Eon, Author at Novel Notions

Book Review: The Trouble With Peace (The Age of Madness, #2) by Joe Abercrombie

September 17, 2020 Eon Comments 0 Comment

I received an ARC of The Trouble with Peace (Gollancz) in exchange for an honest review.

Cover illustration by: Tomás Almeida

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Age of Madness (Book #2 of 3), First Law World (Book, #9 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Published: 15^th September 2020 by Gollancz (UK) & 15th September 2020 by Orbit (US)

A savagely stunning sequel.

The Trouble With Peace takes place shortly after the events of A Little Hatred and its ominous conclusion. Whilst peace has been hard-won, it is a peace built on shaky foundations and the title for this second book in The Age of Madness trilogy is not coy about the direction of this story.
…

Read More Read More

Book Review: A Little Hatred (The Age of Madness, #1) by Joe Abercrombie

September 15, 2020 Eon Comments 1 comment

A Little Hatred

Cover illustration by: Tomás Almeida

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Age of Madness (Book #1 of 3), First Law World (Book, #8 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Published: 17^th September 2019 by Gollancz (UK) & 17th September 2019 by Orbit (US)

As ferocious and fun as ever.

It’s been a while since I read a Joe Abercrombie novel, and the truth is that it has been too long. This dawned on me when I recently read one of his short stories in an anthology and was instantly reminded that he is one of the greatest fantasy writers of our era, with a writing style and tone of his own, and a gift for bringing words, thoughts and emotions to life like no other. A Little Hatred moved up on my TBR and when I saw that his latest book, The Trouble with Peace, was releasing soon I decided that there was no time like the present for catching up.
…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire, #1) by Andrea Stewart

August 21, 2020 Eon Comments 4 comments

I received an ARC of The Bone Shard Daughter (Orbit) in exchange for an honest review.

The Bone Shard Daughter book cover

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Drowning Empire (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy

Published: 10th September 2020 by Orbit (UK) & 8th September 2020 by Orbit (US)

I will make no bones about it: This brilliant fantasy debut has announced Andrea Stewart as quite possibly the best newcomer of the year.

Bone. Shard. Magic. How intriguing does that sound?!?! I’m a sucker for a cool magic system and the sound of that sold me instantly. Having finished this book speedily, I can honestly say you would be wrong if you thought that was the final mark under this book’s coolness column. We’re talking migrating islands, lost ancient civilizations, wet and dry seasons that last for years if not decades, mythical creatures, people mysteriously disappearing, and other inexplicable magic. I fully understand if you stop reading this review about now to go and place that pre-order. Excellent choice in supporting this author if I may so.

“The construct looked nothing so much as a giant spider, dark brown and glistening, as tall as my chest when it stood to attention. Human hands were attached to the end of each of its spindly legs, and an old woman’s adorned the abdomen.”

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: A Chorus of Fire (The Sorcerer’s Song, #2) by Brian D. Anderson

July 31, 2020 Eon Comments 0 Comment

I received an ARC of A Chorus of Fire from the publisher (Tor books) in exchange for an honest review.

A Chorus of Fire by Brian D. Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Sorcerer’s Song (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy

Published: 11^th August 2020 by Tor Books

A captivating continuation, A Chorus of fire expertly sets up the series for a climactic finish.

The Bard’s Blade was the first book I read by Brian D. Anderson and I loved it. As I stated in my review for that book, there are not many fantasy stories where music plays a major role. That does not seem to have changed much since I wrote that and I was eagerly looking forward to immersing myself back in this world. When I was given the chance to read the sequel early, I had zero hesitation in saying “YES, PLEASE!” Before I carry on though, I would like to give a shout out to Felix Ortiz for the gorgeous cover art he created for this book.

…

Read More Read More

Book review: Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire

July 29, 2020 Eon Comments 1 comment

Shadow of a Dead God cover Shadow Of A Dead God

Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Mennik Thorn (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy

Published: May 27th, 2020 by Five Fathoms Press

Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

A real page-turner; Patrick Samphire has crafted an excellent, mage-ical adult fantasy debut.

I am for the most part very wary regarding what I choose to read, and as such, I rarely read books that I have not heard a lot of good things about, with the exception of authors whose previous work I loved. Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire fell smack-bang in the middle of this category, with neither the author nor the book being known to me, but I was seriously tempted from the first time I read the blurb and it shows the importance of a well-written description. Still, I wavered until my co-blogger, Emma, said that she was also interested in this fun sounding book and ready to give it a shot, and I thought, what the hell, let me join in. I am SO happy I made that decision.
…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

July 9, 2020 Eon Comments 4 comments

The Once and Future Witches

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Published: October 15th, 2020 by Orbit (UK) and October 13th, 2020 by Redhook (US)

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Witchy as HELL! The Once and Future Witches was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and Alix E. Harrow absolutely, unequivocally, brought the magic.

