Petrik Leo, Author at Novel Notions

Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)

August 12, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 4 comments

Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A peerless and jaw-dropping epic installment; I consider myself damn lucky to have witnessed this powerfully evocative tale.

I’ve stated that it’s mandatory to read at least two books of the series in order to truly find out whether you’ll love this series or not. I retract that statement now and change it to three books instead. Trust me, if you don’t love Memories of Ice, you might as well drop the series now. And that’s okay because no series can work for everyone. Honestly speaking, I had a bit of doubt about the series, but this incredibly mesmerizing installment has convinced me to finally become a fan of the series. …

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Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)

August 6, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 2 comments

Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Coltaine, the Wickans, and the Chain of Dogs. Enough said.

People told me that when you’re starting Malazan Book of the Fallen, it’s mandatory to read at least two or three books in the series before finally deciding on giving up on the series. One of the main reasons behind this is that Deadhouse Gates is considered one of the strongest installment within the series by the fans after Memories of Ice and The Bonehunters. Now that I’ve read Deadhouse Gates, I finally understand why people insist newcomers on continuing to the second book first. However, please do check your expectation. Despite how much I loved this installment, I’m actually slightly disappointed with how it turns out; more detail on this further down below.

Picture: Deadhouse Gates by Marc Simonetti

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Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)

August 3, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here we go. This is my first review for Steven Erikson’s highly acclaimed epic fantasy series: Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Malazan Book of the Fallen has been in my TBR pile for one year seven months now. I’ve heard countless amazing things about the series, but the sizes, the fame of the complexities, the need for extra focus, the commitment, and the elitist jerks of the series have made me postpone starting it for a long time. Despite hearing amazing things about the quality of the series, it required me a promise to finally plunge myself into starting this grand tale. I told my girlfriend I will propose to her only after I finished Malazan Book of the Fallen; she has agreed to it and so here we are. It’s safe to say that my expectations for this series are unreasonably huge, and no, I don’t plan to change that for many personal reasons. Did the first book live up to the expectation though? The masterpiece quality aspect remains to be seen but the scope truly lived up to it, especially remembering that Gardens of the Moon is just the introduction to the series. …

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Interview with Devin Madson

August 2, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Hi everyone, Petrik from Novel Notions here. Today I’m bringing you an interview with Devin Madson, the author behind The Vengeance Trilogy, the Aurealis award-winning In Shadows We Fall, and the recently released We Ride the Storm. All her books completely captivated me, with We Ride the Storm being included into one of the two best indie works I’ve ever read. Right after I finished reading and reviewing her books, I decided immediately that I simply have to interview her so here we are.

You can check out my review of her books on the blog and I hope it will convince you to order it if you haven’t already done so. Now, without further ado, here is my interview with Devin Madson. …

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Petrik’s Top 10 Books of the Year So Far (January 1st, 2018-July 31st, 2018)

July 31, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Between January 1^st, 2018 and July 31^st, 2018, I’ve read and reviewed 82 books, and so far it’s been another fantastic reading year. Considering the number of books I’ve read and reviewed this year, there will be four rules I set in this list in order for me to give appreciation to more authors rather than having only a few authors hoarding this list. The rules are:

Rereads don’t count.
One book per author.
The book listed here are not exclusively published this year.
Number one spot aside, none of these are in particular order. Why? Because I spent two hours of staring at my computer screen and I still can’t firmly decide on the ranking!

All the books listed below received a rating of 4.5 or 5 out of 5 stars from me. Without further ado, here we go! (All full reviews of these books can be found on my Goodreads page; some are available on this blog.) …

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Kings of Paradise (Ash and Sand, #1)

July 29, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 1 comment

Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally got around to review Richard Nell’s highly acclaimed indie debut, Kings of Paradise. My verdict: an impressive grimdark debut.

I was first offered to review Kings of Paradise by Nell himself back in November 2017. Back then, Kings of Paradise had around 20 ratings and I simply didn’t have time to read it because I was swamped by ARCs, review copies, and Oathbringer’s release, which was also in November; I told Nell that I’ll give his book a read in 2018. I certainly didn’t expect that the book would garner 150 new ratings and many extremely positive reviews; I’m pretty sure there’s a Nell fan club being formed already. I won’t bother you with rearranging the synopsis into my own words, the blurb is spoiler-free and you should read that if you want to know what the plot is about. I’ll start off this review immediately with my favorite part of the book, Ruka’s storyline. …

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We Ride the Storm (The Reborn Empire, #1)

July 26, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 5 comments

We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A new gale of hope for self-published fantasy blows with all its might as Devin Madson summons a new triumphant tornado in We Ride the Storm.

Open up your thesaurus and look up the word “underrated.” Devin Madson’s name truly belongs there. I bloody loved this book, even more than all of Madson’s previous works which were great themselves. You can check my review history and you’ll see that for self-published/indie books that I’ve read and reviewed so far, I’ve given a full 5 stars rating (without rounding up on Goodreads) to literally only one book, The Mirror’s Truth by Michael R. Fletcher. We Ride the Storm is the second occurrence. …

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The Grave at Storm’s End (The Vengeance Trilogy, #3)

July 24, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

The Grave at Storm’s End by Devin Madson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The storm of vengeance ends here and the graves have been filled. The result? An emotional and satisfying conclusion that fits the tone of the series.

Let me first say that the statistics for this book are mind boggling. The book has been out for almost two years and there are only 15 ratings and 5 reviews on Goodreads; that’s ridiculous! Not only is this trilogy better than a lot of grimdark series out there, Madson has done everything right as a self-published author. Amazing cover? Check. Great content? Check. Admirable professionalism? Check. The only thing this trilogy lacks is exposure and words of mouth. I’m not Mark Lawrence; I don’t have enough followers or friends on my list to bring as much exposure as he did for Senlin Ascends. I can only do what I do best and that is to provide my honest review/opinion and hopefully, it will help Madson’s work get the exposure it deserves. …

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The Blood of Whisperers (The Vengeance Trilogy, #1)

July 19, 2018 Petrik Leo Comments 3 comments

The Blood of Whisperers by Devin Madson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A thoroughly engaging Asian-inspired fantasy and a super underrated debut.

I’m a man of habit; I usually always plan my TBR. But Devin Madson’s books shot up my TBR and ruined my plans immediately the moment I finished her award-winning novella, In Shadows We Fall, three weeks ago. From the moment I finished the novella, I knew I simply needed to read more set in this world and I’m damn pleased I followed that notion. …

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