Newest Fantasy Reviews
Fantasy
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Charley Davidson is a private investigator with a difference - she's the Grim Reaper, ushering souls towards the light. When three lawyers from the same firm are murdered, they ask her to solve the case to allow them to rest in peace. With the help of her uncle, a detective, she sets out to do just that - as long as she can avoid being distracted by the nightly dreams she's having of a sexy entity… Full review...
Rise of Empire by Michael J Sullivan
Rise of Empire, the second volume in The Riyria Revelations, starts a year after Theft of Swords finished. The Imperialist forces are encamped across the river from Melengar, biding their time before they rout and capture Alric’s kingdom. However, it’s ok as Princess Arista has a plan. She will send Hadrian Blackwater and Royce Melborn to enlist the help of the nationalists. Oh, and Arista wants to go too... and Hadrian is getting fed up with an adventurer’s life and wants to retire... and Gwen, Royce’s girlfriend, has had a premonition of death surrounding the enterprise... so what could possibly go wrong? Full review...
Frost Child by Gillian Philip
Fans of Gillian Philip's Firebrand novels will be thrilled to get their hands on this stunning prequel, set when Seth's mother Lilith met his father, the Sithe captain Griogair, for the first time. Starting with Griogair rescuing the youngster from the Lammyr, who have kept her captive for years, it follows Lilith trying to settle into the way of life of the Sithe as Griogair keeps an uneasy eye on her... and those of us who've read Firebrand and Bloodstone realise that he's right to be worried. When a young Sithe boy starts to bully Lilith, he's clearly taking a massive risk... Full review...
Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan
The central characters, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater are the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid of fantasy. Royce is a dour thief and Hadrian an agile, soft-hearted mercenary, both of whom can be hired if the price is right or if their curiosity is piqued sufficiently. Both books in this volume begin with the same simple intention – to steal a sword from a tower. Different swords and different towers but they both go horribly wrong. Now this is where it gets difficult. I don’t want to give away spoilers so there won’t be much in the way of plot explanation in this review. Let’s just say that they’re framed for a royal murder and become more deeply embroiled in the far reaching consequences as the volume goes on, collecting companions en route. Full review...
City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
Bohane is a thoroughly lawless town, set in what would appear to be some kind of parallel universe. We are told it is set in 2053, but it's a town without any technology or modern luxuries. It's a violent place fuelled by alcohol, drugs and lust with a patois style language that takes a little work to get into. Novels with this kind of premise have to be beyond good if they are to interest the annual literary prize judges; this is one such book and City of Bohane is nominated for this year's Costa First Novel prize. It is stunningly good. Full review...
Monster's Corner by Christopher Golden (Editor)
The Monster's Corner is a collection of tales that are told from the monster's perspective. It takes the idea that we are all the heroes of our own story and has a gloriously good time with it. Ranging from the thought-provoking to the strange, to the shocking and gory – they're a great selection of stories from the likes of Kelley Armstrong, Kevin J. Anderson, Sarah Pinborough and many others. Full review...
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
This book is the second in a series of fairy tale retellings (the first being Sisters Red) which, without being closely connected, share common elements. They both deal with the paranormal, including the Fenris, which are about as far from the glamorous and sexy werewolves of recent books and films as you can get. They stalk. They kill. They eat. End of story. The two books also look at the aftermath of an attack, and how it changes the lives of those who survive. Full review...
Runelight by Joanne Harris
Runelight continues several years after Runemarks left off. The rescue of the gods has left a rift between the Worlds which allows demons and assorted ephemera to escape from Chaos into Malbry and spread towards World's End, a lawless city now it has no Order to maintain it. With Odin dead and the surviving gods power-stripped and forced to inhabit bodies of Folk, there is little chance of re-establishing Order. And with the End of the Worlds prophesied in just twelve days, the task of rebuilding Asgard and preventing it is Herculean. Full review...
Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Those of you who've been hooked on this series already will remember where we left off. A choice was made. Everything seems to have been changed. And now, we find, the End of Days is near… Dark characters lurk. Some who we thought (or hoped) were gone, have returned. Other things we’ve not seen before are starting to tear the small town of Gatlin apart. The shorthand way of summing up how terrible things are is to note that Mrs Lincoln may be one of the good guys now… Full review...
