ITCH! is a concerto of dark mystery, ritualistic misogyny, witchcraft, ants, expectations of women, violent control, ants, tradition, ants, and facing our fears. Oh, and also ants.
Reviews
Review: Five Broken Blades (The Broken Blades, #1) by Mai Corland
Synopsis: The king of Yusan must die. The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon. He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined . . . […]
Review: Shield of the Mothership (The Hybrid Helix #7) by J.C.M. Berne
Synopsis Sometimes the enemy of your enemy is still your enemy. Rohan swore he’d never work for the il’Drach again, never again be called Lance Primary, never again kill or risk the lives of his friends on behalf of the Empire. But when the safety of the sector is at risk, when inaction could lead […]
Review: Alien: Cult by Gavin G. Smith
Synopsis An FBI agent on the trail of a brutal serial killer gets caught in the web of a Xenomorph-worshipping religion in this thrilling murder mystery twist on the Alien universe, for fans of Scott Sigler’s Aliens: Phalanx and Alex White’s Cold Forge. In the affluent, technocratic Alexandria Colony, people are disappearing. And witnesses are dying in grisly, […]
Review: Wretch by Eric LaRocca
Synopsis: After his husband dies, Simeon Link finds himself overcome by grief and seeking comfort in an unusual support group called The Wretches, who offer an addictive and dangerous source of relief. They introduce Simeon to a curious figure known as Porcelain Khaw—a man with the ability to let those who are grieving have one […]
Review: Undercity: Rebellion by SC Jensen
Synopsis I’m not dead yet, but this isn’t living… They call me the Ghost. I wander the surface of this nameless city, unseen, searching for the sister I lost many years ago. It is a forsaken place, its battle-scarred surface left to burn under a relentless sun.I should have given up. But when I uncover […]
Review: Deep Blue by David Niall Wilson
Synopsis From award-winning author David Niall Wilson, what Publishers Weekly calls : “…an engrossing, poetic novel of spiritual evil…” “”Blue” reminds me of first discovering Anne Rice in my 30s,; the richness, the cellular examination of detail on every level, the flesh of the characters, the music, time… a unique work, a unique writer…” – […]
Review: Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs by Adam Bassett
Synopsis: For a thousand years, The Old Town has stood as humanity’s last bastion against the maalkonis, malignant black mists that reduced the rest of the world to ash. They are kept at bay by rusty machines on the town’s walls. In order to survive, the dwindling population depends on one another. Since a young […]
Review: Her Last Christmas by Claire McGowan
Synopsis “She thought it was their first Christmas together, it turned out to be her last…” When Emma joins her new boyfriend Michael for a ‘Friendmas’ in the Alps, she’s quickly thrust into an exclusive world of privilege, partying, and politics. Emma can’t ski and is out of place among the close-knit group, but she’s […]
Review: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney
Synopsis: Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into – Spyglass, an enchanting old house in the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls – nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t […]
Review: The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling
The Graceview Patient is the polar opposite of a feel-good story.
It is confusing, delirious, claustrophobic, at times downright bleak, and frankly horrifying for so many reasons. Yes, I can almost guarantee that Starling’s raw and brilliant fever dream of a medical-horror novel will haunt you. Why? Because it is, to date, the cleverest and truest show of an unreliable narrator that I have read, while also presenting intelligent and nuanced studies into chronic illness, bodily autonomy, medical ethics, healthcare systems that seem to care more about profit margins than the lives they’re supposed to be saving, and disability. What happens when you cannot trust our own mind? Can things be too good to be true?
Book Review: The Infinite State (The Decurion Saga #1) by Richard Swan
TL;DR Review: Instantly familiar yet utterly unique sci-fi. Riveting, compelling, and entirely unputdownable. Synopsis: In this blistering science fiction epic, international bestselling author Richard Swan presents a thrilling tale of survival and an eviscerating examination of totalitarianism.THE INFINITE STATE begins at a flashpoint in the lives of a widowed party member, a disgraced investigator, and a […]