Masako is a flawed, angry, and desperate person in a dogged pursuit of redemption for her fallen clan. The depths to which she’ll sink to achieve her goal and the questionable methods she uses to get there ultimately make her a compelling, if unlikable character. With twists and turns as sharp as Masako’s katana and a blistering pace that will leave you breathless, The Blood of Outcasts is a must-read for fans of Japanese-inspired fantasy. The tale of the Dattori Clans’ downfall and Masako’s rage-filled quest to restore her Master’s honor will leave its mark on your soul, as it has mine.
Reviews
Series Review: Threadlight (#1 and #2) by Zack Argyle
Synopsis While preparing for the birth of his first child, Chrys Valerian is tasked with uncovering the group responsible for a series of missing threadweavers—those able to see and manipulate threadlight. With each failure, the dark voice in his head grows louder, begging to be released. A young girl from a secret city in the […]
Review: The Exile (The Bound and the Broken #2.5) by Ryan Cahill
The Exile is a companion story to Ryan Cahill’s The Bound and the Broken, and the second novella to come out of the series. The narrative is broken into 4 parts and tells the background story of Dayne, who appears in book 2 of the series and becomes an important figure and fan favorite.
Review: Eyes of the Void (The Final Architecture #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Many sci-fi fans speak of the Golden Age of Science Fiction as something that has long since passed. Whether it’s the 1930’s, ‘40s or ‘50s, the days of Asimovs, Heinleins, “Doc” Smiths, Bradburys and more are a forlorn memory… right? From my perspective, the answer is “Hell no!” The last decade or two has seen a stunning resurgence of sci-fi and space opera that recaptures the magic of far-flung galaxies, grand ideas, scientific marvels, strange aliens and more, but at the same time delivering fast-paced, engaging narratives and characters who are actually relatable. One author who stands at the forefront of this modern movement is Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Tchaikovsky showed his natural talent for the genre with the 2015 novel Children of Time. Since then, he has honed his craft with every release (and he releases a lot of books with unbelievable frequency), and his new series The Final Architecture, starting with last year’s Shards of Earth, is space opera at its very best.
Author Q&A: R.W.W. Greene – Author of Mercury Rising
“Doubt is more interesting than surety. Doubt is a powerful place to exist because it’s a position of openness and flexibility. Do I take this path or that one?”
Review: A Touch of Death (The Outlands Pentalogy #1) by Rebecca Crunden
A Touch of Death is a semi-finalist in SPSFC.
would enjoy, and I was right. This book takes the apocalyptic sci-fi genre and somehow makes it it’s own.
Blog Tour: Earth 101 – Time to Run by Emae Church
A book tour for Earth 101 – Time to Run by Emae Church.
Review: Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings
Synopsis Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven’s freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue — until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future. The Gallion’s chief engineer […]
Review: What Branches Grow by T.S. Beier
hat Branches Grow is one of the SPSFC semi-finalists and was assigned to FanFiAddict in the semi-finals.
This is very much the story of a journey. Early on Delia and Gennero meet and Gennero ends up following Delia into the wastelands. Somewhere along that journey he decides he doesn’t want to return to the town he lived in, and instead befriends her and joins her on her quest to reach a mythical city that isn’t ravaged by the wastes. I enjoyed all of the nods to other post-apocalyptic worlds.
Review: The Part About the Dragon was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson
Summary: Sure, you think you know the story of the fearsome red dragon, Dragonia. How it terrorized the village of Skendrick until a brave band of heroes answered the noble villagers’ call for aid. How nothing could stop those courageous souls from facing down the dragon. How they emerged victorious and laden with treasure. But, […]
Book Tour: Hag of the Hills by J.T.T. Ryder
Let the god of wordsmithing drape me with his cloak and light our night with his inspiration. I will tell you, my dearest Luceo, the tale of how I came to sit next to you at this fire, far from our homeland, after the so-called queen Slighan and her Hillmen tore it asunder. May you always recount my words at anyone’s beckoning. You are a budding bard, and your skill will wilt if your attention wanes.
Review: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
A gorgeous retelling of Kaikeyi.