As I wrap up my hard mode Bingo card, I’m tackling a few of the most difficult-to-fill squares on the board. But Backlist (hard mode: published before 2000) is an exception—while I certainly wouldn’t naturally come across examples while reading for the Hugos or SPSFC, I had so many intriguing options that I simply had… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts
I’ve openly complained about how getting too aggressive with this year’s reading challenges has prevented me from doing much mood reading. But with this book, Bingo has led to another winner. I read Bethany C. Morrow’s A Song Below Water last year and generally enjoyed it. I thought it tried to do too much, and… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Reclaim the Stars was released February 15, 2022. One of the Bingo squares that had me hunting the longest this year was Latinx Author, whose hard mode required fewer than 1000 ratings on… Continue reading Sci-fi/Fantasy Anthology Review: Reclaim the Stars by Zoraida Córdova
There are quite a few books that I’ve picked up just because they seemed perfect for a Bingo square, but I’ve rarely had to look as hard as I did to find The Queen of Blood. The hard mode Forest Setting square requires the entirety of the book to take place within a forest, and… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
This review is based on an eARC (Advance Reading Copy) provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Age of Ash will be released February 15, 2022. The most recent addition to my all-time top five list was Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartet, which tells a series of intimate, personal stories… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
Max Gladstone is an author that I’ve had on my list for quite some time. His books are almost universally liked in my circles, he’s won awards, and his Craft Sequence neither has a high barrier of entry nor the required commitment for an extended series. And yet, as reading challenges and shiny new objects… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone
Moving into the new year, I’m going to make a small change to how I do my round-up posts. I feel like writing extended short story reviews would be too much, but with the length of my unusual comments, it’s hard to capture why a story might not work for me, and so my entries… Continue reading January 2022 Round-up and Short Fiction Focus
As our SPSFC team finishes reading our ten quarterfinalists out of our first round allotment, I will be posting review roundups and official scores. As you read our thoughts on these ten books, keep in mind that we have a variety of tastes on this team, and a low score does not necessarily indicate a… Continue reading SPSFC Quarterfinalist Review: The Last Shadow by J.D. Robinson
As our SPSFC team finishes reading our ten quarterfinalists out of our first round allotment, I will be posting review roundups and official scores. As you read our thoughts on these ten books, keep in mind that we have a variety of tastes on this team, and a low score does not necessarily indicate a… Continue reading SPSFC Quarterfinalist Review: Gates of Mars by Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays
As our SPSFC team finishes reading our ten quarterfinalists out of our first round allotment, I will be posting review roundups and official scores. As you read our thoughts on these ten books, keep in mind that we have a variety of tastes on this team, and a low score does not necessarily indicate a bad book. One… Continue reading SPSFC Quarterfinalist Review: The Solid-State Shuffle by Jeffrey A. Ballard
