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Book Review: Rebirth (Divinity’s Twilight, #1) by Christopher Russell

Book Review: Rebirth (Divinity’s Twilight, #1) by Christopher Russell

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

Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath

Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth by Christopher Russell

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Divinity’s Twilight (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Sci-fi, Steampunk

Pages: 498 pages (US Paperback edition)

Published: 2nd June 2020 by Morgan James Fiction (Indie)

This was good, an ambitious SFF debut to what I foresee will be a large series.

Due to my TBR pile that continues to exponentially grow uncontrollably, I have to say that I rarely accept an ARC/review copy from an unknown author these days. My gut, however, told me to accept the request to review Christopher Russell’s debut, Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth, and I’m glad I gave this one a go. I mean, how could I say no when Russell himself said that he’s a huge fan of The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson; the inspirations from that epic series was evident in his debut. …

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Book Review: Dust & Lightning by Rebecca Crunden

Book Review: Dust & Lightning by Rebecca Crunden

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Review copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Dust & Lightning by Rebecca Crunden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Science fiction, space adventure, novella

Published: 5th February 2020 (self-published)

Dust & Lightning was an enjoyable science fiction adventure that packed just enough character development and worldbuilding to make the plot work in novella form.
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TS’s Top 11 Books Read in 2020 So Far (1st Jan to 30th June)

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

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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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Book Review: Fid’s Crusade (The Chronicles of Fid, #1) by David H. Reiss

Book Review: Fid’s Crusade (The Chronicles of Fid, #1) by David H. Reiss

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Review copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Fid’s Crusade by David H. Reiss

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Chronicles of Fid (Book 1 of 3)

Genre: Superhero, science fiction

Published: 23rd March 2018 (self-published); Re-release with new cover: 1st January 2020 (Atian Press)

I can’t say that I’ve read many superhero/villain stories.  But for what it’s worth, I’d say that Fid’s Crusade was a great read; an engaging anti-hero story that balanced fascinating character work with clever plotting and cool action scenes.
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Book Review: The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Book Review: The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Sci-fi

Pages: 608 pages

Published: 4th August 2020 by Tor (UK) & Orbit (US)

Children of Time has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016, and Children of Ruin won the “best novel of the year” in The British Science Fiction Association Award a few days ago. Tchaikovsky’s newest work, The Doors of Eden, will definitely continue to win him more prestigious SFF awards in the future. …

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Book Review: The Last Emperox (The Interdependency,#3) by John Scalzi

Book Review: The Last Emperox (The Interdependency,#3) by John Scalzi

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ARC received from the publisher, Tor Books, in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Emperox by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Series: The Interdependency (Book 3 of 3)

Genre: Science fiction, space opera

Published: 14th April 2020 by Tor US & 16th April 2020 by Tor UK

The Last Emperox is a satisfying conclusion to one of the more entertaining and accessible space operas I’ve read.

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Book Review: The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency, #2) by John Scalzi

Book Review: The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency, #2) by John Scalzi

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Review copy received from the publisher, Tor Books, in exchange for an honest review

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Series: The Interdependency (Book 2 of 3)

Genre: Science fiction, space opera

Published: 16th October 2018 by Tor US & 18th October 2018 by Tor UK

The Consuming Fire feels like a middle-book, but in a good way. Just as entertaining and accessible as the first, this sequel took the plotline of The Interdependency trilogy in an interesting direction.

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Book Review: The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency, #1) by John Scalzi

Book Review: The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency, #1) by John Scalzi

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The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Series: The Interdependency (Book 1 of 3)

Genre: Science fiction, space opera

Published: 21st March 2017 by Tor US & 23rd March 2017 by Tor UK

I think two words perfectly describe The Collapsing Empire – entertaining and accessible. This is science fiction for the masses that is fun and riveting.
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