Travis

The Facefaker's Game by Chandler J. Birch has been called equal parts Dickens, Sanderson, and Lynch. It combines a fun illusion-based magic system, a gang of thieves, and strange monsters that lurk the streets at night.

Most of the book takes place in Burroughside, the slums of Teranis. It's filled with crews of child gangs and cannibalistic monsters roam the streets after dark. The elite of society possess the ability to magically compel adulation from anyone that sees them.

Instead of gods, people worship Faces. It's a bit unclear what Faces actually are, though each is named for a trait. There's the Face of Cunning, Face of Kindness, etc. This theme of faces also ties into the magic system, which is almost entirely based on illusion.

The two main types of magic users are Weavers and Stitchers. Weavers can quickly cast illusions by gathering and manipulating light, often creating false faces to wear about the city. These illusions can be anchored to everyday items, so you might find a noble with a ring that makes them look taller and more handsome. Stitchers are slower at creating illusions than Weavers, but they can craft finer details and there are almost permanent.

The book follows a relatively small cast of core characters, each with their own unique quirks and personalities. The “gang of thieves” aspect reminded me of The Lies of Locke Lamora, but with more fleshed-out secondary characters.

Ashes is a street thief with no memory of his past before he came to Burroughside. He used to be a part of a gang, but he had to leave that behind to protect his friend Blimey from Ragged. He catches the eye of a daring thief known as Candlestick Jack and is invited to join his crew, learning magic along the way.

Brent Weeks has praised this novel, and for good reason. The writing style reminds me significantly of Weeks: fun magic, likable characters, and conflict in every scene. While the prose might not be the most refined, the pacing makes this book difficult to put down.

If you like fun worlds with interesting magic systems, characters with amnesia, or a good old-fashioned heist, you will probably enjoy this book. The plot moves quickly and the author does a nice job of introducing the worldbuilding without too much exposition.

Don't go into this expecting deep themes, rich prose, or an overly complex plot. I was able to predict several of the twists near the end, but that didn't hurt my enjoyment of the book.

Overall, this was an incredibly fun read. It wasn't perfect, but I found myself reading late into the night.

Most people will either love or hate Robert Jordan's writing style. He spends a lot of time painting a clear picture of the setting. Each city has its own rich history and you learn tidbits of world events from hundreds or thousands of years ago. It's also clear that Jordan has a solid idea of where the series will ultimately go and drops clues along the way.

The Eye of the World is considered by many to be one of the slower books in the series, though I enjoyed it. There are multiple points of view told, though Rand is the primary viewpoint character.

The book starts off in the small, remote village of Two Rivers. Everything seems to be going well until a group of Trollocs (man/beast hybrids) attack the village looking for Rand, Mat, and Perrin.

In an attempt to prevent the Trollocs from attacking their village again, the three boys leave town with the rest of the main characters. As they journey towards the home of the Aes Sedai–which will hopefully be safe–they are separated and each encounters their own adventure.

Jordan crafts unique non-Tolkien species, writes rich histories for cities, and all around creates a world that feels like it could be real. Magic is based on channeling a power source to command the elements and is typically used by women (men go insane, which is somewhat less than helpful).

The Wheel of Time is one of the most well-known fantasy series of the last few decades, and for good reason. The world surpasses most other series, the scope is epic, the magic is cool, and the books are fun.

On the flip side, the series–and each book–is long. Many people consider some of the middle books of the series to be too meandering for their taste, but that isn't present in this first book. The characters start out immature and slightly two-dimensional, but you can definitely see a marked improvement even within the first book.

Overall, it's probably worth giving The Eye of the World a chance if you've never read it before. It's not for everyone, but those that enjoy the series often count it among their favorites of all time.

A strong debut from a promising new author. It features a world of elemental magic, evil sorcerers, and lots of action.

When I hear “elemental magic,” I almost always immediately think of Avatar. There's definitely a bit of anime flair to the magic, but it feels pretty fresh. The main characters are Embers, essentially a form of fire mage. Instead of just shooting fire around, they can absorb heat from their environment and channel it into physical or thermal power. There are several other types of magic, too, including defensive rock warriors, seers, healers, and animal tamers.

All of the magic users seem to take some of their power from the land around them, earning the name Landkist. Some, like the Embers, can even draw power from the sun. This fanart captures it perfectly.

The story takes place in a Valley that is mostly isolated from the rest of the world. A group of godlike sages are fighting an ongoing war against each other, and one of them decided to save a race of desert nomads and hide them away in the Valley. Nearly a century later, that people is struggling for survival against the regular onslaught of demons.