The Drowning Pool by Syd Moore
The book opens with a group of young women out on the town, letting their hair down and having fun. Moore describes all of them in a fresh and modern voice which I really liked. It came across as a breath of fresh air. The story, Sarah's story is told by Sarah herself. But it's told from the perspective of looking back after it's all happened so there's lots of why-didn't-I-see-that-coming language. Hindsight, in a word. Full review...
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Karou's friends think she's normal. They assume, however often she tells them that her bright blue hair grows that colour, that she dyes it. They think her frequent errands are just normal everyday things to earn money. They believe the snake-bodied being she draws in her sketchbook is a figment of her imagination. They're wrong. Full review...
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus moves from town to town; appearing with no warning, no announcements. The attractions seem impossible – a carousel with breathing animals, handkerchiefs that turn into birds in front of the watchful eyes of the audience, doors that appear and disappear. In the middle of it all are Celia, the daughter of a famous illusionist, and Marco, the apprentice of a mysterious magician. From a young age the lovers have been destined to compete against each other using their unusual skills to win a prize that neither of them understands; and an end that will leave only one standing. Full review...
Terra Incognita: The Key to Creation by Kevin J Anderson
As the two opposing armies of Tierra and Uraba, both fighting for control of the holy city they each believe belongs to their religion, march towards a final battle, two Arkships – one Tierran, one Uraban – are having their own race to the legendary land of Terravitae.
Both armies and both Arkships have suffered much in their time. From run ins with powerful witches, mutinies and sabotage, the Arkships are battered and their crews weary. The armies have both suffered and delivered atrocities and hate in the decades-long war that has gone on between them. Full review...
Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong
Wow. Gosh. Can it be true? We're on book 12 of Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series already. It seems like only yesterday that I became acquainted with her world of werewolves, witches, necromancers, demons and sorcerers, but Wikipedia tells me it was way back in 2001.
Spell Bound opens right after Waking the Witch left off, with Savannah Levine struggling to cope with her guilt in the wake of a disturbing murder case. Full review...
Dresden Files: Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
It's been a while since I've read a Dresden Files novel, so I am fuzzy on the details before I begin 'Ghost Story', the latest instalment of the wildly successful urban fantasy series. 'Ghost Story' is an unconventional one, even by Jim Butcher's standards – it begins after the narrator, Harry Dresden, was shot by an unseen sniper in the previous novel Changes. There is no deus ex machina or cliffhanger resolution in the first chapter – Harry really is dead as a doornail. For any fan of the series, this is naturally a conundrum: how do you continue the Dresden Files if Dresden is no longer alive? Jim Butcher gets around this seemingly insurmountable problem by having his brash lead character remain equally as incorrigible and unforgettable as before – it's just that now he's having a bit of trouble with his reliable 'punch first, ask questions later' doctrine, as his fists tend not to make contact with human flesh any more. Yep, Harry's a ghost. Where do you go from here? Full review...
John Dies at the End by David Wong
'John Dies at the End' begins with friends John and Dave going to a party and meeting a Jamaican drug dealer who provides John with a hit of something called 'soy sauce'. Thereafter, John starts to see things that others can't see. Dave thinks he has had a bad reaction to the drug until he accidentally takes a hit and also starts to have strange experiences, seeing odd shadow creatures, none of whom are very friendly. Even worse, people start to die and a dog takes on human characteristics. Before long, John and Dave are facing death on a regular basis and are aware that they have access to dimensions that normal people don't know about. Full review...
The Walkers of Legend by Miles Allen
The Empire controls nine-tenths of the globe, but even this doesn't supply enough victims to keep enough blood flowing from the Yan-producing chambers. And so the new Emperor sets about a plan to invade the last remaining free lands. Advance parties are abducting mages to leave the defenders exposed and vulnerable. This is nothing new - it's an obvious tactic - but among the refugees is Chayne, a young man of startling power and promise. Chayne's potential is soon discovered by the advancing army's chief mage, Lathashal, and the young Mlendrian finds himself a favoured apprentice. Full review...
