Books tagged with: series

A Crown of Swords is the seventh volume in Robert Jordans epic fantasy series, the Wheel of Time. Following on from the events in The Lord of Chaos, the book begins with the aftermath of the battle at Dumai's Wells. Elayne, Nyneave and Mat manage to finally locate the legendary "Bowl of the Winds" t...

And it came to pass in those days, as it had come before and would come again, that the Dark lay heavy on the land and weighed down the hearts of men, and the green things failed, and hope died. For those who have been following the journey of Jordans' epic fantasy series, reaching this book will l...

Abhorsen is a young adult fantast novel by Garth Nix and is the third volume in the Old Kingdom Series, following on from the events in Sabriel and Lirael. Prince Sameth and the Abhorsen in waiting Lirael are contemplating their next move at the Abhorsens house in the old Kingdom. Surrounded on all...

I found this book during a post Christmas hunt in my local Waterstones after receiving a number of gift vouchers. I had never read anything by the author (or indeed the publisher) but have seen the third novel in the series (the Immorality Engine) appearing around the web for a while. For me one of...

Angel Souls and Devil Hearts is the second volume in the fantasy horror series "The Shadow Saga" by Christopher Golden. An Epic tale of Vampires, Sorcery and War... The Shadows have been living among us unknown for thousands of years and now revealed the ancient Vampire race must confront the most...

Anno Frankenstein is a novel in the Pax Britannia series featuring the intrepid adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver. In this alternative universe, Magna Britannia is the undisputed superpower of the world whereas since the second great European war, Hitler’s Nazi party has been reduced to the status of...

Ten weeks ago Homicide Detective Sailor Doyle worked on his first ever solo case, a horrific double murder in a remote area of Virginia that almost finished him for good. Now he's recuperating from the physical wounds and mental trauma, the near death experience acting as a focus to overcome his ot...

Carrying on right from where we left the survivors back in Autumn: The City, Purification takes us further down the Zombie survival road. Pretty much imprisoned within the underground Army base this small group sit and wait while on the surface the crowd of shuffling corpses is growing in size every...

Autumn - The City is the follow up to the sensational zombie novel Autumn, promising the same power and subtle horror of the first. It takes a lot of guts to start a story again right from the beginning but told from a different perspective - a brave move that could have gone horribly wrong. Instea...

The Witcher series is something quite special and Baptism of Fire is no exception. Written by the talented Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and translated by the equally talented liguist David French (who translated the previous book in the series Time of Contempt). The people behind the series have...

Beautiful Dead: Arizona is the second volume in the Beautiful Dead series of novels by Eden Maguire. Following on from the events in "Jonas", Darina has seen no sign of the Beautiful Dead for weeks and is missing Phoenix all over again. With so much still to resolve, surely they will retu...

Beautiful Dead: Jonas is the first volume in a new series by Eden Maguire. A young adult novel, Jonas follows the events surrounding the pupils of Ellerton High. Phoenix is the fourth teenager to died within the space of a year, the victim of a knife attack. The three previous deaths, Jonas in a m...

Phineas (Finn) Gramayare has an unusual occupation. He's a part-trained necromancer, returned to the mortal world after being exiled to the Fairy realm for 25 years for a crime he didn't commit. Along with his Necromancy ability, Finn has decided to use his connections to offer a match-making servic...

Bitterblue is the third novel in the Seven Kingdoms series, following on from the events of Fire and Graceling. The story begins eight years after the events of Graceling and is more a direct follow up to this novel with only the occasional crossover from the Fire storyline. The focus is placed on...

Tome of the Undergates was a fun, bloodthirsty and action packed novel with a young and yet confident voice and Black Halo promises more of the same, picking up where the first book ended. These mismatched and grumpy souls that make up Lenk's rag-tag band manage to get themselves shipwrecked on an...

Blood of the Mantis is the third volume in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt sequence, published in August 2009 and following directly on from Dragonfly Falling. At three hundred and twenty pages, it is also half the length of either of its predecessors, which is the first interesting decision...

Blood Rites is the sixth book in the series featuring Chicago's wizard private detective, Harry Dresden. Six books in and the series just gets stronger and stronger. This time we've not only got the usually high standard of writing and wonderfully crafted plot but some inspired character developme...

Bloodsworn follows on from the events in the previous volumes Bloodborn and Bloodforged as Ulrika the Vampire returns to Nuln, finding her former Lahmian sisters preparing for war. Their arch rivals, the deleterious Von Carsteins meanwhile have begun to attack their strongholds and lead the despised...

Breaking the Devil's Heart continues the ideas presented in the previous novel Logic of Demons. This time we follow the young couple Stewart and Layla as they spy on the Devil and try and figure out how to beat "the formula", bankrupt Satan's underground Company and save Heaven from civil war. The...

Broken Homes is the fourth novel in Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series and each one gets better and better - this one though has a completely unexpected twist at the end that I guarantee will leave you breathless and have you clambering through the book looking for the clues along the way. One...

This is the second book in The Bookman Histories, the first being The Bookman and I would suggest you start with that first. Although Camera Obscura would stand alone you may find a few references confusing. Once again Tidhar has constructed a masterpiece of a novel. His steampunk world where Lizar...

Translating the title take a bit better knowledge of Latin than I have (which is close to non). I can understand the Carpe part, but Jugulum? It turns out to mean something like "Go for the Throat" (that's Nanny Ogg's translation, not mine), which could be quite a hint towards the topic of this book...

Changes continues the story of Herald trainee Mags, following on from the events of Foundation and Intrigues - all set within the long running Valdemar series. As with the previous two books, Changes manages to disarm the reader and surround them in a warm, soothing embrace - yes we are firmly in t...

After the tremendous Turn Coat, I was expecting big things from Changes and boy does this book live up to the promises. It's impossible to write about Changes without giving away a few spoilers - however I'm not going to mention anything you can't read on the back of the book itself....

City of Dreams & Nightmare is the debut novel from Ian Whates and published by Angry Robot Books. The first in a new series of novels, the story is set against the vertical city of Thaiburley. Thaiburley, known as the "City of a Hundred Rows" is an incredible creation of towering majestic heights a...

City of Golden Shadow is the first volume in Tad Williams Otherland series. Eight hundred pages in a rather small font and only the first in a series. This somewhat ups the stakes when one has to decide whether to recommend a book or not. It's so easy when a series is so clearly good (like Nights D...

Closer to the Heart is listed as The Herald Spy book 2, it is worth noting, however , that while the characters do appear in Closer to Home (The Herald Spy book 1) the book is itself a complete story, rather than a continuation of the existing story arc. In fact, the characters life before these boo...

Dresden’s time as a spirit-on-a-mission in Chicago was a lot more draining then he was prepared for. Waking up from a coma, Harry realizes that his body has been preserved by the guardian spirit, Demon Reach and his new employer, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Mab, the Fairy Queen of Winter, nurses...

Connors Folly is the second volume in the Trance Warriors fantasy series by Robert C Auty, following on from the Siege of Scarn. The epic siege is finally at an end the new Grynn King is tasked with taking the fight to the enemy, to do so he must first find the white palace and finish his training...

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone who had military experience wrote urban fantasy? The result is Control Point, a quite brilliant blend of other-worldly fantasy and gritty combat. The novel follows the US Army Lieutenant Oscar Britton who finds himself working alongside SOC (Super...

Crossroads of Twilight is the tenth novel in the incredible epic series, the Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan. Many of the events in Crossroads of twilight run concurrently with the previous volume, Winters Heart. Ewgene is on the outskirts of Tar Valon, laying seige but wary to start a full scale w...