The main character, Kole, is a fire-wielding Ember who helps defend his village from these demons. He can be a little hot headed at times, but he cares strongly for his friends and family. His friends range from being magic-less badasses to magical badasses (including the awesome rock mage you probably didn't notice on the cover).

There's a pretty big cast of characters, but it isn't too hard to keep track of because the core group is pretty small.

The book opens with a new type of demon attacking Kole's village. In addition to being powerful, it also appears to be controlled by one of the incredibly powerful sages that are essentially the gods of the Valley's religion. This sage has been the Valley's greatest enemy for over a century, and his return could mark the destruction of its people.

Kole and some friends set out on what is a probably a suicide mission to enlist the help of another sage, the one who originally brought their ancestors to the relative safety of the Valley. However, Kole is convinced that the sage his people worship as their protector might be their greatest enemy of all.

For those of you who don't know, Kelliher is a former professional fighter. Don't believe me? Watch him kick some poor chap unconscious.

This experience is evident in how the fight scenes are written. You won't get a blow-by-blow description of each punch, but you'll be thrown into a frantic fury of ferociousness. Kelliher does an excellent job of showing you the emotion of a fight.

While the prose was a little rough around the edges, I could definitely catch glimpses of a talented wordsmith in the making. There wasn't any purple prose in sight, but I found myself appreciating well-written turns of phrase on a regular basis.

If you like interesting magic systems and well-written combat scenes, you might enjoy this book. It reads fairly quickly and is the start of a series that shows a lot of promise.

You might not like this book if you are opposed to steep learning curves. I didn't think it was too bad, but you are thrown into the story and world and have to figure it out as you go. There's a lot of Capitalized Fantasy Names, which can be hit or miss with some people.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Plus, the series features some stunning covers.

The story starts out feeling similar to the movie The Village. Smithsdown is a small village in a great forest, and every evening the people shut themselves inside sturdy underground cellars. Monsters come out at night (mostly), hunting for anyone foolish enough to stay out after dark. Roughly half of the story takes place in and around the village of Smithsdown, though the author uses folk tales and dream to show more of the forest everyone lives in.

There's a lot of talk about hard vs. soft magic these days. This falls somewhere in between. You are rarely confused about what magic can and can't do, and it feels a little mysterious. One type of magic is Knacks. Each villager can develop a Knack, making them incredibly skilled at one specific thing. Outside of Knacks, there's the question of the other inhabitants of the forest. What are the monsters that come out at night? Who is the Magpie King who protects the villagers with his fearsome power? Is he even real? These questions are neatly woven into the story and give the feeling of a twisted sort of fairy tale.

Lonan is a young man who used to be the son of the village's blacksmith. For eight years, he has been shunned because everyone believes he allowed the monsters to kill his fellow villagers when he was a boy. Now, he forages for herbs to help the local medicine woman. Lonan can be alternately wise and immature for his age, which isn't that surprising given that very few people in his life don't hate him.

Several villagers play a prominent role in the story. Branwen used to be Lonan's best friend, but she hates him now. Even so, she's written to be relatable. Jarleth is the new blacksmith after Lonan's father died, and his main quality is that he's a dick.

Lonan basically has no friends, with everyone hating him for letting the monsters in years ago. He starts having vivid dreams about the legendary Magpie King, the formidable figure who watches over the villages of the forest. These stories are mixed in with a folktale every chapter, detailing the exploits of the trickster Artemis as well as the Magpie King.

The folktales add a lot to the story, and some of them are even directly relevant to the main plot. It reminded me a little of Kingkiller, but these stories were more immediately related to the rest of the story.

This is a debut novel, and it shows a little in the prose. Some of the dialogue is cheesy, but never so much that I thought it took away from my enjoyment. The prose isn't fancy, but it suited the story. Probably the best prose was during the folktales, which were spot on with capturing the feeling of traditional myths and legends.

The book was less than 200 pages long, so there's not a lot of fluff. I never thought the book dragged, and the alternating between Lonan's story, his dreams, and the folktales mixed things up.

This is a solid debut novel, and it feels pretty different from most other fantasy books. There's very little sword fighting, no knights or dragons or castles, and lots of stories within stories. The overall vibe is similar to a fairy tale, but more like Grimm and less like Disney. If you like things that are different from “normal” you might like this a lot.

If dialogue is the most important part of a story to you, this might not be your thing. Also, for a self-published novel there are very few editing errors, which was pretty impressive. That said, it's not 100% polished.

This book is free on Kindle Unlimited and something like $4 to buy. It's also pretty short, so it's not a huge investment in time or money. In my opinion, it's absolutely worth checking out. It's original, mysterious, and a damn good read.

