Graham

An intriguing read. This is a love story told through the guise of a competition between two hidden magicians. Definite vibes of ‘this is how to lose the time war' with various his and hers chapters as the competition is played out through the environment of a magical circus.

Firstly: the prose here is beautifully done. This is a gorgeously written book and deserves a lot of the attention it has garnered. The story and setting have been done before, but the presentation here is superb. The world built and the characters created are fantastically crafted. The story builds to a very satisfying crescendo as well - the manipulators on the fringes taking things to a very climatic finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Definitely a more literary take on fantasy but it was done in a way that allowed the story to breathe.

This was a hugely disappointing end to the trilogy. A confused mess of book, with a weirdly messianic bent. I had enjoyed the tale of the Ness sisters in the first too books - the accidental turn to piracy and the high adventure in a fairly unique sci-fi universe. Bone Silence tries to up the stakes and ends up falling flat on its face. This book is bloated and confused and really should have been split in two as it reads as two very distinctive sections. The hints about the cyclicity of the universe are explored in more depth but the end result is underwhelming. The conspiracy to try and hunt down the sisters is also somewhat of a damp squib.

An example of all the components being there but nothing quite meshing together unfortunately.

There is a wonderful dreamlike quality to Jemisin's prose which really comes through in this tale of mad gods and the corruption of power. Here we are introduced to an empire in the height of its power - a world of peace and prosperity maintained through the emperor's enslavement of the gods. The mythology created here is one of the greatest strengths. The gods are both relatable and ineffable at the same time. The main character is a minor offshoot from the ruling family, summoned to court and named one of the potential heirs. We follow her trying to navigate the politics both of the ruling class and the enslaved gods.

Jemisin has a remarkable ability to build innovative worlds which create new and interesting motivations for the characters. The cultural references are very different from the standard European medieval ones as well - Jemisin's own heritage helps to inform the world she builds. This is innovative, creative fantasy, dreamlike in its execution with a beautiful prose and fascinating world and mythology

A triad style mafiosa in an urban fantasy setting. This is the clever context that Fonda Lee sets up her Green Bone Saga. We are introduced to a world where the population of a small island nation possess the ability to use jade to power magical abilities. The trade in this jade is controlled through the gangs that effectively rule the island. This is all destabilized when a gang war breaks out...

Whilst it feels wrong empathizing with gang lord characters, Fonda Lee has managed to make them incredibly sympathetic. The relationships within the gang are wonderfully realized helping to make these antihero type characters incredibly engaging.

The world built is an intriguing one - the magic system is well realized, the historical background is believable and well built. A highly impressive start to a series that I look forward to continuing!

This was highly entertaining. A clever retelling of the maiden in the tower style fairy tale, this time the witch made the monsters in the tower too powerful for the rescuing knights, so our maiden, Princess Floralinda, is forced to become her own rescuer. A clever tale of female empowerment, a strong female lead and wonderfully wry sense of humour make this a really fun novella, twisting tropes in a clever and entertaining way.

Sebastien de Castell has managed to find a wonderful niche within fantasy with his Greatcoats series. The best description of it is the Three Musketeers but fantasy. His world is well developed, even if the villains are a bit of caricature at times, but then if you look at real history those caricatures can seem remarkably apt. The Musketeers style setup allows for a fantastic buddy relationship to form the heart and soul of the books and the character relationships really are the highlight of the stories.

Knight's Shadow follows on immediately from Traitor's Blade, with our heroes trying to unite the rest of the Tristia against the northern dukes but end up caught up in some larger conspiracies. The commentary on class system inherent in the original Musketeers is still present here, along with some interesting musings on the right to rule. Knight's Shadow keeps up the excellence of the first book and drives the story along very satisfactorily. I look forward to continuing my exploration of Tristia with the next book!

Brandon Sanderson remains one of my favourite authors. His ‘voice' is distinctive but very easy to read and always providing a brilliant level of engagement for me. Starsight is the second in his YA scifi series. It does follow some standard YA tropes (youthful person being super heroic) but he does manage to play them in an interesting way. This time we get introduced to a bit more of the wider universe hinted at in the first story. Our heroine, Spensa, gets the opportunity to infiltrate the ‘Krell'. Here she ends up on a pilot evaluation course and gets the opportunity to meet some of the other species inhabiting the universe. Sanderson has a deft touch for creating unique creatures and clever politics and it shows well through this story.

My main criticism of this story is that the deus ex machina mechanism of allowing this infiltration is a bit forced. It makes the suspension of disbelief required a bit more challenging. Once we get passed that though teh story is very entertaining

I discovered RJB via his fantasy works, but I have been aware of his background in horror. This novella was my first dive into his horror works, and I was impressed.

