People seem to love lists, and while I am not always a huge fan of making them (I believe reviews speak for themselves), it is always fun to revisit the amazing novels I have had a chance to read over the last year. Below, you will find the covers for my Top 25 Reads of […]
Orbit Books
Review: The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel #1) by Anthony Ryan
The Pariah is the opening act in The Covenant of Steel series and what an opening it is! We follow Alwyn Scribe in first person, as he shares with the reader his tale through the benefit of hindsight. I’ve grown really fond of this type of narrator over the years because, especially if the attitude is right, it makes for some really fun reading, rife with asides and commentary that add a certain dimension to the story that, be it because of ominous foreshadowing or amusing snark, sass, or dry humor, regularly gives you a solid chuckle. The Pariah had all of that and more.
Review: Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) by James S.A. Corey
A good closure to one of the best sci-fi series of all time, but not really a satisfying read.
Review: The Justice of Kings (Empire of the Wolf #1) by Richard Swan
The Justice of Kings is a triumph, a marvel that has placed courtrooms and wordplay as epic a battle as legions of men versus beasts ever were; with intrigue laced into every word of Helena’s tell-all tale of justice, and the lengths a single man will go to mete it out, the Justice of Kings is a tale above them all? When I say I enjoyed this book, it is the biggest understatement I’ve made this year.
Author Chat: Fonda Lee
Join FanFiAddict’s Adrian M. Gibson and author Fonda Lee for a chat about The Godfather, Dune and Hong Kong action films, her early career, what she’s learned from publishing books, martial arts, building a fictional world from scratch, writing compelling and complex characters, the release of Jade Legacy, saying goodbye to The Green Bone Saga series and much more.
Review: The Justice of Kings (Empire of the Wolf #1) by Richard Swan
The Justice of Kings is the debut fantasy novel by Richard Swan and is a riveting mystery and political powerhouse of a book. I was given a pre-release copy of this to review from Orbit and it immediately shot up my TBR. I’m not quite sure what brought it to the top of my list, but boy was I glad read it. Now I have three months to talk about how good it is before it comes out!
I went in knowing very little about the story, only vaguely remembering the synopsis. And I was genuinely surprised along the way about the story and its scope.
The book follows the story of Konrad Vonvalt, an enforcer of the Empire’s laws, and his dispensing of Justice across the unruly nation. His protégé, Helena, is our main POV and the story is written by her far into the future. The style of writing is very similar to Farseer, an absolute favorite of mine, so that was a treat. Because of this style, we get plenty of ominous foreshadowing about the future of this world and its’ Empire.
Review: Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
renching, thoughtful and satisfying close. Each of the books in this series stands on their own in such a unique way: Jade City is a story about a city and its warring clans; Jade War broadens the scope, establishing a country on the geopolitical world stage; and Jade Legacy goes even further, as multiple generations of a family come to grips with their legacy and the future of their nation. As time progresses, as power waxes and wanes, who will finally take control of Kekon?
Author Chat: Andrea Stewart
Join FanFiAddict’s Adrian M. Gibson and fantasy author Andrea Stewart for a chat about her wild, long journey to get published, the origins of The Bone Shard Daughter, writing sequels and planning a trilogy, worldbuilding, morally grey characters, painting and much more.
Review: Jade City (The Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee
Jade City by Fonda Lee shot up my TBR pile with the effusive praise poured upon Jade Legacy, the conclusion of the series. I was blessed to be sent a review copy of Jade City by Orbit, so I decided to start the trilogy.
This series is an urban fantasy tale with heavy influences from gangster and mafia stories mixed with kung-fu. I’m not a huge fan of those kind of stories, but I love well written characters and an interesting take on fantasy, so I gave it a shot.
Interview: Essa Hansen, author of The Graven series
I want to personally thank Matt @ The Broken Binding for allowing me the opportunity to interview one of my favs in the sci-fi genre. Also, big shoutout to Essa on Nophek Gloss (The Graven #1) being TBB’s Book of the Month for November. Purchase your very own signed bookplate edition @ The Broken Binding. […]
Author Chat: Josiah Bancroft
Join FanFiAddict’s Adrian M. Gibson and Josiah for a chat about the release of his latest novel The Fall of Babel, writing (and finishing) a four-book series, the origins of The Books of Babel, self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, SPFBO, writing believable characters, approaches to humor and satire and much more. (Also, jokes aplenty.)
Review: The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft
At last, the Books of Babel by Josiah Bancroft has come to its conclusion – and boy is it great. I first picked up Senlin Ascends based on the recommendation by Mark Lawrence when the first two books were published with Orbit. Senlin Ascends was, and remains, one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read – and probably books in general. In fact, if you haven’t read these yet, stop reading this review and go do that now.