Are you tired of fantasy wizards waving their hands mysteriously to accomplish whatever the plot requires? Do you like the defined magic systems in Brandon Sanderson's or Brent Weeks' books? There's a good chance that this is the book for you.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic marks the launch of Andrew Rowe's new Arcane Ascension series. It's his third published book and (in my opinion) his strongest work yet.

This book is set in the same universe as Rowe's War of Broken Mirrors series but takes place many years later, similar to Legend of Korra or Alloy of Law. There are a few easter eggs for those who've read his other series, but no prior knowledge is needed.

Rowe's magic system is incredibly detailed and thought out, taking inspiration from series like Mother of Learning and Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. In the world of Sufficiently Advanced Magic, anyone can become an “attuned” by proving themselves worthy in one of the seven enormous towers spread across the continent. All you have to is not die, which is kind of hard when there are mysteriously deadly puzzles and hordes of monsters waiting for you in the towers. Once you are attuned, you have access to different kinds of mana, which in turn allow you to perform different types of magic. There is a wide variety of magic types, so just because the system is “defined” doesn't mean it's overly limited. Also, as you get more powerful you get to level up through the colors of the rainbow!

There's an interesting mix of different technologies. You can ride a train through the deadly wildlands between nations and even buy an automobile if you are rich enough, but knives and swords are still pretty common weapons. Guns exist, but so do magical dueling canes that can shoot, well, magic. There's also a Goddess, multiple god-beasts, secret societies, a brewing war, and more.

Most of the story takes place in the magical academy of Lorian Heights, where the main character tries to figure out how to improve his magical abilities, occasionally trying to “game” the system to come out ahead. It felt a little bit like Hogwarts, but where you feel like you as the reader could practically be taking notes in each class scene. Again, Rowe really knows his stuff with magic systems.

We experience the story in first-person narration through the eyes of Corin Cadence. He's a young noble who is willing to brave the dangers of the tower to earn an attunement and discover what happened to his brother, who went missing five years earlier. Finding his brother is one of his driving motivations throughout the book. Corin is smart and logical and generally a fun, well-developed character.

Corin forms a core group of friends as the story progresses, similar to a party in a role-playing game (after all, this book borrows a lot from the litRPG genre). These characters are less developed than Corin, as is to be expected in a first person book, but most of them are engaging. You get to meet snarky professors, loyal friends, teenagers who like to be mysterious, and more.

The overarching plot of the novel is Corin's quest to find his brother. In the first few pages, Corin enters the tower and begins a deadly test to earn an attunement and discover why his brother disappeared.

Don't be fooled, though. The first 10% or so had me convinced the entire book would be a dungeon crawl. It's not. This is definitely a magic school book at its core. Corin realizes that he is too weak to find his brother without growing stronger and gaining allies.

Of course, things get more complicated than that. Corin finds himself entangled in politics beyond his understanding. A conflict is brewing between various nations, monsters, and beings of godlike power, and Corin finds himself at the heart of it.

I thought the book did a good job of balancing over the top fight sequences with learning magic in a school environment. Both types of scenes are done well and you typically switch between them before one starts to get tiring.

The prose is pretty straightforward and doesn't take itself too seriously. Corin cracks jokes and in general is a pretty entertaining POV. The style of writing leans pretty heavily on the analytical side. Expect lots of internal thought processes as Corin thinks his way through various decisions. This can be a little much at times, but it's also a refreshing change of pace from wanting to smack characters for not seeing the obvious possibility right in front of them.

You should read this if you like very detailed magic systems and a logical main character. Expect a lot of rationally thinking through different options and experimenting with magical abilities.

On the other hand, if heavily analytical writing and a major focus on the mechanics of the magic system don't sound interesting, this might not be for you.

You should read this if you like cool fight scenes, dungeon crawls, and deadly puzzles. A good 20% or so of the book takes place in a setting similar to a DnD dungeon and the rest is in a magic school.

This was a bit like the movie Groundhog Day, but instead looping through a single day, Harry loops through full lives. He is born in the early 1900s and when he dies, he's reborn back in the early 1900s with his previous memories intact.

The book begins in England in the early 1900s and follows Harry's lives throughout Europe, Asia, and North America through the entire 20th century. The only “magic” in the world is that a small percentage of humanity relives their lives over and over again.

All around the globe and throughout time, the Cronus Club recruits people like Harry. They often seek each other out as children and help them jumpstart their lives with wealth and new identities. North takes this concept and does some really cool things with it. For example, Harry could seek out someone like himself in the early 1900s who is nearing the end of their loop and pass on information for their next life. This cycle allows information to be passed forward or backward in time.

