Mikhail

Fascinating, surreal urban fantasy. It's the sort of book that, for me at least, seemed less about the plot or characters themselves and more about the strangeness of the world they inhabit and the events they take part in. The ending felt unsatisfying, but besides that it was an enjoyable read.

This is the best collection of Lovecraft-inspired stories I have read. The worst stories are still decent, most are quite good, and the best are brilliant and beautiful. I read this book a few years ago, and the imagery and feel of several of the stories (“Houses Under the Sea,” “The Black Mill,” “Leng,” “Cold Water Survival”) has stuck with me since then. These stories also feel less derivative than many Lovecraft-inspired stories do while still being right for a Lovecraft-inspired fiction collection. I can't recommend this one enough to fans of Mythos horror.

This is a fantasy novel composed of pieces carved from other, better fantasy novels. There's nothing new here, not even really a different take on something familiar - it's just all stuff you've seen before. This also makes it very predictable. On the plus side, solid pacing and the writing itself isn't bad. So... Can't really recommend it, but it's not the worst book to pick up.

It's... Fine

This is an OK example of epic fantasy. If you like the forms of that genre, you'll probably enjoy this enough to finish it, but there's nothing really new or exceptional here.

For me the really felt like a book whose only sources are other - arguably better - fantasy novels, the sort of thing you'd see in people's half-formed homebrew D&D settings. A mishmash of “cool” cultures and tropes, combined with a standard plotline. Which is... fine. Just don't go in expecting something more.

Ardor Benn is supposed to be charismatic and brilliant - everybody in the book, and the narration, talk him up as being both. But in practice he's just manipulative, inconsiderate, and comes up with schemes that are dull and badly thought out. That really sank the book, since I found that I didn't want to spend time with the protagonist and he wasn't doing anything that interesting anyway.

A wild, ridiculous, fun ride of a book. Take every fantasy-Wild-West character you can think of (and a bunch of other fantasy/sci-fi/steampunk characters for good measure), jam them into one book, and watch them rattle around, bumping up against each other and external threats. The writing isn't brilliant, and plotting isn't brilliant, but the book is just so much fun to read that you don't really care. Highly recommended if you're looking for a light, fast-paced, fun book.