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Soulsmith (Cradle, #2)

Soulsmith (Cradle, #2)

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Soulsmith by Will Wight
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

A worthy sequel that expands on the worldbuilding and magic system, Soulsmith delivers on the promise of an engaging and fascinating story of epic powers inspired by Far Eastern martial arts.

Outside of the Sacred Valley in pursuit of advancement, Lindon came face-to-face with his destiny as he encountered powers beyond his imagination. The most powerful amongst the clans and Schools within the Valley are mere children compared to the dime a dozen Golds that can be found in the Desolate Wilds. As expected, and I don’t believe it to be a spoiler to say so, Lindon did manage to level up in his powers. How that happened, though, is the part where I will not deign to reveal.  Safe to say, it was far from painless.

“The sacred arts are a game, and your life is the only thing you’ve got to bet. You want to move up? This is what up looks like.”

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Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights (Less Valued Knights, #1)

Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights (Less Valued Knights, #1)

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Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights by Liam Perrin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A break. We all need a break from our daily activities once in a while; I got mine from this book.

Let me elaborate on this. If you’ve been following my reviews, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that adult fantasy/sci-fi/historical fiction is my favorite books to read. Most of the times, the plot surrounding these books are full of war, magic, violence, death, politics, betrayals; overall, complex and serious in tone. I wouldn’t trade it any other way. No matter what the genre is, these are my favorite kind of books. However, I will have to take a break from it once in a while. As I always said, anything that’s too much is never good. Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of the Less Valued Knights by Liam Perrin gave me the needed break from my usual read. …

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Seraphina’s Lament (The Bloodlands, #1)

Seraphina’s Lament (The Bloodlands, #1)

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

Seraphina’s Lament by Sarah Chorn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A brutally remarkable and captivating Holodomor-inspired fantasy debut.

Seraphina’s Lament is Sarah Chorn’s debut and it’s the first book in The Bloodlands trilogy. For the purpose of targeting the right reader for this book, I’ll start by saying that if you’re not a grimdark enthusiast, you might either want to skip this, or at least prepare yourself for some dark and heavy moments. As for its premise, check out the official blurb on Goodreads/Amazon, the author did a great job setting the stage without spoiling anything. …

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Unsouled (Cradle, #1)

Unsouled (Cradle, #1)

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Unsouled by Will Wight
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

I have heard great things about Will Wight’s books. If Unsouled was just a taste of what the Cradle series has to offer, I will say those praises are well-founded.

Cradle is an Eastern-inspired fantasy with complex worldbuilding and a cool magic system that reminds me of the Chinese martial art genres of wuxia (heroic) and xianxia (immortal). The narrative follows a young man, Wei Shi Lindon, an Unsouled who was not allowed to learn the sacred arts of his clan in the Sacred Valley. There are myriad paths that a sacred artist can follow, utilising the core of their soul to employ and control the vital aura; forces of the natural world. This power from the soul is called madra.  Through various means of progression, which includes training, ingesting elixirs and spirit-fruits, a sacred artist can level up from different stages of madra mastery and strength from Copper to Iron, to Jade and then to Gold. There are also magical artefacts, or Treasures, which also range from those that can be wielded by the lower-ranked sacred artists to those that can only be powered by stronger madra.
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Rejoice: A Knife to the Heart

Rejoice: A Knife to the Heart

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Rejoice: A Knife to the Heart by Steven Erikson
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

With Rejoice: A Knife to the Heart, Erikson holds up a mirror for all of humanity.

The Earth, when seen from space, shows no borders.

A First Contact story that examines the path of the human race on Earth, Rejoice nails some very brutal truths about humankind at large; where humanity is heading to and what awaits us in the future without intervention. Once again, Erikson offers up a stunning philosophical discourse, albeit one that is less allusive and hitting much closer to home as compared to his epic fantasy masterpiece, Malazan Book of the Fallen.
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A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World

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

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An important post-apocalyptic story that teaches us to always be kind, loyal, and hopeful.