The people like Harry are nearly immortal, but can still be killed. For some reason, killing someone's parents before they are born (or otherwise preventing their birth) will kill one of them forever. Extreme torture during one life can leave a person mentally broken in the next, and it's possible to erase one's memories of their past lives.

Harry August is the main character of the novel, and we meet a good number of people through his eyes. The thing is, each one of his lives is different, and side characters don't always show up in multiple lives. There are a couple repeat characters (some more important than others), but to talk too much about them would get into spoilers.

I will say that this story has one of my absolute favorite types of villains. They believe they are truly the “good guy” and I was honestly pretty close to rooting for them by the end. Rather than good vs. evil, the main conflict is more of a matter of ideals.

Harry's first life is relatively normal. He experiences pain and joy, hardships and triumphs, and then dies. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself right back where he started.

It takes him a while before he adjusts to the idea, and longer still before he finds out there are others like him. He explores religion, philosophy, academia, and crime. One day, towards the end of his eleventh life, someone like him passes on a message from the future: the world is ending, and the end is occurring sooner with every life cycle.

From that point on, Harry is determined to try to stop the end of the world. Events from earlier in the book that didn't seem to have much purpose come back with new meaning and a game of cat and mouse begins between Harry and his enemy.

Claire North has a knack for combining beautiful prose, complex characters, creative ideas, and never wasting a word. Rather than centering her story around magic, she focuses on the human elements of her world. This can lead to a slice-of-life, slower-paced feel at times, but the story gradually builds in intensity and suspense.

The plot is nonlinear, jumping around between Harry's various lives, but this nonlinearity was chosen with care and adds to the story. I typically find magical realism stories to be too slow for my liking, but this story has excellent pacing that accelerates in the later parts of the book.

If you like books that explore the consequences of a character's actions, have nonlinear timelines and rely more on intrigue and mystery than on action, this might be for you. Good and evil aren't black and white, either.

If you prefer action-heavy, fast-paced, happy books, this might not be for you. The book takes its time getting started (though the pace definitely does pick up), and it might feel like its rambling. There is a relatively small cast of developed characters, with most of the attention being directed at Harry.

You can't talk about Senlin Ascends without bringing up the Tower of Babel. This thing dwarfs Barad Dur and Burj Khalifa. Characters in the novel have to guess at how tall it is because you can't see the top. And that's just on the outside.

On the inside, the Tower is made up of many varying ringdoms, each with its own distinct personality. When you walk in, you get to see the Basement. It's kind of the slums of the Tower, but it's invented the marvelous Beer-me-go-Rounds, which allow anyone to hop on and peddle their merry way into inebriation. Hopefully they have craft. Further up, you get floors like the Parlor, one giant theater where anyone can star as an actor, and the Baths, a place full of temptation and relaxation.

Newcomers may expect the ringdoms of the Tower to be like the layers of a cake where each layer is much like the last. But this is not the case. Not at all. Each ringdom is unique and bewildering. The ringdoms of the Tower share only two things in common: the shape of their outermost walls, which are roughly circular, and the price of beef, which is outrageous. The rest is novel.

The story picks up shortly after the ending of Age of Myth. The Fhrey decide to deal harshly with the humans but are undecided as to whether a full-scale war is necessary. A good portion of Mawyndulë's storyline follows his attempt to navigate the politics of the

A good portion of Mawyndulë's storyline follows his attempt to navigate the politics of the Fhrey. He's driven by his desire to be taken seriously by his elders and hurt the Rhune for killing his mentor. Meanwhile, the humans struggle to determine who should be the ruler of all ten clans, since they realize they need to be united against the Fhrey if they are going to survive. The humans' stone weapons are no match for the bronze blades of the

Meanwhile, the humans struggle to determine who should be the ruler of all ten clans, since they realize they need to be united against the Fhrey if they are going to survive. The humans' stone weapons are no match for the bronze blades of the

The humans' stone weapons are no match for the bronze blades of the Fhrey. In a desperate gamble, Persephone leads a small band of her trusted companions across the sea to the home of the Dhirg (dwarves) in search of stronger weapons.

After finishing the book, there's a slight sense of “that was it?” when it comes to the plot. Age of Swords relies more on exploring the core characters and the world. Given that the next book in the series is named Age of War, one of the main goals of this installment was to make sure all the pieces were in place.

The previous book seemed to center around Persphone, Raithe, Suri, and Arion. All of these characters still play a major role in this book, but we get to explore Mawyndulë, Brin, Roan, and Gilford in far more detail than we saw before. Sullivan manages to make Mawyndulë simultaneously infuriating beyond belief and somehow sympathetic. We finally get to see Brin start working towards what will eventually become the Book of Brin. Roan and Gilford are beautifully written. Roan continues to struggle to connect with people around her, despite her brilliant mind. Gilford is heartbreakingly adorable and one of the most enjoyable characters in the series.

