Corpse Walker: The Night Parade (The Infernal Artifacts Collection Book 1) is a quick and engaging read that effortlessly keeps your attention from start to finish. The story flows smoothly, with a clear and consistent plot that unfolds naturally from the beginning.

The author’s extensive research shines through, particularly in the depiction of WWII Guam and its role during the war. The inclusion of Japanese spirit legends adds a fascinating layer to the narrative, with the spirits well-researched, named, and vividly portrayed. The characters are easy to follow, with their roles and statuses clearly defined, making the story easy to immerse yourself in.

While I enjoyed the book overall, I did subtract one star due to the use of profanity that begins about halfway through. Although raw language is sometimes a reflection of military settings, in this case, I felt it was unnecessary and didn’t enhance the intensity of the scenes. By that point, I was already hooked and eager to finish, but it might have been a dealbreaker for me earlier in the story.

Despite this, Corpse Walker: The Night Parade is an intriguing and enjoyable read, especially for those interested in historical fiction with a supernatural twist.

Das Buch ist einfach nur UNGLAUBLICH. ICH LIEBE LIEBE LIEBE ES!! Danke für das Rezensionsexemplar!!!

Historic fiction is not my favorite genre but when horror is invovled I love it! This book is no exception. I love the Japanese horror trope and it fits to take time during the WWII. The writing is splendid and the plot thickens with every page. The pacing is perfect, not too slow and not too fast. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kimi built a world that could probably be real, the way she tied fact with fiction was very well done. This was a real page turner and I can’t wait to read the next book. I was surprised in a good way about a few things in this book including that part of it took place in Harrisburg and York Pennsylvania, and being from PA that was really cool especially since its not often that you find stories that take place there. There is a trigger warning in the begging of the book and for good reason so make sure you pay attention to it. One of my favorite quotes of the book was “Do not let the confinements of your humanity define you.”

I rarely read historical fiction and I reading Corpse Walker was enjoyable for me. The setting on World War II and the integration of Pearl Harbor made this story interesting for me.

This is also somewhat having elements same with one of my favorite animes - One Piece. Just a bit! So if you are into marines, demons, monsters and the like. This book can be your best read.

„What brought you to York?”
“Peace.”
Dr. Susanoo only smiled. “You really want peace, don´t you?”
Hayden shrugged. “People take it for granted.”

“Corpse Walker: The Night Parade” by Ralynn Kimie is the first book in The Infernal Artifacts Collection. It blends historical fiction with supernatural fantasy, set during World War II. The story begins after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and follows a resurrected Marine named Hayden. He must thwart the plans of Commander Isamu Mori, who is seeking to harness the power of a fragmented Infernal Artifact—a mysterious and potent supernatural object.
The narrative interweaves elements of Japanese folklore, historical events and paranormal intrigue. The plot involves secret agents, ancient demons (and demon dogs, I'd love to have one of those!) and the exploration of moral dilemmas against the backdrop of war.
I really liked the idea. I find Japanese mythology incredibly exciting, but for someone who doesn't know much about it, some things happened a little too quickly and were sometimes not explained enough. The descriptions were well written and the writing style was easy and fluid to read.
Personally, I couldn't really connect with the characters. But the relationship between Hayden, his brother or his friendship with Stolly or Kamuela was very well portrayed. The humour was also very good and I really enjoyed the timely references such as Captain America.

‘It could be worse - you could be on a stage wearing tights and selling war bonds.’
Hayden glanced at the Captain America comic book in her hands.
‘Well, I'd rather be a celebrity.’

What also made me think a lot was the portrayal of the military and the moral attitudes of some of the characters.
I didn't see the plot twist around page 130 coming and was pleasantly surprised!
The book was a really exciting read and despite a few little things that bothered me, I was convinced!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A blend of historical fiction, fantasy, multi cultural lore and kick ass characters! Loved it!

Pearl harbour is attacked by the Japanese and the USS Oklahoma is sunk.. with a full crew on board however not everyone dies. Hayden, Dr Stolley, Dr Susanoo and Dorothea Sharp embark on a journey to prevent the demon march which would see humanity wiped out. One man’s desire to be at peace becomes a true force to be reckoned with and his journey at building confidence, self belief and trust in himself to do what needs to be done is at the heart pf the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pace was perfect with each page begging to be turned and hooks into the reader from an early stage.

I loved the lore elements that I had not been exposed to before and did find myself researching these when not reading. This was my first historical fiction and wasn’t sure how I would take to that but I actually loved it and the battle scenes were beautifully done!

The main characters were strong and relatable (not so much the demons) however I do still have unanswered questions which judging by the Q and A at the end of the books, indicates that there will be more in the series and I may get the answers within future books.

All in all an excellent read and whilst there was not a many plot twists or a jaw dropping cliffhanger at the end, there was however a few small plot twists which I didn’t expect so it’s a big 5 stars from me!

Fantastically written book that strikes a very good balance between historical fiction and fantasy. The combination between the Second World War and the fantasy elements has been created fantastically. The details with the location and time gave the whole thing even more reality. The characters are wonderfully developed and you are drawn straight into the story.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.
A bit of a hard read for me, it's a mix of scifi and fantasy which I love however I felt this book was a little all over the place, info dumps that made me go back and reread a few pages, many tells of many things instead of shows, great violence and animal harm, overall it could have been a much better book but I can appreciate the factual history, culture research and imagination the author did here.
3 stars

This book is an exciting mix of history and magic! Set during World War II, it tells the story of a secret supernatural group trying to find a powerful artifact that could change everything. There are mysterious discoveries, epic battles, and even mythical creatures. If you like adventures with history and a touch of magic, you’ll really enjoy this one!

