Hullo, everyone! It has been a while, hasn't it? Apologies for that, I have been busy with work and my master's in literature. The blog has had to take a backseat these past couple of months but after a lovely two-week break, I feel in just the right mood to create a MASTERPLAN for The... Continue Reading →
“One Flesh, One End”: The Beautiful, Tragic Friendship At The Heart of Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon The Ninth
SPOILERS FOR GIDEON THE NINTH BELOW. Something about the absolute animosity between Gideon Nav and Harrowhark Nonagesimus lets you know…these two crazy kids love each other to death. That something isn’t the vague, zeitgeisty knowledge I had about the novel before ever picking it up (thanks, blogosphere!); nor was it an errant turn left down... Continue Reading →
Short Changed by Josh Erikson – Book Review
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 →
Month in Review: January 2020 at the Reliquary
Greetings, fabled followers, craven cultists, grimoire gnomes and blog butterflies! The first twelfth of 2020 is behind us and the eternal question must be asked: What the heck happened last month? Here, at the Reliquary, not too much. Books were read, old posts revisited, humans hunted for spo--don't know where that came from, to tell... Continue Reading →
Jim Butcher’s Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2)
Hullo and welcome to this tiny review, in which I will bitch and moan about Fool Moon for a wee bit! Why? Because #EverythingIsContent ! I listened to James Masters's reading of the first Harry Dresden novel almost two years ago -- my Goodreads shelf tells me I read it on June 29, 2017 --... Continue Reading →
Book Review: City of Kings by Rob J. Hayes (Archived)
Hey, everyone! This review was originally published over on BookNest.eu about six months ago. Check the site out, great reviews by me and many other lovely folks! I thought I'd start reposting my old reviews here every few days, in case anyone who hasn't seen them before follows my blog for the book reviews in... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Gifts by Ursula Le Guin
I've been meaning to explore the great Ursula Le Guin's writing for a few years, now. I always thought I'd start with Earthsea if not for a serendipitous occasion in my new university library thanks to which I stumbled upon this, a short 280-page first part of a trilogy by the name of 'Annals of... Continue Reading →
Small Gods: A Discworld Review
Oh, lawks, I read another Discworld novel. Small Gods was Terry Pratchett's most intricate examination of organised religion and faith yet. Where do the gods come from? How many masks do they wear? Are they just a big lot of buggers sitting on their arses, pulling the limbs off mortals for the giggles? That's what... Continue Reading →
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik spins gold in this excellent new standalone novel, which perfectly captures the essence of Slavic fairy tales while doing an excellent job of turning the classical Rumplestiltskin tale on its heels. Novik's previous novel, Uprooted, was a 2015 favourite of mine. Novik's love for Slavic folklore shined through. For the first time had... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Melokai by Rosalyn Kelly: The Good, The Bad, The Meh
I received Melokai for free as part of r/fantasy's TBRindr initiative, meant to popularize and highlight the works of independently published authors. Melokai's opening held a great deal of promise, which could've propelled the story forward. Unfortunately, this novel didn't ultimately deliver on the promises made, both by its opening and its cover. Before I... Continue Reading →