Age of Assassins by R.J. Barker
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy, mystery
Published: 1st August 2017 by Orbit US & 3rd August 2017 by Orbit UK
An excellent debut, Age of Assassins was a well-crafted and compelling coming-of-age tale – one that’s not exactly what you expect a typical assassin story to be.
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(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in July 2017)
Cover art illustrated by: Didier Graffet & Dave Senior
Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: First Law World (Book #6 of 10)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Westerns
Pages: 452 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 18th October 2012 by Gollancz (UK) and 23rd October 2012 by Orbit (US)
Say one thing for Abercrombie, say he knows how to make me love his book even when the setting is Western. …
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ARC provided by the publishers—Tor Books & Tor UK—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Richard Anderson
The Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Ashes of the Unhewn Throne (Book #1 of 3), Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne (Book #5 of 7)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 752 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 8th July 2021 by Tor (UK) and 6th July 2021 by Tor Books (US)
The Empire’s Ruin is a scintillating explosive epic fantasy with multiple legendary scenes that rivaled The Way of Kings. …
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ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Patrick Knowles
The Hand of the Sun King by J.T. Greathouse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Pact and Pattern (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 416 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 5th August 2021 by Gollancz
An all-around marvelously crafted fantasy debut; The Hand of the Sun King has cemented its spot as the best fantasy debut of the year. …
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(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in July 2017)
Cover art illustrated by: Didier Graffet & Dave Senior
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: First Law World (Book #5 of 10)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy
Pages: 664 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 27th January 2011 by Gollancz (UK) and 7th February 2011 by Orbit (US)
The Heroes depicted an unforgettable three days of intricate battles; Joe Abercrombie has once again proved himself to be my shining star in grimdark fantasy.
Wintersteel by Will Wight
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Cradle (Book #8 of 12)
Genre: Fantasy, Progression Fantasy, Xianxia
Published: 6th October 2020 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)
Wintersteel was yet another immensely addictive, fun and fantastic continuation in the Cradle series, which just keeps getting more epic with each book.
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ARC provided by the publisher—Tor Books & Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Marie Bergeron
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Blacktongue (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 416 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 27th May 2021 by Gollancz (UK) and 25th May 2021 by Tor Books (US)
The Blacktongue Thief is an immense entertainment manifesting in a fantasy novel. …
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(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in July 2017)
Cover art illustrated by: Didier Graffet & Dave Senior
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: First Law World (Book #4 of 10)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy
Pages: 664 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 5th June 2009 by Gollancz (UK) and 29th July 2009 by Orbit (US)
A magnificent tale of vengeance filled with bloody actions, betrayal, and humor.
“One cannot grow without pain. One cannot improve without it. Suffering drives us to achieve great things.”
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Cover art illustrated by: Adam Paquette
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Series: Song of the Shattered Sands (Book #1 of 6)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 584 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 3rd September 2015 by Gollancz (UK) and 1st September 2015 by DAW (US)
For me, Twelve Kings in Sharakhai has everything except the most important one: characters to care for. …
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Marcus Whinney
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Bloodsworn Saga (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 496 pages (Hardcover edition)
Published: 6th May 2021 by Orbit (UK) and 4th May 2021 by Orbit (US)
The Shadow of the Gods is the new benchmark in Norse mythology-inspired stories. This is the fantasy I’ve been waiting for.
In all honesty, this book had as good a chance as possible of becoming a favourite of mine, for I am without a doubt an ardent reader and supporter of John Gwynne and his books, having read and loved all of his previous works. Both The Faithful and the Fallen and Of Blood and Bone are masterpieces in my estimation and occupy treasured spaces on my shelf and within my heart. Nevertheless, no book is a certain thing as writers are only human beings, but I could not contain my excitement when I read that this latest venture of Mr Gwynne was another epic fantasy story, this time with Norse ink in its veins. I believe that mythologies always appeal to a wide fan base, with Norse and Greek, in particular, being personal favourites. And while I am nowhere near well-read on the subjects, I squeed like any fan worthy of the title at the idea of a favourite author shaping a story from the fertile ground that is the Norse culture. On such a foundation The Shadow of the Gods had much to live up to and I tried to curtail my hopes a little. There was no need though. At the end of this story, I was once again in awe at witnessing a master completely comfortable in executing an epically captivating and exciting tale.