We interviewed Alex Jennings for Episode 466 of The Skiffy and Fanty Show.

This is 100% on my Hugo Awards ballot. A stunning work!

In a story spanning the experiences of multiple characters, the strong connection among them all is the city they love, New Orleans. It's a fantasy that elevates the artists of the city to magicians, especially musicians and taggers. On one side of the tale, we follow Casey, a trans man in a contemporary world grappling with the sparks of magic he's seen in his art. Afraid but following his cousin's example, he won't be able to ignore that part of himself anymore, especially in the wake of tragedy. On the other side, we follow Perilous Graves, his sister Brendy, and his best friend Peaches. The children are more familiar with magic than Casey, and they take on a task of mythic proportions to save their city. This half of the book has a strong storytelling feel that beckons readers closer to listen up and pay attention. It feels timeless but with its own unique flavor and message to impart. Between the two storylines, there are moments of overlap and entanglement and other aspects that feel worlds apart despite the similar geographic locations. I won't say much beyond that because I think the reader is meant to grapple with that confusion and work through each clue as it's revealed. Just know the connection between both plots gets more pronounced with explanations eventually provided. It's part of the journey to wonder.

One thing I admired was the way the author threaded together the different elements of the story with clear love of the material: the setting, the music, the centrality of Black American culture and experiences, and the power within each person to achieve great things for humanity all shine through. A particular refrain that brought me a lot of amusement is Peaches' pronouncement that grown-ups are just big kids who don't know what they're doing any more than younger kids. I don't think I'll argue with that.

This is a powerful debut with a strong voice and memorable characters. The journey is twisty and the ending a bit open. After the cataclysmic events of the book, there's a sense of walking into the future, whatever that may be. Thanks to Redhook for my copy to read and review!

Alex Jennings’ writing is superb! I loved the atmosphere in this story, which helped immerse me in the characters’ points of view. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but the storytelling devices were very good at getting me immersed in the story without trying to figure out what happens next. Highly recommend!

If you have not opened this book when you see it in a bookstore, do yourself the favor of looking at the GORGEOUS end page maps. It also highlights what I love most about this book, it is so colorful and vibrant in the settings we take place in. Unfortunately for my tastes this is a book I more appreciated than loved. I read it while in New Orleans, which ended up being the perfect time because this is a love letter to that city and I was able to make more connections while exploring the city than I would have reading it at home. There is a lot of non-linear story telling happening with this work and many threads that come together by the end. I think for me my biggest complaint was the inconsistent pacing. I loved the world building and piecing the puzzle pieces together. There is a lot of rich thematic discussion about relationship to the land, messages from your ancestors, protecting your home, your identity and finding yourself. In particular our main character Perilous Graves is a young man working through who he is as an individual and accepting himself for who he is while growing up during this tumultuous moment in his city's history. So although it has some plotting issues I think it is worth checking out if you have ever wanted to read about a fantastical New Orleans and the people who are trying to save it from the next oncoming storm.

I finished The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings over two months ago but life got in the way and I wasn’t able to sit down for a review.

I figured moving into fall would be the perfect time to finally do so! When I saw that this novel was set in New Orleans, I had to pick it up. It’s a city that speaks to my soul, and Alex Jennings captured the soul of NOLA beautifully. The jazz, the history, the supernatural aura. Jennings had me itching to take a trip immediately.

I LOVED that this novel centered around music being the literal heartbeat of NOLA and the songs being spirits. There are beings that want to destroy NOLA by taking away that heartbeat and the songs that it beats through.

Our protagonists are tasked with battling these dark spirits with none other than music itself.

The writing almost reminded me of being in a Neil Gaiman novel; fully immersive and a bit confusing, but with patience, the pay off is stunning. Yes, I just compared Jennings to Neil Gaiman. Jennings writes with a magical, dreamlike quality that few writers can boast. It felt unforced and joyful. It was mythological and musical. Glorious work!

The audio was absolutely fantastic, as well. Graylen Bryant Banks takes narration to the next level. I could hear the heartbeat of NOLA’s music in their voice. I felt surrounded by these spirits. GBB is fully committed to taking us on a journey with their voice and it was astounding.

If you’re looking for a fall book to dive into, what better than a novel set in New Orleans? Major thanks to Redhook/Orbit and Hachette Audio for the review copies.