Day Shift is the second novel in Charlaine Harris's Midnight Texas series, following on from the quite excellent novel Midnight Crossroad we reviewed in May last year. It's a welcome return to the inhabitants of the strange small cross-road town that is Midnight. There doesn't seem to be more t...

The Word of Kemmler, a book of potentially catastrophic power should it fall into the wrong hands. Mortiferous forces have gathered in Chicago and it would seem the windy city may be the resting place of the ancient tome. Of course that means it's up to Harry to prevent the book falling into the wr...

Dead by Dawn is the 7th novel in the Jason Dark series by Guido Henkel. A woman in good health dies overnight, and to make matters worse it's Jason Dark's next door neighbour who's snuffed it, something wicked is at work in London town. As his investigation leads him down to the seedy underbelly of...

I’m going to start by saying that this isn’t usually a book I’d consider reading, my usual reads being Sci-Fi and Fantasy (usually humorous), or history books, but I was very surprised and really, really enjoyed it. The book is seen through the eyes of a Collector, Sam Thornton, who collects the so...

Dead Winter is the first novel in a new series that's set within the "Time of Legends" collection, itself set within Warhammer Fantasy with the aim to tell the stories of some of the greatest heroes of the Warhammer world. A thousand years have passed since the Age of Sigmar and the Empire he creat...

Deadhouse Gates is the second book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Picking up where Gardens of the Moon left off, Deadhouse Gates reunites a host of old characters and throws some new ones into the fray. This time the action is focused not on Genabackis, but on the continent of...

The fifth book in the Dresden Files following the adventures of that intrepid wizard Harry Dresden. It begins as Dresden books often do, with attempts on Harry's life and that pretty much sets the pace for the whole story. If you've read the previous books you will be familiar with the ongoing prob...

There have been thousands of years of conflict between humans and parahumans, a war that's been happening in secret has finally reached an uneasy truce. But now this peace is threatened by the awakening of an unspeakable evil, a sadistic serial killer who is slaughtering teenage shapeshifters and ri...

One man's quest for the justice of his wronged mother brings war to a land made soft by a forced but enduring peace. As the conflict spreads a few survivors flee into an alien world of currency, corruption, commerce and cruelty while behind them a long buried darkness returns, something that the wor...

Down Station is actually a real station on the London Underground. You can't however visit this place though, the Trains don't stop there and if you're lucky you can but catch a glimpse of it between Green Park and Hyde Park Corner on the Piccadilly Line. You can see the outside of this abandoned st...

Dracula Cha Cha Cha is the third novel in the Anno Dracula series, set in the alternative history of 1959 where Vampires are just another part of the population. This time we are in Rome as Vampires, intellectuals and other important people are gathering to witness the marriage of the count Dracul....

The fifth book in the dragon series by Stephen Deas, Dragon Queen is certainly value by weight of pages. The previous tale, The Black Mausoleum weighed in at just over three hundred in the mass market paperback, whereas Dragon Queen is twice that and a little more. The first trilogy of Deas’ story...

Dragon Rider is the second novel is the Prophecy of the Kings series, written by David Burrows. After the climatic cliff hanger at the end of Legacy of the Eldric, we find our intrepid adventurers return to a world that has changed without them. War now threatens the land and Nations who once had s...

Arianus, the World of Air, is composed entirely of porous floating islands, aligned in three basic altitudes. In the Low Realm, the dwarves (called "Gegs", an elven word for "insects") live on the continent Drevlin and cheerfully serve the giant Kicksey-winsey, a city-sized machi...

Dragonfly Falling is the second book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt sequence, published in 2009 and following directly on from Empire in Black and Gold. The premise of the whole series, just to get this out of the way early, is insect people. Tchaikovsky has built a secondary world in wh...

Pryan, the World of Fire, does not orbit a sun— at least, not in the normal manner. It is a giant stone sphere containing four suns (similar to a Dyson Sphere), and it is always daytime. The "ground" is not the ground at all, but rather moss and the leaves of huge, mile-high trees; m...

Empire in Black and Gold is the first novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt sequence, published in July 2008, and the book that gets the whole insect-people experiment off the ground. It is also, for the record, Tchaikovsky's debut. There is something faintly unfair about a writer arrivin...

Eragon is the first volume in the Inheritance Cycle and has been written by Christopher Paolini. Eragon, a 15-year-old boy and lives with his uncle and cousin on a farm near a small village. While hunting in a large range of mountains nearby, Eragon is surprised to see a polished blue stone appear...

Abarrach, the World of Stone is just that: lava, stone, poisonous fumes, and precious little food that can be grown. The peoples of Abarrach rely on giant rune-inscribed stone pillars called colossi to provide warmth and breathable atmosphere, but the colossi have been failing slowly for many years....

In the sensational sequel to Poison Study and Magic Study, Yelena's apprenticeship is over - now her real test has begun. When word that Yelena is a Soulfinder - able to capture and release souls - spreads like wildfire, people grow uneasy. Already Yelena's unusual abilities and past have set her ap...

Brandon Sanderson needs little introduction: wantonly imaginative; rollicking action scenes; well thought-out magic systems. Firefight, the second book in his YA Reckoners series is perhaps less well known, and centres on a group of humans in post-apocalyptic American cities hunting evil X-Men - sor...

Adrian sul’Han, known by the nickname Ash, is a powerful healer who wants revenge. After being forced into hiding after a series of murders throws the queendom into chaos, Ash went into training for healing. During his summer’s off, he would exact revenge on the important political figures of Arden,...

Fool Moon is the second book in the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and once again we meet up with Chicago's only professional wizard and one of only a dozen of his power in the country. Since we left Harry business has been pretty non-existant and he's been unable to find any kind of work at all munda...

A veteran of the fantasy scene, Mercedes Lackey has enjoyed a great deal of success in the US but until now hasn't really had a great deal of exposure over here in the UK. This is set to change however thanks to Titan Books with the release of Foundation, the first volume in the Collegium Chronicle...

Foxglove Summer in the fifth installment in the stunning Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. After the stunning climax of Broken Homes, (seriously if you haven't read Broken Homes read it first) Foxglove Summer feels like a fresh summer breeze. Peter Grant escapes the rat race of London to...

From a Watery Grave is the 6th novel in the Jason Dark series of dime novels by Guido Henkel. A quaint seaside town seems the ideal place for an English summer holiday. Little do its inhabitants suspect, that a century-old curse is about to throw their idyllic existence into turmoil and terror. Wra...

Full Dark House is the first novel in the long running series that follows the enigmatic detectives Bryant and May as they attempt to solves crimes that few would dare to touch. The novel begins in a very unexpected and quite brilliant manner, by one of the main characters dying in a large explosion...

It's difficult to write a review of Ghost Story without giving spoilers away about the previous book, Changes. Having said that, I'd recommend reading Changes before attempting Ghost Story, while any of the Dresden Files novels can be read individually, read this one without knowing the hist...

Unclean Spirits is the first in a new shared-universe series called Gods and Monsters. Gods (and Monsters) are real. In the past this Pantheon were content to keep the world at arms length, sucking up the belief and devotion of mortals to provide them with the power to wage war against each other....

The third adventure that follows Chicago's only Wizard Harry Dresden get's off to a powerful and swift start that doesn't let up for the whole novel. This time Harry has some help in the form of a Knight of the Cross Michael Carpenter who is a "righteous" man, driven by his devout faith and bearer o...

Harbinger of the Storm is the second volume in the Obsidian and Blood series of novels by Aliette de Bodard, and follows on from the events in Servant of the Underworld, both published by Angry Robot Books. One and a half years have passed since the events in Servant of the Underworld and the Emper...

