Synopsis Admar’s future is a path paved with broken glass. Each step forward living under Scothean tyranny cuts away another piece of his humanity. Right down to the very bone. But even a meager life as a miner is better than a pointless death. A sister, a mother, a lover, all lost at the uncaring […]
Epic Fantasy
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: Mystery of the Immortals (The Training Grounds #1) by Jason Clark
Synopsis Debut author Jason Clark presents an exciting new genre-bending sci-fi/fantasy story set in a brutal future world, where swords settle disputes and those who can control the elements are the most feared warriors. Get ready for a fantastic escape from reality. When Darius receives an invitation to attend the Training Grounds, he wonders why […]
Review: The Burning God (The Poppy War #3) by R.F. Kuang
Synopsis: After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially […]
Review: God of Broken Things (Age of Tyranny #2) by Cameron Johnston
Synopsis An outcast magician must risk his body and mind to save the world from horrifying demons, in the heart-pounding epic fantasy sequel to The Traitor God. Tyrant magus Edrin Walker destroyed the monster sent by the Skallgrim, but not before it laid waste to Setharis, and infested their magical elite with mind-controlling parasites. Edrin’s […]
Review: Don’t Bloody the Black Flag by James Lloyd Dulin
Synopsis The fight for peace is often a war. To end nearly a century of war plaguing Ennea, a clan of nomads plans to bring leaders from the four nations together. They task a young water dancer named Isála to deliver a missive to a northern general, her estranged mother, and convince her to join […]
Review: The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) by R.F. Kuang
Synopsis: The war is over. The war has just begun. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her […]
Review: The Traitor God (Age of Tyranny #1) by Cameron Johnston
Synopsis A city threatened by unimaginable horrors must trust their most hated outcast, or lose everything, in this crushing epic fantasy debut. After ten years on the run, dodging daemons and debt, reviled magician Edrin Walker returns home to avenge the brutal murder of his friend. Lynas had uncovered a terrible secret, something that threatened […]
Review: Crucible of Chaos (Court of Shadows: Prelude) by Sebastien De Castell
Other than a Masterclass in creative and devastating insults, Crucible of Chaos is the prelude to De Castell’s upcoming series, A Court of Shadows, set once again in the Greatcoats universe, and oh how I’d missed Tristia and its mottle mix of travelling magistrates. Truly dear reader, I can’t even begin to explain to you what the original tetralogy means to me so I won’t try it now. Suffice it to say that this standalone mystery thriller works as an excellent bridge between what came before and what is yet to entertain and possibly hurt us. I for one am dying to see what the author has planned, starting this March.
Review: The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth (Tolkien’s Legendarium) by J. R. R. Tolkien / Edited by Brian Sibley
Synopsis J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume complete with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by renowned artist Alan Lee. J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a “dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) […]
Review: Elegy of a Fragmented Vineyard by Kaden Love
TL;DR Review: A stunning complex, thoroughly fleshed-out world and a terribly grim premise heralding from a talented new voice in fantasy. Synopsis: Forced to appease the policies of a foreign fiefdom, Phenmir must do the unthinkable: harvest organs from infants. Ten years ago, a new generation of children began to manifest abilities from the gods. […]