Newest Fantasy Reviews
Fantasy
Vengeance: The Tainted Realm: Book 1 by Ian Irvine
Tali is a slave born of slaves, forced to live and work underground by the brutal Cythonians who, in turn, have also been forced into a subterranean lifestyle. The land above them is Hightspall, rightly theirs but taken over generations ago. Hightspall's occupiers are led by a group of noble houses, which brings us to Rix, the heir to his alcoholic father, the Lord Ricinius. They both live under the thumb of his overbearing mother, Lady Ricinius, but then so do many others. Full review...
The Fury by Alexander Gordon Smith
Brick felt it. Daisy felt it. Cal felt it. All three, unconnected kids, had the same noisy, throbbing headache at the same time - and all aches went at the same time, in very disappointing circumstances. Brick took his girlfriend to his favourite place, an abandoned theme park, and found her response to both it and him to be not what he expected. Daisy was the school Juliet, and found the experience quite traumatic - almost as bad as what she found back at home. Cal was more regularly after the attention, as the school's best football player, but found everyone's eyes turned to you is one thing, everyone turning against you is another. Full review...
Unclean Spirits: Black Sun's Daughter by M L N Hanover
Although the world is moving towards equality in the workplace, when you're fighting the supernatural, it seems to help to be a man. Changes: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher features Harry Dresden, professional wizard and general smart ass and the exorcist of Thicker Than Water (Felix Castor) by Mike Carey is also male. Admittedly, Lynda La Plante's DCI Jane Tennison is a great female lead, but she's more on the everyday end of investigation. But now, M L N Hanover brings us Jayné Heller, who proves that fighting demons and the like isn't just a man's job. Full review...
Goblins by Philip Reeve
Poor Skarper. He's such a loser. In the violent and bloodthirsty goblin world where fighting and eating and taking other people's loot are all-time-favourite, number-one activities, he has a terrible handicap. He thinks. In fact, he's pretty clever, for a goblin, to the extent that he uses the goblins' bumwipe heaps for . . . reading. Yup, you heard me. Reading. The foolish hatchling works out that the black squiggles on the mouldering heaps of soft and crinkly stuff left, long ago, by the ancient inhabitants of the tower, are written words, and instead of going out raiding like any sensible goblin, he creeps off to a quiet corner to work out what they mean. Silly, eh? Full review...
The Minority Council by Kate Griffin
In Matthew Swift's London, just about anything is possible. As the Midnight Mayor, protector of the city, Matthew has incredible power and resources at his disposal. Not that he really wants them. In fact he'd rather not have all the hassle, if he's quite honest. But a new drug is swamping the streets of London - Fairy Dust. This deadly magical drug eventually turns its users into fairies, who then disintegrate into the dust that they've been taking, ready to be collected and sold again. And this perverse practise is not Matthew's only issue. Some teenage vandals have had their souls sucked out and social worker Nabeela wants the help of the Midnight Mayor to work out exactly how that happened. But the more Matthew digs into both issues, the more he starts to realise that the source of the problem may be closer than he initially thought. Full review...
Fated: An Alex Verus Novel by Benedict Jacka
Alex Verus runs a little shop in Camden, London selling magic tricks and bits and pieces. Some of the bits and pieces are a more magical than the magic tricks, for he is a diviner (someone who sees the future). Indeed, the day that his friend Luna finds a little red artefact, his ability comes in handy. There are some very powerful people looking for that little red 'thing'. Unfortunately they aren't powerful in a nice way and they're a jump or two ahead of Alex and Luna. For the powerful ones actually know what it is. Full review...
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
When Kali sees the Orobouros mark on cheerleader, Bethany, at her high school, she doesn't hesitate in tempting the parasitic creature - a Chupacabra - out of Bethany and into her own body. The parasite is a death sentence for humans. Some days, Kali's blood is toxic to paranormal creatures. Some days she's blessed with strength, speed and killer instinct, and the parasite feeding off her memories wouldn't have stood a chance. But not on this day. On this day, Kali is completely human. And she has to survive the next 17 hours before she changes back. Full review...
Burning Your Boats by Angela Carter
'Burning your Boats' brings together Carter's early works and her uncollected short stories, alongside the collections 'Fireworks', 'The Bloody Chamber', 'Black Venus' and 'American Ghosts'. Carter's ability to take the everyday and transform it into the fantastic is evident in stories that range from a cautionary tale of a musician in love with his instrument to a lost motorist whose journey ends in nightmarish circumstances in the Snow Pavilion. Full review...
The Weeping Empress by Sadie S Forsythe
Chiyo wakes up with the sun in her face and the grass at her back. For a moment, she feels almost as though she's in heaven. But the joy in the moment is short-lived. Around her is mayhem. Uniformed guards are fighting off two rogue warriors intent on freeing a band of captives. Before she knows it, Chiyo is fighting alongside the warriors, showing a ferocity the meek and mild wife and mother never knew she had. Full review...
The Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett
George never knew his father, a man with whom his mother had a brief relationship when the Vaudeville - a travelling theatre company - came to town. Sixteen years later and George is following in the footsteps he believes to be his father's, by playing piano at a theatre on the circuit and hoping his father will show up. He doesn't, so George goes in search of him. The first glimpse George has of the man he thinks of as his father is at one of the troupe's shows. He is captivated not just by Silenus, but by the entire company. Full review...
The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron
The important thing, when reading or reviewing books, is to take them on their own terms, and not to try and make something of them that they do not claim to be. Do not seek laugh-out-loud humour from horror stories (except by accident). Do not expect picture books to discuss the ins and outs of astrophysics. And do not demand great depth from a series of fantasy novels where the hero's first action is to steal a king on the grounds that, to be perfectly honest, no one will actually miss him very much. Full review...
Touch of Power: Avry of Kazan Book 1 by Maria V Snyder
The game is up. Despite the risk that she would be betrayed Avry couldn't stop herself from healing a sick child, and after years on the run she is in a cell awaiting execution. Then a band of misfit companions offer her freedom, in return for healing their prince. Unfortunately, said prince is the one who spread the idea of the healers' guilt in the first place, and as such he is Avry's sworn enemy. Full review...
Advent by James Treadwell
A December Night 1537: the greatest magus in the world packs everything up and heads down to the harbour. He's booked his passage to England under a new name, heading for a new life. But it is a stormy night, and when the jumble of rags that follows him, speaks in the voice of one he once loved and demands back what he took from her, he refuses. Inside the box he carries, wrapped in wool, in a calfskin pouch warded with every spell he could conjure is a ring apparently made out of wood. 'Inside the ring was all the magic in the world.' Full review...
Pure by Julianna Baggott
A Hiroshima-like event called the Detonations has transformed life on earth. Shortly after the Detonations, when the survivors were still hoping for some form of help to arrive, a cloud of leaflets were released all bearing the same message:
'We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar, benevolently.' Full review...
The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice
Reuben is on the up, make no mistake about it. He will turn from a good journalist to a great journalist - it's just that most of his family, his girlfriend and his editor all patronise him with diminutive nicknames based on his boyish good looks. While staying at a secluded cliff-side mansion in the Californian forests, and researching the back-story of it being on the market for the first time in decades, he survives a bloody attack, and ends up with the house his. And, of course, he receives the Gift - and becomes a werewolf. What does this mean for him - and for others, and just what are the secrets remaining in the strange mansion? Full review...
Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric
Nineteenth century Venice can seem a sinister place, full of secrets, misty forgotten islands and magic, both good and 'baddened'. It does, however, have its brighter, warmer side, with cosy, comforting grannies and delicious recipes, and Talina loves it dearly. But then the mangy, rabid Ravageurs arrive, creatures part-way between wolves and hyenas, and claim the city as their ancestral home. Men, women and children are stolen away in the night, as are cats and rats, but the inhabitants refuse to believe the full horror of what is happening, preferring instead to blame a neighbouring town. Full review...
The Man Who Rained by Ali Shaw
Do you remember being a child who had only just learned how to read? Do you remember the very first time you read a fairy story that no-one had told you before? Can you recapture the joy of entering a truly magical land and (for a time) believing it was real?
No? Then I recommend that you read Ali Shaw's second novel 'The Man Who Rained'. Full review...
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan
On Rollrock Island, the fishermen find their brides from the sea through the usurial offices of the witch Miskaella. They're selkies; seal women who shed their skins to become human. Their husbands are obsessed by them and the men without a selkie will risk anything to become part of the enchantment, even their human wives and children and half their lifetime earnings. Soon there are no human women left on Rollrock - the adults to the mainland and the female selkie babies to the ocean. There are just dads and mams and little boys. Full review...
Seven Princes: Books of the Shaper: Volume 1 by John R Fultz
Elhathym gatecrashes a feast at the court of Vod-the-Giant-King demanding the throne, which he asserts was his 3,000 years ago. Vod is a little incredulous and refuses to abdicate. Elhathym then lives up to his job description (evil sorcerer), destroying the entire court... apart from his son, Prince D’zan who manages to escape with his bodyguard, Olthacus the Stone. Prince D’zan wants to fight to regain his kingdom but the only way to counter Elhathym and his armies of the dead is to form alliances with other nations; alliances that create friendships but also bring treachery and betrayal. Behind it all is Iardu the Shaper, a creation god-like figure who plans and plots. Full review...
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
Nora is an unusual heroine. She is sharp, snarky and funny, and her wry tone and contemporary references will resonate with her readers. But she is also uncompromisingly geeky, and she opts to complete her independent study assignment by joining her three friends at the local university in a research project on the Voynich Manuscript by Edward Kelley (This manuscript actually exists, and has taxed the abilities of some of the greatest code-breakers in the world in the last hundred years.). However Professor Hoffpauer does not consider Nora mature enough to work on the manuscript itself, despite the fact that her linguistic ability is far superior to that of the others, and instead he gives her the lesser task of translating the letters of Kelley's step-daughter Elizabeth Weston. Full review...
Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling
At the start of Shadow of the Hawk, our heroes are in disarray. Drew, having bitten off his hand to escape Vanmorten and the undead, is in captivity, about to be forced to fight as a gladiator. The Staglord Manfred and the Wereshark Vega, two of the three remaining members of the Wolf's Council, are on the run, spiriting Drew's mother to safety. And Hector, the third of the Council... oh, Hector! Full review...
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...
