Breaking Chaos by Ben Galley
S. H. Paulus
Spoiler Warning: This review has minor spoilers. Please read with caution if you have yet to finish the book. As I turned, I gave the city one last glower, and…
self-publishing/indie
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #6: The First Five Fall
A. M. Justice
* Disclaimer * As my friend and colleague GR Matthews has written in these introductions many times, reading is a subjective exercise. Some readers will see classical character and narrative…
6th Annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off: Cover Contest
“I may not know much about art, but I know what I like.” That is the punchline of a Monty Python sketch in which the Pope and Michelangelo argue over…
6th Annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off: An Introduction to the SPFBO
Fantasy-Faction has been part of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO)—a fantasy fiction competition sponsored by Mark Lawrence—from the beginning, and as the sixth round of the competition kicks off, we’re…
A Tale of Stars and Shadow by Lisa Cassidy – Spoiler Free Review
Pippa
A Tale of Stars & Shadow is the first book in the series of the same name by Australian author Lisa Cassidy. It is a dual perspective story following Talyn…
Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn
Sarah Chorn’s western-inspired fantasy Of Honey and Wildfires digs deep into the soul and taps a well of emotion in a layered tale that examines artifice, reality, and the costs…
The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang – SPFBO #5 Finalist Review
Geoff Matthews
This book slayed me, in a good way. First, the writing was beautiful and subtle, the sort of prose that sinks into your bones without being flashy or purple. I…
Fortune’s Fool by Angela Boord – SPFBO #5 Finals Review
Two reviews… on the same day? Yes indeed. These are the final two reviews for this year’s SPFBO. The fifth—that’s five years of SPFBO goodness and some truly awesome books.…
Beggar’s Rebellion by Levi Jacobs – SPFBO #5 Finals Review
Tai Kulga lost the rebellion and his best friend on the same day, stripping him of his will to live even as a strange power flooded his bones. When the…
Kalanon’s Rising by Darian Smith – SPFBO #5 Finals Review
Solve the murder. Stop the war. Save the world. Sir Brannon Kesh spent years building a new life as a physician, leaving the name Bloodhawk and the war that spawned…
Spark City by Robert J. Power – SPFBO #5 Finals Review
SPFBO review of Spark City by Robert J Power
Blades Edge by Virginia McClain – SPFBO #5 Finals Review
*Disclaimer* Writing and reading are subjective arts. What some folks will absolutely love, others will dislike. It is a bit like Marmite in the UK—normal people dislike it intensely, but…