FanFiAddict
A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.
Shadow Service Vol. 1 & 2 is by Cavan Scott, Corin Howell (Illustrator), Trionna Farrell (Color Artist).
Shadow Service completely surprised me, I knew I was going to enjoy it but I went in mostly blind and was very surprised by where this series went! It starts out following a witch who is a PI and very quickly terrifying creatures start to appear.
collection. Xueting Christine Ni has done an incredible job in translating and editing these stories. They showcase some incredible Chinese Sci-Fi talent that I would never otherwise get to experience.
When I heard this was very Dark Souls-esque I was instantly intrigued. As someone who doesn’t have the patience to actually sit and complete them (mostly because I die way too much), but who will sit and google all the lore while her brother plays it, this was perfect for me.
There are so many small nods to the series, open gates that persist between deaths, the crazy lore where nothing ever quite seems to be on the side of ‘good’, and just the dark atmosphere that sits throughout the book. If you like the Dark Souls series you should really pick this up.
Fit for Consumption contains 13 tales – I hope that number was deliberate. They are all genuinely short stories, usually coming in somewhere around the 10 – 15 page mark, with just one story reaching 40 pages. It’s refreshing as sometimes with short story collections you get one really long (for a short story) tale that seems out of place. Not here. They’re all the perfect length that each time you pick the book up you’ll find yourself finishing at least one of the stories.
The Cat Who Saved Books is a truly enchanting tale of a boy who loses his Grandfather and his journey with a talking cat to save books. Translated from the original Japanese by Louse Heal Kawai it flows wonderfully as it draws you through the story.
Paladin Unbound starts the way that all good fantasies do. With a prologue detailing events that happened millenia ago, leading to a prophecy being left behind that becomes the catalyst for the rest of the book. Speight does this incredible well as it immediately pulls you into the mythology and history of Evelium.
Wow. Just wow. I had heard good things about The Liar of Red Valley, but to actually read it for myself was something else. I sat down thinking I’d just start it and then it was many hours later and I’d read the vast majority of the book.
The front of the ARC reads:
Do not trust the liar.
Do not go in the river.
Do not cross the King.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve been a big supporter of this book since the start of the year. Something about it drew my attention and I’ve been awaiting my copy ever since. I actually read this the moment it appeared through my letterbox, and then it got passed around the family to much laughter.
moment I read and loved Skyward Inn and From The Neck Up just cemented this. Each and every story stands out and there isn’t a single story that is weaker than the others. Whiteley is a power house in spec fic writing and you just need to start reading her works if you haven’t already.
In the authors note at the very beginning Nina Allan talks about her journey as a writer, and about the stories that are within the book. She lets you know that the first three are very early stories, and that she has mostly left the stories untouched, except for some minor edits and clean up. The first three stories are definitely different to the rest, they show huge potential and give you a lot less answers than the rest of the stories. They’re ones that leave you wondering just what was going on, and to be honest it wasn’t my favourite. However, where they really shone was to show just how much Allan’s writing has grown and developed over the years.
James Kennedy has crafted a premise and a novel that starts in one place, and ends up somewhere completely and utterly different. It only takes 300 pages but it works perfectly and at no point does it feel rushed, or like anything is missing. We follow our narrator in across almost his entire life. Intertwined with the present day parts are bits and pieces from his past. It ranges from Physics camp with his new best friend, days out with his ex-girlfriend and affairs while he travels. Every moment is important, every moment somehow leads into that ending. You get something entirely different to what the blurb promises, but in the best possible way.
This is a book about architecture, technology, and what feels like a healthy dose of believable conspiracy theory. Trust me it works so well, I stayed up well into the night to finish this book as I just couldn’t stop reading. There was a point in the book where parts just felt like they could be completely real and true and I found myself thinking that I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to actually be a real thing.
