By way of introductory remarks I’d like to note that Davinia Evans, author of the alchemy meets intrigue meets swashbuckling romp that is Notorious Sorcerer, is a personage with whom I am more than passingly acquainted. She is an egg of the most superior and benevolent nature, if you will forgive the descent into Woosterism. […]
By way of introductory remarks I’d like to say that after a few chapters of Miles Cameron’s bronze age on steroids extravaganza, Against All Gods, I knew I was both going to like and dislike the book. So it proved. Let me start with the good. I am fascinated by the eastern Mediterranean in ancient […]
Let’s kick off this review with two incontrovertible facts. The first is I reckon every book by David Gemmell is at least a good ‘un. The second is that I also reckon that The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend is probably the weakest book in the Drenai Saga, which makes it no more than […]
Let me start this review of Best Served Cold, the first standalone in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world, by talking about genre. Namely, comedic fantasy. Not a genre we talk about often. Not exactly major, kind of know it when you see it. But while re-reading Best Served Cold, a definition for it popped into […]
And with this review of When The Tiger Came Down The Mountain by Nghi Vo, second in The Singing Hills Cycle, my little linked series of novella reviews will come to an end. So far I’ve learnt a few things about expectations and story enjoyment. and the relationship between feeling critical of a book and […]
(pretty major spoiler) I decided to read Nicola Griffith’s Spear after presenting a short list of novellas to decide between to some friends and getting a unanimous vote back. People really like Spear it seems. Me, I had some pros and cons. Pro – it sounded very mythic. Con – it was a retelling and […]
Welcome to the next installment in my Retro Reviews! This time, we’re looking at an author and book I’ve been excited to get to, one of the foundational pieces in how the genre came to be. Indeed, some might say the foundational piece. With no further ado, I give you George MacDonald and The Princess […]
My review of the Kerstin Hall’s The Border Keeper is a tale of being careful what you wish for. Let us rewind. See the excitable blogger, high on weird fiction and baroque pulp, bounce into a discord asking for recs. Give me modern weird adventure! Things like The Unknown Name but not that book. Give […]
People love Good Omens. There’s an adaptation, which is a good sign of being loved, with a follow up series. They love its humour, what it has to say about humanity and the supernatural, its many homages and brilliantly daft ideas. It helps too that it’s written by two particularly loved authors in Gaiman and […]
It’s a reckless reviewer that ploughs right into the review without a moment for reflection. Yet having finished Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest, All the Seas of the World, only a few scant hours ago, I find no other path forwards as sensible as recklessness. I can no more separate this tale of seafarers and vengeance […]
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