If you are looking for something different from your usual fantasy reading, then this is my recommendation. The Thirteenth Hour is a brilliant debut that left me feeling like I’d watched a well produced TV series. It is no surprise it was a SPFBO finalist.
Steampunk
Review – Engines of Empire (The Age of Uprising #1) by R.S. Ford
Synopsis The nation of Torwyn is run on the power of industry, and industry is run by the Guilds. Chief among them are the Hawkspurs, whose responsibility it is to keep the gears of the empire turning. That’s exactly why matriarch Rosomon Hawkspur sends each of her heirs to the far reaches of the nation. […]
Review: The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft
ot only as a fantastic story in and of itself, but it also ties up a four-book series in a way that is both enjoyable and optimistic. (Most) loose ends were tied, character arcs fulfilled, many questions answered, but a couple of new ones were introduced that infused the finale with a wondrous sense of mystery. To be honest, I was caught off guard with how it all wrapped up, reeling from how amazingly cool things turned out that I needed to re-read it just to absorb everything that happened—and I loved it. I don’t need a tidy ending, truth be told. But author Josiah Bancroft did a phenomenal job giving this series an ending befitting the majestic, enigmatic Tower of Babel.
Review: The Six-Gun Tarot (Golgotha #1) by R.S. Belcher
Words cannot express how much I have enjoyed reading this book as it has expanded my horizon, not only in terms of western novels, but mystery and horror novels as well. Readers who need to care about their characters will adore the Six-Gun Tarot and the mysteries behind them all. Fans of Stephen Kings Dark Tower series would also feel at home in this world as they strap in for a wild ride. The Six-Gun Tarot will only leave you wanting more because Mr. Belcher just keeps on delivering the goods. Enjoy the journey and I hope it never ends.
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.