The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham – review
Publisher’s Description: All paths lead to war… Marcus’ hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody’s death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps. Cithrin is an orphan, ward of [...]
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie – review
The Heroes is a Joe Abercrombie book. For better or for worse, Abercrombie has created a brand for himself with his world, his style of storytelling and characterization, and his view of epic fantasy—or at least his self-conscious decision to undermine its assumptions while working within its frame—that lead to an easy summary for a [...]
The Spirit Eater by Rachel Aaron – review
Oh, my dear reading friends. I want to say first that the Eli Monpress series has consistently defied my fondest wishes and hopes. This isn’t a series that takes itself seriously–Eli is absurd (from his motivations to his methods), his companions are ridiculously powerful (and equally angst-ridden over this fact), and his shenanigans would make [...]
The Spirit Rebellion by Rachel Aaron – review
Welcome back to the Eli Monpress show! Did you miss the rogue? I know I did! Aaron provides us with another “easy job” gone awry as Eli, Nico, and Josef attempt to retrieve a magical blade as payment for having a specialist fix Nico’s concealment cloak. Instead of taking the easier course of action that [...]
The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin – review
Urban sorcerer Matthew Swift’s personal situation can be pretty well summed up in this anecdote: Once when I was a kid I was taken to see a seer. His name was Khan. “Hey, dude…you’re like…gonna die. It’s after when it gets complicated.” At the time I thought he was being pretentiously metaphorical. [But] Khan, in [...]
The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron – review
I’m not sure there are words to describe how much this book delighted me. I’ll try very hard, however. The Spirit Thief is the first in a planned series about the adventures of ne’er-do-well Eli Monpress and his ragtag band of merry thieves. Well, less merry and more dour ridiculously powerful thieves, but nonetheless his [...]
The War of the Dwarves by Markus Heitz – review
Markus Heitz’s The War of the Dwarves, the eagerly awaited sequel to his first novel, The Dwarves, has finally been translated into English. Heitz’s hero, a Thirdling dwarf named Tungdil, and a mixed group of followers have just defeated a dark evil, Nod’onn, at the Blacksaddle. Tungdil, a rather naive but truly heroic character, has [...]
The Black Prism – Brent Weeks – Not a Review
Listen up, I had the opportunity to read a bit more than the first 3 chapters listed over on Orbit’s website of The Black Prism by Brent Weeks so I will start the hype machine. Now I am held to the fact that I am not going to do an official review of the book [...]
The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee – review
I was somewhat disappointed to find that the descriptions I had heard before opening the book were somewhat misleading. Even the title, Gaslight Dogs, technically does speak of the book but is also a bit misleading to my mind, as it invokes the steampunk subgenre. While steampunk is a wide and varied subgenre, to me it [...]
Blonde Bombshell by Tom Holt – review
Many great authors open with the premise that war is a ridiculous way to solve problems. It’s the great theme behind Catch 22, and it’s also the driving idea behind Blonde Bombshell, the latest book by Tom Holt (forthcoming in June from Orbit). Fans of Holt’s work know that his books contain a level of [...]
Changeless by Gail Carriger – review
(Be warned, there will be spoilers for Book 1, Soulless) Changeless, the second book in Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series, picks up some undefined time after the end of Soulless. A new threat emerges, sending Alexia’s husband, Lord Maccon (a werewolf), disappearing in the middle of the afternoon, leaving Alexia to try and piece together what in [...]
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin – review
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is the first book in a new series (The Inheritance Trilogy, which lends itself to some potentially hilarious confusion with The Inheritance Cycle) by a new author, and I think that shows. The story and the world had quite a fascinating premise, but it was executed with mixed results, at least [...]
