An excellent novel by an excellent writer: tightly knitted and fast paced plot, good storytelling, intriguing world building
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The personalities are kind of generic but I always enjoy this kind of apocalyptic story where there is another world under the surface that normal people just don't know about. The bad people are cartoonishly bad but the good people have flaws and weaknesses, which is important when the baddies want to destroy the world. The action is almost nonstop, and we know going in that even if there is a resolution to this crisis, we're going to be able to get more in this world! Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

Atrocity Engine dives headfirst into a whirlwind of urban fantasy, horror, humor, and adventure, crafting a tale where Neal Hudson, a hardened agent of Maintenance Control, grapples with the ominous threat of the Gyre devouring the Omniverse. Teamed with Gina Sandoval, a fresh recruit with her own burdens, their partnership evolves into a deep camaraderie amid missions fraught with grotesque violence and existential peril. Waggoner's narrative excels in balancing shocking gore with dark humor and relentless action, making for a gripping read from start to finish. While the blend of genres may not appeal universally, those drawn to pulpy horror and supernatural escapades will find much to relish in this fast-paced and inventive tale.

When we meet Neal, our hero through The Atrocity Engine, he’s at a playground. Within minutes, all hell breaks loose. Quite literally. There is much violence as a sinister force is unleashed. This being a Waggoner story, nothing is left to the imagination. The horror is there straight away. I had a nightmare about this scene the evening after reading it. True, I’m a big scaredy cat in real life and everything seems to bug me.

Let’s not stop there, though. The Atrocity Engine is so much more. We’re brought into a blue-collar world where these sort of happenings are sought after, and where there are special tools and resources used to fight them. There are teams of interventionists whose job is to find these instances and harbingers, and eradicate or take care of them.

We have secret organizations, beings from other distant parts, and lots of adventure and action. The teaming of Neal and Gina is great.

The story builds to a great climax with lots of really interesting details and set pieces, if you’ll accept the terms, along the way. This felt cinematic in the best ways. It was impossible not to see a movie or series as I read this, but one a little darker than prime time, and just right for one of the streamers.

A super fast read, this one’s a lot of fun. If you like dark mystery, science fiction, horror, and a little humor all mixed up in a nice cosmic soufflé, you’ll love The Atrocity Engine. There’s also a plan for more books in this world, so get ready to dive in. Very enjoyable.

This is a great start to a world building series. We get to know the characters and their lives, their relationships with each other. We get a sense of dread from what’s happening in the book. Fun read, looking forward to the other two.

Wow. Enjoyed this book by Tim Waggoner. Great world building, and will definitely look for more books in this series. I enjoyed the characters, and the story/pacing were great too. #TheAtrocityEngine #NetGalley

To put it mildly, I had a lot of fun with this one! The Atrocity Engine is a neat urban fantasy, high on the thrills and with some excellent worldbuilding thrown in. So what is it? Well, it's like if the FBI mixed heavily with The Dark City and had a urban fantasy baby - secret police protecting the general population from existential horrors that they don't know about. The Omniverse is slowly dying and various nefarious factions are trying to speed up Entropy to make it happen faster. Maintenance, our secret police, are here to stop that and add "Flavour to the Feast" (It makes sense, I promise).

I will admit that I read this in one sitting. Urban Fantasy is one of my favourite subgenres but it can be a bit "samey". The Atrocity Engine had enough fresh ideas to make sure that is stands out in the pack and is quite fast-paced. I really really enjoyed some of the ideas behind this book. The slow death of the Omniverse, the creepy powerful Multitude and the Atrocity Engine itself made sure I was hooked from the first chapter and kept me engaged throughout. I thought the plot was just excellent.

A warning: This is not a book for the faint-hearted. There is a substantial amount of death and gore in here; so much so that, combined with the plot, we are heading for Horror territory. I enjoyed this element to it but if you are adverse to violent deaths and body horror, I would suggest giving this a miss. I will say that it is well done but it is graphic. The Atrocity Engine is well-named.

