Matt
The Will of the Many is the fantastic start to a fantasy series from James Islington, author of the Licanius Trilogy. Set in the Roman-inspired Catenan Republic, an orphan harboring no love for the nation stemming from a dangerous secret, is adopted by a Senator to investigate a mysterious death at the country's most elite academy. Vis is quickly tangled in a web of conspiracies and mysteries that play out in a way you have to read to believe. On the outset, this book seems extremely similar to Pierce Brown's Red Rising, but despite the parallels Islington crafts a story that diverges from Brown's work (or at least the first three books that I've read) in significant ways, creating a wholly unique and captivating fantasy experience. Excellent character development, shocking plot twists, and good world building. Readers will be left with many questions, but it's a brilliant ride that left me eager for a sequel.
HARD REBOOT: Upon a second reading I have increased my rating by half a star. An excellent novella about finding love amidst giant fighting robots. Kas comes to Earth on a research trip to study old code, but quickly becomes entangled in a wager that becomes more than she bargained for. Overall it was a cute story with real stakes. I loved the mecha combat sequences! found myself wanting to know more about the universe of this book, and would love to read more set here. I found I got more from this story as an ebook than an audiobook, but that may be on me - not on the narrators.
HOW TO BECOME THE DARK LORD AND DIE TRYING is the first half of Django Wexler's Dark Lord Davi duology. That's probably the most important thing to know from the outset, this is the first half of the story and there will be major questions left unanswered after turning the final page. In the acknowledgments Wexler describes the “isekai trend in anime—the ‘ordinary person transported to / reincarnated in a fantasy world'” as a major source of inspiration for this book. For readers such as myself who are not well acquainted with anime, manga, or light novels exploring this theme, I might compare it to Sanderson's The Frugal Wizard's Guide, Scott Meyer's Off to be the Wizard, or even Drew Magary's The Hike - only funnier...and hornier. Basically Davi finds herself transported into a fantasy world and tasked with the quest of saving the Kingdom from the Dark Lord's horde, but in a Groundhog's Day style twist each time she dies she finds herself right back at the beginning of her adventure. After hundreds of lifetimes the unwilling “Happy Death Day”-esque heroine says screw it and resolves to try to become the Dark Lord herself. Will she succeed? Why is this happening? Can she break the cycle? Read the book and maybe you'll find out. Or maybe you won't, as I said, it's a duology. Where Wexler really shines is in character development and the frequent use of comedic footnotes throughout the book (think John Green's An Abundance of Katherines). I'd give the book a B in world building but an A+ in characters. The prose is very easy to read and this was a fantastic book to enjoy over the summer by the pool.
Mickey is an expendable, a clone designed to complete dangerous tasks in service to the colony, but when a mission goes wrong he'll discover a whole lot more than he bargained for. Ashton has written a fun and interesting sci-fi novel, which I generally enjoyed. Unfortunately the plot sometimes got bogged down by an alternating timeline of info dumps and redundancy, but overall I liked the characters, setting, and plot.
A great fantasy mystery. Set in an empire where great sea walls are all that separate civilization from annihilation at the hands (claws, fins, etc.) of the titans beyond, Dinios Kol is assigned to assist investigator Ana Dolabra in looking in to some strange and mysterious deaths...which may put the very existence of the empire in peril. Din is an engraver, one who has been magically augmented to have a perfect memory, and Ana is an eccentric if brilliant detective who wears a blindfold. This was my first book by Bennet and it was compelling, if sometimes confusing. I loved the world building and character development (Ana is amazing), although I sometimes felt a bit lost in the names and norms of the world. Overall I'm looking forward to the sequel as well as trying other books from this author. Thanks to the publisher for an eARC of this title.
I finished the FORWARD collection on Audible and I really enjoyed it. This anthology collects novelette/novella length stories of tomorrow, exploring the impact of emerging technology through the lens of speculative fiction. Featuring six excellent authors: N.K. Jemisin, Veronica Roth, Andy Weir, Amor Towles, Paul Tremblay, and Blake Crouch (who also curated the collection), each of stories was well-written, superbly performed, and presented interesting ideas. My favorites were Emergency Skin (Jemisin), You Have Arrived at Your Destination (Towles), and Summer Frost (Crouch). Overall this is a great anthology and I highly recommend it for sci-fi fans.
