December 2023 - Novel Notions

Book Review: Evershore (Skyward Flight, #2.3) by Brandon Sanderson & Janci Patterson

December 30, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Review copy provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by Sam Green

Evershore by Brandon Sanderson & Janci Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Skyward (Book #2.3 of 4)

Genre: Sci-fi

Pages: 224 pages (Hardcover edition)

Publish date: 28th of December 2021 by Delacorte Press (US) & Gollancz (UK)

Even without Spensa, this is a return to form. Evershore is the best title in Skyward Flight omnibus.
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Celeste’s Top Reads of 2023

December 29, 2023 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

My 2023 reading year was a bit of a mixed bag. While I read some truly phenomenal books, I also got bogged down in some that didn’t work for me. This was also the year when I began to take a step back from reviewing quite as much, as have felt myself beginning to burn out for quite a while now. This led me to rereading much more this year, as I didn’t owe those books anything else. I read a solid mix of new releases and backlist books, and I believe this is the year where I saw the most new releases added to my list of favorites. Eight of the twelve books below were published in 2023, with two more having hit shelves the year before. The other two are modern classics that couldn’t be more deserving of the title.

The rules for this list are as follows:

All books must be new to me.
One book per author.
All books must have been 5 star reads. While I read some fantastic books that I gave 4.5 stars, none of those made this list.

I couldn’t narrow it down to ten. Without further ado, here are my twelve favorite books read in 2023. …

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Book Review: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 2 (The Sun Eater, #4.5) by Christopher Ruocchio

December 27, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover art illustrated by Nathan Anderson

Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 2 by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #4.5 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Pages: 157 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 1st June 2022 (Self-Published)

Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 2 is a comparatively better collection of short stories that shows The Sun Eater can still function without Hadrian Marlowe’s POV. …

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Book Review: Long Chills and Case Dough by Brandon Sanderson

December 24, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Long Chills and Case Dough by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Mystery, Detective noir

Pages: 67 pages (ebook edition)

Published: 19th December 2023 by Dragonsteel

If The Sunlit Man was the final book to end the Year of Sanderson, Long Chills and Case Dough is the epilogue to it. …

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Book Review: The God is Not Willing (The Witness, #1) by Steven Erikson

December 22, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 2 comments

Review copy provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by Steve Stone

The God is Not Willing by Steven Erikson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Series: The Witness (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic fantasy, Military Fantasy

Word Count: 191,000 words

Pages: 496 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 16th November 2021 by Tor Books (US) & 1st July 2021 by Bantam Press (UK)

The God is Not Willing made me sad. It might be time for me to admit everything in the Malazan universe beyond Malazan Book of the Fallen is not for me.

“Longing. Look for it, in every crowd, and you will find it. Paint it any colour you choose: grief, nostalgia, melancholy, remembrance, these are but flavours, poetic reflections.”

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Book Review: The Great Change (and Other Lies) by Joe Abercrombie

December 19, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover art by John Anthony di Giovanni

The Great Change (and Other Lies) by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Age of Madness (Book #0.5 of 3), First Law World (Book, #11 of 11)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Pages: 120 pages (Hardback)

Published: 30^th September 2023 by Subterranean Press

The Great Change (and Other Lies) is a terrific and thought-provoking insight into the behind-the-scenes of creation and revolution in The Age of Madness.

“Greed was the one thing in the diamond trade, after all, that could always be relied upon.

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Book Review: Cytonic (Skyward, #3) by Brandon Sanderson

December 15, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Review copy provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by Sam Green

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Skyward (Book #3 of 4)

Genre: Sci-fi

Pages: 432 pages (Hardcover edition)

Publish date: 23rd of November 2021 by Delacorte Press (US) & Gollancz (UK)

Cytonic was not as underwhelming as I expected, which is good, but it felt like reading a middle-book syndrome despite it being the penultimate installment of the series.