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.
Reviews
Review: The Black Coast (The God-King Chronicles #1) by Mike Brooks
The Black Coast is the first book in Mike Brooks’ epic fantasy series The God-King Chronicles. It is a great start in what appears to be a promising story.
Review: Blood of the Chosen (Burningblade & Silvereye #2) by Django Wexler
Blood of the Chosen is rip-roaring action set in an epic fantasy universe full of rebellion, fuckery and stakes that raise the consequences of character’s actions.
The Hellborn King (The Hellborn King Saga #1) by Christopher G. Brenning
Synopsis A kingdom at war. A royal family at war with itself. After the massacre of his people, Damien Dreadfire leads a patchwork army of unlikely allies against the Kingdom of Betanthia. The alliance teeters on the edge of a knife, as old rivalries between clans threaten to tear it apart. With the help of […]
Review: Iron Widow (Iron Widow #1) by Xiran Jay Zhao
Iron Widow is an astonishing mash of everything that gets me excited about a novel – it’s giant, transforming mechs against an alien invasion. It’s one woman’s fight against a patriarchal society and certainly fits into the Handmaid’s Tale X Pacific Rim mould it’s been pitched as, but it’s so very much more. I’d dare say it’s got a pinch of The Way of Kings in there with reference to the Hundun Waste and the ultimate goal of liberating it. It’s a beauty of a novel and would resonate with comic, SFF fans everywhere.
Review: Sinopticon by Xueting Christine Ni (Translator and Editor)
An incredible omnibus of Chinese Science Fiction compiled and edited by self-confessed geek, translator and author of From Kuanyin to Chairman Mao, Xueting Ni.
Review: Waffles and Pancake: Planetary-YUM by Drew Brockington
Synopsis Inspired by his beloved CatStronauts series, Drew Brockington is going back in time to when everyone’s favorite Catstronaut, Waffles, was a kitten! Fans of Narwhal and Jelly and Elephant & Piggie will love this fun, cat-tastic early graphic novel series. One very special Saturday, Dad-Cat decides to take Waffles and his sister Pancake to the […]
Review: Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson
Far from the Light of Heaven is an action-packed murder mystery-cum-science fiction space voyage. It reminded me so much of the movie Sunshine, with a dab of Leviathan Wakes; it’s nail-biting, intelligent and heavens damned moreish.
Review: Fit for Consumption by Steve Berman
Fit for Consumption contains 13 tales – I hope that number was deliberate. They are all genuinely short stories, usually coming in somewhere around the 10 – 15 page mark, with just one story reaching 40 pages. It’s refreshing as sometimes with short story collections you get one really long (for a short story) tale that seems out of place. Not here. They’re all the perfect length that each time you pick the book up you’ll find yourself finishing at least one of the stories.
Monster Hunter International (#1 & #2) by Larry Correia
Monsters are real. But Monster Hunting is [semi] privatized. Enter Monster Hunter International (MHI)! Not all worlds need to be rich and fancy. Sometimes the solution is as simplistically elegant as picking up a gun and shooting a monster in the head. The author describes this as “a conglomeration of B-Movie stereotypes but tackled from the perspective tactical realism” and it’s just that.
Review: Shackled Fates (The Hanged God #2) by Thilde Kold Holdt
Shackled Fates is the second volume in the Hanged God trilogy, the story that carries right on from the first. Right back into the action, right back into the tale; the bard strums his guitar and continues the fireside tale of Vikings, their gods, and the impending final battle. Holdt effortlessly writes with a voice that’s whispered from ear to ear, passed down through the histories and into the story we have in front of us; with face-paced action, large-scale battles, and whispers in the wind, we’re transported through the Nine Worlds again on a story that promises to change the fate of them all.
Review: Priest of Bones (War for the Rose Throne #1) by Peter McLean
Following the story as told/written by Tomas Piety in first person, the reader is met with a matter of fact recounting of events that reveals a character who is choosing to share his story, while also keeping some of the details to himself. This is all done while commenting on it all in a manner that, I don’t want to say is bleak, cause it’s not really that, more like with very few fucks left to give and heavily influenced by the protagonist’s principles. This sort of unreliable narrator is the kind that fascinates me the most, especially because when done well, and I’d argue that McLean did it brilliantly, it reveals more about the characters themselves than what they’re actually telling the reader. At the same time, this makes for a fast moving story that doesn’t waste time on world building through long expositional paragraphs, but rather only focuses on the relevant details and events.