Rattle Man

by E.H. Gaskins

Never Give Your Name to Rattle...

In the cold, empty underbelly of an ODIN-class command station run by a tyrannical dictator, Mila has been sold by her deadbeat father for a fortune, with the promise that she can refine extremely rare and volatile starship fuel. The problem is, she can't. Not until the mysterious “Rattle Man” makes her a bargain, and Mila finds herself mixed in with much worse than tyrants.

Now, to escape the Rattle Man and the tyrant, Mila must put her humble roots behind her. But she can’t do it alone. She’ll have to enlist the help of new allies, including a biomechanical Berserker, a refugee Blademaster, and a vengeful Void Pirate, and discover a dormant, godlike power within herself. Then, she may just have a chance to challenge both dictators and deities alike.

Rattle Man, a story set in a star system rooted in Norse mythology, tells an updated version of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the perspective of the doomed daughter. Fans of Marissa Meyer’s Cinder and Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, which helped build the world of this novel, will lose themselves in the pages of this new sci-fi adventure.
Praise for Rattle Man

“What a debut! Rattle Man blends far-future Nordic saga with a touch of Rumpelstiltskin magic to create a terrific novel of courage, love, death, and danger, as a young girl and her cyborg guardian battle against all the odds to win their freedom. You need to read this book.”

– Rick Wilber, Award-Winning Author of Alien Morning and Alien Day


Successfully funded on Kickstarter (March-April 2022) at over 400% and selected as one of the platform's "Projects We Love."

440 pages, Hardcover

Published June 10, 2022

About the author

Raised on Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Dungeons & Dragons, it's no surprise that Ethan (E.H.) Gaskins adores everything science fiction and fantasy. He holds his M.F.A in Creative Writing from Western Colorado University and his B.A. in Philosophy from East Carolina University. Originally from the Carolinas, Ethan currently lives in Denver with his fiancée and four rambunctious pets. He's a jack of many trades, desperately trying to master at least one. That’s why, while he's worked in marketing, a retail pharmacy, and even spent several years as a tanker in the Marine Corps Reserve, his heart lies with creating the most wondrous fictional worlds and characters he can.

Reviews

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sci-fi retelling of Rumpelstiltskin with Norse influences? Yes, please!

I am so glad that I stumbled across this book on Kickstarter earlier this year. It was a pleasure to read. For some reason, I am drawn to Rumpelstilskin retellings and the cover art of this immediately caught my eye. But it was so good. I loved how the world building felt natural and not overly explained. The Rumpelstilskin and the Norse mythology also felt to puzzle piece together. I recommend this one to all my friends. Support an indie author and pick this one up!

[Cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!! Can't wait to see what else E.H. Gaskins has in store for us in the future. You sir, have 100% gained a fan!!

[kiwi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Please also note that, while I found a few typos/editing errors in the book, this did not impact the overall score/rating that I am leaving. There are no major spoilers in this review to the best of my ability.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I would like to start with the general things that I did like about the book, in terms of setting, mood, and originality. The idea of incorporating Norse mythology in a re-telling of Rumpelstiltskin and then placing it in a Sci-Fi world was creative and worked on a number of levels. There is not so much mythology used that anyone unfamiliar with the Norse gods and believes would be lost, yet it adds a dimension to the war-like world that Mila, our main character, lives in. Anyone who follows my reviews or knows my tastes is also aware that I love fairy-tale retellings and rarely find good ones. I would say my 3-star rating reflects well how I feel about this fairy-tale retelling: it’s good. Not especially spectacular but certainly not bad. The main reasons why I “deducted points” so to speak will be explained further later in this review.

As for Mila, she is more or less a standard female narrator in a YA novel. There are some things about her that make her “special”, but as she is meant to be one of the main characters, I suppose that should not be a surprise. It is a notable difference between her and “the miller’s daughter” from the traditional story of Rumpelstiltskin, though, of whom the entire point is that she has no particularly special skills. Overall, I had no issues with Mila, but did not find her to be original. Her spunk did make her take chances that perhaps were ill advised given her tenuous situation, but her character is consistent and does not make choices that are not in keeping with who she is as an established heroine. I did like that, though she did have some “special” qualities to her, she was not overpowered and did not do all the problem solving on her own.

