high fantasy Archives - Page 18 of 27

Book review: A Time of Courage (Of Blood and Bone #3) by John Gwynne

September 21, 2020 Haifa Comments 2 comments

A Time of Courage by John Gwynne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Of Blood and Bone (Book #3 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Published: 2nd April 2020 by Pan Macmillan (UK) & 7th April 2020 by Orbit (US)

ARC provided by the publisher, Pan Macmillan, in exchange for an honest opinion. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and the quotes included may have changed in the released copy.

A Time of Courage is the glorious and bittersweet conclusion of 140 hundred years (or I should probably say 2000 years) worth of bloody history in the Banished Lands!

I have to admit that I went into this final book with a lot of trepidation, in addition to the positive excitement and anticipation. Could this book really be on the same level as Wrath, the masterpiece that was the conclusion of the previous quartet? Will I love it as much? Would I feel as much joy, and sorrow and satisfaction? Will I stare at the book, blinking away tears and trying to calm my frantic heart as a beloved character met their end? Will my eyes fly through the pages, during a tension-filled battle or duel, to seek the outcome and make sure my heroes survived? The answers were yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. John Gwynne truly outdid himself in this outstanding finale.

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Book Review: The Girl and the Stars (Book of the Ice, #1) by Mark Lawrence

September 20, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

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Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Cover illustration by: Jason Chan

The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Book of the Ice (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High fantasy

Pages: 480 pages (UK Hardcover edition)

Published: 30th April 2020 by Harper Voyager (UK) & 21st April 2020 by Ace (US)

Great world-building and prose, but I have mixed feelings on the book. …

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Book Review: Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

September 14, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 5 comments

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRjh…

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

Cover illustration by: John Picacio

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Between Earth and Sky (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High fantasy

Pages: 464 pages

Published: 13th October 2020 by Gallery / Saga Press

Fascinating world-building and riveting narrative. Black Sun was my first venture in Rebecca Roanhorse’s works, and it certainly won’t be the last. …

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Book Review: The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien

August 28, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Lord of the Rings (Book #3 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Published: 20th October 1955 by George Allen and Unwin

“For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”

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Book Review: Kings of Heaven (Ash and Sand, #3) by Richard Nell

August 26, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

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

Cover illustration by: Derek Murphy

Kings of Heaven by Richard Nell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Ash and Sand (Book #3 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy

Pages: 411 pages

Published: 1st September 2020 by Richard Nell (Self-published)

Kings of Heaven has carved Ash and Sand as one of the best fantasy trilogies I’ve ever read.

“A man fails in only two ways, my son. He quits, or he dies.”

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Book Review: The Black Song (Raven’s Blade, #2) by Anthony Ryan

August 22, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover illustration by: Cliff Nielsen

The Black Song by Anthony Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Raven’s Blade (Book #2 of 2)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 442 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 28th July 2020 by Orbit (UK) & 4th August 2020 by Ace (US)

Anthony Ryan has delivered a satisfying action-packed conclusion to Raven’s Blade while leaving room for one or two more books in the world.

“He lies. They all do, these servants of things unseen. Long ago I learned that prophecy is always built on shifting sands and destiny an illusion used to banish fear of the chaos that is life. I trust what I know. I’ve seen what waits on the other side of death so I know it’s always better to cling to life.”

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Book Review: Ashes of the Sun (Burningblade & Silvereye, #1) by Django Wexler

July 27, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 4 comments

ARC provided by the publisher—Head of Zeus—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover illustration by: Scott M. Fischer

Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Burningblade & Silvereye (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Post-apocalypse, Sci-fi.

Pages: 593 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 21st July 2020 by Head of Zeus (UK) & Orbit (US)

A captivating start to a series; if you’re worried whether Ashes of the Sun will be as good as The Shadow Campaigns or not, feel free to incinerate those doubts away now. …

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Book Review: The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2) by J.R.R. Tolkien

July 23, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 4 comments

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Lord of the Rings (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Published: 11th November 1954 by George Allen and Unwin

“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”

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Book Review: Of Darkness and Dawn (The Elder Empire: Shadow, #2) by Will Wight

July 7, 2020 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover illustration by: Micah Epstein

Of Darkness and Dawn by Will Wight

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Elder Empire: Shadow (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 364 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 10th August 2015 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)

This review is an unpopular opinion; please feel free to ignore this if you’ve read and enjoyed the first book, but in my opinion, Of Darkness and Dawn was a huge downgrade from its predecessor. …

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TS’s Top 11 Books Read in 2020 So Far (1st Jan to 30th June)

July 6, 2020 TS Chan Comments 6 comments

The featured image above was specifically designed by Felix Ortiz for Novel Notions. We are ever so grateful for the opportunity to showcase his talent on our blogsite.

2020 has so far been a truly strange, stressful and complicated year, but reading wise it has been pretty incredible for me. I’ve read/listen to 73 books during this first six months of the year and quite a sizeable chunk of these garnered 4-stars and above. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I’ve added so many books onto my favourites shelf in the same period of time. If you’re interested, you can see my year in books for 2020 right here.

Similar to my previous list, I do not limit this to only books released this year. There are simply too many great books that have been published prior and that I’ve yet to read, so there will always be older books included. Below are the parameters that I’ve set for the list.

Rereads don’t count
One book per author
Not limited to books which are released this year.

None of these are ranked except for the top three, of which two are tied for first place. The rest, I’ve listed them in the chronological order of when I’ve read them this year. All of these have been reviewed by me on Novel Notions and Goodreads.

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