Book 3 in The Projectionists SeriesBy Tobias Youngblood
© 2025, Riposte Press, LLC
File size: 2.1 MB
334 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1959649090
In False Idol, the satisfying conclusion of the Projectionist trilogy, Ridley, Iris, and Siv face their most challenging enemies yet. There’s plenty of drama to be found in this urban fantasy, with a few (okay, more than a few) elements of horror along the way. Demons that shift into human form, shedding skin like it’s a costume…soul-devouring succubi…pixies and vampires and dragons…all sorts of otherworldly beings populate these pages, along with the main characters. The struggle between them makes for a tense tale, one worth reading.
Youngblood’s purpose is to entertain and not, according to his end notes, offer “life lessons and prescriptive advice” (loved that!). Nevertheless, I admired the story’s strong element of found family—others (human or not) who are family of the heart, not of the blood. The devotion and loyalty between Ridley, Iris, and Siv (and Ma, of course) was a strong element throughout the series, but especially in False Idol.
Add to that the characters’ willingness to do The Hard Thing in order to fix what was broken, or to admit when they were wrong, or to change perspectives when given new information, and there might at least be good examples to follow—though in our world, I’d avoid Iris’s proclivity to throw knives at things that piss her off. You have to read the story to understand that bit. (And I strongly recommend first reading books 1, Grave Covenant, and 2, Dragon Apostle, in order to really appreciate this volume.)
All in all, The Projectionist Series as a whole is a good read for fans of gritty, dark fantasy, or light horror. Definitely recommended.
(I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.)