"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
"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
"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
"The first deep chill of winter had fallen over Tibbet's Brook." Once, the town of Tibbet's Brook was an epicentre for demon attacks from the Core, but those days have thankfully passed. Selia Barren's years of fighting demons have been exchanged for sorting out the arguments among her fellow residents, as the town speaker. That … Continue reading Butter Cookies and Demon Claws – Peter V Brett
"My life fell apart when I was sixteen." It shouldn't be a surprise that the apocalypse happening makes things worse in the world, but here we are. Africa, and racial genocide (still?) drives everything. The 'holy book' says that one tribe is predestined to be slaves, but it doesn't stop the other side (who I … Continue reading Who Fears Death – Nnedi Okorafor
"It was early morning on the banks of the Elkinslough River." Mangled bodies with drastic and inexplicable injuries have started to show up in the city's river. Earstripe, a gnole (sort of a talking badger) and local constable (although there's tension in the inter-species attempts at inclusion), wants to investigate more than his superiors think … Continue reading Paladin’s Hope – T Kingfisher
"Were it not for the rut, and Master Guillaume's bladder, we would never have met the knight." When a travelling band of players happens across an injured knight, his final wish is for them to take the box he is carrying to the ruling Imperator in his stead. But they must not open it... yeah, … Continue reading The Dagger in Vichy – Alastair Reynolds
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