If I had to do an elevator pitch for this book, I’d say “Think Halloweentown but adult and Black and steeped in New Orleans atmosphere and dialect where three kids have to save the literal embodiments of songs that are also the lifeblood of NOLA!” This debut adult fantasy has tons of intrigue and keeps you turning the page; I’d totally watch a TV show set in this world. The world of is infused throughout the story, and I didn’t know a book with 3 kids as main characters in an adult fantasy world could be interesting, but Jennings pulls it off. The last 100 pages did drag a bit and probably could’ve been edited a bit more, but overall, I enjoyed this.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

The best thing about this book was the detailed and immersive worldbuilding. Nola was so lush and vivid. The fact that we had a world with flying tram cars, humanoid nutrias and zombies was weird in the best way possible. Another highlight was the characters. Perry, our main protagonist is a pre-teen and Jennings did a very good job of showing Perry's struggles with being a kid, like his crush on his friend Peaches, while also making him responsible for the future of his city and all of the grown-up responsibility that comes along with that.

Unfortunately the plot is where this book let me down. It was very convoluted and the pacing wasn't great, every time some momentum started to build we switched POVs and I hated that. There are also too many threads and secondary story lines that the author is trying to juggle and I really just wanted Perry's story, I didn't need all the rest.

If you like slightly weird magical realism and don't mind a complicated plot with some slow parts and have a love for vivid world building pick this book up now!

I will definitely read from this author again.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for my honest review*

The New Orleans that Perilous, aka Perry, Graves, lives in, on the Mississippi and Lake Pontchatraine, is not the same New Orleans that you or I might visit. It has skyways instead of streetcars. Zombies drive barely recognizable “cabs”. Music is everywhere but so are visible songs floating by. There’s definitely magic at work.

The center of the story is a trio of children, Perry, a fifth grader, his younger sister Brendey, and their teenage friend Peaches, with a somewhat mysterious history—and present. There are others who will become important and move in and out of the story, but these three are the bedrock of this fantastic world Jennings has built. And fantastic in many ways: the beings in it; the way the world is structured; the use of music as music, character and device; and the plot itself to save New Orleans from its other ominous self, threatening to overwhelm it in storm water and out of control music, until it’s gone.

This is an exciting novel to read with its action, novelty and world building, but most of all for the story of Perry, who just wants to be a normal kid. Oh, and this is for adults!

Recommended!

Alex Jennings notes in his Acknowledgements his “father, Hartford Jennings, who, without meaning to, tasked me to write the Blackest fantasy I could concoct.” I’m so glad he did! The flavor of the story was wonderful as were the musical interludes for this white northern woman who was a teenager in the sixties when a lot of the music was playing here too.

A copy of this book was provided by Redhook Books through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but I had to DNF it. What I did read gave a really great sense of setting and characters. Unfortunately it's written in such a way that my dyslexic brain had trouble. It's not written in "proper" English, which adds to the feeling of atmosphere and setting, but made me re-read sentences again and again. I think this is a problem for me, but not necessarily for anyone else. Other people with learning disorders might have a problem, but I really loved what I did manage to get through!

This was such a grand portrayal of New Orleans! It was definitely different than anything I've ever read. I found myself a little lost at times, as the pacing felt a bit jarring, but it was a good time nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley, Redhook books, and Alex Jennings for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Claws scrabbled desperate at the back of his throat. Yakumo curved his back into a question mark and fought to swallow the creature. The rat was tenacious though, and scrabbled its way into his mouth. He tasted its hair and fright against his rotten tongue. Its terror, its hatred. But it was him, wasn’t it? Some of him? Yakumo spat the rat onto the dirty floor.”

The blurb sounded promising and the book had a definite rhythm and atmosphere that kept me reading longer than I should have. Unfortunately, this book was too confusing (and intermittently gross) for me to want to continue. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This book is gorgeously written, with prose I wanted to eat off the page: Music sounds “like giant rose petals unfurling in the air, smooth and fragrant”; boats are “docked on the Mississippi, their varicolored sails furled against the wind like birds sleeping with their heads under their wings.” The effervescent invention of Jennings’s work is dazzling; it was absolute pleasure to have no idea where the book would go from one page to the next...

That was music! For real—the writing is exactly what you of think of as "lyrical". The setting, of course, is pure magic, with characters that are so multidimensional they read as real humans you could meet in real life. Definitely a unique read!