For side characters, I felt as if there were a little hit or miss – with the exception of one that I will comment upon later, and which will explain the rating more, I think. I like Hans Messer, Mila’s father: this tragic, horrible, trashy man who appears to despise his daughter and love her all at once. The mysterious past of his and his connections with Volkner, the main villain and tyrant of Mila’s world, gave him more depth than what he had originally from Mila’s point of view. He is not a good man by any means, but there is a mystery about him, and the deal he makes with “Rumpel” is intriguing. Why does Hans value his own life so highly, yet clearly hate himself so much? Why is it treated like a factual thing that his life is more important than most others? We will have to find out in a later installment.

Niko, as well, is an excellent addition to the cast. Really, you can’t go wrong with someone like that. I mean, he is created entirely out of tropes, but those tropes work for a reason: he is a Berserker, or a person who has been modified with cybernetic and superhuman capabilities. He is basically a child soldier who was taken from his family without their consent or his consent, who was made into this “monster creature” by Volkner, the man who holds his leash. Again: you can see all the typical, present tropes, but there is a reason why they are used so often. It works. We learn more about Niko and about the world he is “trapped” in. I did not buy his romantic inclinations with Mila – I think if that is the intended route, they should have been completely platonic in this book, particularly because they do not appear to have much chemistry together (yet). But on his own, he adds a new angle to the story: one of revenge.

This is why, I think, I did not care for Eiji so much. She was…fine. I did not really dislike her, but she did not have much of a character aside from being angry and wanting revenge. There is more to Niko than those things, which is why he is a more interesting character. I’m not really sure who Eiji is supposed to be, yet. Granted, she is a teenager, and has had a lot happen to her, so it would be difficult for her to have much of a personality aside from those traits. But she was introduced along with a pack of others in Niko’s posse, and it was obvious we were meant to “take note” of her, and want to know more about her story. It felt a little too compounded on top of Niko’s dreadful history and desire for revenge. And then we have Amelie’s backstory as well…

It felt a little too much like “every single person has a dreadful backstory” type of thing.
Fen, naturally, is a good, good boy and a good doggo, so there’s that. Fen has earned 11/10 points, hands down.

Volkner is okay as a villain. He is more or less typical in some ways – he does the usual “killing of an underling publicly”, but it does show his menacing personality and also shows us how in control he is of the other politicians. Though it is clear the death was unwarranted, no one bats an eye. He also has some interesting philosophical claims, as it is revealed he actually wants peace, and perhaps is not quite as warmongering as portrayed… But he is definitely still a violent monster. Who maybe loved his wife and son…?

Then there is Sauer, who was set up as a negative mirror to Niko, but not much is done with him, unfortunately. I would have liked to see more between the two of them, and given how Sauer is set up in the beginning stages of the book, we actually see surprisingly little of him. Actually, compared to how it is set up, we see very little of the many characters shown on Mila’s “side of the book”. More on that later.

For a particularly important character, though, let us turn to the Rattle Man, our “Rumpelstiltskin”. I was intrigued by the Rattle Man and appreciated the creepiness inserted into his character. Originally, Rumpelstiltskin is mostly a funny little man without much explanation as to who he is or how he can do what he does: spin straw into gold or, in this retelling, refine a precious element that could throw Mila’s world into war but save her life in the process. The moment the “Rattle Man” appears, you know who he is and look forward to seeing how he moves the plot along. The way he manipulates certain elements of the original Rumpelstiltskin story were interesting choices, and there is something comforting in watching familiar story beats play out in a new way.

As to the reveal of Rumpelstiltskin’s name (withheld here for obvious spoiler reasons, though I do believe most people know the story of Rumpelstiltskin to know why his name is important), I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. It does add a dimension to the world building, definitely, but motives are still greatly unclear in this first installment of what is meant to be a trilogy. For that same reason, I had mixed feelings over the ending, which played out a little too predictably for my taste. The “guessing” of Rumpelstiltskin’s name was also very rushed, which cut into the slow burn style the story had been taking thus far.

