I’d heard enough glowing reviews—not to mention the Locus Award win and Nebula and Hugo nominations—to have pretty high expectations for Ninefox Gambit, and it certainly lived up to them. Yoon Ha Lee’s debut space fantasy delivers some fascinating psychological warfare on both a grand and a personal scale, interspersed with moments of levity to… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Novel Review: Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Not gonna lie, the cover and the glowing reviews from grimdark aficionados put me off trying out Chasing Graves for quite a while—bleak and shocking isn’t really my game. But I had four days left on a Kindle Unlimited subscription, and of the KU books on my radar, it had the most gripping opening, so… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Chasing Graves by Ben Galley
Daniel Abraham has co-written a hit science fiction series and written two fantasy series that seem to have small but dedicated followings. The Long Price Quartet is widely considered to be the slowest of the bunch, but, citing high-quality character work and an epic, generational plot that rewards the patient, the positive reviews tend to… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham
The Path of Flames has had solid enough reviews, but I had to give it a read to learn just what manner of book knocked Senlin Ascends out of the 2016 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. For those who aren’t familiar with it, the SPFBO is a really fun annual competition that shines a light on some… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Path of Flames by Phil Tucker
I usually let others do some vetting before I jump in with a new author, so a self-published debut with only 13 ratings on Goodreads was a bit out of my comfort zone. But an Own Voices fantasy epic in a Caribbean-inspired setting (and with a beautiful cover) was enough to intrigue me, and the… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Cradle of Sea and Soil by Bernie Anés Paz
I don’t read a ton of YA, but I’ve read enough to give me some expectations when I see the label, and it didn’t take long to see that The Six would be outside those expectations. K.B. Hoyle’s young adult portal fantasy certainly has plenty of teen angst, but she focuses on the younger end… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Six by K.B. Hoyle
Driftwood is one of those stories that doesn’t need much in the way of plot or character summary, because the concept is the star of the show. And Marie Brennan wows on that score—this is the first book in a long time that gave me the same kind of feeling I had when I was… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Driftwood by Marie Brennan
Sometimes negative reviews are the most instructive. So that seems like as good a reason as any to bash on all your favorites sci-fi and fantasy classics, right? More seriously, everything on this list has something to recommend it, and me not liking it doesn’t mean that it won’t work for you. And because all… Continue reading A Prologue of the Person: Classic Misses
What better way to get to know a book blogger than learning what books they like? Here are some books I love and recommend frequently. Epic/Secondary World Fantasy The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan If you have any interest in a huge, sprawling fantasy epic with hundreds of characters, it’s hard to find better… Continue reading A Prologue of the Person: Books I Love
Parts two and three of my three-part introduction will cover more about my tastes—what books I recommend all the time and which I don’t. But for now, who am I and why did I start book blogging? My name is Jay. I live in Maryland with my wife and two kids. I read a ton… Continue reading A Prologue of the Person: Who I Am, What I’m Doing
