"I first saw you when you rode out of the forest, past the cluster of tall, bulge-eyed offering stakes that mark the edges of the forest, your horse at a walk." How to even begin review a book like this? An unnamed narrator address a 'you' in second person, splitting the tale into a past … Continue reading The Raven Tower – Ann Leckie
"'Eighteen!' bellowed Viv, bringing her saber around in a flat curve that battered the wight's skull off its spine." Legends & Lattes was a breakout cosy fantasy that introduced us to Viv, an orc making the leap from mercenary fighter to... coffee shop owner? In a city that had never heard of coffee, no less. … Continue reading Bookshops & Bonedust – Travis Baldree
"Rijou's rancorous Court of Blades falls silent as the duellist crosses the marble floor." In Rijou, justice is served by way of court-appointed duels. But when each of the Great Houses trains their second-born as champion duellists, and the wealthy can afford to pay top rates to hire the best stand-ins - how fair is … Continue reading Our Lady of Blades – Sebastien de Castell
"We all want a better education for our children, an improved NHS, a more efficient and reliable transport system, less congestion on the roads and to feel safer and more secure in our homes and when we walk the streets." Tax? Bleh! But it is one of two certainties in life, we're told, and being … Continue reading The Telegraph Tax Guide 2026 – Telegraph Media Group
"When you were the oldest man in the world, you woke slowly, often, at random intervals." We're four books (five, if you include the prequel novella) into the Tyrant Philosophers series and it seems to me that the Pallaseen Sway - the all-conquering army intent on bringing 'perfection' to an entire world - is finally meeting … Continue reading Pretenders to the Throne of Gods – Adrian Tchaikovsky
"Doctor Walden looked glumly at the form she had o fill in." There are so many books set in magical schools, but have you ever wondered how it all looks from the teachers' point of view? Incandescent (which comes from a piece of poetry where it rhymes with 'adolescence', in case you're wondering) follows Saffy … Continue reading The Incandescent – Emily Tesh
"Come sit here by me, Copernicus." Following in his late father's footsteps, Copernicus Brown is a bounty hunter and captain of the Jitterbug. Ever since something unknown took apart the outer planets - Jupiter, Saturn et al - and used the material to build giant, habitable 'platforms', there's been work to support the official security … Continue reading Jitterbug – Gareth L Powell
"Things are getting better: It's been ten months, and I only wake up screaming about once a week now." And so we continue the adventures of one Bob Howard, computational demonologist for the secret government department nicknamed The Laundry (because it was originally housed above a laundry, of course) which deals with the ... weirder … Continue reading The Apocalypse Codex – Charles Stross
"This is the story of how I die." Well, that's a cheery start. And perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, as it's not been a cheery kind of series overall, although I have found this trilogy of novellas to be less dark and much easier to read than the book that started it all, Who Fears Death. … Continue reading The Daughter Who Remains – Nnedi Okorafor
"Sometimes, it is NOT a teacher that you need." One Way Witch follows directly on not from the previous novella in the series, She Who Knows, but rather from the earlier novel, Who Fears Death, while at the same time continuing with Najeeba's story from the novella. Confused yet?! I read the first novella in … Continue reading One Way Witch – Nnedi Okorafor
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