Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art by Dusan Markovic
Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 784 pages (Paperback edition)
Published: 23rd November 2022 by Mythology Press (Self-Published)
Heliotrope is a good one-off standalone character-driven fantasy reminiscent of the classic adventurous fantasy novel. …
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by Kyra Gregory
The Prophet of Edan by Philip Chase
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Edan Trilogy (Book #2 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 610 pages (Paperback edition)
Published: 21st June 2023 by Philip Chase (Self-Published)
For better or worse, The Prophet of Edan is a heavily action-packed sequel to The Way of Edan. …
Cover art illustrated by Michael Whelan
The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Osten Ard Saga (Book #3.5 of 7)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 222 pages (Kindle edition)
Word Count: 78,000 words
Published: 3rd January 2017 by DAW Books
The Heart of What Was Lost is the action-packed epilogue to Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, and it is also a great setup to The Last King of Osten Ard. …
Review copy provided by the publisher—Tor Books—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by Steve Stone
The God is Not Willing by Steven Erikson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Series: The Witness (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic fantasy, Military Fantasy
Word Count: 191,000 words
Pages: 496 pages (Hardcover edition)
Published: 16th November 2021 by Tor Books (US) & 1st July 2021 by Bantam Press (UK)
The God is Not Willing made me sad. It might be time for me to admit everything in the Malazan universe beyond Malazan Book of the Fallen is not for me.
“Longing. Look for it, in every crowd, and you will find it. Paint it any colour you choose: grief, nostalgia, melancholy, remembrance, these are but flavours, poetic reflections.”
Cover art by John Anthony di Giovanni
The Great Change (and Other Lies) by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Age of Madness (Book #0.5 of 3), First Law World (Book, #11 of 11)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy
Pages: 120 pages (Hardback)
Published: 30th September 2023 by Subterranean Press
The Great Change (and Other Lies) is a terrific and thought-provoking insight into the behind-the-scenes of creation and revolution in The Age of Madness.
“Greed was the one thing in the diamond trade, after all, that could always be relied upon.
Review copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by Randy Vargas
Unbound by Michael R. Miller
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
eries: Songs of Chaos (Book #2 of 5)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Progression Fantasy
Pages: 672 pages (Hardcover edition)
Published: 1st October 2021 by Monolith Books (Self-published)
Unbound is where Songs of Chaos truly transformed to a progression dragon rider epic fantasy series. …
This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review of The Tainted Cup.
ARC provided by the publisher—Del Rey Books—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art designed by Will Staehle
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Shadow of the Leviathan (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Murder Mystery, High Fantasy
Pages: 432 pages (Kindle edition)
Publish date: 6th February 2024 by Del Rey (US) & Hodder (UK)
The Tainted Cup is a compelling and rewarding murder mystery in a high fantasy setting redolent of Attack on Titan and The Last of Us. …
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by Andrew Maleski
A War to End All by Michael R. Fletcher & Clayton W. Snyder
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Series: Manifest Delusions (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 535 pages (Kindle edition)
Publish date: 18th September 2023 (Indie)
A War to End All is a philosophical and tepid conclusion to a brilliant grimdark fantasy series.
“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.”
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.”
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. …