Urban Fantasy
Urban fantasy is a genre where the story is largely set within an urban environment. This can be in the past, present or future as long as the story is set within a city.
It can be considered a polar opposite to High Fantasy, which is set in an entirely fictional world.
Noted Series
Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files
Mike Shevdon's The Courts of the Feyre
Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London
Books Reviewed
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![All the Murmuring BonesA G Slatter]()
FantasyHave you ever sat down and read some Fairy Tales to your children? Not the sanitised versions that we read today, but the originals. If you have, you gave the kids nightmares a s these are stories not about happiness and magic but o f creatures and consequences . If you do something naught...
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![The Cottingley CuckooA J Elwood]()
HorrorFairies are not real. If they were we would have more evidence of them than a suspect looking photo taken by a couple of Victorian School Girls. However, Fairies are just brighter than you think. Why would they risk being seen by humans who have in recent years proven to have a poor track...
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![Constance Verity Saves the WorldA Lee Martinez]()
Science FictionConstance Verity is anything but normal, blessed as a child to live an adventurous life, this may sound exciting, but the reality is much different. Now in her 30s, she is fed up with having to save the world all the time and just wants some normal downtime. By Constance Verity Saves the World , som...
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![Constance Verity Destroys the UniverseA Lee Martinez]()
Science FictionBy this, her third outing, Constance Verity has saved the world countless times and the Universe itself just as many. Fighting off otherworldly threats is an everyday occurrence. It is the more mundane things in life that worry Constance like assuring her best friend’s wedding is not ruined by mole...
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![EsperanceAdam Oyebanji]()
Science FictionWhat would you do if you had technology that no one else in the world had. Would you use it to better your life, make some money? Perhaps you would share it with others to develop society as a whole? Or maybe you would use it for revenge. A series of impossible murders is stumping Detective Ethan Kr...
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![The Death of Sir Martin MalprelateAdam Roberts]()
There are two ways of writing fiction set in the Victorian era; set a fictional book in the real era or write within the Victorian multiverse. This is a playground that I have read many books in, a world where Sherlock Holmes can investigate new cases, but also one in which he can work alongside Mr...
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![The Generation KillerAdam Simcox]()
FantasyThe 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...
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![A Sea of Unspoken ThingsAdrienne Young]()
FantasyI have not lived in the village I grew up in over twenty years, but I still talk about going home when I am visiting. Where I live now has been my home for longer, but there is something about those formative years that make a place always feel like home. I return to see family, but for some people,...
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![The Ballad of Perilous GravesAlex Jennings]()
FantasyThe genre of Urban Fantasy is pathed with perils, which means that it should be perfect for Alex Jennings’ The Ballad of Perilous Graves . How do you make your modern fantasy stand out from the others without making it impenetrable for the reader? A unique location or voice works well. An author who...
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![Serial Killers IncorporatedAndy Remic]()
FantasySerial Killers Incorporated is a dark urban fantasy novel by Andy Remic and published by Anarchy Books. Callaghan is a drug and drink fuelled, womanising, amoral, hardcore photographer for the tabloid rag Black & White. He's a guy with very few redeeming features (if any) and his journey on the road...
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![Bang Bang BodhisattvaAubrey Wood]()
Science FictionWhat is the near future going to be like, utopian, dystopian, a bit of both. Chances are that it will be just as messed up as the past and the present. The future may be a little grim, but that does not mean it cannot be fun. Aubrey Wood’s future is as bright as neon, but also as dark as pitch. Bang...
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![Broken HomesBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyBroken 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 of...
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![Foxglove SummerBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyFoxglove 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...
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![Moon Over SohoBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyReviewed 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 enc...
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![Rivers of LondonBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyRivers 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...
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![Whispers UndergroundBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyAs 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 an...
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![The Hanging TreeBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyThe 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...
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![The Furthest StationBen Aaronovitch]()
Science FictionThe Furthest Station is a new novella that continues the adventures of PC Grant and the Folly in the Rivers of London series, investigating crimes that are a bit more out of the ordinary. PC Grant joins British Transport Police officer Jaget Kumar to investigate ghost sightings on the Metropolitan l...
