TL;DR Review – Immensely addictive and character-driven progression sci-fi fantasy. Familiar yet wonderfully fresh. Spoiler: Courage Iro will shatter the Gates of Power to protect his fleet. Born talentless, Iro has all but resigned himself to a life of drudgery, watching his sister hop across to the massive space titan for supplies. But when the […]
Reviews
Review: Crypt of The Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud
Synopsis: Years ago, in a cave beneath the dense forests and streams on the surface of the moon, a gargantuan spider once lived. Its silk granted its first worshippers immense faculties of power and awe. It’s now 1923 and Veronica Brinkley is touching down on the moon for her intake at the Barrowfield Home for […]
Review: Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning
Synopsis: Willow’s worst nightmare was being canceled. But the shadows in the woods of Camp Castaway might destroy more than her reputation. After sitcom star Willow tweeted herself into infamy and stumbled blind-drunk into a swimming pool, her agent shipped her off to Camp Castaway. Tucked away in upstate New York, Castaway is a summer […]
Book Review: Of Thieves and Shadows by B.S.H. Garcia
TL;DR Review: A breathtakingly epic world and high stakes adventure with an intriguing cast of complex, well-developed characters. Synopsis: Some secrets are best left to the shadows. But shadows have a mind of their own. The ancient land of Quinaria teeters on the brink of war, as its most precious resource is unearthed and exploited. […]
Review: The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi
This is a beautiful, uplifting story exploring a kind of ‘in-between’ place where the dead go to view their memories before they move onto the afterlife. It’s a story that deals with death and grief without actually touching on those subjects directly. You feel for all these people and those they’ve left behind, but it’s also a celebration of their life and what they achieved. The outlier here is the final character, Mitsuru, who tragically dies at the hands of her parents, but ultimately she gets her happy ending still.
Review: Digital Extremities by Adam Bassett
Synopsis: A collection of eight stories, Digital Extremities shines a spotlight on ordinary people in a callous yet hopeful future. Set across small towns and remote islands, where neon flickers against old buildings and oaks, this collection paints a unique view of a traditionally cyberpunk setting. In 2089, a woman miscarries and seeks a way to find […]
Book Review: The Bartender Between Worlds by Herman Steuernagel
TL;DR Review: A dimension-hopping exploration of friendship, love, and the magic of a well-mixed cocktail. Synopsis: Low-stakes magic, crafting cocktails, and discovering the power of who we truly are. Emma grew up as a Hunter of the Cursed—those charged with eradicating monsters and magic from the Kingdom. She’s revered as one of the King’s most […]
Review: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Synopsis From award-winning authors Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone comes an enthralling, romantic novel spanning time and space about two time-traveling rivals who fall in love and must change the past to ensure their future. Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus […]
Review: Horus Rising (The Horus Heresy book 1) by Dan Abnett
Synopsis Under the benevolent leadership of the Immortal Emperor the Imperium of Man has stretched out across the galaxy. On the eve of victory, the Emperor leaves the front lines, entrusting the great crusade to his favorite son, Horus. Promoted to Warmaster, the idealistic Horus tries to carry out the Emperor’s grand design, all the […]
Review: Good Night, Sleep Tight by Brian Evenson
Synopsis: From the “master of literary horror” (GQ) comes a collection of new stories tracing the limits and consequences of artificial intelligence and “post-human” relationships. Populated by twins stepping into worlds of absence, bears who lick their cubs into creation, and artificial beings haunted by their less-than-human nature, each page sketches a world where our […]
Book Review: Mistlight (The Aenigma Lights #2) by JA Andrews
TL;DR Review: More mysteries, and bigger. The fate of a world hangs in the balance, and can only be saved by a truly ragtag, lovable crew. Synopsis: Keeper Kate has spent weeks searching for her missing brother. Following his trail, studying clues, using the mysterious aenigma box to help reconstruct the story of what had […]
Review: The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson
Synopsis: Marshall is still trying to put the pieces together after the death of her husband. After she is involved in a terrible accident, her editor sends her to the small, backwards town of Raeford to investigate a clearly ridiculous rumor: that a horse has given birth to a healthy, human baby boy. When Marshall arrives in […]