In fact, the entire story’s ending did somewhat catapult it into another genre. There were parts I definitely liked about the climax, and parts I did not like, which I am struggling to describe without spoiling the ending itself. The things done for shock factor, such as two big reveals – one about the villain and another about a side character – were both, I think, well done, as well as the consequences as those reveals. However, they did fade into the background when meshed with the Rumpel reveal. It felt almost as if there were two endings going on simultaneously: a showdown with Volkner and the results of Mila guessing Rumpel’s name, and it does not mesh together as well as intended, at least from my perspective. I think there could have been a little more done to tighten up the ending and perhaps clean up the sequence of events. I definitely wanted to see Niko get his revenge, but I was a little disappointed in even how that attempt played out because of…

Piper DeRache.

Now, as I was reading the book, I had no clear idea of how many stars I would give it until I had finished it and was sitting back in reflection. And, as almost half the book is from Piper’s POV, and I was not much a fan of Piper, I honestly could not rate the book much higher. She rubbed me the wrong way, mainly because every time I had to go to a Piper POV, something much more interesting was happening with Mila – whether it be a character developing moment or a serious moment of potential danger. And I only wanted to get through these parts with Piper as quickly as possible to get back to what felt like “the real story”.

It is baffling in a way, if you know my likes: I am a fan of pirates. I like multiple POVs. I don’t even mind deviating storylines. But Piper’s storyline was just another in a long line of “desired revenge against Volkner”. Now, she has good reason to want revenge: in the prologue to the story, we watch her entire crew die in a horrific event.

But… I was kind of hoping, to be honest, after the prologue, that this was meant to be a display of how powerful Volkner was. Look at how he has taken down this crew of infamous pirates/rebels! This well-known pirate captain, Piper DeRache, gone in a snap along with her entire crew…And really, maybe I wouldn’t have minded if Piper showed up in a second installment or something of the like.

But again: half the book is dedicated to her. And I was much more interested in Mila’s side of the story. Mila is the one in a lot more danger, in a much more tenuous circumstance. I wanted to see more tension on her side, more scenes-to-make-you-sweat…Really, I might have liked Eiji and the rest of Niko’s crew more if I got to see more of them. Overall, we only get a few more scenes with them before we are expected to be emotionally invested in them. I suppose I was a little, because I was emotionally invested in Niko, and therefore cared about who Niko cared about because of the impact on him. But I would have appreciated more time with Mila’s side of the story.

I think, just like the meshed together climax, there were two stories trying to be told here: Mila’s, and Piper’s. But in a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, I really could not tell you why Piper is here. I’m not sure what she adds to the story that is not already there, and even the plot-related things she is “important” for could have been given away to someone else. I suppose her side of the story helped with some world-building, but this world is already fairly rich and well thought out. I’m not sure her story is one that needs to be told, here. Certainly, moving forward, I would rather see more of a plot line with Mila’s crew than with Piper, though given the Oracle plot-line that the second book looks to encompass, I will probably be seeing more of Piper regardless.

Now, importantly, you may have noticed in my language that I do plan to pick up a second book. How that second book goes will obviously impact my decision to bother reading another installment in the series, but this is not a bad opening to the series. It will be interesting to see how we move forward into new territory, now that the main points of Rumpelstiltskin are over with, for the most part. There are many loose ends to tie up, many questions about the world that have been presented and world building gaps to fill in with the Rumpel’s real name reveal…and lots of curious notions.
It also looks as if we will be following a Kill Bill style revenge-begets-revenge storyline, as hinted by the epilogue, which I actually will be looking forward to. But again, I am disappointed that Niko has to share what feels like his side of the story with Piper. I felt as if his connection with Volkner was MUCH more personal, and he and Piper being “stuck” together by the circumstances of the story feels a little clunky. We shall have to see if Volkner’s involvement in the storyline and the mysteries surrounding his character and family pull together this part of the storyline, or if it becomes unfocused. I did feel like the two antagonists of Volkner and the Rattle Man were well balanced in this book…and we shall have to see, by the end of it all, whose ends justify their means.

