I’m going to start this review with a bold statement: Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Founders Trilogy is one of the best modern fantasy series. Period. From the opening chapter of Foundryside to the closing paragraph of Locklands, the trilogy astounds with its rich history, evocative worldbuilding, complex magic and fearless character development. Out of every book I have read this year, Locklands hit me the hardest. It rocked me to my core, in the best possible way, and that tangle of emotions has lingered with me ever since.
Reviews
Review: Ledge (The Glacian Trilogy #1) by Stacey McEwan
The perfect novel for the fantasy romance lover, with marginalized people rising up to fight the powerful creatures intent on using them as sacrifice.
Book Tour/Review: Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth by Christopher Russell
Synopsis A world consumed by war . . . An ancient evil resurrected . . . A millennia old bargain comes due . . . When two blades clash, the third will fall, and the fate of all will be jeopardized. To save Lozaria, the failures of the past must be atoned for by a […]
Book Review: Writers of the Future (Volume 38) edited by David Farland
Synopsis 25 Award-winning Authors and Illustrators Brilliant new worlds Captivating new ideas Powerful new stories of action, adventure, and fantasy Just imagine… It’s game on, the fate of the universe is on the line—and you’re about to go all in. Saving the mammoths is in your hands—can you conjure the magic to make it happen? […]
Review: The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings
The Ballad of Perilous Graves is one of those books that has left me a bit conflicted. On one hand, the worldbuilding is so damn rich, the characters are fun and the incorporation of music into Jennings’ magical realization of New Orleans is impressive. On the other hand, the writing style is tricky to grasp, the pacing is inconsistent and action scenes are downright confusing. That said, there is so much rich imagination and passion in this novel, that New Orleans (or Nola) will surely get you dancin’.
Review: Oathbound (Wolf of Kings Book #1) by Richard Cullens
Synopsis: First in an action-packed historical series featuring Danish warrior Styrkar, and his journey through the Battle of Hastings and the violence of the Norman Conquest. The champion of a dead king has nothing left to lose… And nothing more to fear.England, 1066. Styrkar the Dane stumbles wounded and delirious from the corpse-strewn battlefield of […]
Review: A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
The juxtaposition of a culture of repression to one of acceptance set up the foundation for a plot rich in mystery and political intrigue. I would recommend this for anyone who enjoyed “Winter’s Orbit” by Everina Maxwell, also published by Tor in 2021. Tor is understanding what readers want. Written in an elegant prose, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance features a world rich in depth and filled with lush descriptions that readers will melt over.
Review: The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy by Megan Bannen
Emotional, beautiful, weird, lovely, romantic fantasy.
Review: Until The Last (The Last War #3) by Mike Shackle
Synopsis: ‘Staggering, marvellous and gripping’ Grimdark Magazine ‘An adventure that’s rich in darkness and bloodshed’ SFX THE TIME HAS COME.SEKINOWARI – THE LAST WAR – HAS ARRIVED. The breakneck conclusion to the trilogy that started with We Are the Dead. To beat the ultimate evil, sometimes the price is more than you can pay . […]
Review: The Last Wish (The Witcher #0.5) by Andrzej Sapkowski
Synopsis Geralt the Witcher—revered and hated—is a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. But not everything […]
Review: Space Throne by Brian Corley
Summary: Parr never meant for any of this to happen. All he wanted to do was pilot the Aurora around the galaxy and avoid his royal duties for a while. Now, in the wake of his parents’ mysterious demise, it’s time to un-fake his death and take up the mantle meant for him since birth. […]
Review: Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
A darkly magnificent retelling of The Juniper Tree.