Joseph Michael Linsner

There were a few good moments of humor or social criticism in this book, but overall the plot was all over the place, the characters and their relationships were weak and often went from zero to furious in a second for no reason, the two women who exist are either an overly sexualized tease or a flighty cheater, and the one moment the main character kinda sorta pushes back against another character's sexism is totally overshadowed by Dawn herself being exactly what the sexist character says all women are.… (more)

If you were ever interested in seeing what it's like to live in the mind of a man who fantasizes himself as a broody perfect hero and objectifies women onto pedestals, look no further. The main character, Darrian, just wanders around killing everything and fucking every woman before becoming disappointed that she's not "his" Dawn. Supposedly he learns a few things along the way but hell if I know what they are.

To sum up the book's attitude toward women (really, there's only one in the guise of multiple individuals), here's a direct quote monologue from Darrian: "Oh Dawn. You are something I will never own or possess. Something I will never understand. Hahaha you whore! I love you! You have no idea how much I love you! You're not mine. You will never be mine. If I get lucky I can touch you. Know you. But you will never be mine." That possessive flip-flopping violent-undertone intensity makes my skin crawl.

And then there's this gem of an eyeroll-worthy line showcasing how much of a hard-on the author has for himself/his self-insert Darrian: "I've met your kind before. Yes--men cursed by honest knowledge of their own true potential. It's quite a burden to bear." LOL WTF

In case you might be thinking that the story's dynamics aren't tied into the author's massive self-indulgent gross ego, I refer you to his direct commentary on additional art pages at the back of the book:
*picture depicting Darrian in an alternate fool/jester costume with mostly bare chest*: "I think his 'fool's t-shirt' works much better in the actual story. The bare chest thing looks kinda gay."
*on next page, full beefcake picture of Darrian posing shirtless, muscled, in tight jeans*: "And speaking of gay...Hey, one for the ladies, alright? Fellas, scoff if you will, but lemme tell ya, this piece turns chicks on."

*vomit noises* In two lines Linsner shows that his books are meant for the male gaze only and that his view of women is piggish. That last line is especially nauseating since it's so clear he fantasizes himself as Darrian. There's a supplemental volume 1.5 in the series that goes in depth into his commentary on the creation of volume 1, but after feeling like I need to shower reading only two lines of his commentary I wouldn't open 1.5 if someone paid me. The completionist in me felt obligated to finish the series with volume 3 even though I disliked volume 2, but ultimately I regret the money and time I spent on Dawn.… (more)