The basic concept of taking over a run down motel and fixing it up but discovering some secrets is not a new one. The secrets here are interesting and well put together though, creating an excellent sense of unease beneath the normalcy of a hotel renovation. Small towns also lend themselves to these type of secretive horror too.

This doesn't tread anything especially new, but it does take old tropes and execute them well, taking them into a current world environment (the oil boom in onshore Texas). An enjoyable read

I absolutely loved this book and it was easily one of my top reads of the year. There is a wonderful sardonic wit that really carries through this fantasy quest. The voice of the narrator is world weary and hugely entertaining. There is a real grittiness to the story too - there is a several page section on the merits of drinking your own urine in a survival situation for example! Ultimately this story is plain fun.

I really need to dive into more Buehlman's work - I have ‘Those Across The River' waiting for me and ‘Between Heaven and Hell' on order. The voicing, pacing and entertainment value of this was just perfect.

A fitting finale for a fine trilogy. R.J. Barker's Wounded Kingdoms have been an interesting place to spend some time. His take on magic is a creative (well, destructive might be more appropriate word...). Other fantasy settings have created worlds where magicians are pariah's, but the logical set up in Barker's world is the best I have seen for this trope. This magic system does have a more important role to play in this finale which is doubly satisfying.

Our protagonist, Girton, is again tasked with a PI style role of finding an assassin, but the stakes are raised even higher this time. Our setting has moved to the capital, where Rufra eyes the throne of the High King. Something is amiss, beyond the general sense of decay and corruption that pervades the world of the Wounded Kingdom. Girton still has his stubborn moments of stupidity, but they are toned down a bit from the previous novel - you can sense his growth as a character. His duty is becoming clearer and his struggles with that along with his challenging relationship with Rufra give a wonderful tension and fragility to the line of what is right in this world.

This was the ending the series deserved - a fantastic end to an extremely good trilogy.

This book definitely hit home in a somewhat unexpected manner. The main topic is buying a seemingly dream home which turns out to be more than you bargained for. Having recently bought a new house and discovered afterwards some expensive problems to fix I can definitely get on board with this theme! Fortunately my issues are not the same as the ones here. Palmetto takes its name from the Palmetto bug, a type of cockroach. Infestations make good horror topics - both very believable and easy to make people a bit squeamish with. Ania Ahlborn does a fantastic job of building up the rising sense of dread that someone with a genuine fear of bugs might have. The novella format is perfect here giving just the right length to leave a satisfying denouement without overstaying its welcome. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Thunderstorm books have also done a fantastic job with the production of this book. This is part of their Black Voltage line which is signed and numbered, has a standardized size, is leatherbound and features hand marbled endsheets. Very good value for the price!

The structure of this book is both its cleverest thing and its weakest thing. We follow three parallel timelines, one 1000 years in the past, one in the present and one 1000 years in the future. The way this allows myth to be developed and shown how mundane things can be mythologized into the future is clever but the problem with multiple timelines is keeping them all engaging and relevant and this book falls down big time on that.

The first timeline takes place in the ancient Mayan world following the destiny of a brother and sister (‘the hero twins') trying to defend their kingdom. This is an interesting story to follow with its delving into Mayan mythology and culture. The second timeline follows a young adult in the modern world who decides to go on a vacation to Belize and falls in love with a cave important to the ancient Mayan culture in the area. Again, this is an interesting and well balanced story that kept me engaged - probably my favourite of the three timelines. Its main weakness was a tendency to dive into creole at times, which for a non speaker is painful to read. The third timeline is where the book fell completely flat for me. Here we end up in the future where humans have become nomadic relationships have completely changed meaning and the disappearance of someone into a cave has become mythologized into a new religion. This story was so out, so completely detached from any grounding to common motifs that I struggled hugely with it. The characters were irritating, the random spanish words thrown in were irritating. It was all a huge mess.

I see this has been referenced with Cloud Atlas a few times - this is no where near on the same level. The structure is less clever and the stories less engaging. This novel struck me as over ambitious with the execution falling short of the intent. If it had worked, it could been a very clever novel. It just didn't work for me.

A book with a story told from the perspective of a book. I think that sums up some of my frustrations with this book - it tries hard to be clever and meta but ends up just being weird and nonsensical. Our main characters are suffering from mental health disorders - the mother is an obsessive hoarder and the son hears objects talking to him. How much of this is real is left very much up to the reader to determine. In the end, I found the characters strange and annoying. The basic concepts and ideas were interesting enough, and the way that these mental issues creep up on you as a result of external factors was well realized, but the characters themselves just were not interesting or engaging enough for me. The meandering prose and structure really did not help me either.

I am sure there are going to be plenty of people who enjoy this kind of thing, but this was not for me

Firstly, the cover of this book has to be the single best fantasy cover I have ever seen. I really want to get a print version of it! If you judge a book by a cover this one would be one of the greatest! Does the book live up to the cover? For the most part it does a pretty good job.

