The Bane of Yoto

by Joshua Viola, Mario Acevedo, Nicholas Karpuk

Overview

Some say the Arbitrators existed long before the universe was born. Others believe their dark powers spun the fabric of time itself. They are mystery. But here is truth: After ages of formless existence, the Arbitrators craved physicality once more. Their hunger sparked a great fire-a blaze that found its shape in the form of a dagger capable of transmitting their essence into a living vessel. In their search for a worthy body to inhabit, they destroyed the world of the gentle numah and the combative olokun.

But not all was lost.

General Vega and his vile olokun warriors enslaved the remaining numah and relocated them to a thriving moon where they were forced to toil in endless strife.

Cycles later, two numah brothers, Eon and Yoto, witnessed the slaughter of their parents at Vega's whim. Eon vowed vengeance, while Yoto sought a timid life in hopes of drawing no attention from their cruel overlords. But when an alien witch dispatches a minion to bury a mystical dagger in Eon's heart, thereby granting him the Arbitrators' power and the ability to defeat Vega, it is Yoto who is stabbed. Now, Yoto's days of cowardice are over. He is transformed into a monstrous creature of tremendous strength and intellect.

But will Yoto become the heroic liberator of his people-or the cause of their total annihilation?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798986219455
Publisher:	Hex Publishers LLC
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	478
File size:	7 MB

Editorial Reviews

10/24/2022

This rip-roaring science-fantasy adventure, a polished saga of revolution and ancient god-like beings, returns in a striking new edition on the occasion a decade after its original publication, boasting a gallery of character portraits, a map worth lingering over, and the same classic oppressed-versus-powerful-overlords storytelling. The beaten-down numah toil in mines or fight in an arena on the moon Neos, “beneath the lash” of the olokun, brutal villains in living armor. The olokun fear the return of the ancient Arbitrators, beings of immense power whose arrival has been seen in a dream by “Lagaia, the witch from beyond the stars.” (If that phrasing grabs you, this book is for you.) The numah, meanwhile, plot a likely doomed rebellion, while young numah Eon (a tough fighter) and Yoto (the dreamer) ache for revenge against the olokun ruler Vega for the slaughter of their parents before their very eyes.

Gritty, vividly told, pulsing with a spirit of old-school adventure, Bane of Yoto is steeped in the history and present of its genre, drawing from the pulps, comic books, video games, and—in its seamless three-author approach—shared-universe collective storytelling. (The novel began life as a comic.) The tale turns on a dagger infused with the essence of the Arbitrators, a dagger Yoto sees in dreams. The story offers exciting jailbreaks, parasite gross-outs, creepy excursions deep into the moon’s core, and dialogue like “My life is a small price for keeping that dagger out of your profane claws.”

All this is delivered with welcome earnest confidence, as the authors resist the temptations to wink at their readers or to overcomplicate their characters. The villains are villains, full stop, and the heroes, though often preoccupied by vengeance, fight for freedom. Readers eager for moral ambiguity should look elsewhere, but adherents of Hyperborea, Gor, the Halo universe, or any other realms where the bottom line is adventure will feel like they’ve come home.

Takeaway: A striking new edition of a superior pure-pulp science fantasy adventure.

Great for fans of: Neal Asher, John Steakley.

Production grades Cover: A Design and typography: A Illustrations: A Editing: A Marketing copy: A

BookLife Reviews

"A striking new edition of a superior pure-pulp science fantasy adventure."

-BOOKLIFE BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"This is pure pulpy pleasure--a cult classic."

-BLUEINK REVIEWS

"Exciting science fiction adventure."

-STEVE ALTEN, New York Times bestselling author of The MEG

From the Publisher

2022-10-24
In this SF novel, two brothers of vastly different temperaments must fight to liberate their race from merciless alien enslavers.

The peaceful, blue-furred numah are enslaved on Neos, a moon that can no longer be called a moon given the destruction of its planet by the Arbitrators, an all-powerful celestial race. Under the oversight of the physically dominant, bloodthirsty olokun, they work in the mines, digging up aegis ore to construct a giant shield in space. Some among the numah dream of rebellion. Others, like Yoto, seek merely to survive and so allow themselves to become complicit in their overlords’ cruelties. But Yoto, for all his cowardice, is destined for greater things. Though it is his heroic brother, Eon, who is singled out by the alien witch Lagaia to wield a dagger that will overthrow the olokun and maybe the Arbitrators, it is Yoto who becomes entangled with the weapon. It transforms him into a creature of gargantuan size and strength (“He drew energy from within himself and Neos”)—formidable enough, perhaps, to do battle with the vile Gen. Vega and his sadistic son, Cadoc. Can Yoto’s brutal retaliation lead to a better future, or will he cause Neos’ destruction? Viola, Acevedo, and Karpuk present an omniscient, past-tense narrative that focuses on action rather than the characters or setting—although SF elements like the olokun’s organic technology are present. The protagonists lack nuance, serving as archetypes of cowardice, heroism, and villainy. The dialogue, like the prose generally, tends to be workmanlike and aimed toward advancing the plot. The novel’s greatest strength lies in its epic nature. The authors linger over the numah’s subjugation and the olokun’s depravities, stoking readers’ desire for a turnabout. This comes amid setbacks and bloody losses playing out over hundreds of pages. The violence is extreme yet somewhat matter-of-fact in its presentation, as if begging for illustrations. (Indeed, there is a sense throughout of a story intended for adaptation into a manga or anime series.) The book is divided into six parts (plus an epilogue), each with a lurid, black-and-white frontispiece by Bendert. It concludes with full-page character pictures that emphasize the larger-than-life conflict. Fans of kaijin and kaiju media should approve.

An epic, vivid, and gory SF revenge tale with graphic-novel undertones.

Kirkus Reviews