The title is great, the cover is gorgeous, and Benedict Patrick’s novelette “And They Were Never Heard From Again” was one of the best stories I read all of last year. So dipping back into Yarnsworld for the first full-length novel was a no-brainer. They Mostly Come Out at Night is a dark fairy tale, with… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: They Mostly Come Out at Night by Benedict Patrick
I didn’t see too much hype for Micaiah Johnson’s debut–although it was enough to push my library hold to five months–but what it lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality. Every single review I saw for The Space Between Worlds raves about it. I was hoping to read it before award nomination season ended, but… Continue reading Science Fiction Novel Review: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
There seemed to be some debate about whether Black Girl Unlimited was fantasy or a memoir, but the first reviews were almost universally glowing, and early March was a good time to read some promising 2020 publications before award nominations were due. So I thought I’d give Echo Brown’s debut a shot, and I’m glad… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown
A couple years ago, I saw Carol Berg’s Lighthouse Duet mentioned on a list of outstanding female-authored epic fantasies that never got the recognition they deserved. After The Lighthouse Duet became one of my all-time favorites, I resolved to dedicate a good chunk of reading time to under-the-radar, female-authored epics. And another on the list… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Transformation by Carol Berg
Amari and the Night Brothers is the first book that I’ve read as a direct result of #booktwitter. My previous book discussion spots didn’t hit middle grade too hard, but my Twitter feed was buzzing about B.B. Alston’s debut, and I’d been looking to dip my toe back into fantasy for younger audiences (Harry Potter… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
I hadn’t heard much about Hench when it came out, but this is the time of year when an interesting premise and a couple people convinced it should be in consideration for a Hugo nomination is enough to give something a second look. And, while I probably won’t include Hench on my ballot, Natalie Zina… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
Andy Giesler released his debut during the summer of 2019, but it didn’t hit my radar until it made the semifinals of this year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. While it was not chosen as a finalist, I found its review more intriguing than the book chosen out of that semifinal group, so I decided to give… Continue reading Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel Review: The Nothing Within by Andy Giesler
As part of my branching out in my sci-fi and fantasy reading, I’m reading a bit more YA than I used to. Elatsoe (eh-lat-so-ay) by Darcie Little Badger is a pretty new offering, but I’d already seen a couple glowing reviews, it’s been a while since I read a book with a Native main character,… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Code of the Communer only had four ratings on Goodreads when I got to it, but it was a semifinalist in this year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, and a couple of the folks at The Fantasy Hive gave absolutely glowing reviews before eventually naming it the runner-up of their batch. So I gave Kai Greenwood’s debut… Continue reading Fantasy Novel Review: Code of the Communer by Kai Greenwood
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
