Author Justin Newland describes The Abdication as a “suspense thriller”, which I find to be an accurate way to categorize this novel. There certainly is a lot of suspense in the story, and that is no surprise given Newland’s history: this is not the author’s first rodeo, having published several novels before this one. Newland certainly knows how to layer the drama in the narrative so the reader has several components of tension to look forward to.
Fantasy
Review: Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee
Synopsis Finding work as an artist is hard. Working for a shady government ministry while falling in love with your watcher, who just so happened to kill your sister’s wife, is even harder, not to mention when you’re tasked with rewriting a dragon automaton warmachine that happens to be a pacifist! Jebi is an aspiring […]
Review: The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue #1) by Christopher Buehlman
This book is absolutely *hilarious*, mostly in a darkly comedic sort of way mind you. Truly, I found myself chuckling right from the first pages at Kinch’s snark and commentary. Sometimes I caught myself laughing really loud too and that was definitely what I wanted as a low effort read these days.
Review: Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher
character, he’s a wizard-private-detective who’s stories are set in a realm filled with nightmarish creatures, and typically centered on a murder or investigation where the character slowly uncovers the clues while battling Vampires, goblins, faeries and probably every living thing you can think of. And this chapter in the entire series doesn’t disappoint.
Review: Split Paths (Fall of Emros #2) by Thomas J. Devens
Split Paths is the second installment in Thomas Devens’ Fall of Emros series. It follows members of the Emrosian Empire, as they navigate their way through war-ridden lands and dangerous territory. The story is written in the style of Epic Fantasy, but I do not think the scope is quite enough to be considered Epic. I would categorize it more as Classic Fantasy, bordering on Epic.
Review: These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) by Chloe Gong
Nearly a decade after taking mandatory Elizabethan-era English literature classes in university, the iambic pentameter of William Shakespeare has crept back into my life. Unexpectedly though, it came in the form of Chloe Gong’s debut novel, These Violent Delights. Set in 1920s Shanghai, this tale of star-crossed (ex)lovers twists a knife into Shakespeare’s famous tragedy—it weaves familiar story beats with unexpected turns as Roma and Juliette, the two heirs to rival crime families, navigate intense hostilities, foreign colonizers, a strange and deadly contagion, as well as their past romance. As tension and chaos in Shanghai builds toward a fever pitch, the two become entangled again in ways that fuel the story (to both good and middling results). Question is, to what end? The above warning of Friar Laurence to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet rings ever true: such fiery delight—a connection consumed by fire and powder—is likely to end in disaster.
Review: Campaigns & Companions: The Complete Role-Playing Guide for Pets by Rhianna Pratchett and Andi Ewington
There was once a secret meeting in the village where all warriors, sorcerers and clerics gathered to be introduced to an ancient manuscript from a wizard. The wizard stood behind the table and slowly dropped a small book on the table in front of him. “This, my lads, is a book containing… humour! Humour about our companions, our domestic friends with four paws and snouts!!” Everyone’s jaw fell in excitement and curiosity, yet they all were eager to look at what it contained…
Review: Master Assassins (The Fire Sacraments #1) by Robert V. S. Redick
Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick has been in my TBR for quite a while. I’d first heard about it through Mark Lawrence with his glowing praise, and knowing how much I’d loved Senlin Ascends based on his review, I figured I’d like this as well. However, the cover and blurb never really stood out to me so it was never that high on my TBR.
A few years later, I started hearing praise heaped upon the sequel and several of my fellow bloggers recommend it, so I finally took the plunge. And wow, this book was fantastic.
Review: The House of Always (A Chorus of Dragons #4) by Jenn Lyons
he only way I can compare the House of Always to media I’ve read before is the Hateful 8 meets Harrow the Ninth-style chronology … which is to say the timeline is mixed up and everyone is in the same room – that being the Lighthouse Shadrag Gor.
Review: A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
There’s something truly special about finding a novel that speaks to you, the words flowing from page to mind in a symbiotic creative fusion. That feeling of connecting so deeply with a book is priceless, something to be cherished, and it’s even better when that book becomes an author. For me, that author is P. Djèlí Clark. Ever since reading his short works A Dead Djinn in Cairo and The Haunting of Tram Car 015, I was enamored with his blending of the fantastical and historical. That connection deepened when I read some of his short stories, and then even more when I tore through last year’s Ring Shout. Count me lucky when his first full-length novel comes out a mere seven months later—in A Master of Djinn, Clark’s magically-infused Cairo is back and better than ever.
Review: Seven Deaths Of An Empire by G.R. Matthews
So if you truly enjoy a conspiracy, politically driven fiction Roman novel, Seven Deaths Of An Empire is an impressive addition to your list and fans of Roman times and grimdark will get a blast with this book.
Review: The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
aisle of a specific section in a library. You grab several large volumes to return to your table and your extensive research thesis you’ve been working on for years. You sit down and in front of you lays a thousand-book-pages book, and you sift through every page, drinking the excitement of investigation and glancing at sketches, pictures and schematics of times of old, slowly taking notes and drawing your own conclusions. This is how I felt while I was reading The Way of Kings. A rich study about an extensive world name Roshar with interesting characters and their history. Even after the first 1000 pages of this grossly engaging and epic adventure (4000-5000 pages total), I felt like I only scratched the surface.