TITAN SONG by Dan Stout – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Titan Song by Dan Stout
Series: The Carter Archives #3
Published by Daw Books on April 6 2021
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

The nitty-gritty: Another strong entry in Dan Stout’s retro noir urban fantasy series, Titan Song is a rollicking good time.

This is the third book in The Carter Archives series, and it’s still going strong, I’m happy to report. Stout has combined a unique set of elements—noir urban fantasy, a 1970s vibe that seems familiar but only on the surface, a gritty detective story where cops do things the old fashioned way, a story with a “buddy cop” sensibility, all set in a fascinating world based on a unique mythology—and this combination of the familiar and unfamiliar makes each book feel fresh. Titan Song builds on everything that has come before it, giving the reader even more information and glimpses into the “Titan” in the title and how it shapes this world.

And do be aware that there may be a few spoilers if you haven’t read the first two books, but I will keep them to a minimum. Also, the series should be read in order, as these are not really written to be stand alone stories.

When the story opens, Carter and his Mollenkampi partner Jax are headed out of the city to the ice plains, the site of a defunct oil rig which is now being used as a concert venue. Famous pop singer Dinah McIntire, along with her band, backup singers and dancers, is about to begin a week-long music festival, but a dead body has turned up backstage and now Carter and Jax are assigned to investigate.

When they arrive, Carter is surprised to sense manna on the body, which indicates that sorcery of some kind was involved. Carter has a powerful and inexplicable connection to manna—the magical substance discovered by accident during an oil drilling operation—because he was there during the manna strike and was drenched in it. Somehow his body absorbed the manna, and now he can sense and interact with it whenever it’s present. But when the dead body suddenly appears to come back to life and change before their eyes, Carter knows something much more sinister and complicated is at play. When one of the dancers confesses to the murder, saying that she became enraged for no reason after hearing a weird buzzing sound, Carter also discovers that she was using a particularly dangerous drug called snake oil, a drug infused with manna.

At the same time, a caravan of Barekusu—one of the eight Families in this world (more on that later)—has decided to visit Titanshade, and the citizens are in a frenzy because they rarely see these reclusive creatures. Meanwhile, more dead bodies are turning up, and for each one someone confesses to the murder. Carter starts to see a pattern emerge, but there are still so many unanswered questions. Then a sinkhole appears in the city limits, threatening the very heart of Titanshade—the geovents far beneath the surface that supply heat to the city. Carter and Jax have their work cut out for them with so much going on, and Carter has lots of questions: is the appearance of the Barekusu a coincidence, or do they have something to do with the murders? Are the corrupt Ambassador Paulus and her daughter Gellica involved? And more worrisome to Carter, is his ability to manipulate manna—which he still doesn’t understand—at the root of all the city’s problems?

Stout continues to expand on his world, and I love how he gives his readers just a little more with each book. Because of this, all the mysteries of Titanshade are still being revealed, which means there could be many more books in this series (no firm info on that yet, but I’m hopeful!). To quickly sum up the mythology of Titanshade for those new to the series, the world is set in a bitterly cold land, and the only heat comes from the Titan (this world’s deity), trapped far below the surface. The Titan’s pain and struggles create the heat for Titanshade, flowing through the geovents that snake their way through hidden tunnels. But only the rich are able to live in comfort, closest to the vents, while those less fortunate suffer the biting cold with very little relief. Of course, no one has ever proven that the Titan exists, but the citizens worship him anyway for fear of losing the heat that keeps them alive. Stout has plenty of surprises in store for his readers as he delves further into the mythology surrounding the Titan and the firm beliefs of Titanshade’s citizens.

The murder mystery itself is twisty and takes most of the book to resolve, and I love Carter’s methodical approach to solving crimes. The plot in Titan Song is fairly complex as well, with lots of characters thrown into the mix (both old and new), each with a connection to the murders, which makes untangling everything even harder for Carter and Jax. We also learn more about Gellica, the woman Carter is drawn to but can’t be with, for various reasons. Stout balances the more serious elements with plenty of humor and emotion—we have the always funny banter between Carter and Jax, as well as moments from Carter’s personal life—and there’s also the inevitable political intrigue and maneuvering, because despite the city’s governing agency, there’s a sense of lawlessness to Titanshade, a desperation that comes from living in such a harsh climate. All these elements together are one of the reasons I love this series so much.

This is the first time we’ve met the Barekusu (at least that I can remember), and they were fascinating! I imagined them as mammoth-like creatures who have the ability to speak just like humans, and I loved the sense of mystery that surrounds them wherever they go. I also loved the fact that Carter doesn’t trust them at all, despite their status as the “leaders” of the eight Families, and let’s just say that Carter usually has very good instincts. I also want to note that of the eight “Families,” Stout has really only touched on four—human, Mollenkampi, Gillmyn and Barekusu—so I’m hoping we get to know the other four in future books.

But even though we’re learning new things about the characters and the world, Stout still manages to keep all of my favorite elements going, like the cool 70s vibe (pagers, cassette players, pay phones and disco!) and Carter’s gruff but vulnerable personality. Carter is such a great character, a jaded detective who does whatever he has to in order to solve crimes and protect his loved ones, but underneath he’s got some issues he needs to work out, especially when it comes to his personal interactions and his relationship with the mysterious, magical manna. 

Overall, this was an excellent addition to this series, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.