Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars.
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 9 of 10)
Genre: Epic fantasy, grimdark fantasy, fantasy
First published: 2009 by Bantam (UK) and 2010 by Tor (US)
The denouement of the Malazan Book of the Fallen is so long that it had to be written over two enormous books. Dust of Dreams is the first act of this grand finale and it was glorious!
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Cover illustration by: Micah Epstein
Of Shadow and Sea by Will Wight
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Elder Empire: Shadow (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 406 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 30th December 2014 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)
An incredible start to an assassin high fantasy trilogy with a strong potential to be even better than Cradle. …
ARC provided by the publisher—Saga Press—in exchange for an honest review.
The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: The Legacy of the Mercenary King (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 608 pages (US hardcover edition)
Published: 7th May 2020 by Gollancz (UK) & 5th May 2020 by Saga Press (US)
Kingdom of Liars was one of the most hyped up debuts in 2020, and I believe it’s partly due to Sanderson’s blurb. It is a commendable debut, but while I’m not disputing what Sanderson said about this book, the enjoyment I derived from reading it was a whole lot more mixed than his blurb would suggest.
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Ascension by Brian K. Fuller
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Trysmoon Saga (Book #1 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 377 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 11th November 2014 by Brian K. Fuller (Indie)
Good, familiar, and also surprising classic fantasy take. …
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“There are worse prisons than words.”
The planet lost an incredible talent today. Carlos Ruiz Zafón, the author of this truly magnificent book, lost his battle with cancer, at the age of 55. Zafón had a brilliant, gorgeous way with words, and told stories in a way that sink into your bones and stay with you long after you read the last pages. Though he left the world too soon, he left behind him an amazing legacy in the novels that have touched countless readers across our world, which have been translated into more than 40 languages. I’m so thankful to have read and been touched by The Shadow of the Wind, and I’m grateful to have the rest of his catalogue in my future.
“Well, this is a story about books.”
“About books?”
“About accuse books, about the man who wrote them, about a character who broke out of the pages of a novel so that he could burn it, about ta betrayal and a lost friendship. It’s a story of love, of hatred, and of dreams that live in the shadow of the wind.”
Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath
Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Dresden Files (Book #8 of 25)
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 428 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 4th March 2010 by Orbit (UK) & 1st February 2006 by Roc (US)
Not as good as Dead Beat, but this is another great read, as expected. …
The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #3 of 4)
Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Translated Edition Published: 2012 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & by Harper (US)
The Prisoner of Heaven was another captivating entry in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books that provided a more balanced tone of light and dark.
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The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Published: 15th October 2020 (Orbit)
‘Proper witching is just a conversation with that red heartbeat, which only ever takes three things: the will to listen to it, the words to speak with it, and the way to let it into the world. The will, the words, and the way.
… everything important comes in threes.’
‘Once upon a time there were three sisters…’ Three Eastwood sisters, to be precise. Agnes, Bella, and James Juniper. They live in a world where magic and power were female, once. Now it is all hushed words passed from mother to daughter, hidden workings and small tricks, all the better to stay beneath notice. For in this place, which is also our place, women are less than they were. They are made small by the power of men— and expected to stay that way.
The year is 1893 and in New Salem the suffragists are rallying for the vote. But the ballot box isn’t the only path to change and a little witchery might be what’s needed to counter the arrival of a new danger, one cloaked in shadows and sickness. Juniper certainly thinks so. But these are sisters are riven by their past, too uncertain with each other in the present. To have a future, they’ll need mend the hurts that broke them, find a way to bring back what was forgotten, and forge something new… something wild and witchy.
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
“Where does a mistake begin?”
This is the opening line of Amity Gaige’s newest novel, Sea Wife. We know from the very beginning that something terrible has happened. We just don’t know the specifics of what or how. The story is told largely from two perspectives: Juliet in the present and her husband, Michael, in the past through the captain’s log he kept during their sailing year. There are a few different mysteries woven through the plot, but I felt that the story largely centers around what makes a marriage, and what ends one. Sea Wife is a deep, beautifully written novel with enough pace to the plot to maintain investment while also discussing timeless topics in fresh ways.
“Tears or sweat—so many stories end in salt water.”
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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