Set in an alternative world where the supernatural have the same rights as we do, Hard Spell is an urban fantasy novel by Justin Gustainis and follows the adventures of Stan Markowski, a detective of the Scranton PD’s Occult Crimes Unit. The "Supe" unit handles any crimes that have a supernatural el...

Hellbent sees the return of the sassy super thief Raylene - also known as Cheshire Red - who is back to her usual tricks, hired to retrieve a valuable magical artifact. This time however she is up against a very powerful Witch and must team up with x-Navy SEAL and fabulous drag queen Adrian deJesus;...

Another episode is the Mountain Man series always brings a degree of eagerness; not only with knowledge that you just know the dialogue will be entertaining but in the authors wonderfully rewarding tone too; Hellifax is no exception. Gus, the reluctant hero of the previous two Mountain Man novels i...

I is for Innocent is a mystery novel by Sue Grafton. It has been a while since I last read a mystery, but once in a while the craving for something 'normal' and now based rears its ugly head. Mystery fills this role quite nicely. I've read the first Kinsey Millhone mysteries (from 'A is for Alibi'...

In the Shadow of Swords is the first volume in the Tales of Ciris Sarn by Val Gunn. When the legendary killer Ciris Sarn ends a life in an empty city plaza with a single dagger thrust, little does he know that an insidious game has been triggered by the brutal slaying. Turning predator into prey, t...

On Abarrach, Xar is attempting to learn the secret of necromancy, but he needs a corpse to test it on. He interrogates the lazar Kleitus about the location of any living Sartan, and Kleitus reveals that Haplo lied to Xar about all the Sartan dying at the hands of the dead; Balthazar and his group re...

Intrigues is the second book in the Collegium Chronicles, following the trainee Herald Mags who we first met in Foundation, situated within the realm of Valdemar. Foundation set the scene pretty well and allowed us to learn about Mags and the Heralds college, I was struck by the quality of the prose...

One of the newer books in the (never-ending) Discworld saga. I'm finding it extremely hard to say anything interesting about this book – not because it's bad, but it's a Discworld novel and …well that's it. It's no worse and no better than all the other Discworld novels. Pratchett is funny, as alway...

So here we have the return of Johannes Cabal, a little older, maybe a little wiser; at the very least more "complete" than he was, this time he's attempting to steal a rare book in his continued quest to understand how to defeat death. Captured in the act and awaiting execution Cabal is forced to re...

So here we reach the third novel featuring that acerbic anti hero Johannes Cabal who this time get's recruited by the mysterious Fear Institute to lead an expedition into the Dreamlands - an alternative reality created by peoples dreams. There they must hunt and destroy the dread Phobic Animus - the...

Kells Legend is the first volume in the Clockwork Vampires Chronicles and has been written by Andy Remic. Without warning came the vast albino army, the army of iron, invading Falanor from the north. To have any hope of survival a small band set off to warn the King. The band leaves quickly and wit...

King’s Justice is the second novel in the Knights of Breton Court series and the sequel to the phenomenal novel King maker by Maurice Broaddus. From the drug gangs of downtown Indianapolis, the one true king will arise. Spurred on with ever more urgent visions by his mystic advisor Merle, King att...

Knife of Dreams is the eleventh volume in the epic Wheel of Time series and is the last full volume written by Robert Jordan. If you have like me arrived here after reading the first 10 volumes then you will appreciate this moment, a long journey, hugely rewarding and it is with a sense of trepidat...

Back in May last year I reviewed a novel by Peter Koevari, a promising new Indie author who has been creating an epic fantasy series known as Legends of Marithia. This is the second novel in that series and follows straight on from the events of the previous book - Legends of Marithia: Prophecies A...

Legends of Marithia is a fantasy novel by Peter Koevari. After her sorceress mother and vampire father are horrifically murdered right in front of her, Kassina makes a pact with the Lord of Darkness Shindar and swears revenge over the lands responsible for her parents demise. With Sindar's help she...

Lirael is a young adult fantasy novel written by Garth Nix and is the second volume in the Old Kingdom Series. The novel is split into three different parts with the first set 14 years after the events of Sabriel and the other two parts set 19 years after. Sabriel and Touchstone are married with tw...

London Falling is the first in Paul Cornell's Shadow Police series. For those who don't know, Paul Cornell is an award winning author who writes across a variety of media and one of only two people to have been Hugo nominated for prose, TV and comics. He's also written a number of Doctor...

The wolves are howling outside the city of Constantinople and mysterious sorcery plagues its citizens. On a field of battle littered with the dead and dying stumbles a ragged figure dressed in wolfskin and wreaking of death. Slipping past the guards he enters the tent of the Emperor and draws his sw...

Jimmy is trapped in the realm of the Omni with no one to help him unless Ursula can learn to control her raw and unrefined powers. For the natives of Omni this intrusion of otherworldlings could be seen as a potentially destructive threat to their stability and possibly even their own existence....

Midnight, Texas is a small town located at the crossroads of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. From an outsiders perspective it looks like a run-of-the-mill, dried-up western town with lots of boarded up buildings and relatively few full-time inhabitants. There's a Pawnshop, a Diner and general store...

Mockingbird reunites us with that wonderfully screwed-up, dark and acerbic character of Miriam Black; the girl who has the (mis)fortune to witness how someone will depart this mortal coil with just a simple contact of skin. Some time has passed since we last met that crazy bird and after a lifetime...

Moon Crossing is the second novel in the Fellhounds of Thesk series and the follow-up to the young adult fantasy novel Moon Chase. We are once again joined with Wil Calloway and those huge Fellhounds and this time its to rescue one of Wil's friends, continuing on from the cliff-hanger ending of the...

Reviewed by Ed Prior. Moon Over Soho is the second novel in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series about Metropolitan Police Constable and trainee wizard Peter Grant and his magical mentor DCI Thomas Nightingale. Moon Over Soho finds PC Peter Grant still living with the fallout from his first en...

Nekropolis is the first volume in a new series of fantasy horror, written by Tim Waggoner and is based on his novella Necropolis. Matt Richter is a former cop now a private eye with a big difference, he is a zombie (could happen to anyone really). A zombie private detective does have it's advantage...

Night Shift continues the story of the rich and rewarding urban fantasy series Midnight Texas by Charlaine Harris. Harris writes fiction that is comforting, warm and relaxing with a feeling of the familiar. Her characters are people you want to meet and (mostly) befriend. Those who frequent the lit...

I read this book in three nights because I could barely put it down. The story line is exellent, as is the world Zelazny creates. He is no doubt one of my favourite authors and I plan to read all 10 of the novels in this series The story starts with the main character waking in a hospital bed and h...

Arthur Wallace, inspired by 80's films such as Tango and Cash, is an Oxford copper who finds himself entirely unprepared when fate chooses him to step up and play the hero; recruited as he is by the mysterious government agency MI37. Luckily he's always lived by the mantra "What would Kurt Russell...

I must admit that I missed the first 3 novels in this series although I have heard a lot about them (all good) and remember hearing about the (Tony winning) Broadway musical that was based on the first book "Wicked". The books themselves are inspired by Frank Baum's childrens classic "The Wonderfu...

Picus is one of those people who act as a magnet for trouble, disowned by his parents (or at least his quite scary mother) for not being blood-thirsty enough, hunted by the violent vampire Raben for the theft of an item that wasn't really his and wanted by the leader of the faie Queen Mab (the tooth...