**Note: Something I just thought of before finishing this review was, even if Niko had to “share” his revenge story, it makes more sense he would share it with Eiji? Not Piper? I think some more time with Eiji and Niko's crew, and more development for her could have made that a more impactful, emotional moment. I don’t know. Just a thought.

In summary: I feel as if this is a good start to a series, though it has a few awkward story-telling beats that could have been improved upon. There are many side characters (which is not a bad thing for me, as I do like side characters), but the book is not particularly long, and with the dual POV system, it holds back some of these characters from shining in moments where they ought to. I will be interested to see if the second book is an adaptation of a new fairy-tale (that would be VERY interesting!), and I did enjoy the parts of the story here that connected to Rumpelstiltskin. It leaned heavy on the more eerie and gruesome points of Norse mythology, which meshes well with the honestly dark material in fairy tales, and that worked well. If the story gains more character focus as it moves along into another installment, I expect the books as a whole will continue to improve. But that depends on the author, and so, we shall have to wait and see.

[Bluntly Bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

* True rating 3,5 stars *

** I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.**
First and foremost – I am very glad I picked this book to be the one to pull me out of my reading slump. 2 days, at most, was all it took to fly through these pages. It is an engaging read at a continuous pace with interesting characters.

I don’t think I ever would have managed to weave Norse Mythology, the tale of Rumpelstiltskin and space travel together so skilfully. Nor would I have even thought to attempt it. However, the end result is something new, something different and, considering this is the author’s debut, hinting at bigger things to come next!

That being said, there are still points that could have been improved on. Considering the book was self-published perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I did notice a couple of mistakes in the book that could have been picked up during another round of editing. I’m yet to find a person who is able to ‘grind their ribs.’ Though I am sure their teeth could have gotten the job done.

Personally, I would have probably structured the book slightly different as well. Mila’s father wasn’t much of a compelling character until the final third of the book. When his motivations were laid bare. Perhaps some drunken flashbacks earlier in the story would have helped here and there. This in turn would have helped tell the story against a larger backdrop. No longer are we looking at the trials and tribulations of our characters in their ‘bubble’ all of a sudden we now invite the whole universe in.

Additionally, you run into the ‘issue’ so many Young Adult books struggle with. All of the main characters or at least a good portion thereof are teenagers or very young adults. Who, in this particular instance, seem to be at no real risk of injury or death. Of course, our vengeful Void Pirate gets put through the wringer, but then she survives against all odds and miraculously gets healed by someone of remarkable skill who just happens to live in this desolate village in the middle of nowhere. Then when we finally might see some consequences to her actions, she is saved again by Mila’s deity-like powers. It feels like the story would have had higher stakes, would have been tenser, had there been blowback from stupid mistakes and foolish behaviour.

However none of the above was enough to dampen my enthusiasm! When part 2 of the Ymiran Chronicles makes its appearance, I’ll be amongst the first in line to see where our heroes will end up next.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

ᛏᛏ

I don’t even know where to begin with praising this book! I’ve never read a sci-fi , but I picked it up because I saw the runes on the cover which is my realm of interest. I was intrigued as I imagined the combination of old world meeting futuristic ideas. The blurb made me not put the book back down.

What a great adventure! There were two female characters the book bounces between that were fearless and badass who both had the mission to take down a tyrannical leader. The combination of old world runes, gods and battle axes coincided with futuristic spaceships, plasma guns, hybrid humans.. and a ROBO DOG! (Fen is a good boy) And amongst all that there is a Rumplestiltskin like character which gave it a wonderful fantasy feel. Blood is shed! IN MULTIPLE COLORS! The book keeps your mind busy that’s for sure.

I lift my drinking horn to this story! It’s not often I want to reread something but this has me wanting to dive in again while I wait for it’s sequel! READY FOR MORE! Go read this book because I need this indie author to blow up so we can get a movie made of this series.

[Jorge Santoyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real rating is 3.5 for me, but rounding up.