Thank you to Netgalley, and the publishers, for sending me a free ARC of this book!

01/12/24
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

This was an interesting one!

It took me a while to get into the story. Corpse Walker: the Night Parade is a new, unique, interesting take on historical fiction, with the supernatural aspect of demons included, blending the two genres seamlessly. I enjoyed the folklore of the book, and it felt refreshing to read a fresh take on these events that I’ve read about many times.

Unfortunately, my biggest issue with the book was the pacing. It started off very slow, and it took me about a week to get into it. There were switches in time, perspective and place that felt very jarring and sudden, which left me feeling a bit confused about where we were in the story. The story seemed to rely on a lot of telling instead of showing, and there were moments of “info-dumps”, where it felt like the dialogue was included for the sake of the readers and not the story.

The characters were mostly great. The pacing issues led to me being confused about who everyone was, but the overarching story was intriguing enough that this didn’t affect the enjoyment of the book.

I will be keeping my eyes open for the next book in the series, the ending left on the perfect amount of cliff-hanger to keep me interested.

Publication date: 02/06/25

Final Rating: 3.5/5

I adored the uchronism of the story. I've always been interested in books about WWII, and mixing in fantasy is brilliant ! Incredible work on making the events, dates, battles and all so accurate.
But I'm missing something, I'm having a hard time telling what. I couldn't quite connect with Hayden and it made me less invested in the story, I was almost more invested in Mori unfortunately.
I overall enjoyed it and will happily read the next ones !

This is such a refreshing take on WW2 fiction. The tie ins of Japanese, Celtic and South Pacific mythos are so fun and not something you see often at all. Hayden's journey as a bit of a reluctant hero is excellent, going from being an "ordinary" marine, to his second chance at life, and on to basically having the fate of the world depending on him. You can also tell a lot of care was put into researching the historical and miitary aspects of the story. I'm very excited to see what's next for our Corpse Walker and to see what other mythological elements the author decides to incorporate.

The premise was interesting, but unfortunately the story wasn't engaging enough to keep me hooked. The idea of including the WWII pearl harbor bombing and animating dead soldiers was intriguing, but the execution was not there.

There was something special about corpse walker that I can’t quite put my finger on. I was genuinely confused at first when I began reading it, thinking that two book descriptions had been mixed up and I’ve somehow ended up with a strange retelling of WW2.
Instead, I was met with a really well crafted story with a captivating storyline that I couldn’t put down! It didn’t have the romance (which I usually struggle to get by without) but honestly, it really wasn’t needed here.
The mixture of Japanese spirits and trying to understand what Hayden can do was so interesting, and I did feel like the story didn’t let up and I was always looking forward to the next chapter.
Although on the shorter side of what I’d usually read (300 odd pages) I felt like the book was a perfect length and there wasn’t any parts of the book where I felt like it was hard to get through or the story was slacking.
All in all, a really great read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

The story is gripping and doesn’t drag,
it keeps you hooked from start to finish.
Ralynn Kimie’s writing style is vivid and engaging, bringing the supernatural elements to life without feeling overly drawn out.
I had so much fun reading this book, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a perfect mix of suspense and intrigue, making it a big recommendation for fans of dark fantasy and thrilling mysteries.

History based, with plenty of twists and turns, this novel will keep you wanting more. Weaving in events that are not well known around Pearl Harbor with paranormal events was not on my bingo card this year, but it worked beautifully, and I was hooked from start to finish.

Historical Paranormal Fantasy Novel? A Supernatural group called Yamata no Orochi? Japanese Folklore? Yes, please.

Set during World War II, we follow Hayden, a WWI Marine veteran who was mysteriously resurrected. He's thrown into the midst of a new war and must now battle a Japanese demon that threatens humanity. We are also blessed with secret agents, highly sought historical artifacts, betrayals, and heartbreak.

One of the biggest things I enjoyed was that Kimie does an amazing job blending historical events and supernatural elements throughout this novel. While yes, I am familiar with WWII events, I never cared too much about certain histories as I didn’t find them as engaging as I wished them to be growing up. Besides that fact, I felt like I was relearning everything without being overwhelmed compared to being info dumped as though I was reading a history textbook. There were multiple points where I felt disjointed, but that's mainly because we had large time jumps where I had to re-read but again, don’t let that deter you from reading this. Kimie’s sophisticated writing kept me engaged, was so atmospheric and perfect.

Corpse Walker offers a good time, though it may not be everyone’s style. For those who want to dabble in historical fantasy with supernatural elements, it’s worth your read. This is not for the light-hearted and not for those who are looking for light fantasy reads.

TW/CW: do note the book contains sections on animal cruelty, military violence, suicide, and gore, and overall has themes of war.

Thank you to Ralynn Kimie and NetGalley for blessing me.

This book was a slow start to me. I'm not much a fan of history, however, it definitely picked up into an awesome story of Japanese demons to fight and a battle where the main character saves everyone from demons but gets pulled under ground. It will be a great and interesting 2nd book. hopefully his brother who is now grown, Finn, will get to find Hayden if he escapes the Underworld. I loved how it opened up after the build of the people and the time line of history with Pear Harbor, Guam, and into the Korean war. Pretty spiffy.

I never tried books with a WO II theme and after reading this one, I don’t think I will ever try it again unfortunately.

The quality of the book is good however. I enjoyed the history and the folklore of Japan.