Synopsis Every story begins somewhere. On the banks of the Ya-lé River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midst—lazy, violent, unwanted—while the refugees themselves grieve […]
High Fantasy
Review: Villains Rule (Shadow Master #1) by MK Gibson
Synopsis This is the story of Jackson Blackwell, the Shadow Master, and the top villain adviser. Sadly, even the top villain occasionally gets double-crossed. Trapped in one of the fantasy realms, Jackson has to use his skill and wits to exploit the rules, points out the genre flaws, undermine godly authority, and win the day. […]
Review: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying, #1)
Synopsis: An unforgettable fantasy set in a city peopled with ruffians, spies, malcontents and murderers. Experience out-of-this world adventure and dangerous politics as Maggie tries to survive waking up in her favourite fictional world. A heart-pounding epic from No. 1 New York Times bestselling author duo Ilona Andrews. When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy and […]
Dragon Mage (Rivenworld #1) by ML Spencer
Synopsis Aram Raythe has the power to challenge the gods. He just doesn’t know it yet.Aram thinks he’s nothing but a misfit from a small fishing village in a dark corner of the world. As far as Aram knows, he has nothing, with hardly a possession to his name other than a desire to make […]
Review: Doomed to Die: An A–Z of Death in Tolkien by Tom Racine
Synopsis J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings meets Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies in this darkly satirical illustrated parody of the Tolkien universe: ‘A is for Arwen broken by sorrows; B is for Boromir punctured by arrows. C is for Celebrimbor hung out to dry; D is for Denethor…’ ‘Stories – frankly, human stories are always about one thing […]
SPFBO XI Review: A Mage’s Mentor (Ucksil’s Folly) by Stephen Jarocki
I read this book as a judge for Fanfiaddict for SPFBO XI. These are my personal thoughts and do not represent the thoughts of the whole team. Synopsis: A Mage’s Mentor is a debut fantasy novel that is the first book in the Ucksil’s Folly series. The story follows Sinccah, an ambitious young mage in […]
Review: Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle) by Rosaria Munda
Synopsis When the revolution came, everything changed. The old rulers were overthrown and the city’s traditions were shattered. Annie and Lee grew up in the aftermath, their lives shaped by the chaos. Brought together in the same orphanage and despite their differences, they became each other’s closest allies. But years of training have turned their […]
Review: Blood of the Old Kings (The Bleeding Empire #1) by Sung-Il Kim, Anton Hur (Translator)
Synopsis Blood of the Old Kings begins an epic adventure in which three strangers journey through a vast Empire that uses the power of dead wizards to conquer and subdue, from award-winning author Sung-il Kim and translated by the highly-acclaimed Anton Hur. Powered by the corpses of sorcerers, the Empire has conquered the world. It claims […]
Review: The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Synopsis A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril, has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to his great surprise, as the secretary-tutor to the beautiful, strong-willed sister of the impetuous boy who is next in line to rule. It is an assignment Cazaril dreads, for it will […]
Book Review: Dogged by Michael R. Fletcher
TL;DR Review: Bloody, gritty, action-packed, and…heartwarming? The novel I didn’t know my year was missing! Synopsis: WARDOGS ARE BORN TO DIE. In the final days of the Demon Empire a lone wardog goes in search of the answer to the only question she cares Who murdered her mate? Utterly unqualified to solve a mystery, Dogged […]
Review: The Way of Edan (The Edan Trilogy #1) by Philip Chase
Synopsis The Kingdom of the Eternal will awaken when the Way of Edan holds sway over all of Eormenlond. So say the prophecies. With unrivalled power in the gift, the Supreme Priest Bledla leads Torrlond and its mighty army to convert rival kingdoms by the sword and by the fang. Among the gathering resistance is […]
Review: The Second Death of Locke (The Hand and the Heart #1) by V.L. Bovalino
This is a deeply romantic and epic tale of what it means to be loyal and love so much you’d be willing to sacrifice anything, but also a cautionary one of when to recognise that a life built on a cycle of sacrifices is perhaps one of too high a cost. What if instead of dying for love, you live for it, and fiercely so?