It’s only natural that you end up comparing a writer’s new work to what they’ve previously delivered. Given that Jen Williams’ Copper Cat series was one of the most fun I’ve read in recent years, it was always going to ...
Read More »The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
Can you think of any books that entirely populated by women? No? Well, now you’ll be able to name one. Kameron Hurley’s first stand-alone novel, The Stars are Legion, coming from Saga Press in the US and Angry Robot in ...
Read More »Waking Hell by Al Robertson
One of the perils of being a book reviewer is accepting an author review copy of a book in a series when the book is not the first in the series. If you have no prior knowledge of the series ...
Read More »Dominion by Peter McLean: Diabolists, angels, and archdemons
Peter McLean’s first Burned Man novel, Drake, was my idea of the perfect holiday read. It was fun, easy to read, and just a bit unsavoury. A while ago, I read somewhere that people who swear a lot are generally considered ...
Read More »The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
I’d never even heard of Jason Arnopp or his debut novel (outside writing for franchises) before hearing him talk on a panel about unreliable narrators. Ever since I read Poe’s The Telltale Heart as a teenager I have had an ...
Read More »Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
No matter how many books I read, I never manage to stop judging books by their covers. After all, that’s the purpose of a cover, setting the expectations of the reader. I saw the cover of Revenger and I thought ‘Yes, ...
Read More »Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
Having been a regular listener of the excellent Writing Excuses podcast for several years, it’s amazing that I’ve never read any of Mary’s novels before now. But Ghost Talkers felt like a good introduction, being a standalone fantasy novel. Not only ...
Read More »The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Do not judge other species by your own social norms
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is damn fun.While Becky Chambers’ debut might not have the most polished prose or general technical skill that an established SF writer, more science fiction novels should err on the side of ...
Read More »Nevernight by Jay Kristoff: Never fear. Never flinch. Never forget.
If there were ever a novel to have strong feelings about, this is it. I’m angry at this novel, disappointed by it, frustrated with it, and sucked in by it. The prose is so obnoxiously purple I want to wring ...
Read More »An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows
Having never come across Foz Meadows before, I approached An Accident of Stars with a mixture of trepidation and nervous excitement. What if I’m about to read the next SFF classic? Well, when it comes to Foz Meadows’ latest, that might ...
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