The Liminal War

"The Liminal War bounces between scenes of high-octane, superpowered battles, and surprisingly low-key interludes. The entire middle of the novel follows Taggert, Tamara, and Mico, the high priest of the mannah, as they travel back in time to 1971 so that Mico can jam with a young Bob Marley. Music, in fact, has tremendous power in this story, and the final confrontation with Nardeen is powered by the music of Robert Johnson, whom the group meet in 1938 in the book's final third.... Books like The Liminal War and The Entropy of Bones won't make up for the fact that the dominant genre of our pop culture is so completely wedded to the past and the status quo, but they point the way to how that might―if we embrace change and creativity―someday change."

"The Liminal War is thus rich in action and meaning that is impressive for its short length. . . . an effective and remarkable novel . . . I really look forward to the next entry in this series, the further growth of its characters and its textured layers of Black culture and history."

"The Liminal War did something I thought was impossible. It was even better than its predecessor, which knocked my socks off when I read it last year. Science fiction and fantasy fans, run―don’t walk―to go read Ayize Jama-Everett’s Liminal series."

"It’s been a long wait since Jama-Everett’s 2009 debut, The Liminal People, but the same raw wattage that lit up healer/killer Taggert’s epic introduction to his daughter, Tamara, and his split with his sociopathic mentor, Nordeen, is at work in this rich, dense sequel. This episode opens with a characteristic blast of pure psychic chaos from Tamara, who’s discovered that Prentis, a child Taggert calls “mine by choice,” has disappeared from the sensory realm commanded by superpowered liminals like Taggert’s family. Taggert’s sure that Prentis isn’t dead, but beyond that he’s stumped. His lover, Samantha, guides him to the Rasta-tinged commune of London’s Eel Pie Island, where he encounters the avatar of a four-billion-year-old vegetable god who allies with him in the search. And that’s just the first 30 pages. Jama-Everett writes with such cyclonic energy and verbal legerdemain that occasionally the plot has to be taken on faith, but the noir-infused verve of the telling makes it all work."

"A scrappy group of people with superpowers who careen through a criminal underground, the space-time continuum, and frequently outrageous battles to rescue a young woman who's gone missing. Taggert, a former criminal, can "read bodies" and manipulate them on a molecular level. He's lying low in London, working a shadowy business of healing people with terminal diseases and keeping an eye on his teenage daughter, Tamara, and adopted daughter, Prentis. Both Tamara and Prentis are also "liminals"―people with supernatural abilities―and survivors of Taggert's criminal past. When Prentis vanishes from the planet, invisible even to Tamara's powerful telepathy, Taggert and Tamara set out to look for her. They find themselves thrown into alliances with legendary musicians and the worshipers of a strange god and pitted against viciously ruthless nonhuman entities called "alters." The plot moves swiftly, cramming incident after incident into a novel that seems surprisingly slim for this breed of action-adventure. . . . An engaging sequel that sets its likable cast of characters against a fast-paced sequence of dangers."

"In Ayize Jama-Everett’s The Liminal War, the family one chooses is just as important as the one a person is born into. Taggert is a “Liminal,” a being who can manipulate human molecules and DNA, allowing him to both harm and heal. When his adopted daughter is kidnapped by his psychotic former mentor, Taggert will rent the fabric of time and space to make sure his daughter is found before his former master can twist her mind. While there are forces stronger than Liminals bent on stopping Taggert and his friends ― a pot-smoking god and a musician who takes him back to 1970s London ― they may be outmatched by Taggert’s biological daughter, Tamara, who will risk her own life to save her sister’s."

"Like Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia Butler before him, Jama-Everett has a knack for braiding issues of spirituality and race throughout a compelling fantasy landscape."

"Good read. I enjoyed it very much. Hard to put down."

"Every bit as good as the first one. I love it, especially for the music-lovers fanboy roadtrip through time."

"The Liminal War is a very fast-paced alternate reality tale based upon the universal balance of power. Forces against each other from the dawn of time wage war for supremacy. Allegiances are in flux as the psychically gifted combatants attempt to end the conflict. Following orders is difficult for those who see loss of humanity as the outcome. Family ties become pivotal in an increasingly improbable victory for mankind. Wonderful read - looking forward to the next book!"

"Nice follow up to the first book. I'm looking forward to the third..."

"Transcendent. A must read - while it can stand on its own, the whole series is captivating. I can't wait for the third installment!"

"So much yes. Just stop not owning his books. It's a foolish way to live."

"Great story! Looking forward to the next book by Ayize Jama-Everett!"

"Great follow on from the first book. Jump in! I really enjoyed this book. Jama-Everett puts you into his world immediately from the first page. Like his first book the characters, their abilities, and the world they inhabit are really authentic. A relatively short read, the pace stays high the whole time. Looking forward to reading the third book! Keep them coming!"

"A fantastic second act. On first read I definitely enjoyed this novel—which, like its predecessor The Liminal People reads like an action-filled afro sci-fi thriller. However a few weeks after finishing and moving on to the next books on my list I found myself in the midst of a very powerful psychedelic experience thinking a lot about this piece of literature. The obvious theme of a fungus-based omniscient deity who possesses its disciples when smoked certainly played a role, but even deeper were the connections to themes of the power of the Ancestors of those of us who have inherited the genetic trauma of those who made (or didn't complete) the journey across the Middle Passage, and the reality of their individual humanity (a point that echoes some central themes in Ta-Nehisi Coates' recent work of art Between The World And Me), as well as the cosmic oneness that can be experienced through truly sublime musical works. Where the first Liminal novel focuses on setting the foundational rules and physics/biology of the Liminal world in order to drive the action of the plot, The Liminal War smashes those expectations by expanding out into the realms of the spiritual and the cosmic. With a cliffhanger that is sure to drive all fans of Jama-Everett's series insane with anticipation, The Liminal War is a fantastic second act to this engaging, thought-provoking series."