We finally get to see Brin start working towards what will eventually become the Book of Brin. Roan and Gilford are beautifully written. Roan continues to struggle to connect with people around her, despite her brilliant mind. Gilford is heartbreakingly adorable and one of the most enjoyable characters in the series.

There are also new characters introduced, most notably three dwarves. Unfortunately, they fell a little flat for me. I got the feeling they could have been complex, intriguing characters if they only got more page time, but what you actually get to see is a bit one-dimensional.

The story is roughly divided into three plot lines: the Fhrey, the ten clans, and Persephone's journey to the dwarves. As you might expect given the title of the book, Persephone's plot line gets the most attention. I thought it was the most interesting though, since it answered questions from the original Riyria series, explored the world of the dwarves for the first time in any Michael J. Sullivan book, and had the most action.

The other plot lines were interesting but much slower. While necessary to advance the overarching story of the series–the conflict between Rhune and Fhrey–there were parts that felt like a drag. I found myself wishing that we'd get back to Persephone's storyline. However, that's not to say that these were boring. Far from it. I just preferred the “adventure” storyline more.

Overall, I had a ton of fun reading this book. It wasn't without its flaws, but I couldn't put it down. Sullivan delivered a solid book–not that that should surprise anyone by now–and it left me eager to pick up the sequel.

For those of you who enjoy audiobooks, Tim Gerard Reynolds once again delivered a stellar performance. Age of Swords was even dedicated to Tim, which I thought was a nice touch.

Balls of the Beast, this was great! This is easily the best book in the series (or at least rivals The Thousand Names). Strategic military battles, religious fanatics with superpowers, reveals behind character motivations, it has it all.

Guns of Empire ups the stakes to be an epic fantasy. We get to learn more about who the true villains in the series are and just how formidable they might be.

Mark Lawrence does an excellent job writing compelling protagonists. I enjoyed reading about Jorg, who put a little something special in the “anti” part of antihero. That said, I enjoyed Jalan even more.

In the beautiful and terrifying world of the broken empire, it makes since that you'd have more than a few things to fear. As a self-professed coward, Jalan embraces his fears. He also embraces gambling, drinking, and women. A lot. This alternately had me wanting to reach through the pages and give him a well-deserved punch to his princely face and cheering for him in ways I never could with Jorg.

I'm really glad I read the Broken Empire before starting this series. The references to world events and characters, as well as the parallel paths to Jorg's story in Prince of Thorns really added depth to an already engrossing story. Plus, Prince of Fools manages to keep the same dark world as the original series while injecting a never ending supply of humor. The book had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion, and Tim Gerard Reynolds–who narrates the audiobook–absolutely nails Jalan's comedic moments (really he nails the whole book; seriously, Tim is amazing).

This get's 3 stars for being fun (and Wil Wheaton is a fantastic narrator).

It's an interesting, if cliched, concept: aliens are coming to overrun us and humanity's last defense is video gamers! To be fair, the book was a little self-aware and poked fun at this cliche plot. However, the characters fell flat, the dialogue was cheesy, and there were a few glaring plot holes. The pop culture references that added charm to Ernest Cline's Ready Player One felt overdone and didn't really add anything to the story.

That being said, the author knows how to hold your attention in each scene. No part of the book was boring, and some scenes were a ton of fun. For all of its faults, it was an enjoyable read.

Rating: 2.5/5

I'm more than a little conflicted about this book. I understand how important it was (and still is) to the genre of fantasy, but it is difficult to enjoy.

The plot is consistently interesting throughout the story and moves very quickly. However, it reads less like a novel and more like a friend summarizing their favorite novel they read a year ago. There is very little dialogue (sometimes 10 pages at a time without it), and you rarely get insight into the main character's thoughts.

The main character has little personality. We are told he grows from being young and arrogant to being older and wiser. The side characters have even less depth.

My favorite part was the setting. Earthsea seems to be dominated by water, with the main habitable lands being chains of islands. I also really liked how the magic tied together with the land, though the explanation behind that was a little shaky.

All in all, this was a quick and enjoyable read, though I do not plan on continuing the series.

Overall Rating: 1/5

Characters:

This was the toughest part of the book for me to get through. The main character, Celaena, is supposedly the most famous assassin in all the land (wouldn't fame be bad for an assassin?) and has spent the last year of her life doing back-breaking labor as a slave in a death camp. When we first meet her, she's cold and calculating. However, as soon as she arrives at the glass castle, her characterization completely changes and she's a free-spirited girl who can't decide which man she loves. In addition, she shows no signs of trauma from her time as a slave and lacks basic survival instincts that she should have as an assassin. When she's told to downplay her skills as an assassin to protect her identity, she throws a temper tantrum because she wants the world to know she's the best (maybe this is why she was famous?).

