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The Spring Storm
Urbantasm: The Spring Storm is the fourth and final book in the magical teen noir serial novel inspired by the author’s experiences growing up in and around Flint, Michigan.
The stage has been set. The chessboard awaits. Against a background of love and friendship, of hard-won grades and groundbreaking plays, John and his friends are ready to claim their lives, their futures, and their city. They have identified their adversary: a mysterious man who calls himself “God” and manipulates the Chalks street gang through the influence of his children. John has also unlocked the secret of O-Sugar, an otherwordly drug with the ability to distort space. But God wields a powerful influence throughout the city of Akawe, and nobody seems to understand his true motives or intentions.
As the ice and frost of a long and unrelenting winter finally crack under cold, torrential rains, frozen things begin to stir again. The brutal murder of one of John’s friends and the abrupt disappearance of another signals that the moment of action has arrived. Who will survive this dying city, and how will the experience change the survivors? Akawe has been unstable for decades. A bit of lift and heat and moisture is all it needs to build a spring storm.
The stage has been set. The chessboard awaits. Against a background of love and friendship, of hard-won grades and groundbreaking plays, John and his friends are ready to claim their lives, their futures, and their city. They have identified their adversary: a mysterious man who calls himself “God” and manipulates the Chalks street gang through the influence of his children. John has also unlocked the secret of O-Sugar, an otherwordly drug with the ability to distort space. But God wields a powerful influence throughout the city of Akawe, and nobody seems to understand his true motives or intentions.
As the ice and frost of a long and unrelenting winter finally crack under cold, torrential rains, frozen things begin to stir again. The brutal murder of one of John’s friends and the abrupt disappearance of another signals that the moment of action has arrived. Who will survive this dying city, and how will the experience change the survivors? Akawe has been unstable for decades. A bit of lift and heat and moisture is all it needs to build a spring storm.
473 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2022
2 people want to read
About the author
Connor Coyne
29 books76 followersConnor Coyne is a writer living and working in Flint, Michigan.
He's published several novels, including the award winning serial novel Urbantasm, as well as a short story collection. His work has been featured in Vox.com, Belt Magazine, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife, two daughters, and a geriatric rabbit in Flint's College Cultural Neighborhood (aka the East Village), less than a mile from the house where he grew up.
He's published several novels, including the award winning serial novel Urbantasm, as well as a short story collection. His work has been featured in Vox.com, Belt Magazine, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife, two daughters, and a geriatric rabbit in Flint's College Cultural Neighborhood (aka the East Village), less than a mile from the house where he grew up.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 11, 2022
The Urbantasm series comes to a gorgeous, painful and poignant close. The thing that has always struck me as so powerful about these books, even with all their magical realism and poetic language, is how authentically they capture the beauty and tragedy of real life, especially the lives of young people struggling to find themselves in a dying former auto town like Akawe.
This final book revolves around, as the title suggests, a violent spring storm, both a literal tornado and a whirlwind revolution that takes place in Akawe. Our (anti?) hero John and his friends finally face off against God Ostyn, the man/myth who along with his family has caused so much carnage in both Akawe and in John’s individual life. Following the difficult and surreal choices John had to make, the story at times began to resemble a philosophy book, causing readers to consider, what would each of us be willing to do to protect the ones we love? What or who would we sacrifice?
The Urbantasm books are difficult to paraphrase or review. While parts will be incredibly relatable to any real-life teen out there, there is still an aspect of these novels that defies slotting neatly into any one genre. But regardless of trivial literary categories, one thing is clear. The Spring Storm, like Akawe, is heartbreaking to leave behind.
This final book revolves around, as the title suggests, a violent spring storm, both a literal tornado and a whirlwind revolution that takes place in Akawe. Our (anti?) hero John and his friends finally face off against God Ostyn, the man/myth who along with his family has caused so much carnage in both Akawe and in John’s individual life. Following the difficult and surreal choices John had to make, the story at times began to resemble a philosophy book, causing readers to consider, what would each of us be willing to do to protect the ones we love? What or who would we sacrifice?
The Urbantasm books are difficult to paraphrase or review. While parts will be incredibly relatable to any real-life teen out there, there is still an aspect of these novels that defies slotting neatly into any one genre. But regardless of trivial literary categories, one thing is clear. The Spring Storm, like Akawe, is heartbreaking to leave behind.
Displaying 1 of 1 review