Okie Dokie folks. Let's get right to it. Chris Tullbane can take all my money - this book was LEVELS.

It's the perfect blend of cold-dead-somehow-beating heart and wildfire-soul-rushing heroism and bucket loads of social commentary shrouded in teenage angst. You want an anti-hero who is probably better than all those wishy-washy Marvel heroes (no shade) then how about a damn Necromancer superpower. It's a recipe with all my favorites: The Boys (Amazon) Deadpool, Umbrella Academy, Vampire Academy (book and Zoey Deutsch movie), Grishaverse, ATLA even Misfits.

If you have a thing for breaking the 4th wall, this book is right up your alley. Me? This was my jam from the first page to the last. I don't often read YA/NA novels but I do enjoy a few and this is right up there with Interworld by Neil Gaiman (not even remotely the same writing style just that both are YA/NA oriented and highly thrilling). It's also giving very strong X-men school and eccentric professor undertones.

Now, let's talk prose.

Chris Tullbane writes like a gut punch in the middle of an epic battle between Titans. You open the book, you get hit like a ton of bricks and just as Damian kept getting back up again - there you go, turning the page, in for the next chapter and the next and the next. Until you're all done and walk out and stare at the sky and wonder if there is a Dr Nowhere out there and if the answer is yes, well...when the hell is he going to dream a little dream of power for this world we live in huh? Because tick tock mf.

Anyway, I love a great anti-hero, heck the "villain" ... the antagonist. I can find myself outright rooting for them because come on - for decades heroes have been 2 dimensional characters. So, the anti-hero, the villain, more often than not they are usually endearing, a force of determination and a testament of sheer will to manifest whatever their world-domination plan is. In this case, Damian is not a villain. He is the anti-hero trying to become the hero (but also he could give a toss about becoming a Cape - he is an enigma) and that makes for an excellent little brew (looking at you Deadpool). One can't help but empathize with him regardless of his back-alley layered with pride foulmouthed attitude. Maybe he's endearing because of it. ( )