Wish Me Dead by Helen Grant
Rural Germany, in modern times. Steffi and her five friends lark about in a deserted building to summon a witch and get her to kill a local celebrity - who does indeed die. When a repeat attempt gifts a decent amount of cash to Steffi it becomes clear she is alone in having her wishes granted. So what will happen when she wishes for the town hunk - hasn't Steffi heard to be careful what you wish for? But how on earth can things get so bad she feels her story deserves *that* title? Full review...
Wolf Blood by N M Browne
Trista is a Celtic warrior girl and seeress. Her visions are always horrifying, full of blood and death. And one of her premonitions tells her she must escape from the tribe who have captured and enslaved her, for their time is running out. Fleeing into the snowy forest, she runs straight into two Roman soldiers and thinks this time the game is surely up. Surely she cannot survive a second time? But one of the soldiers has a secret - he is a shapeshifter. Part wolf, part man, Morcant also has both Roman Celtic blood in his veins and he has never felt truly at home in either world. Full review...
Ember and Ash by Pamela Freeman
Ember is about to be married. It's not just a romantic day for her personally, it's exciting because her wedding will seal the alliance of the Far South Domain and the Last Domain in the north, making a new kingdom which is a shining example of justice and peace. By fantasy standards, this sounds too good to be true. And so, of course, it is. Barely have the words which bind Ember to new husband Osfrid been spoken before he is consumed by flames, murdered by an elemental god her mother once angered. Soon after that, nearly every fire in the kingdom is extinguished. Shocked to learn that the world is controlled by elemental powers she knew nothing about, Ember enlists her cousins Ash and Cedar to go with her to Fire Mountain to bring back a piece of the mountain and relight their lost fires. Full review...
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt
Imagine a world where pigs can do quantum mechanics, and where female solicitors turn into chickens. Add a dry cleaner that moves (literally, from the roof tiles to the basement) from town to town every forty-eight hours, a couple of medieval knights who've fought every day for centuries, and a magical ring (or pencil sharpener, depending on the mood it's in). Stir in a bit of property developing, a thaumaturgical detective and an old man who lives in a cloud. Result? You haven't even begun to probe the depths of this crazy, absurd, complex and hilarious book. Full review...
The Dagger and Coin: The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham
A hero of renown, jaded by fighting and ready to leave the city before war breaks out. The only son of a noble house, taking more of an interest in books than swords. A court baron who strives to keep his king from being killed by traitors. And a young girl, left orphaned, disguised as a boy in a desperate attempt to smuggle the city's fortune to safety. Reading the cast list for the first volume of Daniel Abraham's new fantasy epic, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd read very similar works before. You'd also be completely wrong. Full review...
The Mall by S L Grey
I must admit that the front cover is extremely eye-catching and that drop of blood gives a hint as to what the book's all about. There are two central characters and their stories are told in the first person in alternating chapters. So first up, is Rhoda - and boy does she have attitude. She's babysitting for a friend and decides to take the youngster to a local shopping mall. Nothing wrong there, you could say except that it's late at night (the boy should really be in bed) and the shops are starting to shut for the night. Rhoda is a bit of a mess. She takes drugs, although she says she's not reliant on them, so when the 'kid' goes and does a disappearing act on her, she's both fuming and scared. Grey locates her story in Jo'burg and there's an element of threatening violence within its pages. Full review...
The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington
It's the 1500s in Europe, and two women are being transported against their will across the continent. One, an African Moorish beauty is being delivered to the King of Spain as ransom payment, but she and two servants are to end up in the home of a mighty necromancer instead. Elsewhere, a Swiss soldier taking a young witch to those in charge of the Spanish Inquisition finds his cargo is even more dangerous than he thought. Full review...
Mercy Thompson: River Marked by Patricia Briggs
Mercy, the female car mechanic who is half-Native American and half-Caucasian, and can turn into a coyote, has bitten the bullet and married Adam, the Alpha werewolf of the region. But not long into their honeymoon at an idyllic riverside camping ground they have to themselves, she finds something is about to break their peace. Their presence there was, shall we say, requested, for a killer is lurking in the river waters, and only they can see to it. Full review...
