting action. So I went into this tie-in open to a range of possibilities. It could tell its own good story, just be another mid-tier tie-in, or fail spectacularly if it was hoping to coast on association with the game. The True History of the Strange Brigade basically falls in the middle, a solid yet thoroughly unspectacular tie-in.
Rather than tell one story, this is basically a collection of eight short stories (around 30-40 pages each). Each one focuses on one playable character from Strange Brigade, including downloadable characters released later, and how they joined the titular brigade. (Notably, however, there are a total of nine playable characters -- "Bash" Conaghan is briefly mentioned but gets no story of his own.)
While each story gets its own author, these aren't wildly different styles or reading experiences. It's all a bit vaguely Lovecraftian in the sense that there are often looming horrors (though often demonic rather than cosmic) and also in the vocabularies of the authors -- which occasionally had me Googling unfamiliar words.
These stories are almost uniformly good-but-not-great. The first story, focusing on Gracie Braithwaite in a child labor factory, is in some respects the most interesting but feels like it needed more time to build to the big twist and unpack it afterward. The final one, focusing on Tessie Caldwell's first mission with the brigade, is a definite low point and more about action than mystery and exploration. In between, the rest capably capture a certain feeling of globe-trotting early 1900s adventure stories.
Overall, I finished the collection feeling like my expectations had been exceeded. What could have been bland and uninteresting had managed to tickle my imagination and entertain -- more than the game did, in fact. But The True History of the Strange Brigade is not some spectacular tale that will sweep you off your feet -- it's good for what it is, and that's ok.
The Strange Brigade game doesn't really tell a compelling story -- it's mostly focused on co-op shooting action. So I went into this tie-in open to a range of possibilities. It could tell its own good story, just be another mid-tier tie-in, or fail spectacularly if it was hoping to coast on association with the game. The True History of the Strange Brigade basically falls in the middle, a solid yet thoroughly unspectacular tie-in.
Rather than tell one story, this is basically a collection of eight short stories (around 30-40 pages each). Each one focuses on one playable character from Strange Brigade, including downloadable characters released later, and how they joined the titular brigade. (Notably, however, there are a total of nine playable characters -- "Bash" Conaghan is briefly mentioned but gets no story of his own.)
While each story gets its own author, these aren't wildly different styles or reading experiences. It's all a bit vaguely Lovecraftian in the sense that there are often looming horrors (though often demonic rather than cosmic) and also in the vocabularies of the authors -- which occasionally had me Googling unfamiliar words.
These stories are almost uniformly good-but-not-great. The first story, focusing on Gracie Braithwaite in a child labor factory, is in some respects the most interesting but feels like it needed more time to build to the big twist and unpack it afterward. The final one, focusing on Tessie Caldwell's first mission with the brigade, is a definite low point and more about action than mystery and exploration. In between, the rest capably capture a certain feeling of globe-trotting early 1900s adventure stories.
Overall, I finished the collection feeling like my expectations had been exceeded. What could have been bland and uninteresting had managed to tickle my imagination and entertain -- more than the game did, in fact. But The True History of the Strange Brigade is not some spectacular tale that will sweep you off your feet -- it's good for what it is, and that's ok.
September 27, 2018
This book is a tie in for the Strange Brigade game, which is a fun co-op shooter that throws back to old pulp novels with two-fisted heroes, cursed mummies, and over the top action. The book is a collection of short stories that show the origins for each of the playable characters. Some are really good, one in particular is really bad, and most are right in the middle. It was cool to see the game's universe expanded past skeletons and mummies, with a wide variety of supernatural creatures showing up. There's some demons, cat people, dinosaurs, witches, and way more. The stories obviously peel back some of the characters' layers, showing their motivations for joining the Brigade, how their past lives shaped them, etc. which builds up the game in a cool way. If you like the Strange Brigade game and reading pulp style action, check it out. If you're not a fan of the game though, it'll almost definitely fall flat for you.
April 1, 2019
The Department of Antiquities is in the market for people prepared to endure strange occurrences, fight unknown foes , and risk their lives on a regular basis. Be prepared to never look at life the same.
This title is supposed to be a lead-in to an upcoming video game by giving backstories to various characters, but also be enjoyable to others. David Moore succeeds with the clutch of authors who provide a nice set of origin tales that entertain.
Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title.
This title is supposed to be a lead-in to an upcoming video game by giving backstories to various characters, but also be enjoyable to others. David Moore succeeds with the clutch of authors who provide a nice set of origin tales that entertain.
Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this title.
July 13, 2020
Indiana Jones, The Librarians, Warehouse 13...
Dark and filled with adventure.
Cannibalism, meat suits, demons, curses, and cat people.
I am loving this read.
8 bite sizes stories that you can finish in just one sitting.
I don’t know anything about the video game, but the book is fantastic.
It was definitely one of those “by the cover” reads. No regrets!
Dark and filled with adventure.
Cannibalism, meat suits, demons, curses, and cat people.
I am loving this read.
8 bite sizes stories that you can finish in just one sitting.
I don’t know anything about the video game, but the book is fantastic.
It was definitely one of those “by the cover” reads. No regrets!
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