Synopsis Raine can see—and speak—to the dead, a gift that comes with a death sentence. All her life she has hidden, lied, and run to save her skin, and she’s made some spectacularly bad choices along the way. But it is a rare act of kindness—rescuing an injured woman in the snow—that becomes the most […]
Book Review
Review: We Men of Ash and Shadow (Vanguard Chronicles, Book 1) by H.L. Tinsley
Synopsis ‘We Men of Ash and Shadow’ is the first book in the Vanguard Series and follows the journey of protagonist, John Vanguard, through the dark and corrupt city of D’Orsee. A Grimdark gas lamp novel, ‘We Men of Ash and Shadow’ explores themes of redemption, loyalty, and betrayal against the backdrop of a world […]
Review: Jade Legacy (Green Bone Saga #3) by Fonda Lee
Endings are a tricky thing. A good ending can reframe an entire story or bring home the points that an author was making. A bad ending can sour the experience of a whole series or story. Thankfully, Jade Legacy, the third and final book in the Green Bone Saga, is a smashingly good ending.
Review: Mickey7 by Edward Ashton (Audiobook)
Synopsis: The Martian meets Multiplicity in Edward Ashton’s high concept science fiction thriller, in which Mickey7, an “expendable,” refuses to let his replacement clone Mickey8 take his place. Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living. Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. […]
Review: The Justice of Kings (Empire of the Wolf #1) by Richard Swan
Synopsis As an Emperor’s Justice, Sir Konrad Vonvalt always has the last word. His duty is to uphold the law of the empire using whatever tools he has at his disposal: whether it’s his blade, the arcane secrets passed down from Justice to Justice, or his wealth of knowledge of the laws of the empire. […]
Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Synopsis The House is the World. Countless halls line up, staircase to staircase, vestibule to vestibule. While on the lower floor the tides roar and on the upper floor the rooms are impenetrable by cloud fog, it is reasonably safe on the middle floor. Only birds and fish populate the World, along with fifteen people: […]
Review: The Last Mortal Bond (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #3) by Brian Staveley
Synopsis Emperor Sanlitun is dead and his empire lies in ruins: The powerful Csestriim, since time immemorial the deadliest enemies of humans, have returned to Annur. Mages, hitherto living only in secret, are coming out into the open to practise their dark arts, and the Old Gods, capricious and treacherous, walk the earth once more. […]
Review: The Providence of Fire (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #2) by Brian Staveley
Synopsis Ever since she found out who murdered her father, Adare – the daughter of the Annurian emperor Sanlitun – has been on the run, the Unhewn Throne having fallen into the hands of her enemies. At the same time, Adare’s brothers, Valyn and Kaden, are pursuing their own plans: Valyn is forming an alliance […]
Review: Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long
Synopsis Hessa is an Eangi: a battle-hardened priestess of the Goddess of War, with the power to turn an enemy’s bones to dust with a scream. Banished for disobeying her goddess’s command to murder a traveller, she prays for forgiveness—but while she is gone, raiders burn her town to the ground. Grieving and alone, Hessa—the […]
Review: The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #1) by Brian Staveley
Synopsis Great intrigues take place in secret in the kingdom and the reigning emperor is treacherously murdered. All the responsibility now rests on the shoulders of his two sons, Kaden and Valyn, and on the shoulders of his daughter Adare. The siblings have not seen each other for some years, as each child receives a […]
Review: The Isle of a Thousand Worlds (The Weirdwater Confluence, Book 2) by Dan Fitzgerald
Synopsis An aging alchemist seeks the key to the Universal Tincture said to unlock the Thousand Worlds of the Mind, but she never expected to solve the riddle of the hermetic heart. A meditation acolyte travels the mystical social media known as the Caravan and finds that the Thousand Worlds lie just below the surface, […]
Review: The Living Waters (Weirdwater Confluence, Book 1) by Dan Fitzgerald
Synopsis All painted-faced nobles can choose to go on a roughabout at some point when they are young adults to experience life outside of their luxury and comfort. Usually these experiences lead to uncomfortable situations that are short lived and the nobles are well watched over by trained professionals. However, when two nobles, Temi and […]