I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
Cover illustration by: Ben McSweeney
Cover designed by: Isaac Stewart
Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Stormlight Archive (Book #3.5 of 10)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic fantasy
Pages: 272 pages (ebook)
Dawnshard is a magnificent warm-up to the upcoming Rhythm of War. …
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
ARC provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover illustration by: Greg Ruth
Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Poison Wars (Book #2)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 560 pages (US Hardcover)
Published: 26th November 2020 by Bantam Press (UK) & 1st December 2020 by Tor Books (US)
An incredibly well-polished and absorbing sequel; out of all the books and series I’ve read this year, Hollow Empire is quite likely THE sequel that has the most significant improvement in overall quality over its predecessor. …
Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received a galley of this book from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There’s something about the novella as an art form that is so different from its bookend siblings, the novel and the short story. Not as sharp and snappy as a short story, but without as much room for deep dives into development as novels, it can be a difficult and strangely unwieldy medium, for both author and audience. That being said, novellas can also pack an incredible amount of power into a scant few pages when done correctly. It’s a medium full of both promise and pitfalls. In the case of Tower of Mud and Straw, I think that the promise is that Barsukov himself shows a lot of promise as an author, and the main pitfall is the lack of development that would have deepened the story he penned. …
Today, Novel Notions is hosting a guest post by Nils from The Fantasy Hive. This is what Nils has to say:
I read Code of the Communer for SPFBO 2020 as a judge with The Fantasy Hive. Petrik has kindly let me write a guest review post on Novel Notions as I’d like to help bring some spotlight to a book I feel is far too underrated.
Code of the Communer by Kai Greenwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Shadows in the Wildwood (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 323 pages (Paperback)
Published: 17th March 2020 by Wildwood Press (Indie) …
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath
Brief Cases by Jim Butcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: The Dresden Files (Book #15.1 of 25)
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 444 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 5th June 2018 by Orbit (UK) & Roc (US)
This collection, especially Zoo Day, is mostly worth it just for the non-Harry’s POV stories. …
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
Cover illustration by: Quentin Trollip
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Thriller, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction
Pages: 464 pages (US Hardback)
Published: 10th March 2016 by Head of Zeus (UK) & 8th March 2016 by Gallery / Saga Press (US)
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is an intimately powerful and beautiful collection of stories that encompassed some of the most relatable themes to our society, and some stories contained in this collection felt personal and evocative to me.
“Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.”
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lovely. Odd, incredibly odd, but lovely both in spite of and due to the oddity. There’s an elegance to this book that feels like a rarity. For a novel that is less than 300 pages, Piranesi is quite the slow burn. The first half of this short book took me four days to read. Not that it was boring, mind you. It was meditative, inviting you as the reader to mull and ponder instead of racing forward to see what happens next. But then I read the second half in one sitting. When things finally picked up in the narrative, my attention never wavered.
“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.”
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover illustration by: Tomas Almeida
A Fool’s Hope by Mike Shackle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Last War (Book #2 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy
Pages: 608 pages
Published: 3rd December 2020 by Gollancz
A Fool’s Hope wonderfully surprised me; it is one of the finest middle installment I’ve ever read. …
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath
Skin Game by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Dresden Files (Book #15 of 25)
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 610 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 27th May 2014 by Orbit (UK) & Roc (US)
Skin Game is a parkour to 5 stars. Parkour!
“Did you shout ‘Parkour’?” Michael asked.
“Well, sure,” I said. “That was kinda Parkour-like.”
Michael fought to keep a smile off his face. “Harry,” he said, “I’m almost certain one does not shout ‘Parkour.’ I believe one is supposed to simply do Parkour.”
“Do I criticize your Latin battle cries? No, never once.”
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
Cover illustration by: Patrick Foster
Wintersteel by Will Wight
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Cradle (Book #8 of 12)
Genre: Fantasy, Progression Fantasy, Xianxia
Pages: 540 pages
Published: 6th October 2020 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)
Wintersteel is the most action-packed volume, with some of the finest action scenes, within the series so far.
“There are a million Paths in this world, Lindon, but any sage will tell you they can all be reduced to one. Improve yourself.”