This book is a history lesson, a love sonnet, a ring shout, a blues stomp, a jazz funeral, a tent revival, and a stand off at high noon. Imagination runs riot in this completely novel tale of interdimensional, intergenerational, and elemental magic in The Big Easy. Get it in you!

The Ballad of Perilous Graves is one of those books that has left me a bit conflicted. On one hand, the worldbuilding is so damn rich, the characters are fun and the incorporation of music into Jennings’ magical realization of New Orleans is impressive. On the other hand, the writing style is tricky to grasp, the pacing is inconsistent and action scenes are downright confusing. That said, there is so much rich imagination and passion in this novel, that New Orleans (or Nola) will surely get you dancin’.

Set in post-Katrina New Orleans and a magical alternate version of New Orleans called Nola, this novel is intriguing from the get-go. The worlds themselves are vibrant, full of charming characters and lush descriptions of places and jazz music. (As a lover of jazz, this got my mind spinning with memory-fueled soundtracks.) The dualism between the real and the magic was also a great foundation for this novel, as it establishes clear rules that are later meant to be broken—to satisfying effect.

There is also an interesting play on memory as space here, as Jennings uses his own personal history with New Orleans and its culture to comment on the city’s history. The love for New Orleans seeps off every page, and that give the setting an extra oomph. On top of that, Nola works as a strong counter. Beyond locations that appear in altered form between the two cities, Nola reflects the forgotten history of New Orleans in a way that gives power to those who were and have been suppressed across time.

Speaking of power: the use of music as a form of magic was so freakin’ cool! I adore fresh, unique magic systems, and the way music plays across the story as both a power for good and evil was stellar. Bands and musicians that are integral to New Orleans’ music culture make appearances or get mentioned, their music living on and transcending the simply auditory to become weapons of unimaginable power—both in the mind and in the world around.

So, who is capable of wielding that power? Enter Jennings’ main protagonists, Perilous Graves, his younger sister Brendy and a Pippy Longstocking-esque girl named Peaches, who lives across the street. Perry is young, as are many of the POVs, and it’s often hard to relate to younger characters (at least for me). Thankfully, each of them has a strong, distinct relatable personality, and each of them has a path and goal that is unique to them.

Adding to that, music and magic and the role they play in the grand stakes of each character’s story give things a more approachable feel. As the world of Nola is threatened, each of these kids tackles obstacle after obstacle in hopes that they can defeat a rising threat—using the magic of music! The villains also take advantage of the power of music, and there are some interesting twists and turns on the antagonist front.

There is also a POV on the New Orleans side of things, an older character named Casey. He is a former street artist who has slipped into a life of complacency and boredom, and, honestly, I didn’t care much for his storyline for much of the novel. There are interesting facets to Casey: his history with New Orleans, or his gender transition from female to male. For the most part, though, there wasn’t a hook to grab me during his chapters, except his relationship with his cousin, which turns into a cool development of art as magic.

That said, there is more about Perilous Graves that doesn’t quite click—or muddles the execution of this awesome world. First, the pacing. The back-and-forth between New Orleans and Nola is initially a bit confusing, and there are often chapters that linger way too long in one of those worlds. Plus, the jargon and writing style can be tricky, utilizing hard to understand Louisiana slang and speech patterns in dialogue and description.

Action scenes are also confusing, with the sense of space or the flow of action not quite clicking. And then there’s the ending, which (I won’t spoil anything, promise) was good but not great. After such a great build up with the characters, I was hoping for a stronger finale.

Overall, The Ballad of Perilous Graves is a solid debut form Alex Jennings. The world explodes with vivid imagery, and he pulls off an incredible feat by bringing music to life on the page! Despite some messy execution, this book has an excellent setting, engaging characters, rich New Orleans history and a form of magic that any music lover would die for—strong foundations that keep the rhythm flowing.

I didn’t finish “The Ballad of Perilous Graves” by Alex Jennings, so I’m not giving it a star rating. I read about 35% and realized I was forcing myself to read.

Why did I DNF it? I never bonded with the characters or the plot. I really wanted to love this book; the blurb sounded like a book I would love.

There are some wonderful aspects to this book: the setting, an alternate New Orleans, and the magic system were evocative, powerful, and vivid. If you love amazing settings and magic systems, you’ll probably like this book.

I’m actually finding it really hard to actually review this book because it was so wonderfully original and unique that I can’t compare it to anything which is typically how I talk about things.

