Browsing all articles tagged with historical fantasy.
European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss
When we last left our intrepid heroines, they had just received word from Mina Murray, Mary’s governess, that their help was urgently needed for one Lucinda van Helsing. That’s right. If Dr. Seward and Renfield appearing in the previous book weren’t enough, it’s official. We’re in vampire territory. A quick update for those who either […]
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
First, a disclaimer: This book draws heavily on various Victorian and pre-Victorian speculative fiction, as does its sequel (which I will review next month). I was a very precocious teen and actually read all the novels referenced in this book during high school, so I can’t say whether or not the book would be as […]
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
“So desperate are you to speak to us that you see us everywhere. You look across your borders, your walls, and instead of your neighbours, you see us. As your ships sail further and countries and continents discover each other, you see not each other. You see us. You want to see us.” Jeannette Ng’s […]
Seven Deadly Swords by Peter Sutton
For every sin, a sword For every sword, a curse For every curse, a death Reymond joined the Crusades to free the Holy Land from the Saracens and win glory for himself. Instead, with six others, he found himself bound under a sorcerer’s curse: the Seven Sins personified. Doomed to eternal life and with the […]
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden – Spoiler Free Review
This is the third and final book in The Winternight Trilogy. It resumes directly after the events of the second book, The Girl in the Tower. As with the previous books, this sequel is influenced by Russian folklore and is partly set in Moscow. Once again, we follow Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna, a young girl trying […]
Peter Haynes Interview – The Willow by Your Side
Peter Haynes’ debut novel The Willow by Your Side has just been published by Unsung Stories. It is a haunting exploration of British folklore, mythology and landscape set after World War I, and follows the journey of a boy into the magical woods to find his missing sister. Peter Haynes was kind enough to speak […]
Frances Hardinge Interview – A Skinful of Shadows
Frances Hardinge is one of the finest fantasy authors around. Her inventive and beautifully written YA novels, the most recent of which is A Skinful of Shadows (2017), are widely loved by readers of all ages and have received many awards. They run the gamut from richly invented fantasy worlds populated by homicidal geese or […]
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
Today is May 4, coincidentally the 99th anniversary of the first popular protest in China’s history. Due to the somber tone of The Poppy War, I am eschewing my usual levity in this review. In my review of Naomi Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon, I proclaimed to be an avid student of Napoleonic History. If there’s […]
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Under Heaven is the first book in the Under Heaven duology. It is set in a fictionalized version of the Tang Dynasty of 8th Century China and contains a masterful story of family, intrigue and power. “The world is not something to be understood. It is vanity, illusion to even try.” This was my first […]
Ruthanna Emrys Interview – Deep Roots
Ruthanna Emrys is the author of Winter Tide (2017), first book in The Innsmouth Legacy series, a wonderful subversion of H. P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth (1936). The series focuses on Aphra and Caleb, two Deep Ones who are the only survivors of the internment camps where the inhabitants of Innsmouth are shipped off […]
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Aficionados of Hong Kong Cinema, hear me out: Imagine Chow Yun-Fat in one of his classic ‘90s Triad movies, but give him the superhuman martial skills from the Show Brothers’ Golden Age of Wuxia. Add in the complex plotting and backstabbing of Game of Thrones, and you have Fonda Lee’s Jade City. I stumbled upon […]
Tiger Lily by K. Bird Lincoln – SPFBO Review
Lily isn’t supposed to hunt game in the Daimyo’s woods. She’s just the cook’s daughter. It isn’t her place to talk to nobility. And she definitely isn’t supposed to sing the old Jindo religious songs. But Lily was born in the year of the Tiger, and can’t ever be like other village girls. In the […]
