Cover art illustrated by: Chris McGrath
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Mistborn: Wax and Wayne (Book #2 of 4), Mistborn Saga (Book #5 of 7)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Steampunk
Pages: 383 pages (International Paperback Edition)
Published: 6th October 2015 by Tor Books (US) & 8th October 2015 by Gollancz (UK) …
Until the Last by Mike Shackle
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark
Pages: 772 pages
Published: 21st July 2022, Gollancz
Until the Last concludes one of the more harrowing, anxiety-ridden, emotional whiplashes of a story I’ve read this year. It squeezes the tiniest shred of hope from the grimmest of situations and proceeds to hammer it down to a barely visible spark. But somehow, it’s enough for our protagonists to cling to as they solider on to try and liberate their beloved Jia from the colonization of the evil Egril empire. And that’s one of the biggest draws of the trilogy: how these characters can still hold on and press forward while things fall apart around them at such a grand scale. This is a violent, unforgiving tale that tests the boundaries of human willpower, and it’s fascinating to see the results.
The rebel Jian army, led by Zorique, Tinnstra, Aasgod and Ralasis, are marching their way north to Aisair for the final battle against Raaku, the self-proclaimed son of a God, and his Egirl army of Skulls, Chosen, and other winged demons and giant monsters. They face impossible odds, and the suffering is immense. There are fascinating POV characters carried over from previous books that give you perspective from different areas of the world: an in-the-trenches view from Ange, a rebuilding effort from the unlikely leader Yaz, a spy mission from Wenna… and then there’s Jax. Poor, wretched Jax. If you think Jax had it tough in the first two books, Shackle saved some of the best (worst?) for last for everyone’s favorite one-armed general. He’s the trilogy’s resident punching bag, the doomed soul, and Shackle’s brutality knows no bounds. I had to pause for some deep breaths after some of Jax’s chapters.
One of the strongest parts of Shackle’s writing is his pacing. Every chapter was key in moving the story forward, and they usually only took ten minutes or less to read through. It led to a ‘just one more chapter’ scenario each night and kept me up far too late. There wasn’t a single POV that I didn’t want to know what was going to happen next. There were several moments of “did that really just happen?” and a couple of good mysteries that weren’t revealed until the final pages, so there was always an excuse to keep pressing forward. The action was nonstop, but it was the tough moral choices and the characters’ grit that held my interest the most.
The Last War is a brutal, unforgiving series with hard choices and harder truths. If you like your stories grim with characters of questionable moral fiber, in a world where hope is the very thing that could kill you, then you’ve found the perfect series to keep you riveted.
Hi everyone! The month of August had been incredible, and not only from the perspective of the great reads that I had as you will see from the ratings of the books below.
What made this month phenomenal for me was The Sandman TV adaptation on Netflix, which is now one of my all favourite adaptations of all-time. It’s been almost a full month since its release on 5th August, and I’m still obsessed with the show ( and especially with Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares, etc etc). I loved the audiobook which came out a couple of years ago, but I’ve to say TV show was better. It was as faithful an adaptation as it could be to fit the medium, and I personally found that the changes that were made served the story better in current times. I also couldn’t believe that I would ever say I found a better Morpheus than James McAvoy, but Tom Sturridge was simply sublime and beyond perfect for this role. I’ve rewatched the entire show at least once, and Morpheus’ scenes countless times.
I could keep rambling on and on about The Sandman, and perhaps I might write a post about it later this year. For now, let’s get back to my bookish monthly wrap-up shall we?
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Ithaca by Claire North
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Redhook via Orbit Books, in exchange for an honest review.
I have such a weakness for Greek myth. Mythology of any kind fascinates me, but I’ve been obsessed with Greek mythology almost since I learned to read. Because of this love, I often find myself divided on retellings. On the one hand, I love any chance to revisit these stories I love, especially if told in a way that gives me a new perspective. On the other, I tend to judge these a bit harshly because of my love for the source material. But when I find a book that not only retells one of these timeless stories, it breathes new life into it, it becomes an instant favorite.