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![Lies SleepingBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyLies 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 Chorle...
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![Amongst Our WeaponsBen Aaronovitch]()
FantasyA 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 the n...
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![The Haunting of William ThornBen Alderson]()
I would not call myself a skeptic, but a super skeptic, I just cannot begin to believe that ghosts exist, but that does not stop me from enjoying a good ghost story, or even a good old-fashioned ghost story. The Haunting of William Thorn by Ben Alderson has very modern characters and relationships,...
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![Red MoonBenjamin Percy]()
FantasyWerewolves are often given second place to those pale undead that are now thankfully on the wane, where one wanes another waxes and perhaps 2013 will be year of the werewolf - it will if Red Moon has anything to do with it. The novel is set in an alternate world where werewolves are not only real bu...
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![The House of Sorrowing StarsBeth Cartwright]()
HorrorGrief can feel like a weight that you carry with you. The luckiest people will feel the weight get lighter as time moves on, always there, but more bearable over time. In The House of Sorrowing Stars by Beth Cartwright there is a home that captures all the real stories of sorrow in its vast library....
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![Spells, Strings and Forgotten ThingsBreanne Randall]()
In some books there is more one thing that a reader can focus on. It could be the characters that draw the reader in, or the narrative, or the world building. As a long-term fantasy fan, one element that I often end up focussing on is magical systems. How magic works in a fantasy world can change ev...
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![The City of Lost FortunesBryan Camp]()
FantasyPost-Katrina New Orleans is haunted by history and destruction. Similar burdens are shouldered by the Street Magician Jude Dubuisson. He's got a gift of finding things people have lost - inherited from an unknown father. His gift has become an almost overwhelming curse following the storm, with so m...
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![Dreams and ShadowsC Robert Cargill]()
FantasyDreams and Shadows is a contemporary urban fantasy fairytale which tells the story of two young boys Ewan and Colby who both become embroiled in the secret world of the Limestone Kingdom - a parallel world where Wizards and Genie's co-inhabit with creatures much older and largely forgotten. Ewan and...
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![The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher AssociationCaitlin Rozakis]()
I am not one to get involved with politics at school. I am one of those parents who chooses to be ambivalent to it all, probably to the annoyance of others. The problem is I can see the temptation to get involved in the drama, a small way to add a little spark to your life. I have enough spark in my...
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![The Dead Take the A TrainCassandra Khaw]()
Science FictionCertain jobs can change you, the things that you see, the things that you must do. You may become closed off, hard, brittle, or just a little bit over the edge. Julie Crews has become all these things and more as a local Psychic Operative. Living off a diet of cocaine, regret and apprentices who onl...
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![Shadow Service Volume 1Cavan Scott]()
HorrorSome of my favourite Urban Fantasy is about a normal world that is unaware of the creatures that lurk in the night. Whilst we are all safely asleep, there is are demons and witches lurking around the corner. Most of us will never even know that these things exist, but what if we did require someone’...
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![Shadow Service Volume 2: Mission InfernalCavan Scott]()
We all have a past. For most of us it is dull. I went to school, Uni and then got a job. It is rare that I have to face off against the hideous undead or talk to the local rat population. Gina Meyers does not have it so easy, and her past is coming back to haunt her. The issue is that she does not k...
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![Day ShiftCharlaine Harris]()
FantasyDay 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 than a...
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![Midnight CrossroadCharlaine Harris]()
FantasyMidnight, 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...
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![Night ShiftCharlaine Harris]()
FantasyNight 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 litt...
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![BloodshotCherie Priest]()
FantasyRaylene Pendle (also known as Cheshire Red) is a renowned thief who steals everything from priceless art and rare jewels to people's dirty secrets. She also happens to be a vampire but apart from an aversion to the sun and not ageing, that doesn't stop her in the slightest. A bit of a loner, not pla...