The other two main characters, Prince Dorian and guard captain Westfall, really don't do much other than brood over their feelings for Celaena. Oh, and read a few books. They don't really feel like fleshed-out characters because they aren't given any scenes that don't center around Celaena.

Plot:

There are two main plots: a contest between criminals to win the position of king's champion but is plagued by horrible murders, and the battle between Dorian and Westfall for Celaena's affection.

The contest: This is actually pretty interesting and kept my attention whenever there was one of the contest scenes. Her opponents are hardened criminals. The mysterious murders and the research Celaena conducts to solve the mystery is also interesting.

The love triangle: It's pretty much love at first sight for Celaena-Dorian and Celaena-Westfall, with little to justify this other than the fact that both men like books. This wouldn't be all that bad but it takes up a significant portion of the book.

Setting:

Magic is mysteriously gone and also illegal. The immortal race of Fae have vanished. The king is buys conquering all the land. All in all, pretty cool and will probably be expanded on in the future.

I fell in love with this world when I read Riyria Revelations. Each book in the trilogy was better than the one before, and it was obvious that Sullivan improved as a storyteller and writer while working on the series.

Then, I read the three published Riyria Chronicles books. The stories were tighter and more self-contained than the original series, but the quality of writing was superb from the start. Again, it was clear that Sullivan improves with each book he writes.

Finally, I read Age of Myth, and all I can say is....WOW! It's incredible to see the start of what will surely be an epic series by an author who has finely-tuned his craft for so long. This will likely be my favorite “Riyria” series, and probably one of my favorite book series in any genre. The characters are superb, the bronze-age setting is unique, and the easter eggs present for Riyria readers are just immensely satisfying.

This book can easily stand on its own from the other series set in the same world. While it is a “prequel” series, taking place 3000 years before the events of the original books means that just about anything can happen and the story isn't limited by having to keep lots of events consistent.

Also, the audio version of this book is excellent. Tim Gerard Reynolds does a great job (as always) of fully immersing the listener in the world and the story.

Five stars all around, and I can't wait for Age of Swords.

It's obvious that Villoso has put a ton of work into crafting this world. The various countries have cultures that feel distinct from each other, there's a rich history of legendary heroes, and the creepy crawlies hiding in the shadows are downright unsettling.

The series is called The Agartes Epilogues due to the main story taking place many years after the legendary general Agartes shaped the world to be how it is at the start of the book. In a sense, these books are the epilogues to an epic adventure that has already ended.

There are quite a few characters, so I'll try to boil this down to the main ones:

Kefier grew up on a small island in the middle of nowhere but was sold into slavery after his brother Enosh (the village chief and an enormous prick) suffered a terrible accident. A mercenary named Oji bought his freedom, and Kefier followed him into the mercenary life.

Sume is a poor girl living in a seaside city and the younger sister of Oji. She's rather strong-willed and ends up having to make some harsh sacrifices to protect those she loves.

Ylir is the man who hired Kefier's mercenary company (well, he works for the man who hired them). He's a womanizer who is quick to deal out harsh discipline to his men, and he's somewhat of an enigma for most of the book. Oh, and he's also kind of a prick.

The author has said that the idea for this series is that it follows the minor characters in an epic fantasy story. That's more or less true, but I feel like it can be a little misleading. It's almost (but not quite) like saying your average cliché epic fantasy follows a minor character because they're a simple farm boy.

Kefier is making his way through life as a mercenary when he ends up being accused of his friend Oji's death and having to flee from the wrath of his former brothers-in-arms. As if that wasn't bad enough, the incredibly wealthy and equally mysterious man who was hiring the mercenary company is trying to resurrect a horrific monster from legend. This is a creature that almost literally destroyed entire nations by itself.

While all of this is going on, children are going missing, and many people blame the monsters of myth and legend that are said to live in the forest.

The book starts slowly, largely because you are thrust into a complex world and expected to figure out much of it as you go. There were probably some info dumps due to the scale of information you're exposed to, but I honestly don't remember them. Most of it is doled out in bits and pieces. By around the halfway point in the book, storylines have started to converge and the pacing kicks into high gear.

I'd rate the prose as slightly above-average, but prose is a such a subjective thing anyways. It wasn't flowery and it complemented the story. The dialogue made effective use of different dialects, too. Sometimes, “out there” dialects in books can bother me, but this was one of the times in which it was done well.

