“Final Chanss” by Alan Mitchell

Final Chanss

Alan Mitchell
AM Entm’t (2025)
ISBN: 979-8999469809
Reviewed by Rachel Dehning for Reader Views (08/2026)

Final Chanss by Alan Mitchell follows the life of Chanss, the anointed and hopeful Savior and Messiah of the Contingent, a demonic cult set on earthly land. With this great power comes expectations too much for a “normal” child; he experiences a frightful, lonely childhood away from his mother as he is forced to focus on his ultimate task: what he was born for. Locked away, ridiculed, and brainwashed, the Contingent will do what it sees as best and needed for their promised Messiah. As Chanss gets older and seeks reprieve during the night, he meets Lydian, the daughter of a local farmer, and as time passes, their friendship blossoms into more- into something foreign and wonderful for him, who has experienced no love nor reciprocation from anyone. When tragedy occurs, Chanss embarks on a self-proclaimed mission to uncover his family and right the wrongs they committed, utilizing assistance from some unlikely people along the way.  

Chanss’s actions earn him the title and reputation of an anti-hero. This title brings with it some expected trigger warnings – there is a lot of violence and some torturous activity referenced throughout the story; however, in my opinion, the effects of these scenes don’t read as intensely as in other novels or works of art. I believe this is likely because Final Chanss is written and presented in a graphic novel format, so the scenes aren’t as in-depth or as descriptive as usually seen in a novel composed primarily of text, which can more easily pull at readers’ heartstrings. 

Final Chanss‘s format includes more text than your average graphic novel but is comparable in illustrations, if not more; however, the illustrations aren’t contained in cells but are sprinkled and placed throughout the pages, and, as the author has publicly shared, they are all AI-generated. This may cause mixed reactions among readers, but for me, I found no major faults with utilizing this style. However, I did feel there were some issues in the technical use of them, including a lack of consistency among the illustrations, with different faces used for the same characters across just a couple of pages. Other potential issues include text overlapping pictures, making the text more difficult to read due to the author’s choice of color and font style, and watermarks left on some of the illustrations- a distraction from the illustration’s purpose.

With that said, I thought Final Chanss was overall worthwhile, and even with the text/illustration issues that are only seen occasionally, the reader can’t miss the plot of Chanss playing out a type of vigilante and showing one’s success in self-discovery, how he risks his life for those he cares about and for the greater good. The unique format will make the reading experience different, keeping readers on their toes and away from the ordinary format of plain text in novels or the usual style of graphic novels. Mitchell includes a playlist he created (on Spotify) that can continue to enhance the reader’s experience through his one-of-a-kind work of art.