THE BLACKTONGUE THIEF is the second book I've finished by this author, and it did not disappoint. Like his masterpiece Between Two Fires this book takes place in a world clearly modeled after medieval Europe, but unlike that book this novel clearly belongs to the genre of fantasy and is set in a richly developed land of imagination. The world-building, a land at precarious peace after the ravages of the Goblin Wars, is truly incredible and rivals that of George R.R. Martin and other titans of the genre. Buehlman also triumphs in character development, especially with his protagonist Kinch Na Shannack - debtor to the Takers (thieves) Guild - who becomes embroiled in quest and conspiracy taking him across a world filled goblins, giants, assassins, witches, and more. #theblacktonguethief blends action, humor, introspection, and spectacle and is a novel not to be missed.
Ruthless Vows is the second half of Rebecca Ross' duology beginning with Divine Rivals. A romantasy set in a fictional world reminiscent of the early twentieth century. In this book Iris and Roman must overcome incredible adversity to seek reunion. Fans of the first book will no doubt enjoy the second.
An excellent follow up to Soul Fraud. In this second installment in the Debt Collection urban fantasy series Matt Carver continues to search for a way to reclaim his stolen soul, and this time his adventures take him to the world of the fae. Featuring exciting new characters and plot twists, this book was a delight.
Just re-listened to All Systems Red, this time the Graphic Audio adaptation. I have previously listened to the unabridged production, twice, narrated by Kevin R. Free. Free's narration is top notch and I highly recommend that version to everyone, but I was surprised I enjoyed the Graphic Audio full-cast dramatization just as much. While this is technically an abridged version, the full-cast production brought new levels of characterization to the story and made for a throughly enjoyable listening experience. The sound effects were dynamic, rather than distracting, and though Fred's narration of Murderbot approaches perfection...so did David Cui Cui's. I would highly recommend this audiobook to readers and listeners who already love the series. Though I'd be hard pressed not to recommend the unabridged production to new readers, you will still be in for a treat if you start with this too.
Divine Rivals was my first book by Rebecca Ross, but it certainly won't be my last. This enemies-to-lovers new adult romantasy novel combines love, magic, and lore in a highly compelling story. Iris and Roman are rival journalists in the city of Oath, competing for a columnist position while hundreds of kilometers away the gods war in the east. Iris' brother has joined the cause of the goddess Enva, yet by some magic her letters to him end up in the hands of the mysterious Carver. Through a combination of third person narrative and epistles Ross weaves the first half a duology that is equally exciting in its romance and fantasy world building. Featuring outstanding character development and very little spice, I highly recommend Divine Rivals to both romantasy fans and newcomers to the genre alike.
I FINALLY finished Anathem. I guess it was only kind of ok for me. There were parts I liked, but the barrier to entry into its world was very high. It took me awhile to really get into it, and there were several moments where I almost sang my own rendition of Anathem and DNF'd because I just didn't know what was going on. Reading it over a couple months was surely not the most enjoyable way to experience it, but Stephenson just didn't hold my interest the way a lot of other concurrent reads did so it ended up taking a long time to slog through. It wasn't all disappointing, I enjoyed much of the book in the middle, though I got a bit confused in parts 12 and 13.
Soul Fraud by Andrew Givler is a great start to an urban fantasy series, perfect for fans of The Iron Druid Chronicles, The Eric Carter series, The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Surviving Medieval England, etc. A funny and youthful protagonist is thrust into the hidden supernatural world when his soul is stolen by a demon (and you thought internet scams were bad!) This story features a colorful cast of characters pulled from various myths and faiths, including some I've never seen in an urban fantasy series before. It's a delightful audiobook, wonderfully narrated, and is sure to delight genre readers.
Brandon Sanderson is an award-winning famous author, particularly esteemed in the fantasy space, known for the Mistborn Saga, the Stormlight Archive series, and finishing Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series. With so many beloved accomplishments in his history, it is a bit funny that my first book by Sanderson would be The Frugal Wizard's Handbook to Surviving Medieval England. I initially picked up the audiobook, along with Sanderson's other “Secret Projects,” a while ago, but I didn't start it until a bookseller told me to avoid it. While it ended up not being to his liking, the title and description reminded me of Scott Meyer's Off to be the Wizard and I decided to give it a try. Here's proof that one man's trash can be another man's treasure, because I really liked it. While it didn't end up being that similar to Scott Meyer's book, I really enjoyed this sci-fi/fantasy white room story about a guy who reviews things online waking up in medieval England with no recollection of who he is, how he got there, or what is going on. Combining adventure, humor, and a pinch of romance this book ended up being a really great standalone story.
