A review by whatyoutolkienabout
The Mantis Variant - Book One: Sequel now available, "The Mantis Equilibrium" by Adam Andrews Johnson

5.0

I really enjoyed The Mantis Variant its a mixture of dystopian, horror and grimdark that works so well together. It’s dark and gritty at points but there are moments of light in the darkness. I loved the random (or rather eventual found family) or characters and how they all interacted with each other. We follows them on a journey of self discovery but also one that sees them empowering thoughts they met along the way.

Each of our main characters have their own storylines but these are interwoven together perfectly so that it never feels like one character gets more page time or more ‘drama’ than the other. While it is brutal at points and bloody with the fair share of violence I found that this highlights the lighter moments all the more.

If you enjoy fantasy, particularly grimdark, horror or dystopian you are likely to love this. If you like all three you will definitely love it. Just be aware that due to the nature and genre there are triggers involved including homophobia, grief, death and violence.

Thank you so much to The Mantis Variant and Adam Andrews Johnson for my copy. My review is left voluntarily and is honest.