The Fallen Blade: Act One of the Assassini by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
I'm always in two minds about books that echo other works of literature. I'm all for reworking myths and legends – they're so ancient and have been so often retold, even before arriving at the accepted 'true' versions, they're fair game – but works of literature written in recent enough history to have been actually written and still widely read in their original form? It can go one way or the other. Full review...
Sabina Kane: Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells
Sabina Kane is on a mission. Her evil grandmother Lavinia, Alpha Domina of the whole vampire race, has kidnapped her twin sister from beneath Sabina's nose, and Sabina isn't about to let her get away with it. Not this time. Sabina knows time is short if she's to rescue Maisie alive and put an end to Lavinia once and for all, but before she can storm in and kick ass, she has to find her. And that's no easy task. Full review...
Managing Death by Trent Jamieson
I reviewed the first book in this series and, even although it's not a genre I would normally choose to read, I was pleasantly surprised. Would this second book (which are often difficult to pull off with the same degree of success) be as good or as entertaining? Time to find out ... Full review...
The Hammer by K J Parker
The met'Oc family have three sons. One is strong, super-industrious, but too busy to do more than patch up their farm. The second is a vicious thing, eager to ride roughshod over people like a western film's worst bandit, even when it belies the met'Oc's noble origins. And the youngest, Gig, is... not employed. Not thought highly of. Not allowed out of their compound, or to think too much. But he is courageous enough to try and leave, firm of mind to ignore something horrific that happened seven years before, and gutsy enough to succeed in escaping. Or is he? How far can he ever leave his destiny behind in this backward frontier town? Full review...
The Illustrated Mind of Mike Reeves by Asa Jones
Mike Reeves doesn't have his troubles to seek. His wife was brutally raped some four or five years ago and whilst she might seem to be recovered she cannot stand to be touched by a man – any man, Mike included. Quite suddenly Mike was alone, in every way – until he found himself drawn to the darker arts and began to dabble in Tarot, the Runes and I Ching. He's guided by two spirits. Sean is a wise and benevolent older man and Debbie, well she… isn't. She's the one who satisfies Mike's sexual needs. If that's all sounding rather good, then hesitate a moment, for with the good comes the bad and the bad is in the form of Tony a (very) real-life gangster who's been doing his own dabbling in the spirit world. When their worlds clash Mike has a problem which could well be more than he can handle. Full review...
The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman
Cale is fourteen and his life so far has not been one to envy. Brought to the Redeemers' Sanctuary as just a toddler, he's lived within its militant religious fanaticism for all the years he can remember. Beaten, brutalised and half-starved, Cale and his fellow acolytes are being raised to fight an ongoing and bloody war against heretics. Cale is of special interest to Bosco, a Redeemer Lord Militant, and we soon realise why. Cale is intelligent, ruthless, quick, and has the ability to kill without remorse. He is an asset. Full review...
Troika by Colin Pascoe
At the beginning of his story he had been what he called 'a normal person', married with a job in a care home. One day when he was out with his dog he walked into an area of absolute quiet, which then went black and all feeling left his body. It would be a month before he returned home and unsurprisingly, everything had changed. But it wasn't just the loss of his job and his wife's disbelief of his explanation for his absence that was different. He had changed too. He had knowledge that would prove to be dangerous. Full review...
Mouse Guard: Legends of The Guard by David Petersen
To start with, I have never heard of Mr Petersen and his Mouse Guard franchise. But I'm often up for an introduction to a fantasy cycle, and I always relish being welcomed to an author by the most esoteric, unusual, quirky and short route. My first entry to the His Dark Materials world was a collector's spin-off, and I'm just as likely to start the Twilight series, if ever, with the latest brief whimsy. And for those of a similar mind-set, this collection of tales from the pens of guest writers and illustrators, serves as an odd-shaped doorway on to this particular universe. Full review...
Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling
Drew Ferran knows there's a monster roaming the land where his family farm – he just doesn't realise it could be inside him. Until a terrible creature attacks his beloved mother, triggering a transformation in him, and leading his father and brother to believe he’s responsible for her death. Forced to flee to the most godforsaken parts of Lyssia, Drew becomes quickly embroiled in the world of the Werelords. Can he survive? Full review...