This is a Norse inspired epic fantasy. We find ourselves following 3 different characters - a retired warrior, an escaped slave and warrior trying to make her name for herself. Through them we explore the world Gwynne has created, where the remains of gods lie where they fell after an epic godswar. A lot of Norse words and titles have been worked into story giving it a very strong nordic flavor. As someone who lives in Norway and speaks some Norwegian it was interesting to pick up on some of these, although some have been utilized better than others (some names do sound a little bit strange when read with a knowledge of what they actually mean!)

The prose itself is very readable, the characters engaging and the story epic. I really look forward to the next book!

This is one of those classics that I really should have read way before now. F Scott Fitzgerald's most famous work and usually taken as the defining book of the jazz age. I was not one of those people who studied it at school and I have not seen any of the films but decided to pick up a copy to read now in my 30s. I have to admit I was impressed. The prose reads in a surprisingly modern way and really does capture the changing cultural mores of the time. Yes, I can get the criticism that not a huge amount happens, but that is besides the point - what does happen is written well and captures the life of the 1920s in a way that I have not seen any other book do.

This is a short novel, and worth a read to anyone who has an interest in that period in history or anyone who appreciates a well crafted story.

This is an action packed novella! A very well self contained quest, it reads a little like a D&D adventure, but the quality of the prose helps elevate it. We follow a party roaming across a landscape cursed by a mad god encountering the various obstacles that have been placed in their way. This is all on the vague potential of a wish being granted.

The real star of the story is magical sword being wielded by the lead character. This is a talking sword that has a delightfully cynical outlook on life. The interactions with the sword give a wonderful wit to the story. Yes, talking swords have been done before, but this was done very well.

This novella is the first of series and I am intrigued to see where they go, there is obviously a lot of potential left in the world that has been built here

YA with giant mechs. Not something I have really read anything on, so an intriguing and enjoyable read! This was essentially a critique of the patriarchy inherent within military hierarchies so has a fascinating dose of gender politics included within it too.

The basic set up is that some (alien?) invasion has taken place and humanity is fighting to survive using salvages mechs to counter the hordes of invading alien ones. These mechs require 2 pilots, with a yin and a yang seat for a male and female pilot. However, this frequently ends up as the male pilot draining the female one to power the mech - essentially the female pilots are acting as sacrifices to power the robots - except in a few cases where a balanced mech results.

Our lead character is angry about this. Her sister was killed by a pilot (and outside of a mech so the family did not get the pay off for the sacrifice) and she is determined to avenge her. She volunteers to be a pilot to try and get close enough to avenge her sister, but this leads to unintended consequences.

One elephant in the room is the annoying love triangle that YA authors seem contractually obliged to include in every story. It is present in this story too. Fortunately the action outweighs the usual whiney teenage angst here, but I do wish some YA books would avoid this trope as it almost invariably makes books less enjoyable for me.

This was my last subscription book from illumicrate as I have now cancelled the subscription - I was getting too many doubles and have some changes to my life situation meaning I want to be more focused on my reading goals. That said, I went out on a high as this was genuinely an enjoyable read.

There is definitely an increasing influence of Asian cultural mores in modern fantasy and this is definitely welcome - it has provided a significant shake up to the standard tropes and created some fascinating new worlds to explore in literature. There is an unashamed Asian influence on this debut novel from J.T. Greathouse - the mandarin style schools gives it a very distinctive flavour, reminding me of Poppy War.

The world we are introduced to is one where an empire has conquered many outlying kingdoms using its particular control of magic. Citizens of these conquered parts of the empire are effcetively second class citizens with strong ethnic tensions underlying most of the novel. Each conquered culture had its own magic which the empire has stolen for its own and repressed within the local population.

Our story lead is a half caste, whose father is from the conquering nation. They yearn to wield magic and this is tightly controlled requiring them to be selected as a ‘hand' of the emperor to get trained, requiring them to become top of the mandarin style training school. Loyalties become more complex as they learn more about how the empire works and their role within it.

I really enjoyed this - it was well written with an engaging story development. I look forward to more from this author!

This book is essentially a love letter to ‘Lady Chatterley's Lover'. I have never read Lady Chatterley so maybe I am not the best target but it was nonetheless an interesting read, if a little bit meandering in places. The story jumps between several time frames, a couple within D.H. Lawrence's life and one during the trial of the book in the 1960s. Probably one of the most controversial pieces of literature out there, a lot of that controversy is based around the mores of the time it was written, so putting it in its historical context was interesting. That being said, the parts of the book dealing with the trial were definitely more interesting than the sections about the life of D.H. Lawrence. Lawrence led a somewhat sad life and there is a decided melancholy to the sections describing it. They do tend to drag for me somewhat though. The trial section tends to have more thrust as there is more at stake and ultimately provide a more satisfying read.