Ithaca? Definitely an instant favorite. …
Cover art illustrated by: Tony Mauro
Speaking Bones by Ken Liu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Dandelion Dynasty (Book #4 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Silkpunk
Pages: 1047 pages (Hardcover Edition)
Published: 21st June 2022 by Saga Press (US) & Head of Zeus (UK)
I am labeling Ken Liu as a genius. Speaking Bones has launched The Dandelion Dynasty to become the best series of 2022.
“What did that goddess-like lady say? If you do not like the stories you’ve been told, fill your heart with new stories. If you do not like the script you’ve been given, design for yourself new roles.”
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes you need to read something that stretches you. Or at least, I do. Because reading is such a vital part of my life, and something to which I give such a large portion of my time, I try to read things on occasion that push me to think outside of myself. It’s been a long while since I found a book that did that as successfully as Ted Chiang’s Stories of Your Life and Others. I felt as if I were trying to keep my head above water the entire time I was reading it, but in the best way possible. Chiang raises some truly profound moral, theological, and philosophical questions, and he does so in a way that doesn’t lead you to any specific conclusion. Sometimes it’s enough to think and to question, and Chiang’s stories give readers the freedom to do just that. It was completely unclear what type of worldview he was writing from, which I actually loved. More than one of these stories had some heavy religious connotations, but felt neither like proselytization or a subtle ridicule of believers. That is a very difficult balance to strike in one story, let along an entire collection. I am in awe of Chiang’s mind, and was equally awed by every single story housed in this book. …
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Orbit Books, in exchange for an honest review.
I was drawn to The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by a two-pronged attack of adorable cover art and interesting comparisons. I was told that this book had Howl’s Moving Castle vibes, and I can only see that if I squint, and only as regards that personalities of the main characters. I was also informed that it was basically You’ve Got Mail but in a fantasy world, and I get this comparison even though I’ve never actually watched that movie. (Yes, yes. I know. I promise to rectify that eventually.) While romance hasn’t been my genre of choice this year because I read so much of it last year, I decided to give this a go anyway simply because I thought the premise sounded fun. And I’m so glad that I did, because The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was a snarky delight of a rom-com housed in a fascinating fantasy world. …
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I received an audio copy of this novel from the publisher, Harper Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but that’s what initially drew me to Pandora. While not yet officially available in the US, it’s been out in the UK since January of 2022, and I had read some mixed reviews about it. But something about it still called to me, and when the audio became available to request on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance. I’m incredibly glad that I did, because this story was incredible, and I actually don’t know that I would have enjoyed it quite so much in any other format. …
ARC was provided by the publisher—Leadstart—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Micaela Alcaino
Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Raag of Rta (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Pages: 668 pages (Paperback)
Published: 3rd June 2022 by Leadstart
Mahabharata imbued with A Song of Ice and Fire, The First Law, & Malazan Book of the Fallen, Sons of Darkness is the best fantasy debut of 2022.
‘Whenever men found it hard to justify success, they inevitably fell back on luck as the reason. And if the success was completely unimaginable to their feeble minds, they called it magic.’
ARC was provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover illustration by: Tomas Almeida
Until the Last by Mike Shackle
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Last War (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy
Pages: 784 pages
Published: 21st July 2022 by Gollancz
The Last War is over. Another favorite ongoing series concluded.
The Last War trilogy by Mike Shackle has been one of my favorite ongoing series since I read both We Are the Dead and A Fool’s Hope in 2020. Now that it’s finished, I can safely say this has become one of my favorite fantasy trilogies. And it is undoubtedly one of the most underrated fantasy series out there. Despite talking and shouting about this series so many times for the past two years, it seems like I still need to shout about it more because it seriously deserves so much more recognition. It is shocking how relatively few fantasy readers talk about this trilogy. I don’t think you can go wrong with reading The Last War trilogy if you love reading a war story or military fantasy series. Especially if you love reading a fantasy series that revolves around ordinary people rising up to do everything they can to survive and fight back. At all costs. …