This is by far the darkest of Arden’s books that I’ve read. Usually my issue with historical fiction/fantasy set in the World Wars is the inevitable romanticisation of the war and what people went through on the front lines. Arden instead shows the darker side, the people who didn’t want to fight, the ends people went to just to be able to survive, and the absolute horrors that those on the front lines faced. I found my heart breaking as I read The Warm Hands of Ghosts and I felt true horror at so much of what Arden shows.
Blog
Interview with Douglas Lumsden
Well, the first thing I would do is jam the buttons so that the elevator would stop and I’d have a captive audience, because I like to take my time with my pitches. But if I was in a hurry, I might say something like: A cynical detective finds mystery, murder, and dark magic in […]
Review: The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
Synopsis: When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation … Maddy did it. An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she’s dealt with it because she has more pressing problems […]
Review: The Malevolent Seven by Sebastian de Castell
TL;DR Review: Suicide Squad done right. Grim, gritty, sarcastic, and charmingly irreverent. Entertaining from start to finish. Synopsis: ‘Seven powerful mages want to make the world a better place. We’re going to kill them first.’ Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No […]
Review: We Are the Origin (Wrath of the Gods #1) by C. M. Lockhart
Synopsis She was a shadow. Forced into a life of serving the queendom before she was old enough to deny them, Brandi was a cultivator of death and the queen’s own blade, reserved only for the disloyal and the blasphemous. Crafted by the queendom and forged in blood, she was nothing more than a tool. […]
Review: Dragons of Kings (Upon Dragon’s Breath #2) by Ava Richardson
Synopsis The battle for Torvald begins. As the young heir of a noble house fallen into decay, Bower has reluctantly shouldered the mantle he was born with—that of Torvald’s rightful king. It is his destiny to throw off the shackles of King Enric and lead his people to freedom, or so he’s been told. With […]
Series Spotlight: The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, & Charlie Adlard
For starters, I was not an original reader of the series. I’m not huge on comics typically, and because I like to read a lot, and in chunks, I normally just don’t connect with the shorter form. However, as a huge fan of the show, I decided to give them a go, and I went […]
Review: Shredz (GymBro Horror #2) by Hugo Bernard
Synopsis: The line between horror and art is a blur. Both are meant to invoke strong reaction of the senses, stir emotions, disturb the soul, and leave you marked for life. That is exactly what happened to the crowd the night of the NY State Bodybuilding Championship. The crowd didn’t run away or scream when […]
Review: Mouth by Joshua Hull
Synopsis: After a stranger leaves him a secluded property, drifter Rusty finds himself the caretaker of a massive, tooth-filled mouth in the ground…and it’s hungry. His situation is complicated by Abigail, a wannabe filmmaker who stumbles on the secret. Together, the odd pair set out to discover the origins of Mouth and the hidden history […]
Review: Shattered Spirits: The Fall of Ishcairn by Cal Black
Synopsis Legends say a dead god is buried under the stone city of Ishcairn, protecting its inhabitants by dashing enemy fleets into the jagged coast of Craeburn. Adjunct professor Corrie Ecksley doesn’t believe any of that, but she knows from her work excavating nearby burial sites that the ancient Craeburn people believed it enough to […]
TBRCon2024 Highlight: How to Write Great Endings (with Sue Burke, Sebastien de Castell & More)
Every Friday, we’re highlighting a panel from the TBRCon2024 all-virtual SF/F/H convention, looking back on the incredible variety of discussions that we had the honor of hosting.
This week, join moderator/blogger David Walters and authors Sue Burke, Sebastien de Castell, Lucy Holland and Bryan Wilson for a TBRCon2024 panel on “How to Write Great Endings.”
Series Review: The Adam Binder Novels (White Trash Warlock, Trailer Park Trickster, and Deadbeat Druid) by David R. Slayton
Series Synopsis: Not all magicians go to schools of magic. Adam Binder has the Sight. It’s a power that runs in his bloodline: the ability to see beyond this world and into another, a realm of magic populated by elves, gnomes, and spirits of every kind. But for much of Adam’s life, that power has […]