Browsing all articles in Reviews.
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Robert Jackson Bennett’s Foundryside combines the action scenes and snarky banter of a summer blockbuster with the complex characters and keen-eyed societal critique of an Oscar-winner. What begins as a heist and chase adventure becomes a richer story that asks big questions about power, exploitation, and revolution. Foundryside is a fun, thought-provoking, and wondrous tale. […]
Warriors by Erin Hunter – Series Review
When I hear my twelve-year-old weeping, I know one of two things is happening: a) she’s reached the climax of another Warriors book, or b) there’s been another tragic death in a Warriors book. This massive series has been my daughter’s singular book obsession for roughly a quarter of her life. She occasionally takes a […]
The Armored Saint by Myke Cole
To be able to write efficiently in more than one genre is a rare talent. Although I loved his first series, I going to be really honest at the onset of this review by admitting I didn’t expect Myke Cole to possess this trait. And boy am I glad to be proved so wrong. The […]
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
If you’ve not read any of the three titles by Becky Chambers, I suggest you have a little word with yourself and seek them out immediately. If you’ve not heard of Becky Chambers, then where have you been? Her first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was the first book I managed […]
The Penitent Assassin by Shawn Wickersheim – Review & New Cover Reveal
With one SPFBO done and another to begin, I’ve taken some time to read some books I’ve been wanting to read for a while, but what with one thing, another, a tonne of my own writing, and real life in the way I never got the chance too. I know, excuses, excuses. Shawn Wickersheim’s book, […]
Wrath of Empire by Brian McClellan
This is the second instalment of the Gods of Blood and Powder series and follows the events of the first book, Sins of Empire, with the same three perspectives. The trilogy is set in the same world as his original Powder Mage trilogy. I would categorise it, and his other books, as an epic military […]
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Do as you will, but harm no one. What you give will be returned to you threefold. Fall in love whenever you can. The last of these rules is particularly difficult for the Owens women to follow, as their ancestor, Maria Owens, laid a curse on her descendants. As she had been crossed in love, […]
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Spinning Silver is Naomi Novik’s second book that retells and elevates classic folklore and fairy tale elements, spinning and weaving them into something deeper, richer, and original. Spinning Silver isn’t a sequel to 2015’s Uprooted, but it could take place in a neighboring kingdom. It begins as a riff on the Rumpelstiltskin tale but ends […]
City of Lies by Sam Hawke
City of Lies was entertaining from start to finish. It was incredibly refreshing to see poison front and centre in a book. City of Lies follows the two viewpoints of brother and sister combo, Jovan and Kalina, whose uncle is the poison taster or ‘proofer’ for the ruling chancellor. When they are both killed by […]
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
If ever there was a case to be made for not judging a book by its cover, this is it. The cover sat before me shows the face of a planet in hues of blue. The only thing it’s safe for you to deduce is that the novel is set in space. To be honest, […]
Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off #4: Cover Competition
As ever, with the SPFBO, well, for the past two or three years, there is, at the start, a little cover competition. (And clearly a few overactive commas!) This year, through a process of alchemy, magic, and bribery we, the judges, have decided on our top three covers from the 30 books which Mark issued […]
Paternus: Rise of the Gods by Dyrk Ashton
American Gods meets Clash of the Titans. When Sigil Independent offered me free books to review, I felt like a kid going out on Halloween. Offered a mini Hershey’s Bar, I would seize a handful of full-sized ones. Likewise, Sigil offered ebooks, but I wielded the might of Fantasy-Faction’s name to ask for audiobooks. Dyrk […]
