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mikekaz's review
4.0
Having just devoured THE LOST LEVEL, I was lucky and glad to have another adventure of Aaron Pace queued up to be read. The only sad thing was that the story was chapbook length and not novel length. More of an apertif rather than a whole meal. Or if you can wait long enough, an appetizer for the pending sequel of the novel.
For those not yet in the know, Aaron Pace has become stuck in a different dimension. In the before, he figured out how to open doors to different worlds and alternate realities. Then one day while exploring, he got stuck on the Lost Level: quoting the story "a place where the flotsam and jetsam of space and time wash up from across the shores of the multiverse." In this now of the adventure, Aaron and Kasheena, his mate, are on a hunting trip when they encounter a metal monster. I won't spoil the story but I will say that hilarity does not ensue.
Due to the short length of a chapbook, you can't get the complex development of a character arc that you will in a novel; however, I still think there is plenty here with which to identify and to connect. And just like in THE LOST LEVEL, Keene mixes in some real world pop culture that is a bit obscure but still real. And here I mean when Keene is referencing The Black Lagoon Bugle which you can also read about in David J. Schow's chapbook WATER MUSIC. I hope that Keene stays energized and thrilled or just plain continues to enjoy writing about Aaron Pace because I look forward to the next tale from the Lost Level.
For those not yet in the know, Aaron Pace has become stuck in a different dimension. In the before, he figured out how to open doors to different worlds and alternate realities. Then one day while exploring, he got stuck on the Lost Level: quoting the story "a place where the flotsam and jetsam of space and time wash up from across the shores of the multiverse." In this now of the adventure, Aaron and Kasheena, his mate, are on a hunting trip when they encounter a metal monster. I won't spoil the story but I will say that hilarity does not ensue.
Due to the short length of a chapbook, you can't get the complex development of a character arc that you will in a novel; however, I still think there is plenty here with which to identify and to connect. And just like in THE LOST LEVEL, Keene mixes in some real world pop culture that is a bit obscure but still real. And here I mean when Keene is referencing The Black Lagoon Bugle which you can also read about in David J. Schow's chapbook WATER MUSIC. I hope that Keene stays energized and thrilled or just plain continues to enjoy writing about Aaron Pace because I look forward to the next tale from the Lost Level.
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