The Matchless

by Justin Robinson

There are certain special individuals who can harness their genius and madness to gain powers beyond the imagination of normal people. These are the Matchless. Nadia Eskandarian learns she can harvest physical manifestations of power that the Matchless leave in their wake, and use them to perform miracles. But there are others out there with the same abilities, and they’re all fighting for the same finite and dangerous resources. And the Matchless don’t want to be harvested.

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 2019

About the author

Much like film noir, Justin Robinson was born and raised in Los Angeles. He splits his time between editing comic books, writing prose and wondering what that disgusting smell is. Degrees in Anthropology and History prepared him for unemployment, but an obsession with horror fiction and a laundry list of phobias provided a more attractive option.

Reviews

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the grown-up version of the novel you've always wanted about urban lesbians practicing witchcraft.

I've read a lot of books that left me thinking that the author could have easily included more lesbians. This is perhaps the only piece of genre fiction I've ever encountered where I didn't know where the author could possibly fit in more lesbians despite having tried. That's right: adequate lesbians and AFAB queer people in a fantasy novel! The lead is a butch lesbian of color, her best friend is a trans man, and most of the other significant characters are queer women.

The Matchless isn't a direct sequel to Dollmaker or Everyman, despite references to events in both. Rather, we get to see another part of that world, where Nadia discovers and explores her power, finds love, and explores the larger world she's set foot into. The author takes us into a stranger version of Los Angeles where, in addition to hidden speakeasies and organized crime, magic and unanticipated dangers lurk, waiting to catch you unawares.