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![HellbentCherie Priest]()
FantasyHellbent 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;...
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![Blade BoundChloe Neill]()
FantasyBlade 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, Merit...
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![Dead HarvestChris F Holm]()
FantasyI’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 sou...
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![Book of SecretsChris Roberson]()
FantasyBook of Secrets is a fantasy novel by Chris Roberson. Book of Secrets by Chris Roberson is a weird mix of things you’ll have come across before. Written in the first person it tells the story of Spencer Finch, a journalist down on his luck who is following some leads which could become a good paying...
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![Batman: The Killing JokeChrista Faust]()
Science FictionThe Batman Universe comes in all shades as long as they are dark blue, dark grey or black. You have your lighter fare such as LEGO Batman or the 60s incarnation and you also have your darker versions. Tim Burton’s Batman was dark, Christopher Nolan’s was darker still, but both owe homage to the iter...
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![PromiseChristi Nogle]()
Science FictionI set a high bar set for science fiction short story collections that is in no way the fault of any modern author. Unfortunately for them I read The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury at an influential age. I rate a collection against the creepy science fiction/horror tones that Bradbury was able to cr...
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![One Eye Opened In That Other PlaceChristi Nogle]()
Not all authors write short fiction and those that do, do not always have enough to fill a complete collection, never mind several. Christi Nogle is a talented short story writer as their previous collections have already shown. One Eye Opened in That Other Place is one of the trickier collections t...
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![Sherlock Holmes and Count DraculaChristian Klaver]()
When a beloved intellectual property enters the public domain, it can be a fearful time for fans, what on Earth are all these authors going to do with your beloved characters? In the case of Sherlock Holmes, it has been a magnificent time. Each year the shelves bulge with new tales about the detecti...
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![Sherlock Holmes and Mr HydeChristian Klaver]()
HorrorSherlock Holmes is such an iconic figure that it is easy to believe that he was real. A great detective walking the streets of Late Victorian London solving crimes that conventional police could not hope to solve. But he was not real, neither was Watson and they are both out of copyright which means...
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![Sherlock Holmes and Dorian GrayChristian Klaver]()
FantasyForget 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 come across the li...
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![Angel Souls and Devil HeartsChristopher Golden]()
FantasyAngel 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 p...
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![Waking NightmaresChristopher Golden]()
FantasyFormer 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...
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![BlackbirdsChuck Wendig]()
FantasyBlackbirds follows the life of Miriam Black who has a singular gift (or curse) that means each time she touches someone she knows when and how they will die - vividly reliving their final moments. Still in her early twenties she's seen sights most people couldn't even imagine along with countless he...
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![Gods and Monsters: Unclean SpiritsChuck Wendig]()
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. B...
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![The Blue BlazesChuck Wendig]()
FantasyThere can be no doubt that Chuck Wendig has a way with words. He writes in a style which has an edge of grim reality, merging with that of the fantastic in such a way that feels entirely natural. As I've said before his books are always adult in nature and he pulls no punches in his depictions, alth...
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![Terms of ServiceCiel Pierlot]()
Science FictionI love a good magic system in a fantasy novel, one that sets the rules in an interesting way and is still able to amaze. It is one of the reasons that I am not a huge fan of Fae magic with all its side clauses and tricks. You never know what you are really going to get or what you can trust, therefo...
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![Wake Up and Open Your EyesClay McLeod Chapman]()
HorrorHow do you like your horror novels? Are you someone who likes a spooky story, perhaps a little romance? Or do you like it horrific? A book that is uncomfortable, throwing images into your brain that you did not want to consider but cannot stop thinking about. Baby eating rats, killer clowns in the s...
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![Bodies of WorkClay Mcleod Chapman]()
HorrorWhat is art? It is a question I have to ask on occasion as I live with an artist. It is in the eye of the beholder, some of the stuff I see I would not look twice at, even top name artists are not to everyone’s tastes. Some are labelled outsider artists, those that have no formal training and use th...
