In Christopher D. Schmitz’s Wolf of the Tesseract, guardian Zabe determines to rescue Princess Bithia, whose blood holds the key to safeguarding—or destroying—the multiverse. Elsewhere, archaeologist’s daughter Claire Jones is due to wed a handsome movie star. But when an old schoolmate reappears, Claire’s certainty about the future begins to fracture. As Zabe’s quest intersects with Claire’s life, she must confront the truth of other worlds—and the secrets of her own. This story’s vehicle of Lovecraftian horror and comic book physics doesn’t always offer a smooth ride. A rapid start in divergent universes creates dimensional jet lag until the cosmology is explained halfway through. Pulp-style action can seem overdone and characters’ morality is never nuanced (with one notable exception). Despite its sometimes confusing plot, Wolf of the Tesseract is a satisfying adventure.

Best for: Fans of pulp adventure, H. P. Lovecraft, and paranormal romance.

Discern: Stylized action and violence, including gore and dismemberment; discussions of romance and sex; love triangles involving doppelgangers; vague religious and spiritual references; and soul transference.