The worldbuilding is outstanding. I loved the idea of the death scream of the Omniverse. I would love to have a wander around the Market. The Multitude creeped me out spectacularly, especially as we learn more about them. I just loved this world the author produced and can't wait to read more about it (next one is due in July). The characters are snarky and interesting. Surprisingly, there is quite a big streak of humour running through (see the Rifts and their after-effects), which lightened the tone every so often. It worked well as it fitted the main POV.

I had a great time with The Atrocity Engine and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Urban Fantasy with a substantial bite.

Neal Hudson is an agent of Maintenance Control. He is a twenty year veteran of Maintenance. It is an organization seeking to delay the entire Omniverse from being drained by the Gyre. Opposing Maintenance are the Multitude, dark demigods who spread Corruption (a force that creates monsters). Neal is thrown into the thick of the action upon witnessing a bizarre scene at a, playground, a bully dizzy from the merry-go-round vomits Corruption on another child’s mother, erasing her facial features. Neal intervenes, but not before the regurgitated Corruption animates three sculptures that turn violent and butcher others. Hudson must work with his new partner, Gina Sandoval. The investigation leads them to a member of the Multitude who’s seeking to magnify her powers by building an Atrocity Engine, which would “increase her strength a thousandfold.” Why does she want this much?

The author has written a fast pace, clever urban horror fantasy. This was an edge of the seat novel for me to read. I truly enjoyed it — even with the gore.

Per prima cosa grazie a NetGalley per avermi gentilmente concesso l'eArc in anteprima.
Neal Hudson è un Manutentore veterano oberato dal lavoro, stressato e sottopagato che lavora sotto copertura per un'agenzia che ha l'ingrato compito di rallentare l'inevitabile: la Spirale prosciughi l'intero Omniverso. L'agenzia si batte contro la Moltitudine, una sorta di semidei dalla cattiveria brutale il cui scopo è accelerare la disfatta dell'universo spargendo Corruzione, una forza oscura che trasforma gli umani in creature mostruose dagli effetti devastanti e parecchio scenografici. Rachel, un'ambiziosa apprendista della Moltitudine sta tentando di costruire un Motore delle Atrocità, in modo da conquistare una sostanziosa massa di potere che le garantisca di arrampicarsi sull'olimpo dei cattivi e distruggere definitivamente l'intero sistema solare.
Una centrifuga di Men-In-Black, Hellfire e X-files per gli amanti dello splatter e del body horror, Tim Waggoner non lesina sulla scenicità delle scene splatter e ci vuole certamente uno stomaco forte per la quantità di violenza rappresentata.
Tim Waggoner ha una scrittura frizzante e il mondo alternativo è ben rappresentato, tra le cose che più mi sono piaciute inserirei il buddy-cop trope. Questo primo volume di una trilogia (già scritta) è avvincente e coinvolgente fin dalle prime pagine e ha una velocità travolgente che raramente manda in stallo la trama in cui la violenza è ben bilanciata da una buona dose di humor.
Consigliato agli amanti di sci-fi horror, urban fantasy, gore e body horror.

This is the first book in the Custodians of the Cosmos series. It’s a campy horror/urban fantasy story that follows main character, Neal, who has worked for a secret organization known as Maintenance for decades battling entities that seek entropy to fuel their plans and leave Corruption in their wake and may eventually speed up entropy to the point of destroying the Earth as we know it.

I thought this was highly entertaining in a Men in Black/Ghostbusters type way. There are creepy creatures made of body parts and exploding biological matter flying all over the place. Plus, a creepy teacher who has a nefarious plan to use her students to spread corruption and build a nasty machine that could annihilate everything.

Neal was that typical grumpy loner that’s been assigned a new rookie to break in on the job and to top it all off, she’s not just any rookie. Her family has connections and a history with Neal. Now if only he can get Gina through her first day without getting her killed by a teguzilla or something worse.