I enjoyed reading rattle man and am excited to pick up the next book whenever it comes out!

Overall I thought the norse mythology, sci-fi, and fantastical world building in the book were great. I thought the start and end were 4-5 stars but the middle lagged a little for me where I would have wanted to explore the politics and characters aboard the Gjaller more! Overall we see some common tropes found in the genre, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Mila's relationship with her dad, rattle man, and the final twist really worked for me. I would love to see some more out of our side characters, piper, and delve even deeper in the world for the second book.

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was a lot of fun. The idea of setting fairy tales in space can go very wrong, but this is a case of it working really well! I enjoyed the mashup Sci-Fi, Rumpelstiltskin, and Norse mythology. The world was compelling and the characters interesting. If you like reading fairy tale retellings and Sci-Fi, check this one out!

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really creative and interesting. It suffered from some oddities/inconsistencies like how almost everyone is a teenager- from elite guards to master tinker to handmaidens. I thought the Elerex just helped Mila control her arm, but, is that it at all?

How does refining work anyway? Why is there no documentation or school for it?

[TaniaRina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have yet to be disappointed in any fairy/folk/myth retelling (and I’ve been reading them for decades). But Rattle Man has GOT to be one of the best, if not THE best, that I’ve ever read.
Space pirates? Check.
Norse mythology? Check.
Strong female protagonist? Check.
Throw in Rumpelstiltskin and Mind.Just.Blown.

See if you can find the BÖC easter egg.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever premise with a pretty solid execution! It may not be a perfect book, but it was a fun and engaging read. It is definitely worth the time and effort to read, and I hope that Mr. Gaskins keeps writing!

[Monica Hyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to chapter thirteen and the book still had yet to get going. It really didn't have enough action to keep you drawn in and motivated to read on. Less introduction of characters and more getting to the point of the story.

[Muir Boda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I backed this book on Kickstarter a couple of years ago and finally had the time to read it. What a great book and new take on Norse mythology. I am really looking forward to the next installments in the series.

[Eric Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great mash up of science fiction with Norse mythology. Lots of fun.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it started out a little slow and lingered a little too long on characters I cared little about *cough Hans and Piper cough*, I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings. The Neo-Norse religion and sci-fi elements gave a new twist to a familiar tale. I hope to see more of my favorite berseker, Niko, in the future.

[Hannah Radford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just realized I never wrote my review, so here I am a few months later:

I loved this book! There’s nothing better than jumping into a new world, and this one was so fun to get into. I loved the setting, the characters (Piper stan for LIFE!), the fact that it’s in SPACE. All of it.

Throughout the book, the writing is phenomenal- but in Piper’s scenes especially, it was really easy for me to see exactly where she was and to feel like I was in the book. E’s writing makes you feel like you’re right there in the icy cold with her, feeling her pain and discomfort and the steely resolve/stubborn will that drives her and keeps her going.

Honestly, I could keep going, but instead I’ll just say this: go get yourself a copy of this book! I’m already so ready for the next installment in this series- I can’t wait to see what happens next!

[Laurie Locke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the concept behind the book, a sci-fi based in Norse Mythology, and incorporating a retelling of Rumplestiltskin! I thought it was extremely well done. I thought the world building was great, and I really came to care about the characters (especially Fenrir). I thought it was highly entertaining and I could easily visualize the setting! The only thing I think could have been done differently was more fleshing out of Voltner and Piper as characters! I would have liked to know more about their backstory! But otherwise, I’m very excited to read the sequel!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent sci fi fantasy

The worldbuilding is great but grim, Mila is loveable, and the violence is graphic with a high body count, which I guess I expected. I called Rattle Man sci fi fantasy, but any extremely advanced technology can resemble magic, so there may be a scientific explanation for the Rattle Man's abilities.... I look forward to Mila's next adventure.

[Charl]

Not reading a story that starts with a father selling his daughter into any kind service. Didn't read enough to tell if the story's any good, so I'm not rating it. Don't care if it's not what it looks like at first, or if it gets better, or it turns out to be a good thing. I'm not reading a story that starts that way.