RaveLightspeed MagazineLiar, Dreamer, Thief took hold of me and lifted me away into a world of Dong’s prose and Katrina’s voice. Dong’s book is wonderfully unique and strangely familiar. It’s a fantasy for people who like mysteries and a mystery for people who love fantasy.
Alex Jennings
RaveLightspeed MagazineThe soul of New Orleans is in danger, and it’ll take everything to save the city...In Alex Jennings’ spectacular debut, the city of New Orleans is transformed into a magical city where musical creatures and spirits, mages, and more flourish within the city’s limits...So, while the New Orleans in Jennings’ book is totally fantastical, it doesn’t really read that way...It reads like the authentic New Orleans—the place beneath what visitors and tourists see...Jennings takes the architecture, art, people, music, and traditions that make New Orleans and shows the magic connecting them while weaving a story about how important New Orleans is...There were some moments where I couldn’t tell why something was getting such detailed attention, but in the end, it always made sense...Knowing how a person moves through New Orleans is essential because they are New Orleans and just as significant a factor in the story as the city itself...I couldn’t tell which parts of Jennings’s prose I loved the most: how he described music’s power over people or how he depicted New Orleans showcasing all the history and trauma of a place in a way that still held so much joy and hope...The Ballad of Perilous Graves reads like a love letter to the city and a tour guide of New Orleans’s spiritual and musical side.
