I found Katherine Buel's A Stranger at the Hearth something of a mixed bag. It is the latest in a vein of retellings that follow in the footsteps of such luminary works of fantasy as The Song of Achilles, this one centered around the legendary figure of Sigurd from Germanic and Norse myth. The source... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/mdM4S80F-7c Published by: Ace Genre: FantasyPages: 416 pagesFormat: hardcover Endings are damnably hard to nail—especially when the kind we’re talking about is the culmination not just of a trilogy but of disparate elements woven throughout an entire fifteen-book oeuvre. I cannot judge too well on the latter, having read only half of Mark Lawrence’s novels; but... Continue Reading →
Admit it! You thought I'd miss the whole March book blog event--and I nearly did. But fret not, Reader, I've got you covered with a long overdue look at a sequel that flew past me last year. It's time to gush over Andrea Stewart's Bone Shard Emperor! A Sequel Worthy of the Name When I... Continue Reading →
There's something delectably fun about a villain that's perfectly defined by their name, especially when that name is a monosyllabic nouns like "Pride" or "Sin" or "Ruin". Everything's on the label - you can be comfortable in your expectations as to the goals they'll pursue but how they get there is anybody's guess! It's also... Continue Reading →
Short story anthologies are a difficult sell right now, especially ones based on existing properties. It's no surprise Josh Erikson describes Short Changed: Stories from Ethereal Earth as a passion project, one he doesn't expect will be widely read or reviewed. He is likely right; all the more shame, really, as the stories within this... Continue Reading →
This semester, I have a cours on the Early and Mid-Victorian Novel; the very first read on my syllabus is a book I've long tip-toed around, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Now that I've gone through it, I have to wonder, why did I hesitate to read it for so long? My attention span, perhaps, which... Continue Reading →
I don’t know where to begin with this one, really I don’t.
My fondness of Kurt Vonnegut knows no bounds. I've spoken about his best-known piece of fiction, and one of the finest anti-war books (along with Catch-22), Slaughterhouse-Five previously. I've read a few other of his novels, too: the Sirens of Titan immediately comes to mind as a wonky, entertaining--and somewhat unsettling--tale of a businessman and... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/bitO0BtQEjQ Hey folks, I'm back this week with another video review of a fantasy novel! This one is Mike Shackle's 2019 dark fantasy debut, We Are The Dead. I took a liking to it - as you'll find out when you check the video. As always, I would appreciate you subscribing and liking the clip... Continue Reading →
Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven asks not only “Can we imagine the future?” but “What is the price for that future?” It's a brilliant work, revolving around the relationship between George Orr (who may or may not be a reference to George Orwell) and his psychiatrist, William Haber. Bend me your ear... Continue Reading →
The Grimoire Reliquary 