Full disclosure: Marion is a colleague of mine (those reading this at fantasyliterature.com know that already, of course), and I also did a read of an early draft. On a more trivial note, I’ll confess it felt very strange every time I typed “Deeds”, using the author’s last name as is standard in these reviews, and not “Marion.” I give you this knowledge to do with what you may…
Copper Road (2021) is Marion Deeds’ first full novel in the BROKEN CITIES series,
May 10th, 2021. Bill Capossere | Marion Deeds | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Call of the Bone Ships by R.J. Barker
Call of the Bone Ships (2020) is the second book in R.J. Barker’s TIDE CHILD trilogy. The first book, The Bone Ships, introduced Joron Twiner, first mate to a tough and effective sea captain named Lucky Meas. Sailing and politics collide when their disreputable ship Tide Child was assigned to find and protect the last of a valuable but possibly extinct sea dragon species.
March 3rd, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | R.J. Barker | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
A Desolation Called Peace (2021) is Arkady Martine’s direct sequel to A Memory Called Empire, which was one of my favorite works in 2019. While not quite as strong, the standard being set so high simply means A Desolation Called Peace is an “excellent” rather than “great” read, and thus one that is easy to recommend.
As noted, this is a direct sequel,
February 26th, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Arkady Martine | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
It’s unnerving reading a book about a devastating pandemic at this point during the COVID-19 crisis, but in fairness, this near-future SF duology by Tosca Lee was published in 2019, so Lee gets credit for anticipating a timely topic. The first book, The Line Between, tells how Wynter Roth, a young woman in her early twenties, escapes from a doomsday cult and (obligatory spoiler warning for the first book here) is entrusted with some tissue samples that may help with the development of a vaccine against the growing pandemic.
January 29th, 2021. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Tosca Lee | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter
The Rage of Dragons was a well-realized and propulsive debut for author Evan Winter, though the main character was such an Edgy Boi™ that he could probably have gone ice dancing without skates. Winter’s gifts for pacing and his novel world-building nevertheless left me with a good impression, and when I saw that the sequel was available, I immediately purchased a copy. To be clear, there are relatively few series that I buy on release day anymore,
January 8th, 2021. Tim Scheidler´s rating: 4 | Evan Winter | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Somebody People by Bob Proehl
I wasn’t crazy about Bob Proehl’s The Nobody People. While the premise was intriguing (kids with supernatural powers being raised and trained in a boarding school without the public’s knowledge), the novel, for reasons I’ve described in my review, was not compelling. I struggled to finish it but, in the end, I was curious about where Proehl was going with the story. For that reason, I picked up the sequel, The Somebody People,
January 6th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Bob Proehl | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Last year, Anya and her friends Ivan and Håkon defeated a bloodthirsty Viking named Sigurd, who wanted to murder Håkon for his river dragon magic. Since then, Anya’s been bat mitzvahed, Ivan’s family has settled into their lives in Zmeyreka, and the local magistrate has been expelled, with the result that Anya’s family has been openly welcomed among the other villagers, but her papa still hasn’t returned from war. When Anya learns that there’s been a miscommunication and her papa has been sent to Rûm rather than home,
December 8th, 2020. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Sofiya Pasternack | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge by K. Eason
Rory Thorne is back for another adventure in K. Eason’s How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge (2020). At the end of the first THORNE CHRONICLES novel, How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, it looked like Rory was finished with politics. (“Does the multiverse really need more politicians?”)
Rory, Jaed, and their friends/bodyguards Zhang and Thorsdottir are currently working as privateers far away from civilization.
December 7th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | K. Eason | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sorcery of a Queen by Brian Naslund
Honestly, I could give Brian Naslund’s Sorcery of a Queen (2020) a four just for the following jail-break exchange:
“Stay exactly two paces behind me at all times … Stop when I stop, move when I move.”
“So, your plan doesn’t involve putting on pants?”
“No.”
“Could we maybe restrategize so that it does?”
I got to that bit of dialogue around three a.m.
November 30th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Brian Naslund | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It by K.J. Parker
I wasn’t expecting a sequel to K.J. Parker’s Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, but was delighted to see one because Parker is on my (very short) must-read list. While How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It (2020) is marketed as book #2 of his THE SIEGE series, it takes place several years later and has a different set of characters,
November 18th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | K.J. Parker | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…