Finally, FINALLY, the lights fade. A surge of excitement electrifies the arena as you become acutely aware of the hairs on the back of your neck. Months of waiting for this moment culminate into a blissful grin as the band finally takes the stage. You catch yourself screaming with the rest of the crowd as the opening riffs pulse through the speakers. It’s a feeling that defies description, shared only with those who are here in this moment with you. Complete strangers are forever bonded by this momentary feeling of transcendence. And although you might attend more concerts during the span of your lifetime, tonight is singular. It is unique. This combination of sounds and sights will never strike this exact chord in your soul again. So, you commit yourself fully to this moment, soaking in every detail, absorbing and filing away each new wave of emotion, to be examined and analyzed and cherished later. It is a rare thing to experience art that can raise you so high, that can bring you elation and honesty and joy, or that leaves a lasting impression carved into your psyche. I’ve been lucky enough to catch a handful of these experiences in my lifetime: Daft Punk at Coney Island, Radiohead at MSG Theater, and A Perfect Circle at the Theater of Living Arts. And now my list has grown by one after finishing Nicholas Eames’ brilliant Bloody Rose.There are so many aspects of this book that appealed to me. What stood out most was the exceptional balance that was struck between humor, action, character growth, and sheer creativity. Nearly every page crackles with something fresh and memorable: clever similes, interesting character origins, a rotating menagerie of monsters, conversations of enlightenment and camaraderie, or a sharp commentary comparing this world to our own. Every chapter connected me further with Tam, Roderick, and the rest of Fable. Emotional moments snuck up on me and hit me hard, though I usually found myself bursting with laughter on the very next page. These characters are flawed, haunted by their past, unsure of their future, yet care deeply about each other. The development of this kinship is one of the central and most compelling themes of the book, and it helped to elevate this story into rare territory.Like in his debut novel Kings of the Wyld, Eames pays clever homage to some of his favorite pop culture and musical references that may have inspired him throughout his life. I admired how these references never felt like they were shoehorned in for the sake of nostalgic appeal. Instead, their appearances felt natural, and added depth and dimension to the setting. I thought about which song lyrics or video game characters were chosen for this story, and these references often had backstories that intersected with the plot of Bloody Rose. These references, combined with the book’s brilliant sense of humor and genuine pathos of its characters’ plights, felt carefully cultivated and richly rewarding. Some characters only spend a paragraph in the spotlight, while others have exceptional arcs with tragic or glorious endings. Yet each character feels alive and familiar; if you don’t know these people, you know people just like them.Bloody Rose is many things. It is story of inclusion. It is a tale of loyalty, of finding your passion, of playing to your heart’s strengths. It speaks to the successes and pratfalls of persistence, and dances on the fine line that separates bravery and stupidity. But above all, it is a story of family: those who you are borne into, and those who you choose along the way. This is a beautiful, funny, exciting, hopeful, devastating, and wondrous book. It is something to savor, like the best pieces of art. Though with Eames only starting his publishing career, I have a feeling that the best has yet to come.9.5/10