Into The Riverlands by Nghi Vo

I lost track of Wyrd & Wonder prompts, but the final one is the best book you read this month. By happy coincidence, that’s the last book I have to review – Nghi Vo’s Into The Riverlands, book 3 of the Singing Hills Cycle. My only real complaint is I wished this wasn’t a novella. […]

Witches Abroad by Sir Terry Pratchett

I called my sister yesterday, just to hear a bit of home. We spent most of the call talking about Pratchett’s Witches series. I can do that a lot, I can. There’s few things as heartfelt, as funny, as fantastical, as thrilling in fantasy. Now I believe I’ve never reviewed Witches Abroad on this site. […]

Academ’s Fury by Jim Butcher

A strange thing happened to me when rereading Jim Butcher’s Academ’s Fury, book two of the Codex Alera. At about one third through, I found myself thinking this was obvious, dull, and exhausting. And come the end, I was sad it was over. Where did that flip come from? The answer lies in appreciating the […]

Tehanu by Ursula K Le Guin

I am willing to go to the barricades for Ursula Le Guin’s first two fantasy works, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, which is a statement of utter banality given how few people would deny they are fantasy masterpieces. The Farthest Shore has held a more wavering place in my affections, and […]

Morningstar by David Gemmell

Hello, and welcome to a review of David Gemmell’s Morningstar, the book that has made the most effective case for “yeah, but what is the point of life and ever hoping for anything anyway” since The Traitor Baru Cormorant. As I recover from a book hangover that’s heavy as a spiked ball on a chain, […]

Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey

This here is the ender of a trilogy and sixth book in an overaching series. There’s no way I can avoid talking about Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Mercy without a ton of spoilers. So after the cover image, I’m going to town. Caveat emptor. If you want to know whether to get into the series, then […]

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

How best to introduce Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass as some of youse know it)? It is quite famous. Just about everyone knows something about it. It doesn’t help that I’m not even entirely sure why I revisited it. But I can say it’s very convenient I finished it today, as today’s […]

The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold

The internet is awash with recommendations to read Lois McMaster Bujold. You might have read some of them here. The Vorkosigan Saga is one of the great space opera series. The Penric novellas are beloved as chicken soup for the soul; Paladin of Souls and The Curse of Chalion hugely respected for the way they […]

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

By way of introductory remarks, I’d like to state my main struggle with reviewing Wesley Chu’s The Art of Prophecy is deciding whether I really like it or just outright love it. I will be recommending it. There we go, no need to read further, four minutes of your life back. The Art of Prophecy […]