For an indie book, Jaeth's Eye is actually very well edited. There are very few typos, though I did catch one or two (RIP roast peasant, you were the best of us).

Jaeth's Eye reminded me a lot of Black Wolves by Kate Elliot. Expect lots of worldbuilding, a large cast of complex characters, and magic that slowly comes to the forefront of the story. The book starts out a little slow, but quickly picks up the pace.

This is not a book designed for light reading. It demands a fair bit of your attention to keep track of everything, but once you put in the initial effort everything starts coming together. Due to the scope, some of the interesting side characters didn't get much attention, but I suspect they'll be visited more in the next book.

Overall, I'd say you'll enjoy this if you are in the mood for an epic fantasy set in an ambitiously-crafted world. You won't have your hand held as you overcome the learning curve, but the book is a rewarding experience.

This story reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games, though I appreciated the alternative history take as a fresh change from many of the dystopian novels these days. The worldbuilding was intriguing and efficient, with just enough information to keep me interested but never coming close info dumping.

My only complaint was that the protagonist was somewhat of a Mary Sue, with no real faults or flaws. He didn't really develop or grow as a character throughout the story, other than a few times when he questioned the morality of his actions.

Overall, this was just plain fun to read. The author has a knack for engaging readers and keeping them invested in every word.

This was a fun and quick read. It reminded me a lot of a Canadian Dresden Files with a female protagonist. The plot was fairly straightforward, but where this really shines is the characters and attitude. Krista manages to convey a lot of personality and history for each of her characters in just a few sentences. The sarcasm and humor of the main character were refreshing, as well.

As much as I enjoyed Raven Boys, I almost didn't continue the series. Something just didn't click with me. However, someone online told me that Dream Thieves focuses heavily on Ronan (my favorite character) and might involve some illegal drag racing...which definitely sold me.

Dream Thieves continues everything that made Raven Boys so great: incredibly realistic characters, thought-provoking prose, and an intriguing story concept. Throw in a dash of stealing magical items from dreams, a morally Grey villain, and the promised street racing, and Dream Thieves easily became one of my favorite books of all time.

Don't come into this expecting fast-paced plot (though the pace definitely increases from the first book). However, if you enjoy a good story with increasing magic, character depth, and life-or-death stakes, you'll love this book.

After finishing Will Wight's Traveler's Gate trilogy, I picked this book up with high expectations. Unsouled met these and then exceeded these expectations. With this new series, it is clear that Will Wight has improved as an author in every way.

The story picks up with the main character, Lindon, failing the basic magic aptitude test that everyone takes when they come of age. Because of this, he is ostracized from his clan and denied any possibility of advancing in social status. However, his clan specializes in illusion magic and follows the contradictory philosophy of “honor by any means.” Which is to say, they encourage cheating to get ahead. Throughout the book, Lindon must compensate for his diminished abilities through cunning, deception, and lots of hard work.

The magic system is fantastic and fully integrated into the worldbuilding. People have the ability to absorb vital aura from their surroundings and use this to strengthen their spirit. This, in turn, allows them to perform magic related to the type of aura they absorb. Once someone has progressed enough in their abilities, they “level up” and gain new powers. The system has well-defined rules a la Brandon Sanderson's works, and is just open-ended enough to excite you with the possibilities.

This book was just plain fun. If you like books by Brandon Sanderson, definitely give Unsouled a read.

I picked the audio book up in the recent Audible sale for $2, because why not? I'd heard a little bit about this book online and did not really know much going into it.

The book starts out with the main character taking part in his first Trial, guarding a caravan across the deadly wasteland between the few remaining cities. We then get a flashback scene and some pretty heavy exposition to set the scene and give the reader a background understanding of the world. Normally, this puts me off of a book, but the worldbuilding was just so INTERESTING.

Humanity has divided itself into a rigid caste system, with each caste playing a unique role in society and having access to its own, unique system of magic. This is the state of the world 2000 years after a demonic goddess rose to power and destroyed most of humanity overnight with her army of chimeras. This alone was enough to grab my attention, but after the initial info-dump, Ashura slowly doles out more tidbits about the world in a way that kept me hungry for more, as well as providing a few twists along the way.

The magic is epic, flashy, and completely over-the-top for some of the castes (in the most fun kind of way). There was no gradual introduction to it, either. We go from a quiet scene where members of the warrior caste are conversing with each other and immediately cut to a scene with 20 ft. leaps and enormous fireballs being thrown. Awesome. I particularly like how Ashura makes this all make sense, with common ties between each magic system and limitations set in place to prevent deus ex machina scenes further in the book.