What I can review though is the narrator for the audiobook. I feel most most people who have read this, listened to the audiobook because holy moly he did a fantastic job and was so fun to listen to. He even added different effects to his voice like they changed the reverb and added autotune or something to parts during the editing process, just like you would in music. In fact there is even snippets of jazz music throughout. That is dedication to make a book come to life. The narrator transported me into this world.

The descriptions of food, music, even the people living in the city, and dialogue itself were all so vibrant. Like what you get from looking at this cover is what you get from the story to. Knowing this is a debut is kind of crazy, because it really doesn’t read like a debut, it read like a writing veteran.

Alex Jennings' debut novel is set in a fictional version of New Orleans known as Nola. I was pleasantly surprised to see a wide range of magical characters including zombie, haints, living graffiti, supernatural transportation options and songs that can actually become living people. The story line follows three children named Perry, Peaches and Brendy. The three must traverse between the Nola the live in and the hidden co-existing magical Nola all while trying to figure out how to stop a magical storm that is threatening to destroy their home.

I thought that this was a great book but I struggled at times to keep up with the enormous number of characters straight and I felt that the storylines jumped around too much and did not fit together. The ending of the book tied everything together perfectly so if you struggle to make sense of how everything meshes hold on to the end and you won't be disappointed.

Let me start out by saying the premise of this had me HOOKED from the start. Unfortunately for me the execution just fell flat.

The first thing I want to note is that one POV we are following a trans male character, and the character was referred to as her twice in the first 18% alone. I know people make mistakes and typos but the misgendering just felt icky to me.

On top of the accidental misgendering, the plot and magic system felt like they were being pulled in too many directions at once. I wish the author had fine tuned the magic system to be more cohesive in and of itself. For example, there were ghosts, zombies, music that was magic, grafitti that was magic, and a little girl with super powers seemingly from a comic book. Also a mother who could open a magical portal to a place that also seemed very disjointed from the rest of the magic. From my understanding of the synopsis/ premise music was to be the driving force of magic in this world. And it did have a major part in the magic, but I think the addition of zombies and portal magic (that came out of no where and wasnt explained and didnt connect to the rest of the magic system at all) made the story seem like it wasnt fully edited and streamlined before it went to final drafts.

A positive thing however that I loved was a magical ghost/ apparation character called Doctor Professor. He appeared in the streets of Nola and played his magic piano and made people dance. He is apparently responsible for playing the music that keeps the magic alive in the heart of the city. THIS WAS SO COOL. I wish the writing and the rest of the world biulding/ magic/ plot got into his story and the meat of the book sooner, and I also wish that the world just felt a little more fine tuned. Everytime I picked up this book to read it I just felt disappointed all over again because I was so excited for it in the first place. I could not force myself to keep reading after a weird portal world scene with one of the MC that made no sense to me whatsoever I felt so lost and confused at what I was reading.

Another positive thing though is one of the characters Brendy, she is a spit fire little girl and I think she had potential to carry the story. Reminds me a lot of Erica from Stranger Things lol.

I think I will definately check out more works from this author in the future. I think Alex Jennings has rich ideas, I just wish they were more cohesive and didnt leave me feeling like even after reading 25% of the book, I had no idea what 90% of the point of anything was supposed to be. I know thats early on in a book to have all the answer dont get me wrong I didnt expect to be completely aware of all happenings, but it would have been nice to have a sense of "ahh so this is whats going on, ok lets see where this goes!" and I unfortunately did not get that feeling.

The Ballad of Perilous Graves is a love letter to New Orleans by an author who clearly knows and loves her soul and her streets. In Alex Jennings' phantasmagorical novel, New Orleans spirit is at risk. Almost like horcruxes, if a horcrux were a beautiful thing, the city's essence is split into nine of her most timeless and resonant songs, brilliantly anthropomorphized and skillfully rendered by the creative explosion that is Alex Jennings. He has braided together many of New Orleans' myths with her music, unforgettable true-life characters, and history in a way that is all his own.

The novel is a lot, but the reader enters it as if watching The Wire. They get on the ride and trust its creator that all will become clear-ish in the end.

Jennings' voice is fresh and unique, as is his story. The magic will stick with this reader, who happens to be a New Orleanian herself, and so can appreciate Jennings' work and his gift for creating a modern-day Crescent City fable. The end leaves the possibility for a sequel. This reader will be waiting.