I will definitely pick up the second book in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aethon Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

The synopsis of this book made it sound so good, but I wish I had checked reviews before trying it. I was expecting a book based on the agents of order and chaos, maybe something demonic, and instead got a hodgepodge of genres thrown together. Normally that is something I like - IF the author takes the care to blend them together, however, in this case it feels like the author has done it without any care. It almost feels like an experiment, and it's one that's not for me.

The plot is based on the idea that the Omniverse has been winding down, that one day the energy will run out completely. The reason this is happening is that at the centre of the Omniverse is a great emptiness called 'The Gyre'. The Gyre has been draining all the energy, feeding on it.

The Maintenance are an organisation who aim to slow the energy being eaten by the Gyre, which makes sense until you learn that their motto/rallying cry is "Flavour the Feast". Umm, sorry?

I felt like what was being described was more akin to a black hole than a giant cosmic creature in space, and the explanation seemed very weak. I also couldn't get over the idea that a whole organisation was based on the concept of flavouring meals like chefs.

Their counterparts, the ones trying to speed up the end of the Omniverse are the Multitudes and are evil incarnate by the seems of it. I assume there is more to them, but after reading several descriptions of the "after effects" of rift scars left behind when they teleport, I don't think I want to know more. One such after effect made a person lose control of their bladder and urinate themselves - and of course, the rift scars are invisible!

I found the characters to be stereotypical, and again I'm not sure if this was intention. If you're looking for an easy read, then you can probably overlook this, but I was expecting something completely different.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the way that the author described one particular female character. All the other characters were described physically in fairly neutral terms, with some physical remarks here and there (mostly about their personalities). Until we get to Deanna Nicely the head of Maintenance’s Ash Creek Division and we get this:

"her tie – which hung over a mammary shelf of truly epic proportions – was red, a sign of her rank [...] but her voice was high-pitched and girlish. Somehow this contradiction gave her even more authority."

First, "mammary shelf", what the hell?! Also, was there any need to even mention her breast size just to describe the colour of her tie? No, not really. It's a very juvenile description, and the way that the author continues to describe the first female character in power (at this point in the book) in such a cartoon-ish way undermines her, especially with the added clarification that actually her voice gives her more authority.

I don't know whether this description will make it into the final draft as I was reading an ARC, but men writing women like this is a huge pass for me.

Mixing cosmic horror, a healthy dose of splatter and sci fi, Tim Wagoneer’s new book The Atrocity Engine is the first book in his new series The Custodians of the Galaxy.
The story revolves around Neal Hudson, a veteran member of a secret organisation called The Maintenance who fight against The Multitude, whose goal is to see the universe destroyed by a cosmic force called The Gyre.
Mixing Men in Black style vibes with cosmic horror, Tim Wagoneer’s new book rolls along at a rollicking pace. He builds on familiar tropes, such as the buddy cop trope and crafts them into something enjoyably original.
As we move through the story we learn that Neal has been part of the agency for quite a while and that he has recently lost a partner, which leads him to be partnered with his old mentor’s daughter, Gina, who wants to follow in the family footsteps and make her name as notable member of the agency in their fight against The Multitude in their aim to spread chaos and entropy.
The book itself is really enjoyable with its fast-paced narrative. There are monsters and weird creatures galore.
Whilst at first it may appear that the characters are cardboard cut outs of things that you have seen before, Wagoneer manages to breathe life into these familiar tropes in order to write an entertaining blend of genres. However, be warned! This is no walk in the park and if you are squeamish, be aware, there is plenty of gore in this novel which comes to the fore in the first few chapters.
The characters themselves are quite engaging and for the first time in a long time, there is an engaging antagonist in the form of Rachel, an inherently evil young woman whose only goal is to become one of the Multitude, and she will do anything to get there.
There is plenty of action throughout the story to keep you going.
My only complaint that I have with this book is that there were quite a lot of textual errors, and I hope that this was an uncorrected proof, as there were times that I thought that this could do with another round with the editor to iron out some of the lines that I didn’t think worked or seemed out of place. I am not one for usually pointing out errors, but unfortunately the number of them made them quite noticeable.
However, that little quibble aside, this was an enjoyable read, and I will definitely be carrying on with this story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for a review!