Prince of Fools is the first in a new series (called the Red Queen's War) set within the same world as the authors acclaimed Prince of Thorns series. It is a slight departure in style and yet retains the wit and light-heartedness that those who have read the authors work will be familiar with. Prin...

Harry Dresden is once again thrown into magical conflict in Proven Guilty. As always, our wise cracking wizard-for-hire is up to the challenge! Proven Guilty smoothly picks up where Dead Beat leaves off. Harry Dresden, now named a Warden of the White Council, struggles to fulfill his role as magic...

It's difficult to imagine that the Discworld began 40 books and 30 years ago, so far it has been a tremendous journey (long may it continue) and Raising Steam continues possibly the finest continuous fantasy series yet created. One of the things I love about the Discworld is the continuity, the ser...

Rebellion is an historical fiction novel by James McGee and follows the adventures of Matthew Hawkwood as he heads behind the enemy lines in Napoleonic France. October 1812 sees Britain and France still at war, France is engaged with both Spain and Russia and fighting a battle on two fronts is prov...

It's funny how even if you follow a genre closely you can still miss some pretty successful authors, I guess that there are just so many novels published nowadays that this will become increasingly common. I haven't read anything by Holly Black before but I have been aware of her work without realis...

Redoubt is the fourth novel in the Collegium Chronicles, following the adventures of the Herald trainee Mags and his friends Bear, Lena and Amily. Mags is becoming something of a hero, not least due to his rescuing of Amily (the daughter of Kings Own Herald Nikolas) from agents of Valdemars treacher...

River of Blue Fire is the second volume in Tad Williams Otherland series. I'm unsure as to why I brought this the second volume in Tad Williams Otherland series (which has just been concluded in a forth volume). I wasn't that impressed with the first volume, which i found to long and lacking in any...

Rivers of London is an urban fantasy novel by Ben Aaronovitch. Peter Grant was just a probationary constable in the Metropolitan Police Force and faced a life in the drudgery of the Case Progression Unit (doing paperwork so real coppers don't have to). Then one night, on a cold, wet night while inve...

Living amongst us are a group of creatures who prey on the vulnerable and the weak, guiding them to commit suicide and living off this energy released (known as "span") of a life snuffed out before its time. These Tormentas look just like a regular human, often taking the guise of a ravishing sed...

Sabriel is a young adult fantasy novel written by Garth Nix and is the first volume in the Old Kingdom series. The Old Kingdom is a land where magic is common and spirits roam freely (a fact denied by the government). Outside of the Old Kingdom lies Ancelstierre, which has a technology level and so...

We are once again re-united with one of the few survivors in a world infested with the undead. Gus is a little more dishevelled than the last time we saw him, more bruised and a bit more reckless too as his daily existence of waking up, getting drunk and preparing for the inevitable zombie horde beg...

I'd like to start this review by saying that Richard Kadrey doesn't get the visibility he deserves, not by a long shot. I only discovered him myself by seeing other authors discussing how wonderful his work is. They aren't wrong. Sandman Slim - real name James Stark - has just spen...

Second Sight follows on from the events of the Riddler's Gift and is the second novel in the Lifesong series by Greg Hamerton. Tabitha Serannon has not only survived the horrors brought by the shadowcasters led by the Darkmaster, but has become a miracle healer and a fledgling wizard, but already h...

The novel picks up just where Fire Sea left off. Alfred jumps into Death's Gate as Haplo's ship passes through it, and finds himself in a stasis room like the one he woke up in; in fact, he believes he's on Arianus. Tired, he decides to put himself back to sleep... Only to find someone in "his&...

Shadows of Self, the fifth in the Mistborn series and the sequel to Alloy of Law, shows Mistborn’s society evolving as technology and magic mix, the economy grows, and religion becomes a growing cultural force. The bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society that came out of the first Mistborn tr...

In the holy city of Othir treachery and corruption are rife, the ideal breeding ground for any freelance assassins with no scruples. Caim is one of the best, living on the edge of a blade he has carved out an impeccable reputation but when he reluctantly takes on a job at very short notice he finds...

A small note before the review: Skin Game is the kind of book that hides a lot of its best work in its second half, and to talk about it usefully I will need to touch on a few of the setup beats from the opening chapters. I have tried to keep specific plot resolutions and the bigger character develo...

No one's tried to Kill Harry in almost a year and the worst problem he has faced in that time is trying to get stains removed from carpets caused by his bungling apprentice. Anyone who knows Harry knows that this is too good to last. The person to put such a spanner in the wizards life is...

Review by author Luis Villazon. This is a detective novel, with a fantasy setting. The city of Winter Moon is surrounded on three sides by impenetrable mountains and on the fourth by an impassable frozen sea. Its only connection to the outside world is via the magical floating city of Crystalline, w...

Sam Vimes is forced to take a holiday in the country and discovers that things are not what they seem in the peaceful village. Once again Pratchett has written a classic with, humour, suspense and sheer wonder. I was hooked from page one and read the whole thing in two days stopping only to eat and...

There has been a lot of good things said about Songs of the Earth and a consummate amount of praise given to the author of this debut novel. It has even been described as the "fantasy debut of 2011" when it was first released in hardback last year and has been on my list of books to read for some ti...

Soul Stealers is the sequel to the Andy Remic Epic novel - Kell's Legend, and the second volume in the Clockwork Vampire Chronicles. The indomniable Kell is still being hunted by the evil clockwork vampires and to make matters worse, he is now being tracked by two beautiful but deadly female vampir...

I remember reading the very first Spooks book a number of years ago and really enjoying it. Never having been sent any to review until since I've had little opportunity to read any others in the now quite size-able series (13 volumes at the time of writing). It's clear I should have read more Delane...

Stone of Tears is the second volume in the epic Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Darken Rahl has finally been defeated and Richard and Kahlan race off back to the mud people to marry. Nothing goes to plan however and as they are waiting for the wedding preparations to be completed three Sis...

Storm Front is the first novel introducing the wizard P.I. Harry Dresden to the world, a gritty urban fantasy that manages to captivate right from the start. We join Harry as he's going through a bit of a slow patch and so when the Chicago PD asks for help with a double homicide he jumps at the cha...

It would be a bit of an understatement to say I've been eagerly anticipating this novel, ever since I was lucky enough to review Sixty One Nails I've been completely hooked by Mike Shevdon's rich, dynamic prose and unique, powerful voice that helps to create this astounding urban fantasy series. I'...

The Dresden Files are fast becoming a comfort read of mine. Jim Butcher writes in such a disarmingly warm, friendly manner that is quite compelling, relaxing and addictive. Summer Knight is the fourth book in the series and poor Dresden really seems to have hit rock bottom. With no cases, no money,...

Terrorlord is the 9th volume in the Jason Dark series by Guido Henkel. Released by a dark and ancient ritual, the Terrorlord is freed once more onto the mortal plane, his one desire to open the seven gates of hell and unleash the undead hordes upon mankind. Jason Dark has the misfortune to have alr...

The first of Stephen Deas’ dragon series and published in 2009, The Adamantine Palace sets the stage of scheming between the noble factions and royal houses. Prince Jehal, Queen Sheriza, Queen Zafira, Speaker Hyram and others battle for power. Like many fantasy works, Deas’ society does appear top-...

The Aylesford Skull is the fourth novel in the Narbondo series, following the adventures of the brilliant but eccentric Professor Langdon St. Ives and written by one of the founding fathers of the Steampunk genre - James P Blaylock. Not only has Blaylock won a number of awards, he's also been recom...

The Bands of Mourning, part of the second series of Mistborn books, taking place hundreds of years after the original Mistborn trilogy, follows the adventures of Wax, Wayne, Marasi, and Steris once more. The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metalminds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone...

