RJ Batla's Death Cloud

I hope to one day meet RJ Batla, like maybe at a con or something. On that day, I will initiate a three step process:

1.) Shake his hand and congratulate him on his awesome books.
2.) Offer to buy him a drink sometime
3.) Give him a dirty look and a lecture about keeping people up all night when they have to pick their kids up the next day and take them to celebrate Christmas with their extended family. 'Taint fair

Seriously guys, be careful with Batla's newest, Death Cloud. It causes this weird disease where you can't take your eyes off of the page and sleeping becomes something that other people do. I couldn't put this thing down. That can be a problem if you've got some weird real world stuff going on like,  oh, I dunno work or family or school or something. It's worth it. Just plan a vacation or send the kids to Grandma's house or something. I mean, who doesn't need some time off?

Death Cloud is a mix between  Steampunk, Fantasy, Superhero Fiction and a fight movie (ala Bloodsport) or a fighting game (similar to like a Mortal Kombat or Soul Blade) although the Steampunk elements are a lot less pronounced than in the first book. It's a really entertaining mix. Given the fact that the supers in the book have levels to their powers, I kind of wonder if maybe Batla hasn't done a bit of pen and paper RPGing as well. This one sets up and moves.

Those of you who have read the first book will remember that it revolved around the trials and travails of one Jayton Baird and his training and journey to compete in a tournament. Well, now he's there and the fights are intense. watching Jayton try to navigate these fights and plan for his enemies and their abilities is fascinating. Remember when you were a kid and you'd sit across the lunch table at school and argue over who would win in a fight between Green Lantern and Superman? (hint: Green Lantern. Kryptonite is green.) This book is like a series of those fights, except that most of the heroes in Death Cloud have more powers than your average comic book superhero.

And it gets better too, because not only is there a tournament going on, there is a war going on too. This is not Marvel's Civil War either. It's  a war fought the way real wars are fought: As a battle royal, two sides against each other and piles of bodies. It's entertaining but it's a little crazy. I mean, how many different powers can hit all at the same time? What kind of carnage could that cause? And what does war look like on a world where people's most potent weapons aren't the ones in their hands, they're the powers locked inside their bodies? It's an interesting look at something I hadn't really considered before, at least with these kinds of powers.

The characters in the book are pretty amazeballs. Jayton's team is composed of some totally awesome people on it. They're focused on their twins missions of winning the war and helping Jayton win the tournament but they have a lot of other things going on besides. There are romances brewing and personal issues abound. I actually had pegged one of them as a bad guy, but it turns out I was wrong. It looks like they really were who they claimed to be and I'm just a suspicious asshole. Who knew? (Huh? Whaddaya mean everybody?)

There is a cast of villains here as well. Batla did a really good job of making the villains in Death Cloud believable. Most of them want riches and power but how is that different than what ordinary people want? (If you disagree think about it this way: You may be comfortable financially or you may not but you probably want a nicer car or a bigger house. You may claim you don't want power, but there's probably something you'd like to change in society. It takes power to do that.) They're willing to take things further than a lot of us probably would, but those people exist in the real world as well. Gang bangers, mafia members, politicians, etc. are all willing to go to extreme lengths to get what they want. I like villains that make sense. I like villains who do what they do for a reason. Batla did this right.

Our main villain, once again, is the evil Malstrak. He's crazy and wants to run everything. Okay, so that's an archetype from history, but it works. He's got followers and an agenda. He's not going to lose no matter what happens, just ask him. All of Death Cloud is focused on the defeat of this one individual. He's a batshit insane wannabe dictator with an attitude problem. He's the kind of guy I can love to hate. He's perfect.

Our hero, Jayton Baird is believable because he is flawed. He has the same power that makes Malstrak such a complete nutcase (nope, not a spoiler. It was revealed in like the first ten pages of Fire Eyes Awakened, the first book.) and he struggles to overcome it. How he deals with it makes for an interesting subplot. I'm waiting to see where this goes in the next book, because there is something building here and I can't tell what.  I'm waiting for the big reveal. Something big is going to happen because of this power I can't wait to find out what it is. He also finds himself dealing with a major recurring distraction throughout the story. I kept waiting for the distraction to kill him.