This book was weird, funny, and so so gory. It really worked for me. I enjoyed the brain game of trying to piece together in the world inside our world, and how things escalated further and further beyond what I could've imagined, to almost campy levels at times. This was really enjoyable as a sci-fi urban fantasy for me.

An action-packed and high on the gore meter story where a secret organization fought against the powerful Multitude who sought to help speed along the end of the universe. Waggoner did a good job of creating a mishmash of urban fantasy, horror and sci-fi that worked.. I really liked the non-romantic relationship between the grisly-veteran Neal and the gung-ho but somewhat naïve rookie, Gina. There was quite a lot of gore without being hard-core and some situations that might trigger people. However, there was also humor and good descriptions that delivered the atmosphere. If you are looking for an urban fantasy horror mix without an overpowered main character with lots of action this one might just be for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is a very griping book, with a good story, which is easy to follow. The main characters are easily comparable to a lot of characters on T.V shows of the same genre, which made it more enjoyable for me.

The Atrocity Engine pulled me in right away, and was the crazy and creepy read I’d wanted it to be. It was funny and made me shiver in disgust at times. If you are looking for something that is urban fantasy, horror, and a bit of Men in Black, this is a great choice. I loved to see that this was a series and that there’d be more to read.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book early!
A lot of reviews were talking about this book being gorey, and I guess I didn't really clock it (maybe I am desensitized? I have no idea) but if you are a light horror fan I feel like you will enjoy this book.
I really enjoyed this book. First off, we have some pretty fun world building. It's nothing complex, but I feel like it works for this. There is an organization trying to slow down the destruction of the world and an organization trying to speed it up. There are cool creatures, powers, objects, and death worms.
I also enjoyed the characters. There are lots of different people who all have good character growth, and I enjoyed the mini found family.
It wasn't a perfect book, but it was kind of camp. It was enjoyable, with the silly drama of it all.
I'm excited to read the next one!

Seems as though Tim Waggoner raises the bar with each story he writes.
The Atrocity Engine is His best yet.
Kind of a Ghostbuster/The Conjuring/Hellraiser fusion.
Had me reeled in from chapter one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aethon Books for providing a review copy.

I had an absolute blast with this book. The world-building is so good, so well thought out, and so unique. I really dig the combination of horror and urban fantasy. The characters are fully realized, with interesting back stories and I came to care about them a great deal. I'm pleased that The Atrocity Engine is part of a planned trilogy - I definitely plan on reading the rest. 4.75 stars

This book was great entertainment from start to finish! Well-written, fast-paced, full of impressive visuals, and some really good sense of the menacing and the monstrous. Tim Waggoner's 'Atrocity Engine' is quintessential urban fantasy with a strong dose of sci-fi horror, the first of a series, about the cosmic threat of Corruption and the people (custodians, surveyors, a sort of cosmic cops) fighting it. This is not our world and the differences are sometimes shocking. The author is well-known for his skill in describing action scenes and for the atmosphere of adventure pervading his books. Here once again he does not disappoint: from the very beginning, things go sideways and it all starts in a playground! The world-building is very promising, the two characters who get partnered together give great vibes (thankfully, the (light) humor helps a lot driving the plot along), and the monsters...! Well, it's easy to visuaize everything if you've seen the movie "Dark City," the colors and the setting feel very similar. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that the book is like Dark City meets the X-Files. Final note: there's some gore, body horror, certainly lots of triggers, but I personally found nothing too extreme.