The Blood Witch is the 8th volume in the Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter series of Novellas by Guido Henkel. An ancient curse re-surfaces and from deep within England's dark forests comes a hideous terror, stronger than ever and stalking the fog wrapped streets of Victorian London. Young girls are disappe...

The Boy who wept blood is the sequel to Den Patrick's impressive novel, The Boy with the Porcelain Blade. Set some time after the events of the first book, the Queen Anea now rules Demense. A fairer society is being built on the ashes of the old regime however many of the old players are reluctant t...

From the books description page: The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Recoletta’s top-secret h...

In one of the most hotly anticipated sequels in memory, J.K. Rowling takes up where she left with Harry's second year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Old friends and new torments abound, including a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girl's bathroom, an outrageously concei...

Framed for Murder and on the run, Detective Inspector Cass Jones gets unwelcome attention wherever he goes, including being hounded by his former colleagues. As he works desperately to save his kidnapped nephew and gain answers he finds himself going up against The Bank and its sinister employees on...

The Curse of Kali is the 10th volume in the Jason Dark series by Guido Henkel. The intrepid Inspector Lestrade needs all the help he can get after a the decapitated corpse of a rich writer is found in the hands of a statue of the Hindu goddess Kali. Not even sure if he's looking for a human killer...

For me Tad Williams sits right up there with the very best fantasy story-tellers, I read his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series many years ago and it still ranks as one of the most memorable fantasy series, even after all that time. If you haven't read the series and are a fan of the fantastic then I...

The Dragon at War is a fantasy novel by the author Gordon R Dickson. Over a century ago, the dragon Gleingul fought and slew a sea serpent in single combat. A genuine David and Goliath moment as sea serpents are more than twice as large as dragons. Ever since, there has been great animosity between...

The Dragon Knight is the sequel to the Dragon and the George, by Gordon R Dickson. Fans of the Dragon and the George will enjoy this novel that continues the adventures of Jim and friends in an alternate 14-century reality. The novel begins 5 months after the battle at Loathly Tower. Jim and Angie...

The Dragon on the Border is a fantasy novel by the author Gordon R Dickson. Jim, the product of a technologically advanced civilization 600 years ahead of the one he now calls home and now minor apprentice in magic has become the target of the Dark Powers in their latest attempt to disrupt the bala...

The Dragon Reborn — the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him — is on the run from his destiny. Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how &m...

Do not read this review if you have not read the The Gunslinger - it contains spoilers for it. The Drawing of the Three (or DT2) takes off where The Gunslinger ended, with Roland lying on the beach of the western sea. The book tells the tale of Roland as he journeys along this beach and draws "the...

The world has ended and the few who remain are faced with a struggle to survive, not only with a lack of food and heat (not to mention any real form of civilisation) but also against the hordes of shambling undead who look to rip, tear, kill and eat not to mention the possibility of an even more dan...

Reading the quote on the cover ("War between science and superstition") along with the image could lead you to believe that The Edge of Reason is a sword and sorcery fantasy or religious thriller. It isn't. Instead it's a modern day Urban fantasy that rides the popular wave of police-procedural nov...

Robert Rankin is without a doubt one of the select few funniest and sometimes strangest authors alive today. Often his novels are more than a little odd and with The Educated Ape he manages to merge these styles with a steampunk theme and some quite brilliant characterisation. This is the third nov...

One of my favourite series has now reached book four and continues to astonish and astound in the quality and conviction of the writing, the continued building of the rich tapestry that is The Courts of the Feyre and the journey of the complex characters that inhabit Shevdon's urban fantasy. The no...

The Emperor's Edge is a speculative fiction novel by Lindsay Buroker. Amaranthe Lokdon is one of the first ever female watch officers in the city, she works harder than anyone else and yet is overlooked for promotion while others rise in the ranks around her. When ravaged bodies begin to show up o...

Charlie Higson is probably best known as part of a series that for many in the UK was one of the funniest things to watch on TV in the 90's - the Fast Show (known as Brilliant in the US). The irreverent and often off-beat humour was guaranteed to make me laugh and still does. Until this year I didn...

The Executioners Heart is the fourth novel in the Newbury and Hobbes series and follows on from the events of The Immorality Engine - although you don't need to have read that or any of the previous books to enjoy The Executioners Heart. The Queen's agents Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbe...

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and go, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth return again. In the Third Age, an Age of Prophecy, when the World and Time themselves hang in the balance, a wind rises in the mou...

The Falconer by Elizabeth May is the first in what appears to be a series of books following the adventures of Lady Aileana Kameron (or Kam) as she lives the double life of daughter of the Marquess of Douglas on one hand and the life of a fairy hunter (or aforementioned Falconer) on the other. ...

The Fires of heaven is the fifth novel in the epic series the wheel of time, written by Robert Jordan. Rand, the Dragon reborn continues to try and re-unite the Aiel, leading them over the spine of the world, hunting the Shaido. Meanwhile the Forsaken are free and plotting Rands downfall. While Ra...

The Gathering Storm (formally under the working title A Memory of Light) is the 12th novel in the outstanding fantasy epic, the Wheel of Time by the late Robert Jordan, originally started in 1990 with "The Eye of the World". As Jordan passed away before completing what was thought to be the last vo...

The first thing that you notice when you pick up this, the fourth volume in the Potter saga, is that it's more than twice as thick as any of the previous Potter books. The first thing that you notice when you start reading it, is that it doesn't start of like the other books, with Harry livi...

The Good, The Mad and the Undead follows on from the authors previous book A Heist Too Far which we were lucky enough to review last year. Here we are re-united with the dangerous, blue-skinned assassin Mallik who has split up with his comrades Dick and Jules in order to let the heat die down follow...

For centuries traveling gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of . . . Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages. Rand al...

The Grey city of Dorminia, surrounded by granite walls thrice the height of a man and at least three feet thick at it's weakest point. These walls provide a barrier for those without as they do those within, patrolled by the harsh Crimson watch and observed from the skies by the Mindhawks - magical...

Sometimes when I've read a really bad book it's hard for me to write a review about it - I just want to leave it at "this book is bad - stay away from it" and then forget about the book as fast as possible. With Stephen King's The Gunslinger it's the other way around. A short "Go buy this book at on...

The stupidity around the release of this book has grown to new heights. If somebody 10 years ago have told me that a book series would become so popular that, people would go to great lengths as breaking and entering, just to read the next volume before everybody else, I probably wouldn't have belie...

Haplo takes a submersible back to Draknor to retrieve his ship. He finds Samah there— wet, haggard, and lost. The leader of the Council has opened Death's Gate, allowing the dragon-snakes free access to all the four worlds. Haplo decides he is too tired to physically capture Samah and uses his...

The Heir of Night was reviewed by me for the 2012 David Gemmell Morningstar Award, which went on to win the award! I've been aware of the novel for some time now but as it was never sent to me it remained one I'd been meaning to buy and I'm very glad that I'm getting the chance to read it for the G...

The Illearth War follows straight on from the events in Lord Foul's Bane and just as Thomas Covenant is getting used to the idea that his recent experiences were just a dream he is again summoned to the Land. On his return however he discovers that 40 years have passed in his absence with the Counc...

The King of the Crags is the follow up to The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas. Prince Jehal is now reaping the fruits of his new found power after murdering, poisoning and backstabbing his way to the top, enjoying the confidence (and Bed) of the new speaker. Those loyal to the old regime are stil...

The Last Guardian is the second volume in David Gemmell's Jon Shannow trilogy, picking up the story of the Jerusalem Man, and it is a worthy and ambitious successor to the magnificent Wolf in Shadow. If you have not read the first book, begin there; while Gemmell takes care to make this accessible,...

