Dinnusos Rises by Tej Turner

Publisher – Elsewhen Press

Published – Out Now

Price – £10 paperback £2.99 Kindle eBook

The vibe has soured somewhat after a violent clash in the Janus nightclub a few months ago, and since then Neal has opened a new establishment called ‘Dinnusos’.
Located on a derelict and forgotten side of town, it is not the sort of place you stumble upon by accident, but over time it enchants people, and soon becomes a nucleus for urban bohemians and a refuge for the city’s lost souls. Rumour has it that it was once a grand hotel, many years ago, but no one is quite sure. Whilst mingling in the bar downstairs you might find yourself in the company of poets, dreamers, outsiders, and all manner of misfits and rebels. And if you’re daring enough to explore its ghostly halls, there’s a whole labyrinth of rooms on the upper floors to get lost in...
Now it seems that not just Neal’s clientele, but the entire population of the city, begin to go crazy when beings, once thought mythological, enter the mortal realm to stir chaos as they sow the seeds of militancy.

Eight characters. Most of them friends, some of them strangers. Each with their own story to tell. All of them destined to cross paths in a surreal sequence of events which will change them forever.

It’s always fascinating how often fantasy set in our own world isn’t always too concerned directly with our world’s current problems. It is more the incursion of evil forces and magics that are targeted to keep our status quo ongoing. I can see why authors steer clear as it is dangerous as often then magic would need to cure everything but sometimes how about a little nudge or two? In the follow up to the very very good The Janus Cycle by Tej Turner we now in Dinnusos Rises meet certain characters again in an interweaving mosaic of story as a modern evil strikes the local town. Once again, I loved being in this world of magic and learning to live with yourself.

A brief recap to remind you of the previous book. A group of people who all visited alternative night club Janus found themselves crossing paths with the world of magic; time travel; ghosts, magical paintings and more combined with a tale of music, drugs, love and being the person, you want to be not who you are told to be. It ended with the main characters finding a new home the pub Dinnusos. But now new dangers are around a mysterious food production building; sinister government plans to block protests and more personally for characters such as a lover in dreams who is getting too possessive; Tilly a young trans woman feeling increasingly alone and desperate, a young musician finds his strange magical father and entourage are in town and a woman is finding what her employers ask her to do soul destroying. All these strands come together to join forces against a danger that threatens not just them but our wider world’s ability to do better.

It is always a pleasure to say a sequel is just as good as its predecessor. Again, Turner creates a mosaic of character narrated stories and as they progress, we see various plot points all collide and again I marvel at how neatly Turner’s plotting comes together. What strikes me is a wonderful ability to get into a character’s voice be it repressed office worker, schoolgirl in love, half magical musician and each voice sounds different and true. The mini stories are always interesting taking place the length of a chapter, so we visit dream worlds, travel back tot eh past and cross the barriers of our world to meet the fae. Turner’s magic is pleasantly solid and happily co-exists alongside our world

Just as impressive is the social politics that Turner throws into the stories, This ranges from issues of consent and unhealthy relationships; comparing our social standards to those of the past and noting we still always need to improve as well as battery farming; industry out of control, the dangers of undercover policing and clampdowns on protest. Magic here is subtly used rather than a cure-all and the dangers here are rogue police officers; governments and those who to subvert a protest. This is all delivered organically and the exploration of the issues of our current day is very welcome. Each character has a personal choice to make and again its learning to do what is right not what society expects from you which is important here as a theme. What really strikes me is the story feels bigger than its predecessor this time casting a gaze on the wider world, and this doesn’t love the special character focus I loved previously.

Dinnusos Rises is another fine addition to the series and always leaves room for more tales if Turner wishes to revisit these characters (we soon have some epic fantasy from them to look forward to!) Highly enjoyable, thoughtful, and very well written this was another great read. A great reminder fantasy can have a social conscience not just epic adventures in other realms. I am very interested in what Turner will do next. Highly recommended!