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
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
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
