Book Review Archives - Novel Notions

“The Old Gods were broken by wars and plagues of the mind, left reeling like the most bloodied veterans. Infected with horror at the cost of their actions, they retreated into dementia. Insanity as escape. Seeking to free themselves, they fled to a world of delusion, a world uncorrupted by jealousies and psychoses. And yet, in the end, even this they would pollute. So deep their need, so desperate their flight from their bitter past, they ignored the one truism all must bow before. Belief defines reality.”

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Book Review: Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 1 (The Sun Eater, #2.7) by Christopher Ruocchio

November 8, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 1 comment

Cover art illustrated by Nathan Anderson

Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 1 by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #2.7 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Pages: 172 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 16th April 2021 (Self-Published)

Tales of the Sun Eater, Volume 1 is a mixed-quality collection of short stories in The Sun Eater series. …

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Book Review: Queen Amid Ashes (The Sun Eater, #2.5) by Christopher Ruocchio

November 6, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 1 comment

Cover design by Jenna Ruocchio

Queen Amid Ashes by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #2.5 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Pages: 173 pages (Kindle edition)

Word Count: 36,000 words

Published: 8th June 2022 (Self-Published)

Contemplative and thought-provoking, Queen Amid Ashes asked the question of who’s more monstrous in The Sun Eater universe: humanity or The Cielcin?

“Men are ever more careful with the lives of their loved ones than they are with their own.”

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Book Review: The Silverblood Promise (The Last Legacy, #1) by James Logan

November 3, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 2 comments

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on The Silverblood Promise.

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

Cover art illustrated by Jeff Brown

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Last Legacy (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Word Count: 163,000 words

Pages: 544 pages (eBook edition)

Published: 25th April 2024 by Jo Fletcher (UK) & 7th May 2024 by Tor Books (US)

Next year is not even here yet, but the potential of The Silverblood Promise becoming, at least, one of the best fantasy debuts of 2024 is guaranteed.

“You can’t escape the past, Lukan. It’s our lifelong companion, always at our side.”

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Book Review: The Mirror’s Truth (Manifest Delusions, #2) by Michael R. Fletcher

November 1, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

This is a repost of a review I wrote in August 2017.

Cover art illustrated by John Anthony Di Giovanni

The Mirror’s Truth by Michael R. Fletcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Manifest Delusions (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 375 pages

Published: 28th November 2016 by Michael R. Fletcher (Self-Published)

This is why I love grimdark fantasy. The Mirror’s Truth is grimdark fantasy at its best and it deserves only the highest of praise from me. …

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Book Review: Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

October 30, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

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

Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Horror

Word Count: 91,000 words

Pages: 352 pages (Paperback edition)

Published: 11th July 2023 by Tor Nightfire (US) & 13th July 2023 by Orbit Books (UK)

Well, Boys in the Valley was so good. It was surprisingly so good.

“All of life is a great gift,” he says. “Not because of what it gives us, but because of what it allows us to give others.”

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Book Review: Howling Dark (The Sun Eater, #2) by Christopher Ruocchio

October 25, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Howling Dark.

Cover art illustrated by Kieran Yanner

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Sun Eater (Book #2 of 7)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space Opera, Science Fantasy

Word Count: 264,000 words

Pages: 679 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 16th July 2019 by DAW Books

Philosophical, bizarre, sprawling, and epic. Howling Dark outshined the already stunning Empire of Silence.

“The poets say that one’s fears grow less with trial, that we become men without fear if tried enough. I have not found it to be so. Rather, on each occasion we are tested, we become stronger than our fears. It is all we can do. Must do. Lest we perish for our failings.”

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Book Review: The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

October 24, 2023 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Cosmere

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Word Count: 129,000 words

Pages: 416 pages (Paperback)

Published: 14th January 2020 by Del Rey Books

The Vanished Birds is a beautiful, heartfelt, and tense standalone space opera story about kindness, choices, love, pain, ambition, and found family.

“Geniuses are born all the time, but kindness is rarer, these days especially. The world could use more kindness.”

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