Ultimately this was a somewhat lopsided read. Interesting for its historical context it was overly longwinded in places, but it captured one of the most fundamental trials on freedom of expression within the literary arts in an interesting way. I will have to go and ready Lady Chatterley at some point and I am left wondering if more knowledge on that would have changed my opinion of this work

The fantasy heist is becoming a staple subgenre of fantasy these days and Among Thieves is a new addition to that oeuvre. It follows the standard template of a bunch of misfit characters brought together to attempt a crazy heist of a powerful magical artifact. So far so tropey. Where Among Thieves succeeds is in the deliciously dark motivations of most of the characters. This isn't the YA black and white style world, and whilst the story definitely has a YA style pacing the storyline is definitely firmly rooted in the adult fantasy world.

I enjoyed this - it was a fun read with a suitable amount of backstabbing and twists to keep the reader interested. Yes, it plays with well established tropes, but it plays with them well.

A fun novella with an interesting ‘superpower' concept. Death is over, as long as death is done by means of murder. If you are intentionally killed by someone else you reappear where you were a few hours before, back in the same state that you were at that time. With that in mind a new type of agent is created to ‘dispatch' those on the brink of dying and so therefore allow them to reappear and survive.

An intriguing concept that is played through with a detective noir style in this story, where one of these agents tries to find out what has gone wrong with an attempted dispatch which did not work. The whole thing works really well in it novella format and I can see Scalzi has written at least one sequel that I will have to investigate. The writing is fun and engaging, the murky world is interesting and the characters well written. The reasoning behind this deathlessness is never really fully explained, but that lack of explanation is played with in the text itself. It is an interesting concept, if a bit silly, but taking the whole thing on faith leaves an interesting noir drama with a twist.

Having heard so many people describe trips to Ikea as their idea of a nightmare, making an Ikea like store the setting for a cosmic horror novel really should have been done earlier. However, Grady Hendrix here has nailed the topic. A dark wit pervades everything here, from the tongue in cheek adverts for flat-pack furniture that gradually evolve into different items through the book, the references for how easy it is to get lost in these giant warehouses with a guided path through the store, the wonderfully inane corporate sloganeering and even the more direct references to its obvious inspiration in Ikea.

Hendrix's writing style is easy to digest, making this a nice easy read. The plot plays with tropes (the shop was built on the site of an ancient evil etc), the characters are likeable with good understandable motivations. Yes, the plot is a bit silly at times, but the tongue is firmly in cheek which all lends to the dark wit of the book. All in all an excellent read and a nice break from a lot of more meaty stuff I have been reading recently.

Self-obsessed one dimensional unpleasant characters make for a one-dimensional and unpleasant read. Mrs March is flawed, self obsessed wife of a famous writer. She is obsessed that everything is about her and a bad reflection on her. She is vain and stupid and deeply frustrating to read about. With such a deeply flawed main character you really need to have some traits to make them understandable even if they are not likeable, but here we are told everything from her infuriatingly obtuse point of view where everyone is out to get her. I get that it is meant to be a slightly disturbing take on mental health but it it is too in your face and ends up being a chore to read. Definitely not for me.

Naomi Novik's Scholomance is the Battle Royale version of Harry Potter. Definitely darker and more violent although the end of book 1 left things looking a bit on the up. The Last Graduate picks up pretty much where book 1 ended - El has helped cleanse the graduation halls and that means the number of evil magical creatures (‘mals') has dropped significantly. Now El and her friends are in their graduate year, working out how to survive the gauntlet.

This is definitely an antidote to the cloying sweetness of typical wizarding school type novels. Harry Potter may have popularized the trend, but this dark and snarky take is much more up my street. The threat in this second book is toned down a bit from the first - the power and alliances of El are better understood and controlled so you know the survival rate is going to be higher. But there is still a delicious darkness, a griminess that permeates everything in this world

It is quite clear that Gemma Files is intimately aware of the Experimental Film output of Canada. An interestingly niche topic, she has managed to create a fascinating and creepy tale based on the potential for truth behind myth and the power of belief and knowledge whilst giving an interesting overview of this weird and wonderful bracket of filmography.

The story focuses on the search for some old films made at the dawn of cinema in Canada by a pioneering women cinematographer who had a fascination with obscure Slavic mythology and occultism. Dealing with obsession, mystery and jealousy this tale packs a decent punch, all playing out against the background of research into historic films.

This was my first read of Gemma Files work, and I was impressed by its erudite but readable prose. Her interest in the subject matter comes across well and you cannot help getting caught up in her enthusiasm. The Wendian myth that forms the basis for her horror plays out in an almost Lovecraftian way - the horror behind the veil as it were. An impressive creepy and educational tale