The Lord of Chaos is the sixth novel in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, following on from the events in the Fires of heaven. On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, while in the mountain itself, the Dark one waits patiently in his ever weakening prison. Now Rand h...

The Malice is the follow-up to one of my favourite fantasy reads last year, Peter Newmans The Vagrant. It's a story set in a post-apocalyptic future where forgotten technology intermingles with demonspawn and twisted lands full of twisted mutants. It had the dark, haunted flavour of Stephen Kings D...

We last saw Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery getting ready to set sail with the Giants and embark upon the quest to find the fabled One Tree; the force that can remake the staff of law and free the land and people from the evil influence it has become infected by. One Tree rejoins these brave souls...

The latest book in the Harry Potter series is twice as long as the previous one (which was twice as long as the one before it), it darker and somebody actually dies in it. Somebody not evil. That doesn't make it worth reading though. The fact that it's well written and highly entertaining, does mak...

The third of Stephen Deas’ series, published in 2011, The Order of the Scales continues the story of the Dragon Realms. Each book picks up immediately from where the last left off, solving the requisite cliff hanger with yet more twists and turns of scheming between the kings, queens, princes, drago...

The Path of Daggers is the eighth volume in Robert Jordans fantasy epic, the Wheel of Time series. Following the events in A Crown of Swords, Elayne, Nyneave, Aviendha and a coalition of women who can channel the one power finally manage to use the "Bowl of the Winds" to reverse the un-natural heatw...

(Seems to be titled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the US). Not a word about Hollywood and the movie (which I will be seeing in a couple of days). Not a word about the merchandise and kids dressed as Potter. Not a word about how this book made the kids read again. Just the book. Some o...

A one hundred and forty year old Vampire who is sworn to protect the President of the United States, now THAT is an interesting concept. It's the idea of the author Christopher Farnsworth who presents us with an rich urban fantasy that manages to honour some well known and much loved series while st...

I’m really impressed. Rowling has managed what to write a series of books, where at least the first three are wonderful. That isn’t something that you see everyday. …The prisoner of Azkaban, starts of exactly like the first two Potter books, with Harry enduring the Dursleys and looking forward his...

The Reluctant Mage is the second volume in the Fisherman's Children series by Karen Miller. Rafel has been gone for months, last seen heading over Barl's Mountains into the unknown in a desperate quest to find help in the legendary magical Library but such time has passed and all hope appears lost....

The Riddler's Gift is the first volume in the Lifesong series by Greg Hamerton. There is a song that drifts on the breeze through all the world. Its rhythms are echoed in our breath, the music is caught in our laughter, hidden in our language, woven through our life... Most of the old world has be...

The Road to Bedlam is the second volume in the The Courts of the Feyre series, which started with the incredible debut novel Sixty One Nails by Angry Robot Author Mike Shevdon. The novel begins shortly after the events in Sixty One Nails with Blackbird expecting the birth of their child any time so...

In the Labyrinth, Marit and Hugh venture out to try and find Alfred. He turns out to be the prisoner of a Labyrinth dragon, which are almost the equal of the dragon-snakes in cruelty and savagery. With the help of the Cursed Blade, they drive it off and rescue Alfred. On Abarrach, Haplo is dying....

As an author, reading a novel written by a seventeen year old is occasionally an experience of envious scrutiny. The merest mention of age by the publisher in the foreword and back cover blurb is an invocation to comparison. "Seventeen eh?" "Really? Well let’s just see if she’s any good… or worth of...

The Shadow rising is the fourth book in the Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan. Prophecy has been fullfilled, the Stone of Tear has been breached and Callindor - the sword that is not a sword has been wielded, the Dragon is reborn. Selene finally reveals to Rand that she is Lanfear, one of the...

I've been reading Pratchett books for such a large part of my life. Knowing there will be no more Discworld, no more cheerful yet insightful adventures from the colourful inhabitents of that world on the back of four giant elephants — propelled through space by the Great A'Tuin, is a sad and soberin...

The Siege of Scarn is the first volume in the fantasy series Trance Warriors, written by Robert C Auty. It is a time of Chaos in the middle isle, Connor - an outlaw whose family was killed by the Kings own troops finds himself drawn into a fight between good and evil, a clash of Gods that will de...

The Skin Map is the first volume in a new fantasy series called Bright Empires, written by Stephen R Lawhead. Kit Livingstone is one of people that have never seemed to get used to living in society, passing through various dead-end jobs with no real plans or ambitions and far too apathetic when it...

Book six of the Memory of Flames series picks up right from the moment book five – Dragon Queen ends. This time we’re in the ruined aftermath of Zafir’s ride to destroy the city of Dhar Thosis and Baros Tsen T’Varr is contemplating the ruination of his plans. This is not a book to read without the...

The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May is the second in a series of books following the adventures of Lady Aileana Kameron (or Kam) and the action follow on directly from the first book. If you haven’t read The Falconer I suggest you do, as this review definitely contains spoilers for the ending of t...

Do not read this review if you haven't read The Gunslinger and The Drawing of The Three. Turn off your computer and start reading. If you don't have these books run to your nearest bookstore and get them! Continuing where The Drawing of the Three ended, The Waste Lands takes us through the forest a...

This is the second part of the Way of Kings, the first novel in the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson and the start of an epic series. As this is the second part of a book, it makes sense that you read the The Way of Kings Part 1 first. Starting to read this second part it becomes clearer why...

The new king of Thendylath Gavin Kinshield has vowed to protect the realm and it's people from the evil of the Beyonders - creatures of chaos who appear without warning and invade the world of men to wreak havoc. For this though he will need an army and of course a huge amount of funds to support su...

The Wise Man's Fear follows on from the authors incredible debut "The Name of the Wind" which is currently one of the most memorable, most enjoyable fantasy novels I have ever read - I seriously recommend you read that first. Picking up where the last novel finished we once again follow the j...

I've been collecting Jasper Fforde novels for a while now however until I got this one through the door I hadn't actually read any of them; after reviewing this book I kinda wish I had paid more attention to the author earlier. The Woman Who Died A Lot is the seventh novel in the Thursday Next serie...

For ten years Thomas Covenant has done his best to move on with his life and get back on top of his illness. While a decade may have passed in Covenant's world, in the Land it's been over three thousand years since he freed the people and defeated the evil Lord Foul. In this time Foul has not been...

Summertime is Pratchett and Discworld time. Reading while frying in the sun asks for a special kind of book, something that can hold your attention, even while your brain is reaching dangerous temperatures and even while members of the opposite sex, moves around you in small articles of clothing. It...

Tome of the Undergates is the first volume in the Aeons' Gate fantasy series by Sam Sykes. Lenk is in theory the leader of a band of "adventurers", in practice he struggle's to keep control over the unruly misfits - with Gariath the dargon man seeing humans as little more than prey, only happy in a...

Tomorrow the Killing returns to that hive of villainy that is Low Town and to our guide through these mean streets, the Warden. Following on from The Straight Razor Cure and the Warden is back to his usual tricks, that is until he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a missing persons case that opens up...

Touchstone is the beginning of a fantasy journey quite different to the traditional tale. While it is set in the medieval style world full of magic and monsters it takes a unique path in the way the various races and magic are presented. In this world theaters are a place of magic where bands perfo...

Towers of Midnight is the penultimate novel in the Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan and completed by Brandon Sanderson. The Last Battle has begun and the seals on the Dark One's prison continue to crumble to dust. The very pattern itself is unravelling and the armies of the Shadow are boldly m...

