The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #2 of 4)
Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Translation Edition Published: 2009 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & 2009 by Doubleday (US)
The Angel’s Game was equally as spellbinding and bewitching as The Shadow of the Wind, but in a totally different way.
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Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The First Law (Book #3 of 3), First Law World (Book, #3 of 10)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy
Published: 20th March 2008 by Gollancz (UK) & 8th September 2015 by Orbit (US)
I’ve been meaning to read The First Law trilogy for years, after hearing loads of accolades from far and wide across the fantasy bibliosphere. Now that I’ve done so, I could safely say that Abercrombie deserved all those praises, and I’ll contribute by heaping on more of the same.
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Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The First Law (Book #2 of 3), First Law World (Book, #2 of 10)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy
Published: 15th March 2007 by Gollancz (UK) & 8th September 2015 by Orbit (US)
This is when I start to bemoan about picking up this trilogy so late. To think that I actually met Abercrombie at WorldCon last year before completing The First Law. It was such a travesty of an opportunity, and I’m repentant for it.
Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars.
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 8 of 10)
Genre: Epic fantasy, grimdark fantasy
First published: 2008 by Bantam (UK) and Tor (US)
In a series replete with epic endings, Toll the Hounds offered, to date, the most epic one of all. It is with much joy that upon rereading I could upgrade this book as one of my favourites.
Night Shift Dragons by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: DFZ (Book 3 of 3)
Genre: Urban fantasy
Published: 5th May 2020 (Aaron/Bach, self-published)
Night Shift Dragons delivered a spectacular and hugely emotionally satisfying conclusion to Rachel Aaron’s follow-up urban fantasy series set in the insanely cool, quirky and vibrant free city of the DFZ.
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Age of Empyre by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Legends of the First Empire (Book 6 of 6)
Genre: Fantasy, high fantasy, classic fantasy
Published: 5th May 2020 (Grim Oak Press)
Age of Empyre proves once again that Michael J. Sullivan is a masterful storyteller that really knows how to captivate and conclude a well-crafted tale. As I turned the final page, I couldn’t help feeling that I’m going to miss all the wonderful characters that I’ve grown to love.
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The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars.
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 6 of 10)
Genre: Epic fantasy, grimdark fantasy
First published: 2006 by Bantam (UK) and 2007 by Tor (US)
Malazan Book of the Fallen really hit its stride coming into its sixth chapter of this massive tale. However, now that we have moved past the midway point of the series, it will get more and more difficult to compose a review without giving away too much. As such, you may see the length of these reviews getting shorter as I progress towards the finale.
Firstly, I have to say that in The Bonehunters, Erikson started to reveal a larger picture of the intricate tapestry that he has so masterfully woven. Almost every character that we have met from the beginning and their respective arcs or subplots were coming together to form a more cohesive narrative across all the volumes of the series so far. While the prose maintained its dense philosophical slant, the books were progressively getting easier to read. Easier being solely relative to its predecessors. …
Solo Leveling by Gi So-Ryeong & Jang Sung-Rak
Series: Solo Leveling (Season #1)
Genre: Fantasy, LitRPG, Progression Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Petrik’s Review: 5 of 5 stars
I will level (pun fully intended) myself with you; this was by far the most badass and engaging LitRPG I’ve ever read. …
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, dystopian
Published: March 2016 by Gallery/Saga Press (US) and Head of Zeus (UK)
I’ve been meaning to read Ken Liu’s first collection of short stories for a quite a while. His translation for two of Cixin Liu’s books in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy was excellent and I’ve heard a lot of great things about the titular short story of this collection.
In my opinion, the preface alone warrants at least a 5-star and an award. Liu’s writing is utterly beautiful and profound, and one can clearly see how talented and intelligent this author is just from reading his preface to the collection. I’ve highlighted at least half of it because it was so well-written. …
ARC provided by the publisher—Pan Macmillan—in exchange for an honest review.
A Time of Courage by John Gwynne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Of Blood and Bone (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Published: 2nd April 2020 by Pan Macmillan (UK) & 7th April 2020 by Orbit (US)
A Time of Courage is a stunning masterpiece that proved yet again that John Gwynne is a force to be reckoned with; primed and poised to joined the ranks of the greatest fantasy authors.
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