The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
Jo Niederhoff
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…
historical fantasy
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
Jonathan Thornton
“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…
Seven Deadly Swords by Peter Sutton
Steven Poore
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…
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden – Spoiler Free Review
Pippa
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…
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…
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…
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
JC Kang
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…
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…
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…
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’…
Tiger Lily by K. Bird Lincoln – SPFBO Review
Geoff Matthews
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 Tale of Shikanoko by Lian Hearn – Spoiler Free Series Review
Depending on which edition of these books, you will either have four books or two bind ups containing two books each. The four books are Emperor of the Eight Islands;…