When we left Gair at the end of the spectacular novel Songs of the Earth there had been a pretty big shock. Rather than start where the story left off, Trinity Rising instead follows Teia, a young woman who seems destined to witness great and terrible things. a young woman who has hidden powers few...

Turn Coat is the eleventh book in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and as ever, events have a habit of turning against Harry Dresden. This time his help is being sought from the most unlikely of people - Morgan, the warden who has persecuted Harry mercilessly in the past. Morgan is on the run afte...

Former Vampire turned powerful Mage Peter Octavian returns to investigate the small coastal town of Hawthorne in Massachusetts when the forces of darkness target the otherwise ordinary community. Since the Vatican's sorcerers are no more the magical barriers they spent hundreds of years building to...

Waking the Witch is an urban fantasy novel by Kelley Armstrong. Savannah is a young, powerful witch who can't resist a chance to throw her magical weight around with her first chance at a real investigation involving a triple murder. At 21 she also knows it's her first chance to prove to her guardi...

After all the years spent fighting off the Zombie hordes in isolation at his home in Annapolis, Gus has finally found a new life of peace. A daily routine of tending and policing the fields of the little community, rarely interupted by shambling corpes. It seems the epidemic is finally beginning to...

As with many urban fantasy detective novels, Whispers Underground starts with the discovery of a body. On this occasion its an American exchange student with a wealthy, politically powerful family who is found brutally murdered at the far end of the Baker street tube station. With the pressure of a...

White Knight marks the ninth book in Jim Butchers urban fantasy series featuring Chicago's first and only Wizard P.I. Regular visitors to SFBook may be aware that we are (slowly) reviewing the series. Those who haven't read any of the Dresden Files would be better starting at the beginnin...

Aislinn has always seen faeries. They are powerful, cruel, and dangerous. She and her grandmother have avoided them all of their lives—don’t stare, don’t speak, don’t attract their attention. But now, faeries have started to stalk her, including Keenan, the Summer King. Keenan has searched high and...

Winters Heart is the 9th volume in Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series, the Wheel of Time. Now that the natural weather has returned to the land, Winter sets in with a vengeance, almost making up for lost time after the oppressive heat of the Dark One's spell. Rand is finally confronted by the 3 w...

Pew! I've been waiting for this book for a looong time, maybe too long. I didn't hesitate one moment when I found the trade paperback, regardless of the fact D.M. Grant mailed the hardcover version to me a month ago (I just haven't received it yet). The book starts of where DT3 ended – on Blain the...

There is always a good audience for traditional fantasy. The components are familiar and authors (like myself) who elect to write something that appeals to readers who want to settle down into a story loaded with magic, Elves, wizards and warriors where a plucky underdog or two wins the day against...

Wizards First Rule by Terry Goodkind is the first volume in the sword of truth series and follows the adventures of Richard Cypher, an young woods guide who makes a life changing decision to help a lady in distress. The woman richard rescues is Kahlan Amnell (Mother Confessor), who has crossed the...

I will put my cards on the table at once: Wolf in Shadow is one of the finest novels I have had the pleasure of reading, and I would argue it contains some of David Gemmell's very best writing. Gemmell is rightly celebrated as a master of heroic fantasy, but here, in the first full Jon Shannow novel...

It has been six, nearly seven, years since the last volume in the Dark Tower series and if you, like me, didn't even like the fourth volume, it has been an even longer wait. Luckily this book delivers. It's all action, it's all about the Ka-tet and it's about The Dark Tower from front to back. Havi...

Ok this was my first time reading one of Mr. Shan’s novels and I must admit I wasn’t wholly impressed. However, reflecting back maybe I am being a bit too harsh. My experience as an adult is to read books aimed at my audience and not one of a younger audience. In that respect, yes, I got it and it w...

First Magyc, by Nicole Dragonbeck, the first book in the Guardians of the Path series is essentially a Young Adult portal fantasy where a girl, Ria, gets drawn into a magical land and it turns out she might be the subject of an ancient prophecy where only she can save the magic.  While the premise o...

The Hanging Tree is the sixth novel in the Rivers of London series. For those who have yet to experience these wonderful books imagine an Urban Fantasy with police procedural elements, warmly written with a disarming humour and celebrating the many hidden rivers that wonder through London (with exce...

Angela thinks she knows her boyfriend Vince pretty well, that is until he goes missing. She quickly learns he has a hidden employment, his boss the infamous London crime lord Frederick Meloy (known as Fat Frederick, but nerver, ever as Fat Freddy). His secret job? tracking down arcane relics succ...

Blade Bound is the final instalment of Chloe Neill’s urban fantasy Chicagoland Vampire series.  It can be read as a standalone novel, but I recommend you start earlier in the series to get full enjoyment, reading them in reverse order will result in significant plot spoilers.  The protagonist, Me...

This book, by Kiersten White, is a gender flipped historically based story of the early life of Vlad the Impaler or in this case, Lada  Dracul. White takes the bones of the historical accounts and layers it with a rich imaginings of characters and quirks, to give the reader some insight into a be...

The Wolf is the debut of Leo Carew, a graduate of Cambridge University with a degree in Biological Anthropology, specialising in the Palaeolithic. The authors knowledge and perspective colours the story, providing a rich and detailed backdrop of an alternative world that somewhat resembles the Vi...

Hallowdene is the second book in the Wychwood series, a crime thriller that weaves into the story supernatural elements. Elspeth Reeves is making a new life for herself in a quiet, sleepy village near Oxford, having escaped the hectic life of London. As a journalist for the local paper, she is often...

There is a surprising amount of Fantasy that is essentially an epic game of magical rock, paper, scissors. Various mages, witches and Gods all fighting each other with differing powers. They are strong against one power, but weak against another. The balance of the world rests on all these powers ca...

Sherlock Holmes and his creator may be long dead, but this has not stopped the master detective living on in the works of others. James Lovegrove has written several stories that have expanded on Arthur Conan Doyle’s legacy, but The Cthulhu Casebooks offer something very different by blending...

Lies Sleeping is the seventh book (eighth if you count The Furthest Station) in the impressive River of London urban fantasy series, following Peter Grant - detective constable for the metropolitan police and apprentice wizard. It looks like time may finally be up for the Faceless Man (Martin Chorl...

Warlock Holmes is back. No, not Sherlock, Warlock. If you think about it, what makes more sense; a man who can somehow divine everything from a few clues, or a Warlock who just uses magic to do the same? The Sign of Nine continues the premise that Sir Conan Doyle’s original stories were actual...

A fantasy writer needs to be aware that they could fall into a rut. Another trilogy of books set in the same world, with similar characters doing similar things. This may appease those fans that fear change, but to drive themselves as a writer it is important to evolve; even if evolving within the f...

To the ill-informed all fantasy books must look the same. They are about elves and dwarves, just retelling The Lord of the Rings repeatedly, aren’t they? Fans of the genre know that this is anything but the truth. Fantasy is an evolving genre that encompasses high and low, fantastical and the...

I love Fantasy, I believe it creates a sense of the epic better than any other genre. Not only do big events happen but you often get a manifest destiny. The issue can be that too much might happen. Our heroes come across so many monsters, pitfa...

In Science Fiction and Fantasy, I have visited a multitude of different worlds. In some cases, it feels like all the people on the planet have similar sensibilities, but how is this possible? Even within our own country you get people from the North who are differe...

Fantasy is known as an epic genre; stories can span generations and civilisations rise and fall. As a fan of the genre, you also notice some regular tropes that occur, similar races and similar storylines. Within the pages of Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage&nbs...

To the uninitiated, the fantasy genre is stagnant. The same old dwarves and elves going on long journeys and then back again. Any fan of the genre knows that this is just not the case. The genre has evolved with society. The fantasy books of the 80s and 90s differ greatly from Tolkien and...

A short warning before the review: Peace Talks is the first half of a single story that concludes in Battle Ground, and certain late-book events spill across both volumes. I have kept the major plot resolutions and the ending out, but if you want to come to the book entirely cold, bookmark this and...

A brief admission to start. I've just finished Twelve Months and realised, slightly to my embarrassment, that I never actually got round to writing a review for Battle Ground. So here, six years late, is that review. I will keep this one largely spoiler-free; the events of Battle Ground are by now w...

If you have ever been out to sea on a sailing boat, you may have felt that feeling of majesty and awe that the water evokes. This vast expanse that continues as far as the eye can see. Depending on your personality, it can instil a sense of fear or a sense of adventure. I have felt this feeling on l...

Watching television in the 70s and 80s was less about choice and more about just watching what was on. You only had four channels and not much catered for children, we would watch anything. Re-runs of The Land of the Giants or Star Trek became the bread and butter of Sunday...

When I think about heroism I often think about the conversation between Cat and Rimmer in Red Dwarf. There‘s an old cat proverb that goes, "It's better to live one hour as a tiger than an entire lifetime as a worm.” There's an old human proverb - "...

I find it amazing how easy it is to miss things that are right on your doorstep. I grabbed this book online (not by choice, this was before the shops had re-opened) because I was after some easy reading. I often find good urban fantasy easy and immersive. It was only after actually picking the book...

Urban Fantasy is its own distinct genre from Fantasy as it takes the essence of swords, orcs and elves and brings them into an urban setting. Having read a lot of this sub-genre, it has increasingly become a victim of its own tropes. A lot of Urban Fantasy feels the same. P....

People moan about the rain, but I don’t always mind it. Many of my best memories of childhood are of sleeping under canvas and listening to the patter of rain, safe in the knowledge that I am all snuggly in my sleeping bag and close to loved ones. These fond memories would have quick...

Secrets are powerful. They can make or break someone. In the alternative Edwardian England of Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light there is a magical society of people who hide their powers. This is a big secret to keep, but there are others. Both Robin Blyth and Edwin Co...

One of the remarkable things about genre fiction is that it can blend so well. Why have a straight fantasy novel when you can mix it with science fiction or horror? How far are we as a human race from backsliding to a medieval style life? A few dirty bombs, no elec...

Sometimes it is hard to see that something is not quite right as it has always been that way. Why in children’s cartoons does there always seem to be a misbalance between the male and female characters? Will boys not watch girls on screen? Will men not read about women in books? Fantasy has mo...

Hounded is the first book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, a series of urban fantasy novels that follow the adventures of Atticus O'Sullivan, a 2,000-year-old druid living in modern-day Arizona. The story begins with Atticus, who has managed to keep his true identity and magical abilities hi...

Hexed is the second book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, a series of urban fantasy novels featuring the adventures of Atticus O'Sullivan, a two-thousand-year-old druid who is trying to keep a low profile in modern-day Tempe, Arizona. The story picks up where the first book, Hounded, left of...

Hammered is the third book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles series, following the story of Atticus O'Sullivan, a 2,000-year-old druid who runs a bookstore in Tempe, Arizona. The plot revolves around Atticus trying to defend himself and his store from the wrath of the Norse god Thor, who has a...

The supernatural has always worked well with noir as they are both genres of the night. It is only an undead hop and skip between a detective finding a corpse in the alley and that corpse waking up. Conan Doyle walked the line between the supernatural and the super-real, Holmes always discovered tha...

There are many reasons that I am a reviewer and not a writer and one of them is that I do not have that thing in my brain to produce simple, but great ideas. Speculating about the future or past and giving it a twist has made for some great science fiction and fantasy. What about a French Revol...

A long running series is a mixed blessing. You can return to the same characters over the books, but too often a series becomes stale quickly and the characters seem to live in statis were they never change. This can never be said of the excellent Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch and...

How do you like your fantasy? It comes in so many flavours now that you can pick and choose what type you like. Dragons, magic, and high fantasy – tasty. Violence, political intrigue, low fantasy – a guilty treat. Stephen Aryan has chosen a different route, a book that has its heart in l...

One of the many lessons that I have learned in life is that you do not mess with Mummies. Either kind. Annoying a new mother who is trying to get their child onto the bus if dangerous and only equalled by an antient Egyptian Mummy rising from the dead. The Mummies in Lisa Tuttle’s The Curious...

You are probably a fantasy fan if you are reading a review of this fantasy book. As fans we love the genre, but even we can admit that plenty of the tropes are well trodden and to standout a new fantasy series is going to have to be something different. Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare opens with a...

It cannot be easy to talk to the dead. Equally, foreshadowing the future or sending demons back into the abyss are not simple tasks. All are tricky and all are specialties that need experience, concentration, and skill. Even with the right environment and correct mindset it may not be enough, seeing...

There are authors that you love because you can pick up one of their books and know what you are going to get, like putting on your favourite pair of comfortable slippers again. There is also that rarer breed of author that you love, maybe even a little bit more. Those authors that will not be pigeo...

Forget Marvel and their Marvelverse, the place that I want to be is in Christian Klaver’s Victorianverse. This is an alternative history of the era, but also of the fiction of the time. In the author’s 'The Classified Dossier’ series, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson have already...

For any author magic is a tricky beast as you can easily paint yourself into the corner. You can make the magic too powerful, or you can develop a whole magic system that is unbalanced. Things become even trickier when you add those tricksy Fae. Fairy magic is all about breaking rules on a contract...

I've been meaning to read this book for quite some time. It's been staring accusingly across the room. But I'm still trying to find time to read right now and it's not the most sveltely of shapes, coming in at a weighty 730+ pages. I finally gave in, and I'm glad I did. This does invariably mean how...

Who doesn’t love a good pirate story? What about a story that has flying ships that drop gunpowder bombs? Or a story that has magic and mysterious civilisations living on remote islands? These all sound great and are wrapped together in a lovely fantasy package in Michael Livingston’s Se...

I adore the fantasy genre and as someone who reads it a lot, I have seen the ebbs and flows in the genre over the years. There have always been outliers, but there is a certain style of fantasy that dominated for each of the decades. Until recently, I have read a lot of Low Fantasy, a genre low on m...

I have not read the synopsis of a book I am about to read for over twenty years, ever since I read a spoiler on the back of the novel that revealed the massive twist that occurred two thirds of the way through. I will have to add Series Titles to the list of things not to read as The Vengeance by Em...

In the fantasy that I usually read Regicide is usually the goal for the end of the book. In fact, I have read entire trilogies in which the protagonist is trying to kill a royal. You get the sense that Evan Leikam is going to tackle things a little differently in Anji Kills a King when the first sce...

I have read a lot of epic fantasy, and it comes in many flavours, but it does not always feel like it. Often, it feels like an alternative Medieval Europe with a few elves thrown in. This is less so today as innovative ideas and visions come to the genre, taking a typical fantasy novel and givi...

I love programming because I find it the opposite of magic. I find it logic. I know that if I tackle a problem using certain rules I will finally get it to work. When I show a person the finalised product, they often comment that it seems like magic, but it is not. It is just hardwork, processing an...

A lot can happen during a siege, enough so that you do not have to have a book full of battles, you could have just one about the siege itself. This is the setting of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s latest in the The Tyrant Philosophers series, Pretenders to the Throne of God. We will meet new friends an...