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![The UndetectablesCourtney Smyth]()
FantasyAdvances in forensic science can feel like magic from the discovery that we all had unique fingerprints to the use of DNA to catch criminals, but what would you do in a world were magic exists? Can science be used to solve crimes committed by magic? The Undetectables believe so, they use their scien...
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![JuddermanD. A. Northwood]()
HorrorSome people love the city life, there is something to do every hour of the day. I find it a little odd. You can open the door of your million - pound house an d have to step over the passed out person on your step. One street can look like it is from a movie set, whilst only one road over it...
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![Captain Moxley and the Embers of the EmpireDan Hanks]()
I have known a few archaeologists and historians in my time, and I can tell you that adventure is not always in their blood. I have found that they have chosen those professions as they seek the opposite of adventure. Perhaps a nice library or a quiet dig site. Given the choice between a cup of tea...
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![SwashbucklersDan Hanks]()
FantasyNostalgia is a dangerous tool to use in a novel as what people think happened is not always the case. They prefer to see the past through rose tinted glasses. The 1980s can be seen as an era of Nintendo playing and Bermuda shorts, but that was not my 80s. I remember the Spectrum, my milk being stole...
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![The HollowsDaniel Church]()
HorrorHumans fear the dark and we fear the cold. There is good reason for this. In our modern world we can wrap up warm in a synthetic coat and take along a torch that can be seen from space, but that was not always true. The dark used to mean the unknown. Animals or something else preying on you. The col...
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![The RaveningDaniel Church]()
HorrorHorror comes in many shapes and sizes. The horror could be on this plane of existence, a creature that stalks you and your family through generations. It could be even closer to home, the horror of the mundane, the terror of ordinary people willing to do anything to achieve their goals, even if this...
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![American Dreams Issues 1-5Daniel Kalban]()
Science FictionThe Golden Era of comic books began around the Second World War and into the 1950s. It was a time of nationalism as the World prepared for war and then a time of hope and optimism for the US in particular. The US was now the main world power and life was getting a little better for most people. The...
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![A City DreamingDaniel Polansky]()
FantasyDaniel Polansky is the author of the wonderful Low Town fantasy series, which shows how great a story-teller he is. A City Dreaming stretches these talents and more. The book follows the life of M, a magically gifted drifter with a loose grip on morality and a quick, sharp tongue. He does his best t...
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![WoodstakeDarin S Cape]()
HorrorWoodstock is an event that has passed into folklore. Like Spike Island, I imagine that every eligible person the right age claims to have been there. Who is to say that they were not? These events are massive, you can lose yourself in the crowd, but other things can hide to. Would anyone notice a fe...
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![All My ColorsDavid Quantick]()
HorrorThere is no such thing as déjà vu, it is just your mind failing to process things properly. Even so, one day I was reading a book and was struck with a fearful sense of déjà vu. I could almost see what was going to happen next, it was unsettling. Was this a supernatural event? Had I gained super pow...
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![This Book is Full of SpidersDavid Wong]()
HorrorSpiders seem to tap into a primeval fear inside humans. Perhaps in the days of cavemen there were 20 foot spiders that ate those that travelled at night? What I do know is that the average domestic spider in the UK is unlikely to spring off the wall and eat through your skull. This set of events is...
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![The Principle MomentsEsmie Jikiemi-Pearson]()
Science FictionYou see it more often in fantasy than science fiction, but there are stories about young people living a life of drudgery only to be plucked into being exceptional as if fate is playing with them. It is a comfortable coming of age trope that has worked so well, so many times, but what if fate did co...
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![The Country Under HeavenFrederic S Durbin]()
FantasyWho does not love a genre mash up? The industry certainly does as they ride that Romantasy train all the way to the bank. Although I do not mind a whimsical fantasy, I would not consider it my favourite genre. A mash up of genres needs a little more bite to interest me. How about Westerns with the O...
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![A Marvellous LightFreya Marske]()
FantasySecrets 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 Courcey have another secret, th...
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![Dark InkGary Kemble]()
HorrorPeople have power over on another. