Newest Fantasy Reviews
Night Broken (Mercy Thompson) by Patricia Briggs
Phew. That's the sound of relief I gave when I found this book, the eighth in this lengthy genre series, was on form. As the quality had hardly ever dipped in the past you might be wondering why I sounded particularly anxious this time. Well, book seven was that dip, and this time round things have changed – for the first time the British market gets a hardback. But we've not jumped the shark. If anything, the fantasy side of this series is following on from book six – River Marked and the fae implement that was so much a feature of that book is being requested by a dangerously powerful character. But the urban fantasy side of this series is not without its dangerous characters – as Mercy is forced to bring the worried, frantic yet exceedingly manipulative figure of her husband's first wife into the shelter of their household… Full review...
The Shattered Crown (Steelhaven: Book Two) by Richard Ford
The king is dead… his city is next shouts the strapline, and it's not wrong! Following on from Herald of the Storm, Janessa is the new queen and is quaking; she's young, inexperienced and watching the massed hordes of Amon Tugha approach to rout the kingdom of Steelhaven. This isn't the only problem her father's untimely death has left her with; there's a whole heap of trouble (internal as much as external) and hardly anyone Janessa can trust. Little Rag is now in the Guild but it's not all she dreamt it would be or as safe as she'd hoped. Meanwhile Merrick the ex-mercenary and Kaira, the former spear maiden are settling into their new job as bodyguards to the Queen. Merrick, though, has other things to think about as his past comes back to haunt him. Waylian the witch's assistant is still alive, which is good. And Regulus? He just wants to offer his men's swords in defence of Steelhaven but just didn't realise how difficult that would be, even before the fighting officially starts. Full review...
The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula Jones
Imagine a story – a good old-fashioned adventure with journeys and magic and villains and young people finding their strengths despite the odds, and coming at last to the place they belong. Then imagine another story, a heart-touching one this time, about the writing of that story, and you have the whole of this charming book. Full review...
Libriomancer by Jim C Hines
Pulp fantasy may be frowned upon by some who believe that novels should be about emotions, inner journeys and despair. Fantasy and science fiction can have all these things as well, but they can also be fun, entertaining and laser pistols. ‘Libriomancer’ by Jim C Hines is a great example. It is a book that follows Isaac Vainio, a Libriomancer who has the power to draw magic from books. He must use this gift to good effect when one day, whilst sitting comfortably cataloguing, he is attacked by three vampires. Does that sound fun to you? If so, read on; if not, this may not be the book for you. Full review...
Ghost Train to New Orleans: Book 2 of the Shambling Guides by Mur Lafferty
After delivering The Shambling Guide to New York, a travel guide for the coterie of the undead, Zoe the inadvertent citytalker goes to New Orleans to research the next one. She sets off with a feeling of foreboding, but perhaps she's being overly pessimistic? I mean, she's travelling with two gods, (one of whom is a rather strident ex-Valkyrie), a baby dragon, two vampires (one of whom hates her) and Arthur, her boyfriend the Public Works employee. (Yes, Public Works as in the body that polices and, where necessary, clears away the coterie.) Oh and by the way, Arthur may be turning into a zombie soon. The trip will be fine; what could possibly go wrong? Full review...
Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard
Prince Corin has been bewitched by the dragons, something he'll forget until the time is right for him to free the fire breathers from enslavement to Emperor Hadon of Mycene. It doesn't stop there though - that's not all he's been bewitched by. The commoner Tam happens to be attending the summer court at his palace; a house party for unmarried debs to find the husband of their parents' dreams. Tam isn't actually looking but Corin finds her anyway. However their world doesn't run as smoothly as their hearts: war is about to start, murderous treachery stalks the palace and Tam has visions she can't explain. Although as time goes on their purpose becomes clearer. Tam and Corin realise that their reason for being together extends beyond love – they've been brought together to save the world. Full review...
The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M Harris
Loki is a shape shifter and the most recent addition to the Norse gods in the halls of Asgard. He’s there to help the likes of Odin and Thor but sometimes things go wrong or his actions are misunderstood. Loki definitely doesn’t deserve his ‘Trickster’ nickname and will explain why to anyone who will listen. This is Loki's gospel, his long-overdue side of the story and it’s all here: how he arranged a mason to rebuild Asgard (shame about the horse), his marriage to Sygni, the problems fathering a werewolf and giving birth to a foal, what Freyja’s gold necklace cost mankind and, of course, that day Thor became a beautiful bride. (An occasion Thor has never spoken of since for some reason!) Indeed, Loki is there to help and facilitate - if anyone tells you differently, don’t believe them! Full review...
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan
We could all wish for a little of Lady Trent in ourselves. It's obvious what she feels she has inside her, for ever since she was a young girl she ignored society and decorum and was interested in science, nature, and the discovery of all that was unknown about dragons. She even went on a hunt for wolf-drakes, disguised as a male, and that's a species that prefers female prey. But as renowned a pioneer as she is, she has never told anyone in such detail of her life stories, starting with this one – a journey to the cold, mountainous land of Vystrana, which successfully uncovered a lot of the truth about dragons – but also a lot that was much harder to explain… Full review...
Unnatural Creatures by Neil Gaiman
I wished I could visit a Museum of Unnatural History, but even so, I was glad there wasn't one... If someone actually caught a werewolf, or a dragon, if they tamed a manticore or stabled a unicorn, put them in bottles, dissected them, then they could be only one thing, and they would no longer live in the shadowy places between the things I knew and the world of the impossible, which was, I was certain, the only place that mattered.
So says Neil Gaiman in the introduction to this anthology of sixteen unnatural creatures (to capitalise or not to capitalise, that is the question). Full review...
The Copper Promise by Jen Williams
Former knight Sir Sebastian Caverson and Wydrin of Crosshaven (aka Copper Cat) are swords for hire. On this occasion they're hired by Lord Aaron Frith of Blackwood to enter the Citadel, of which dark legends abound. They don't know what they need to do once in there, but that doesn't matter. The trip unleashes something that would have made them forget their purpose anyway, not to mention their pay: they awake Y'Ruen, the last god. In return for the alarm call, Y'Ruen breathes death across the known world with a little family assistance but that's not the worst bit. The worst bit (at least for them) is that Sebastian and Wydrin are the only ones who can stop her. Full review...
The Enchantment Emporium (Enchantment Emporium 1) by Tanya Huff
All the Gale family have powers and there are many in the clan, mostly women. This is one of the reasons that 24-year-old Allie (or Alysha Catherine Gale to the aunties) jumps at the chance of moving to the other side of Canada when her gran leaves her a junk shop. Ok, it may not be an ordinary junk shop and it could mean that Gran is dead but the fact that the love of her life has left her for a man makes her mind up. With the help of Joe O'Hallan, a tall leprechaun with a gift for selling yo-yos, Allie sorts out the Enchantment Emporium but once there she hasn't escaped all supervision. Indeed, someone is watching her closely; very closely indeed. Full review...
Dirty Magic: Prospero's War: Book One by Jaye Wells
Gray Wolf is the new magic drug in town but it's a mite more evil than the usual sex potions and enchanted uppers and downers. Gray Wolf ensures that the user becomes a craven devourer of flesh - human flesh. Kate Prospero, cop seconded to the MEA (the government agency charged with clearing the streets of dirty, illegal magic) has her work cut out. Unfortunately this work includes having to go into the Cauldron, the dangerous underbelly of a town called Babylon. However Kate has a lot to prove, having been born an adept in that very underbelly and now having to face the forces that helped create the tragedy still haunting her. Also, if she didn't have enough to worry about, her ex-lover is implicated in Gray Wolf's manufacture and her kid brother is choosing his own way in life; not a good thing, not a good thing at all. Full review...
Dark Witch (The Cousins O'Dwyer Trilogy) by Nora Roberts
American Iona Sheehan moves to Ireland in order to discover her ancestors' roots and oh so much more. Her ancestors were witches and her cousins Branna and Conor O'Dwyer have acquired the family talent. Under their care and tutelage Iona has her own skills honed as she develops the magick passed down to her in between her work at the local stables. Unfortunately magick isn't the only thing to have survived the centuries. Cabahn, the nemesis of Sorcha, the first O'Dwyer dark witch, has unfinished business with the cousins and not in a good way. Full review...
Last to Rise by Francis Knight
Rojan has spent his life running from any sort of responsibility, but it's all catching up with him now. With the Mishans and Storads both knocking on Mahala's door, war seems inevitable. The inhabitants of Mahala are starving as trade dries up, the natural resources of the city all used. And the paltry amount of Glow the few pain mages can generate isn't enough to protect them. Full review...
Seven Sorcerers: Books of the Shaper: Volume 3 by John R Fultz
Vireon the Giant-King, Emperor Tyro and Feathered Serpent/Sorcerer Khama are readying their armies to face the Almighty Zyung, would be conqueror of the Five Cities, a Shaper and evil piece of work. Meanwhile Sharadza (Vireon's sister) and Iardu (the good Shaper, mostly) take on swifter forms to beg assistance from every place and being they can think of. For the time is coming when the world's freedom depends on victory against insurmountable odds. Back at the armies, Dahrima the Axe, giantess and leader of Vireon's spear-maiden body guard, has sworn to die for her king but also has some emotional issues. As for Ianthe and Gammir, the causes of much suffering in the past, they once again have their own agendas that could mean Zyung is the least of anyone's worries. Full review...
World After (Penryn and the End of Days Book 2) by Susan Ee
Penryn successfully (depending on how you look at things) liberated her little sister Paige from the sick experiments of the angels now ruling over the world. Believed to be dead at the start of the story, Penryn finds herself at the control centre of the human resistance movement whose treatment of her sister and other victims of angel brutality seems less than human. In order to protect her sister she feels the need to leave the resistance and risk life in the nearly destroyed world amongst predators such as angels and even more horrifying creations spawned by the angels. All the while Pen clings to the hope of a reunion with Raffe, the angel responsible for saving her life and true owner of the powerful sword she carries with her. Full review...
The Girl With All the Gifts by M R Carey
Meet Melanie. Not something that's likely to happen, but it's a standard introduction and I'll run with it. If you do find her, it's either in a subterranean cell, or a classroom. Or the shower-room, where she and the other children get disinfected, and get to eat a bowl of maggots – the only nutrition they have all week. All this is on a military base so secure they've only seen a few members of staff – either military or mostly lacklustre teachers – and they've certainly no real hope of seeing sunlight. They are there because of the Breakdown, when most of the world got turned into ravenous, mindless hungries. But these children did not turn all the way. And as unlikely as it is, as implausible a heroine as she is, young Melanie might just be the saviour of mankind. Full review...
Rags and Bones by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt (Editors)
Some of today's top authors have come together to retell classic tales - from fairy stories to Victorian-era fiction. As usual with this kind of anthology, it's a fairly hit-or-miss affair, but the hits here are so strong that they're well worth picking up the book for. Full review...
Kinslayer (Lotus War Trilogy 2) by Jay Kristoff
Spoilers for Stormdancer follow so read it first! The Shogun is dead, murdered in the public square by 16 year old Kage rebel Yukiko to avenge her family and in retribution for the evil hold that he has over the dystopian land of Shima. He may be dead but Hiro (equally nasty and Yukiko's former lover) has a plan to take power which includes marrying Aisha, the Shogun's sister and secret Kage sympathiser. Yukiko has to stop the wedding with the help of Buruu, the flying thunder tiger and Kin, the former Lotus Guild engineer. Yes, the Lotus Guild - the Shogun's lot. Yukiko has problems of her own as well, in that her ability to hear the thoughts of animals and feel the emotions of anyone and anything is becoming a curse. Meanwhile in Hiro's palace there works No One, below the radar and beneath contempt, but one day. Full review...
I Love Lucid by Mark Lingane
Lucid is more than a full-immersion role play game; it's THE full-immersion role play game. Its inventor Seth Pascal has ensured that all that needs to be done is to plug in and the player's brain will take them to the virtual world while during sleep, providing perfect lucidity and an alternative life within an avatar. However it's also becoming the game to die for. Yes, literally die for as players are being murdered while they're connected. Detective Evan Waugh is the investigator given the case to prove that he still has what it takes. However there's an added complication for both he and Seth as the investigation continues. Her name is Ellen, the woman for whom Lucid isn't just a way of life, it is her life. Full review...
The Time Traveller's Almanac by Anne VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer
From H.G Wells to Doctor Who, there is something about a good time-travel story that has the power to ignite the imagination in a way unique to the genre. Perhaps it is due to the fact that when dealing with the subject of time travel, literally anything is possible. Well, almost anything...apart from going back in time and killing your Grandfather, which we know would cause an almighty paradox and probably destroy the universe. Full review...
The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
It's been two hundred years since Optimus Yarnspinner last went to the great literary city of Bookholm, where people trawled underground hells for classic works of Zamonian literature, and our hero had an almighty, Odyssey-like journey through the nether regions. He would not have ever expected to return, except for a very intriguing letter he receives one day in his authorly garret. It contains such mystery, including the idea that he wrote it to himself, to force him to journey back to Bookholm – a Bookholm completely rebuilt after the ending of the last novel. The city is much more advanced, the subterranean areas seemingly more at peace – yet something is definitely afoot. Full review...
The Black Guard (The Long War) by AJ Smith
Ro Canarn is falling to the brutal conquest of the Red Knights. Duke Hector, its ruler, is on the verge of death and his twin offspring Lady Bronwyn and Lord Bromvy are on the run, outcast. However this is merely a portent of greater troubles ahead. One of the evil Seven Sisters is seen accompanying the Red Knights so if there is a secret agenda it's not a good one. Meanwhile if Ro Canarn can fall, is anywhere safe anymore? Full review...
A Dance of Cloaks by David Dalglish
Thren Felhorn is the leader of the Spider Guild and is a name feared by everyone in Veldaren. For good reason, for Thren has united the Guilds, those groups populated by the thieves and murderers of the city. Thren’s long term aim is to lead the Guilds in a war against the Trifect – the three richest families who control the majority of the city’s legal activities. Full review...
Bronze Gods by A A Aguire
One of the many reasons I love fantasy is discovering the new worlds that the authors have created. Where is the world? What kind creatures inhabit it? What are the customs, et cetera, et cetera. Steampunk novels are especially fascinating and steampunk mixed with fantasy is the double hit. Throw in some murder most frighteningly horrid and we have the makings of a really good time. Full review...
The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell
Lin and her family are living in a rented house in the city because Lin's mother has been given her dream job as professor of traditional songs at the university. Lin's novelist father doesn't mind: he can write and play at riddling in the city as well as anywhere. But Lin hates it. She misses the farm where she was brought up and she misses playing at troll-hunting with her friend Niklas. But most of all, she misses her pet vole, Rufus, who is buried under a rosebush. Full review...
Omens by Kelley Armstrong
Olivia Taylor-Jones has a charmed life. Her family is rich, her fiance perfect and though she has some questions about her career, she knows that things will work themselves out. Until she learns that she's adopted - her true parents America's most infamous serial killers. Suddenly on the run from the media, Olivia finds shelter in the small town of Cainsville. It's a strange sort of place - full of oddball characters and gargoyles that seem to only appear at certain times. Full review...
The Box of Red Brocade (Chronoptika) by Catherine Fisher
Ok. Let's catch you up. Jake's father is still lost in time. Venn's wife is still dead. Summer, the Queen of the Shee, still hasn't made Venn her husband. Sarah still hasn't prevented the destruction of the future by Janus. And the Scarred Man still hasn't done, well, whatever it is that he's trying to do. The Chronoptika, a mirror made of black obsidian and a time travel device, connects Jake, Venn, Sarah and the rest, but they all want different things from it. Can they all be satisfied? It doesn't look likely. Full review...
The Legend of Broken by Caleb Carr
A historical manuscript has been found in what is now Germany (so the story goes) chronicling an ancient civilisation inhabiting the fortress city of Broken (or Brocken in the original German). Those who anger the government are cast out into the surrounding forests where they must face the dangers of man-eating wolves and worse. These outcasts can only survive by collaborating and becoming one tribe: the Bane. Although, to be honest, they're becoming a bit of a nuisance with their terrorist ways, therefore Sixt Arnem, Sentek of the Broken Army is ordered to eradicate them for once and for all. Full review...
Elysian Fields by Suzanne Johnson
Drusilla Jaco (DJ) is the sentinel for the preternatural community in the greater New Orleans area and is still recovering from bereavement, Katrina and broken ribs from her last adventure. No such luck as life taking things easy on her, however, as it is discovered that the copycat of a famous serial killer is not, in fact, a copycat. The Axeman of New Orleans himself has been raised from the dead by a necromancer or necromancers unknown. To make matters worse, her loup-garou fiend Jake bit her in a fit of pique and her best friend’s creepy boyfriend won’t leave her alone. She doesn’t know what he wants and she doesn’t know whether she’ll turn into a wolf at the next full moon but she does know that the Axeman is after her, specifically. Full review...