I first picked up The Ten Thousand Doors of January earlier this year (2020) and loved it beyond description. In fact, that book now occupies a space on my favourites shelf. It is unsurprising then, that The Once and Future Witches was one of my most anticipated book releases of the year. Luckily, I have been fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to read this book before the official release date. The icing on the bookish cake is that I have had the privilege of reading not just one, but two of Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding stories in less than seven months and both have filled me with an unbridled sense of wonder.

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water

June 15, 2020 Eon Comments 2 comments

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Published: 23 June 2020 by Tor.com Publishing

Zen Cho is an author whose previous work I have enjoyed a lot, but in all honesty, what first drew my attention to this book was not the author or the title, but the beautiful, captivating illustration done by Sija Hong for the cover. Add in that blurb teasing a found family, wuxia fantasy story involving a nun joining up with a group of bandits in order to protect a sacred object but finding herself in a situation far more complicated than she expected and yes, my tbr mountain found itself one book higher.

…

Read More Read More

The Girl and the Stars (Book of the Ice, #1)

April 21, 2020 Eon Comments 3 comments

The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Book of the Ice (Book 1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction

Published: 21 April 2020 by HarperVoyager (UK) and by Ace (US)

A scintillating start to this new series!

Omens are difficult and open to interpretation but if the oracle that touches your newborn dies moments later, frothing at the mouth, it is hard even with a mother’s love to think it is a good sign. In such cases a second opinion is often sought.

If the old adage that you’re only as good as your last book holds true for authors, then it’s hardly a surprise that one of my most highly anticipated book releases of the year was The Girl and the Stars. Full disclosure, that’s a complete understatement. Mark Lawrence delivered an emphatically stunning and satisfying conclusion with Holy Sister, finishing off his The Book of the Ancestor (TBOTA) series in some style and simultaneously pushing my hype levels for his next project through the roof (although I am still not over some of the heartaches he caused me). I did not think I could be more excited. That was until I heard that his new book was set in the same world as that previous series. It’s safe to say that if I had access to a Delorean, I’d have read this quite a while ago.

*For those who have not yet read TBOTA series, you are welcome to read The Girl and the Stars first. You won’t be missing out on anything that will take away any understanding or enjoyment from this read.
…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

February 14, 2020 Eon Comments 9 comments

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Published: September 12th, 2019 by Orbit (UK) & September 10th, 2019 by Redhook (US)

“…there are ten thousand stories about ten thousand Doors, and we know them as well as we know our names. They lead to Faerie, to Valhalla, Atlantis and Lemuria, Heaven and Hell, to all the directions a compass could never take you, to elsewhere.”

I have been watching my cats lazing about in the warm, reposeful afternoon sun. Languid stretches and lazy yawns and leisurely rolls. Complete comfort and contentment. The sheer bliss of surrendering to the moment evident in their eyes. Melting, mellow happiness. Felicity.

That is the feeling that came over me upon finishing this book, and I basked in every second of its warmth. Lyrical. Stunning. Beautiful. Spellbinding. Richly imagined. Eloquent. Wistful. A riotous swirl of adjectives, all apt and all applicable. The Ten Thousand Doors of January is an emphatically stunning debut by Alix E. Harrow, delivering a tale that speaks to one of humanity’s oldest fantasies – visiting another world.
…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Unspoken Name (The Serpent Gates, #1) by A.K. Larkwood

February 5, 2020 Eon Comments 7 comments

I received an ARC of The Unspoken Name from the publisher (Tor UK) in exchange for an honest review.

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Serpent Gates (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Science-fiction, Space Opera

Published: 20^th February 2020 by Tor (UK) & 11^th February 2020 by Tor Books (US)

An extraordinary debut from a fresh and exciting new voice in fantasy!

It has been a while since I added a book by an unknown author to my tbr that fast. It was unavoidable though, as the blurb of the Unspoken Name spoke to me! On the day of her inevitable death as a sacrificial bride to the god of desolation, Csorwe is gifted a choice. She can ignore her fate and walk away from this needless death. All she has to do is join a wizard named Belthandros Sethennai as his loyal agent. Her duties? Fulfilling the role of thief, spy & assassin in the mage’s quest to regain rulership of the city Tlaanthothei, and helping him recover his ultimate prize – the Reliquary of Pentravesse. As choices go, it’s not the hardest one to make, but it has consequences. Gods do not forget.

“Nothing in this world has earned the power to frighten you, Csorwe,” he said. “You have looked your foretold death in the face and turned from it in defiance. Nothing in this world or any other deserves your fear.”

…

Read More Read More