The Ballad of Perilous Graves is one of those books that has left me a bit conflicted. On one hand, the worldbuilding is so damn rich, the characters are fun and the incorporation of music into Jennings’ magical realization of New Orleans is impressive. On the other hand, the writing style is tricky to grasp, the pacing is inconsistent and action scenes are downright confusing. That said, there is so much rich imagination and passion in this novel, that New Orleans (or Nola) will surely get you dancin’.
Orbit Books
Review: Eversion by Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Reynolds is a sci-fi author who is typically at the top of the genre lists when looking at the best of modern sci-fi. I read his first book in the Revelation Space universe and found it enjoyable but was not particularly compelled to keep reading. I’ve been wanting to give his work another shot (that was his first published novel after all) and when I saw Eversion was a shorter standalone novel, I had the perfect opportunity.
Review: For the Throne (The Wilderwood #2) by Hannah Whitten
The thrilling and gorgeous sequel to For the Wolf.
Author Chat: Alex Jennings
Join FanFiAddict’s Adrian M. Gibson and author Alex Jennings for a chat about his new novel The Ballad of Perilous Graves, his long journey towards publication, participating in Clarion West, meeting his literary idols, New Orleans and jazz culture, the magic of music and much more.
Review: For The Throne (Wilderwood #2) by Hannah Whitten
For The Throne really is everything you wish for in a sequel/series conclusion, in that it wraps up all the threads in a satisfying manner that isn’t necessarily what you’d expect, it honors already established characters while also giving the right amount of space to the ones who are now the main focus and, it does all that by improving on all that worked well before to make it even better.
Review: Shards of Earth (The Final Architects Trilogy #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I’m a big Adrian Tchaikovsky fan. Children of Time is a modern classic and stands as my favorite sci-fi novel of all time while Cage of Souls is a vastly underrated and incredible novel. Tchaikovsky’s works are always incredibly innovative and creative. From Elder Race (a fun novella which mixes fantasy and sci-fi) to his Shadows of the Apt series (a fantasy book with insect type races which I need to read more of) there’s always some interesting worldbuilding and fascinating ideas going on – and Shards of the Earth is no exception.
Review: The Martyr (The Covenant of Steel #2) by Anthony Ryan
As far as I’m concerned Anthony wrote what I would class as a perfect fantasy book and its an easy 10/10 for me.
Review: The Stardust Thief (The Sandsea Trilogy #1) by Chelsea Abdullah
Synopsis: ‘The Stardust Thief will transport you, enchant you, and revive your belief in the magic of storytelling’ Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the SunInspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, The Stardust Thief weaves the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a magical lamp. […]
Review: The Bladed Faith (The Vagrant Gods #1) by David Dalglish
The Bladed Faith is, without a doubt, a whole lot of fun… I recommend this book to everyone, however I whole heartedly believe it is essential for lovers of anime and the golden age of Square JRPGs…
Review: Eyes of the Void (The Final Architecture #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Many sci-fi fans speak of the Golden Age of Science Fiction as something that has long since passed. Whether it’s the 1930’s, ‘40s or ‘50s, the days of Asimovs, Heinleins, “Doc” Smiths, Bradburys and more are a forlorn memory… right? From my perspective, the answer is “Hell no!” The last decade or two has seen a stunning resurgence of sci-fi and space opera that recaptures the magic of far-flung galaxies, grand ideas, scientific marvels, strange aliens and more, but at the same time delivering fast-paced, engaging narratives and characters who are actually relatable. One author who stands at the forefront of this modern movement is Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Tchaikovsky showed his natural talent for the genre with the 2015 novel Children of Time. Since then, he has honed his craft with every release (and he releases a lot of books with unbelievable frequency), and his new series The Final Architecture, starting with last year’s Shards of Earth, is space opera at its very best.
Author Chat: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Join FanFiAddict’s Adrian M. Gibson and author Adrian Tchaikovsky for a chat about his long writing journey, the galactic worldbuilding, politics and characters of The Final Architecture series, his personal history with biology and zoology, creating strange alien races and writing empathetic aliens, the contrast between writing fantasy and science fiction, how he approaches research and much more.
Author Chat: Luke Arnold
Join FanFiAddict’s Adrian M. Gibson and author/actor Luke Arnold for a chat about his new book One Foot in the Fade, worldbuilding, characters and more in The Fetch Phillips Archives, Raymond Chandler and other noir influences, morally grey characters (and worlds), balancing acting and writing and much more.