Synopsis ‘Seven powerful mages want to make the world a better place. We’re going to kill them first.’ Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he’s wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn’t protect his frail body from a light breeze. […]
Reviews
Review: The Monsters We Feed (#1) by Thomas Howard Riley
Think of something that truly threatens the aspect of your soul. An absence. Something that should make you feel and care for, but something that pulls at the tug of your moral conscience. Why are humans capable of committing the most evil and heinous crimes? Because without empathy, and apathy combined, then there is no shame. No regret. The world of Kolcha, the very city where Jathan lives proves that there is an undercurrent of shame and turmoil and that not everything is as it seems. You can’t take anything for granted in this city.
Review: The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell
The Malevolent Seven, is one deliciously unhinged novel from start to finish, with fast paced action and a snarky narrator called Cade Ombra who, disillusioned with his past life of righteousness, has become a Wonderist, or magical mercenary for hire. He, not really of his own volition, agrees to a doomed job but the alternative is a faster death, so really, it could be worse.
Review: The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (Book #1 of The Library Trilogy) by Mark Lawrence
Synopsis A girl is raised in the Dust, in a tiny settlement where nightmares stalk and no-one ever goes. A boy has lived his whole life trapped in a library, older than empires and larger than cities. Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies […]
Book Tour & Review: The Monsters We Feed by Thomas Howard Riley
Synopsis The morning before he found the dead body, Jathan Algevin thought he had his whole life just the way he wanted it. He knows his city inside and out, and doesn’t bother carrying a sword, trusting his wits and his fists well enough to get by, hustling extra coin by ratting out loathsome magi […]
Seeds of War (The Smokesmiths, #1) by João F. Silva
Synopsis “He ran like the monster he was. And the smoke followed.” GIMLORE is a single mother and war veteran turned crime boss set on protecting her family and her town. ORBERESIS is a petty thief pretending to be God to protect a terrible secret. REDNOW is the world’s most feared mercenary, but his best […]
Review: Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee
This book is FUN. From the very start you can tell that it isn’t taking itself seriously, and I think this is one of the rare times where the Terry Pratchett and Good Omens comparisons are actually correct. The humour is so perfectly British, and despite the actual plot being a bit close to home, Perilous Times is actually quite light-hearted in it’s execution.
Review: Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin
A stunning novel about motherhood, community, herd mentality, and finding what we have lost.
Review: The Crew (The God Dust Saga #1) by Sadir S. Samir
Kings of the Wyld meets Deadpool in this action-packed fantasy adventure set in an Arab-inspired landscape. Varcade fled to the deserts of Harrah to escape his past as an Educator, a member of an order of zealot warrior-monks that aims to shape the world according to their sacred Teachings by force. Varcade makes his living […]
Review: Lords of Uncreation (Book #3 of The Final Architecture Trilogy) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Synopsis Idris Telemmier has uncovered a secret that changes everything — the Architects’ greatest weakness. A shadowy Cartel scrambles to turn his discovery into a weapon against these alien destroyers of worlds. But between them and victory stands self-interest. The galaxy’s greatest powers would rather pursue their own agendas than stand against this shared terror. […]
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy #1) by Mark Lawrence
Synopsis All books, no matter their binding, will fall to dust. The stories they carry may last longer. They might outlive the paper, the library, even the language in which they were first written. But the greatest story can reach the stars . . Evar has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, […]
Review: The Thirteenth Hour (The Cruel Gods #1) by Trudie Skies
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.