TL;DR Review: Classic progression fantasy with a fun, unique sci-fi twist. Easy reading, great action, solid character work, and a whole lot of fun! Synopsis: All his life, Mark Fields has dreamed of joining the Defense Force to fight the vicious, alien Exlian, just like the rest of his renowned family. So far, he’s … […]
Sci-Fi Fantasy
Review: Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers
Synopsis Becky Chambers’ delightful, post-Utopian, Hugo Award-winning series gives us hope for the future. It’s been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the […]
Review: Helen of Wyndhorn by Tom King and Bilquis Evely
Synopsis: A gothic sword and sorcery epic graphic novel that’s Conan the Barbarian meets The Wizard of Oz. From Tom King and Bilquis Evely, the Eisner award-winning, bestselling creative team of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Review: By turns Conan The Barbarian, Turn of the Screw, and an Isekai adventure, Helen of Wyndhorn shouldn’t work but it does. Oh, does it […]
Review: Nothing Ever Ends (The Eververse #3) by Darby Harn
Synopsis: The fate of the multiverse rests in Abi’s hands. She’s already run for the door. Abi runs so fast she skips across universes. That came in handy when she burned down her life with her girlfriend, Kit. Ever since, Abi has been running from reality to reality, starting over with a different Kit. When […]
Review: The Judgment of Valene (The Eververse #2) by Darby Harn
Synopsis: Wealth. Privilege. Superpowers. Valene has it all… including a target on her back. Valene Blackwood hears everything, everywhere, always. Her superhuman sonic abilities cause her so much pain she flees to a space station to find peace. When her father dies, she must return and take over the family business – selling superhuman protection […]
Review: Mushroom Blues (The Hofmann Report #1) by Adrian M. Gibson
Gibson’s fungalpunk detective noir is a stunning read, elevated by Imogen Church’s performance in the audiobook.
Mini Reviews by Shaggy #1
I regularly read and review short stories, novelettes, and novellas, and their reviews don’t always feel long enough to have a whole post for them. Even some novel-length books are really fun but don’t have me writing a ton about them besides proclaiming my enjoyment for them. Instead of keeping them completely from you, I […]
Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastard #1) by Scott Lynch
Synopsis An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most […]
Review: Ever the Hero (The Eververse #1) by Darby Harn
Synopsis: What happens when you don’t pay your superhero bill? Kit Baldwin is just trying to get by. Rent is due. Food would be nice. A girlfriend, maybe. When she stumbles upon a crashed alien spaceship’s power source, she gets more than she ever bargained for. The alien artifact draws the attention of Valene, Kit’s […]
Review: This Inevitable Ruin (Dungeon Crawler Carl #7) by Matt Dinniman
Synopsis They call it Faction Wars. The ninth floor. Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal… It all makes for great fun and […]
Review: A Palace Near The Wind (Book #1 of the Natural Engines Duology) by Ai Jiang
Synopsis The Feng people have bark faces, carved limbs, arms of braided branches, and hair of needle threads. Bound by duty and tradition, Liu Lufeng, the eldest princess of the Feng royalty, is the next bride to the human king. The negotiation of bridewealth is the only way to stop the expansion of the humans […]
Review: Monstress, Volume 9: The Possessed (Monstress) by Marjorie Liu and Illustrated by Sana Takeda
Synopsis Maika, Kippa, and Ren return to their own world to discover a full year has passed in their absence—and Zinn is back in the clutches of Maika’s father, the megalomaniacal Lord Doctor. From the relative safety of the pirate-controlled Spice Islands, Maika and her friends must regroup, recover, and find a way stop the […]