Per Batla's mailing list emails,Death Cloud is the second in a four book series. I'm waiting (im)patiently for the next two. The book obviously sets up a sequel and it promises to be a good one. Keep your eyes peeled, because I'm sure I'll be reviewing it here.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Epic Battles

Death Cloud
RJ Batla
Self Published, 2018

RJ Batla's Fire Eyes Awakened

Okay, let's write a story. We'll start out with a little steampunk. Then we'll toss in just a bit of a classic Science Fiction feel. Then, just for shits and giggles, we'll throw in a HUGE dose of comic book style superhero action. And of course, we're going to need a super villain. And maybe a conflict for our hero. Oh, and we can't forget a sexy lady or two. We could do all of that. It sounds like a good story. Or, since I'm feeling lazy, maybe I'll just let R.J. Batla do it for us. He did a good job with it too. Seriously. Fire Eyes Awakened is a romping good time.

I'll get to our main character in a minute, but first let me say that I can't believe how much Batla managed to get into this book. I mean, not only does he have everything I mentioned above, but the themes in Fire Eyes Awakened are amazeballs. There's morality. There's a Christian theme. You've got good versus evil. You've got selflessness. You see the value of thrift and hard work. You get a look at the value of charity. There is really a lot here and not a single bit of it is preached at the audience. Batla just writes it in and away you go.

Our main character, our hero, is one Jayton Baird, also known as Jay. This is a guy who worked and saved money his entire life to become Awakened and gain superpowers. You'd think a guy like that would be out for power, but he basically just wants a good paying job. He's hoping that through thrift and hard work he can overcome his poor upbringing and earn a decent living by putting his life on the line to defend the East Side (more about this in a minute) from the depredations of the evil monsters of the West Side. He's basically a really good guy who just wants what's best for himself and his parents and is willing to serve to do it. I like him.

I don't want to give too much away, but you can't get a feel for this book without knowing that he gains huge powers in like the first ten pages of the story. A lot of the book centers around Jay learning to use his powers. He also gains one power that makes him a threat to all around him. He spends the majority of the book under suspicion. All he wants to do is his duty. This kid is amazing.

The world of Fire Eyes Awakened is a dangerous place. On one said we have humanity and it's allies. Superpowers are common among the no-human populace but are rare and expensive to acquire for humans. The good guys live on the East Side of the Break, a range of mountains with a huge wall across them. One the East Side are the monsters and they're pissed. They've been locked out. Granted, it's because their ancestors were tearing things up and hurting people but they're convinced that they've been done dirty and the other side has it better. There is a war coming.

Our antagonist is named Malstrak. He has the same power that causes Jay to come under suspicion – and he embraces it. Malstrak commands the armies of the West Side and he's on his way to cause havoc, if he can make it. He has been cast out from the East Side and is not at all happy about it. At some point, he's going to find a way to get revenge. He's got all the creatures of the West Side happy to help him do it. I seriously want to slap this guy. He's coming though.

There are several subplots and challenges contained within the pages of Fire Eyes Awakened. I don't do spoilers and I'm not going to try to go over them all here. The main focus though is on Jay and his training. The vast majority of the book is dedicated to his character arc. We get a really good feel for how Jay learns what his powers are and how to use them. We see Jay fight to control his dark side. We see Jay dealing with normal emotions as well. Batla did a really good job constructing this character and his travails.

That's not to say that the other characters are not well developed as well. Jay's friends and enemies are well thought out and live in the pages. We really do get a good idea of what makes the rest of the cast tick. They all go through their own arcs and we get a feel for what the good guys actually are: A family. Jay is a member of the Senturian Corps, a group that combines the responsibilities of army, law enforcement, fire department and often EMT and doctors all rolled into one group. They're responsible for just about everything regarding the safety of their people. They kind of have a military feel to them and the kind of don't. It's a weird middle ground, but it makes sense in context. Batla did a great job making the Senturian Corps his own instead of creating just another military SF organization.

My only complaint about Fire Eyes Awakened is that it is too short. I really wanted this book to give me an ending to a particular storyline, but it kind of ends right at the good part. I really shouldn't panic. I already have a copy of Tempus, the sequel so it's not like I'll never know what happens, but still you can feel the lack at the end of this one. It's like ending Star Wars Episode Four just when the Rebel fleet finds the Death Star. I mean, it's like ahhhhhH!!!!!!!! I want more! I'm SO TOTALLY gonna tell my MOM!!!!!

Then again, I'm not totally certain that it's as bad as I'm making it out to be. At the end of the day, if the audience wants more, then the author has done his job. I definitely can't wait to see what happens next. Except that I'm going to, because I never review the same author twice in a row. Stay tuned though. I'll get there soon.

Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Train Whistles

Fire Eyes Awakened
R.J. Batla
Self Published, 2017

Fire Eyes Awakened is available for purchase at the following link: