The Flames of Mira is a wildly fun and often grim fantasy novel set in one of the most unique fantasy worlds I’ve ever read.
Dark Fantasy
Review: Babel by R.F. Kuang
Synopsis Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute […]
Review: The Radiant King (Astral Kingdoms #1) by David Dalglish
Synopsis Six immortal siblings. Five sworn to peace. One demands a throne. Radiance, the mysterious power of life and creation, is theirs to command. Death cannot claim them. For hundreds of years, the ever-living ruled with ease. Yet when the world is nearly broken beneath their reign, the humbled six swear a They will sit […]
Review: Inkling of Flame by ZB Steele
Synopsis Layne was a soldier, conscripted to fight under the Fox in a vengeance fueled march. He, and his friends, were due for a fated confrontation, one that has ended in blood and loss. Now, the inquisitors want to hear every detail of his conscription, his training, and the duel against the assassin in grey. […]
Review: The Crimson Court by Brendan Noble
Synopsis Game of Thrones meets The Powder Mage in this intrigue-filled flintlock fantasy where ravenous spirits haunt the skies, magic slowly destroys its wielder, and sorcerous elites pull the hidden threads of power. The upstart matriarch of a fallen house, Kasia Niezik has sworn to destroy the elusive Crimson Court who assassinated her father. They are near immortal, […]
Review: Dream of Death City by P.J. Nwosu
Synopsis Chilling, dark fantasy with a heavy dose of Sherlock Holmes in this new series of twisty mysteries in fantasy worlds. Pale moths haunt an icy frontier. Beneath the shadow of a drowned death god, a frozen body is unearthed from the snow. Investigators arrive to a superstitious island to solve a brutal crime. Among […]
Review: A Pale Box on the Distant Shore by P.J. Nwosu
Synopsis A silent killer stalks the slum towers of Death City. In the shadow of a drowned death god, a young soldier risks his life to solve a violent crime. To catch a killer, Soldier Honnan Skyin carves a bloody trail over the behemoth bones of a dead giant and through the deepest forest of a […]
Review: Pyres in the Long Night by P.J. Nwosu
Synopsis A vast, rotting city set aflame by Purge House. A crowd gathers in the shadow of the Red Palace to watch the pyres burn. A bitter ex-soldier infiltrates the city’s greatest gold house, determined to locate the slave he seeks. Diem Lakein might not like what he finds. Welcome to the Red Kingdom. Pyres […]
Book Review: Grave Empire (The Great Silence Book #1) by Richard Swan
TL;DR Review: Bigger, more epic, and far more horror-drenched. A brilliant start to a tonally different but no-less-engaging new trilogy in one of my new favorite fantasy worlds. Synopsis: Blood once turned the wheels of empire. Now it is money. A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take […]
Review: Blade of the Wanderer (Scars of Magic #1) by Steven Raaymakers
The world of Verpace is easy to get lost in and a joy to explore, despite the fact it’s often dangerous.
Review: In Solitude’s Shadow (Empire of Ruin Series #1) by David Green.
Synopsis War Comes For Those Who Forge It. And It Never Forgives… Haltveldt is a nation built on bloodshed. With the Order of Sparkers brought to heel, Emperor Locke wields his mages – and their magic the Spark – like a weapon as he wages a war of genocide. But the enemies of his empire […]
Review: Silence is Silver (Shadowbinders #0.5) by Andrew Watson
Synopsis: The Urdahl believe pain is inevitable. But if one can lean into that suffering they can achieve anything. Beneath the desert sands, Bas has spent his entire life training to become a fully-fledged Urdahl. And now his time has come to prove his worth. First, he must drink from the Seeing Bowl to clear […]