With countless books being published every single day, the cover art quality of a book published by an author I haven’t heard of is very crucial in grabbing my interest; that’s not exactly what happened with this book. Don’t get me wrong, the cover art is certainly pretty but what grabbed my attention immediately was something of a rarer occasion: the title of the book. After that, I heard that the novel is perfect for readers of Station Eleven and The Girl With All the Gifts, I haven’t read the latter but I’ve read and loved Station Eleven last year, and I just knew that I have to read this book as soon as I can. Plus, I find it adorable that there’s a warning on spoiler stated at the beginning or the back cover of the ARC. No need to worry, just like always, I’ll make sure to take extra care in my review to make sure it’s spoiler-free.

“And those that remain are still with us now, here at the end of the world. And there may be no law left except what you make of it, but if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you. If we’re not loyal to the things we love, what’s the point? That’s like not having a memory. That’s when we stop being human. That’s a kind of death, even if you keep breathing.”

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Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ, #1)

Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ, #1)

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Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel Aaron has become one of my go-to authors when I need a pick-me-up.  She has such an uncanny knack of writing stories that are just so effortlessly engaging, immensely enjoyable and just plain fun.

Minimum Wage Magic is the start of a new series taking place in the DFZ, a huge metropolis setting first introduced in her self-published Heartstrikers series – my current favourite urban fantasy of all-time. In Heartstrikers, the author’s characterisation was possibly the best part of the storytelling.  Couple that with the most interesting worldbuilding in urban fantasy that I’ve come across, and you will get an addictively fun ride with great characters that you either want to root for.  Or alternately, strangle with your bare hands.
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A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1)

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1)

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

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easily one of the cleverest sci-fi debuts I’ve read so far.

A Memory Called Empire is Arkady Martine’s debut novel and the first instalment in the Teixcalaan series. Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in Teixcalaan only to find out that the previous ambassador from the same mining station as hers has died. Contrary to her belief, nobody wants to admit that his death wasn’t an accident, and now it’s up to Mahit to uncover who’s behind the murder. At the same time, she also has to save the place where she came from—Lsel—from the Teixcalaan expansion. A Memory Called Empire at its core is a murder mystery story. If you start this book expecting tons of action, there’s a chance that you’ll be sorely disappointed. The main charm of the book lies in Mahit’s challenges in navigating the unfamiliar culture of Teixcalaan; it’s a book heavily centered on politics. In my opinion, this novel was a bit reminiscent of The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. The main difference between the two is that while I disliked The Traitor Baru Cormorant, I highly enjoyed reading this one due to a superb prose that clicked with me. …

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Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds (Legion, #1-3)

Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds (Legion, #1-3)

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Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun and thrilling to dark, poignant and intimate, Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds have them all.

This omnibus was my second venture into Sanderson’s non-Cosmere book/trilogy; the first one being Snapshot. Once again, Sanderson didn’t disappoint. Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds is an omnibus that encapsulated Sanderson’s Legion trilogy into one volume, specifically, Legion, Legion: Skin Deep, and Legion: Lies of the Beholder. If you haven’t read any of the trilogy, I strongly suggest you get this edition.

“My name is Stephen Leeds, and I am perfectly sane. My hallucinations, however, are all quite mad.”

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Fall of Kings (Troy, #3)

Fall of Kings (Troy, #3)

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Troy: Fall of Kings (Troy, #3)Troy: Fall of Kings by David Gemmell and Stella Gemell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The end of the Trojan War is here, did Gemmell delivered a satisfying conclusion in his final work?

The answer to that be mostly yes, and a few sections of no. I’m honestly quite conflicted about Fall of Kings. This is the last book in the Troy trilogy by David Gemmell, it’s also his final work before he passed away that ended up being finished by his wife, Stella Gemmell. Because this is his final work, there’s a part of me that really want to give this book a full 5 stars but I can’t due to a few problems I had with it. I’ll divide this review into two simple parts: parts that worked first and then parts that didn’t. …

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