The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars.
Series: The Interdependency (Book 1 of 3)
Genre: Science fiction, space opera
Published: 21st March 2017 by Tor US & 23rd March 2017 by Tor UK
I think two words perfectly describe The Collapsing Empire – entertaining and accessible. This is science fiction for the masses that is fun and riveting.
…
The Talisman by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve been reading a lot of King lately. Very rarely do I binge read a particular author. I feel the need to mix things up in my reading life or I find myself burned out and unable to appreciate a book I should love because I’ve consumed too much of the same thing in a row. I might love pizza, but I would find it far less palatable if I had to eat it for every meal. I feel the same way about my literary diet. So I’m a readerly butterfly, flitting from author to author and genre to genre as they grab my attention. However, this is my fourth King novel in a row, and it’s the fourth in a row I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I think that’s because each of these four novels, whether King penned them alone or with the aid of a co-author as with this book, vary drastically from everything else I’ve read by him. And yet what makes them so incredible is the way they tie into each other and refer back to things King wrote before them and foreshadow books he would write after. …
ARC received from publisher, Orbit UK, in exchange for an honest review.
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Great Cities (Book 1)
Genre: Urban fantasy, horror
Published: 24th March 2020 by Orbit US & 26th March 2020 by Orbit UK
The City We Became is a unique take on urban fantasy that reaffirms N.K. Jemisin as a brilliant author of imaginative and original fantasy fiction.
…
Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Expanse (Book #2 of 9)
Genre: Science fiction, Space opera
Pages: 624 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 7th June 2012 by Orbit (UK) & 1st January 2012 by Orbit (US)
Avasarala is finally here!!! …
Ascendant’s Rite by David Hair
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Moontide Quartet (Book #4 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 848 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 5th November 2015 by Jo Fletcher
Against all odds, Ascendant’s Rite was a tension-fused and satisfying conclusion for The Moontide Quartet.
“Life is a series of transactions. We all give to receive.”
The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Eyes of the Dragon is billed as both King’s only high fantasy and his only novel that could be classified as a children’s book. I wasn’t sure how successful he’d be with either of those things, but now I really wish he would write more of both. This book so radically exceeded my expectations that, even though I’ve come to passionately love King’s work, I couldn’t help but be surprised. I loved everything about this, and it’s the first King novel I’ve ever read that I could comfortably recommend to literally anyone of any age.
…
Age of Empyre by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Legends of the First Empire (Book 6 of 6)
Genre: Fantasy, high fantasy, classic fantasy
Published: 5th May 2020 (Grim Oak Press)
Age of Empyre proves once again that Michael J. Sullivan is a masterful storyteller that really knows how to captivate and conclude a well-crafted tale. As I turned the final page, I couldn’t help feeling that I’m going to miss all the wonderful characters that I’ve grown to love.
…
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Dresden Files (Book #4 of 25)
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 379 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 4th March 2010 by Orbit (UK) & 3rd September 2002 by Roc (US)
Summer Knight was super fun, and I expect the quality of the series can only stay consistently good or better from here on out. …
Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars.
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 7 of 10)
Genre: Epic fantasy, grimdark fantasy
First published: 2007 by Bantam (UK) and 2008 by Tor (US)
I will not be the first to extoll the astounding breadth and depth of the Malazan world with its extensive history, a multitude of races, richly diverse cultures and a huge cast of characters. I may also not be the first to admit how lost I sometimes feel, wandering through this labyrinth of intricate worldbuilding.
Reaper’s Gale was the first volume in the Malazan Book of the Fallen which, to my delight, continued directly from the previous book. There was no whiplash from the sudden change in plot lines from one book to the other in the past six books. Almost all the subplots from the previous novels led into this one with a lot of known main characters showing up one way or another, all of which descended upon the Letherii Empire.
…
The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved everything about this book. I’m not really sure why I’m surprised by this, but I am. I expected to like The Drawing of the Three in the same way that I liked The Gunslinger, but I love it with the same ferocity I do The Stand. It is, in my opinion, the most powerful and successful entry into the portal fantasy subgenre since C.S. Lewis penned The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Yes, it’s really that good.
“Because the difference between seeing and not seeing can be the difference between living and dying.”