There's political intrigue, murder mystery, epic fight scenes, a demonic goddess, and a definitely non-European setting. All in all, this book was impossible to put down. The fantastic narration by Nick Podehl was a plus, as well.

I don't know how Will Wight does it. Unsouled was published in June 2016 and he releases the sequel THREE MONTHS later, with zero drop in quality.

I loved Wight's Traveler's Gate series, but Cradle is shaping up to be even better. The magic system is both rigidly defined and expansive in nature, and is fully integrated into almost every aspect of the world. Combine that with the classic trope of a young, weak protagonist who painstakingly builds up more and more strength, and you have a great book on your hands.

Michael J. Sullivan is the master of writing classic fantasy tropes in a way that reminds you why they became classic in the first place. Tired of grimdark and looking for something a little more lighthearted? This book might be for you.

The story takes place in a standard medieval fantasy world, about 1000 years after the collapse of a legendary empire. There is very little magic in the world, with only a few characters capable of practicing the “art.” The standard Tolkien races like elves, dwarves, and goblins are present but they are presented in an original way that feels fresh.

You might have heard the names Royce and Hadrian in fantasy circles before, and for good reason. Royce and Hadrian are Riyria. Royce is the dark and brooding rogue with a troubled past and a tendency to get a little stabby. Hadrian is the lovable people person who just might be the best swordsman there is. Their bromance is incredible and you can't help but fall in love with them.

Royce and Hadrian are framed for the murder of a king. The resulting quest to prove their innocence gradually escalates into something incredible. This book has an intentionally simple plot, reading almost like a fantasy action movie. Don't let “simple” make you underestimate this book, though. It's a ton of fun and will likely have you laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

This book is often compared to the Hunger Games, and it's hard not to see the comparisons at first. Main character from a disenfranchised class? Check. Oppressive government? Check. Plus, there's even a deadly competition between teenagers that makes up most of the book. However, that is where the similarities end.

It takes at least 50 pages or so for Red Rising to really hit its stride. The beginning feels like the start of just about every dystopian young adult series ever written. After those first pages, it really differentiates itself.

Both romantic and platonic relationships are deeply fleshed out, with slow development that takes place over the entire book. No angsty love triangles here. The primary characters feel like real people and have nuanced motivations. In addition, the worldbuilding is incredibly interesting and the prose, while straightforward, is full of fantastic lines that leave me thinking for days afterward.

I listened to the audiobook, and Tim Gerard Reynolds knocks it out of the park. I like Tim in all of his narrations, but this might be my favorite.

Marcus Sakey's Brilliance reads like a mix between a James Bond and a superhero film. The story is set in an alternate Earth where a genius class of humans known as “brilliants” began to be born in 1980. No one boasts abilities like super strength or flight, though. All of the brilliants' abilities are mental, mostly focusing on pattern recognition. Some people can predict the stock market by seeing trends in data, others can visualize binary code in three dimensions.

Brilliance is really an action thriller thinly disguised as a book about people with superpowers–and there's nothing wrong with that. It was a quick, fun read, even if it did follow some of the typical “secret agent” tropes found in most spy movies. The characters were enjoyable and had believable emotions and motivations. I'd recommend this book if you are looking for a quick “popcorn” read.

This book was recommended to me as part of a “blind date with a book” exchange. I knew nothing about it going in, and it is not the type of book I would normally pick out for myself. Because of this, I was a little hesitant giving this book a chance.

However, I'm really glad that I did! After the first 50 or so pages, the book really hit its stride. I'd describe this book as a rise-to-power revenge story, almost like The Count of Monte Cristo + dragons. The author knows how to use pacing to keep the story briskly moving along, so there are no dull moments.

The pacing can almost be too quick at times, with multiple changes of scene and nearly 7 years passing in this story - all within the first hundred pages. With some books, this would be a turn-off, since that type of rapid pacing can really detract from character growth and fail to provide a window into what the main character is thinking. LWE manages to avoid this, and I was very satisfied with the protagonists development and decisions.

For being such a fast-paced book, there are quite a few opportunities to reflect on choices made by the main character throughout the story. Moral questions that initially seem black and white turn out to be relatively complex and not easily resolved.

Finally, one of the best parts of the story is its unique take on dragons. Granted, I have not read a lot of stories with dragons before (most of my experience comes from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series). That being said, the story quickly establishes that dragons are intelligent creatures that have warred with humanity through the years. Beyond that, the species is shrouded in mystery for most of the novel. As the author slowly teases more information, you begin to realize you are in for a treat.

Overall, Dragon Weather was a great read! It's not a sprawling epic, but it does not try to be. It is a refreshing and fun story with characters you love to root for and hate.