The Neon Court by Kate Griffin
Matthew Swift, the Midnight Mayor ostensibly in charge of things magical about and within London, is in trouble. He wakes from a summons in a burning tower block, with an associate he'd rather not be with. In their escape a person dies. Only this death is set to cause out-and-out war between two legendary magical clans, the Neon Court and the Tribe. How can Swift be diplomatic enough for both sides? How can he resolve the matter without some form of guilt? And how can he find the time, when something has peppered London with cryptic 'Bad Wolf'-style graffiti, word is out the person he woke with is a fabled Chosen One everyone will slaughter for, Swift is beset with everyone he wants to meet being blinded by his enemies, and something has forced London into perpetual night? Full review...
The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe
If Night falls, all fall, so says the old legend. Oldest, first and greatest of all the Derai Houses on the Wall, the house of Night is proud of its role as holders of the Keep of the Winds, primary defence on the Shield Wall of Night – a range of mountains that separates the lands of the original inhabitants of the planet the Derai know as Haarth from the regions of the Dark Swarm that threaten Derai and Haarth-folk alike. Full review...
Griffin Mage: Law of the Broken Earth by Rachel Neumeier
Mienthe is living in her cousin's courtly household when a man arrives from the realms to the west, claiming to be an agent on the run with a great secret. It takes much time and effort to try and work out how duplicitous this man may or may not be, and what his bounty actually is (a singular, blank book, in fact). This effort begins to reveal a strange and unknown talent and possible destiny for Mienthe. But before this can be explored fully, worse news comes from out east. The peace wall keeping the evil griffins from laying waste to the world is crumbling. Full review...
Chronicles of Fate and Choice: Tumultus by K S Turner
This is the follow up to Before The Gods, a debut novel lauded for bringing a breath of fresh air to the world of speculative fiction and one of Bookbag's top picks of 2009. Tumultus is the second of the planned trilogy and I was looking forward to seeing how the author would really cut loose now that readers were already familiar with the Shaa-kutu and the story of their link to the origin of the human race. Full review...
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
In this fairytale of New York, the Cornish fairy King's children are living in exile, hiding in Central Park from a nasty industrial revolution back home. They have friends from Ireland with them, and all have the ability to startle the local squirrels. Elsewhere two innocent scallywag fairies fleeing Scotland have arrived, and adopted a human each. Heather has joined up with Dinnie, the city's worst busker, a fat, alcoholic and lonely fan of TV ads for phone sex, while Morag befriends Kerry, a dying kleptomaniac beauty, just as alone for different reasons. Full review...
The Spirit Thief: The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron
I'm relatively new to the fantasy genre and it really is true - you should never judge the book by its genre (my quote). Having read a previous fantasy trilogy (more of that later) I was looking forward to reading this book which has a similar lay-out and publishing format. Full review...
The Inheritance Trilogy: The Broken Kingdoms by N K Jemisin
Ten years after the events of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, godlings are able to roam free and there are once again three gods – or are there? While people still worship bright Itempas, he was cast down by the Nightlord at the end of book one to wander the Earth, unable to die permanently but with no other powers unless he was protecting a mortal. Oree, an artist who can see magic but is otherwise blind, has known godlings for years and has even been the lover of one of them, but has never met anyone quite like her new lodger Shiny. With godlings dying, something which hasn't happened for many years, can narrator Oree and Shiny find out what's going on before Nahadoth destroys the entire city of Shadow in revenge for his murdered children? Full review...
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The back cover is full of praise for this debut novel which has been involved in a publishing 'tussle', no less. Impressive. I was looking forward to reading what all the fuss was about. The title is terrific too. But was the book a terrific read? Full review...
Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadine's Soul by H A Goodman
Devin is in pieces. His pregnant wife has been raped and murdered and revenge is all he can think about. He listens to the advice of his worried father-in-law - who counsels against doing anything rash - but listening is not the same as hearing. And Devin doesn't truly hear his father-in-law's wise words at all. Instead, he focuses on the angry voice in his head, which tells him such an evil murderer has no right to live. Full review...
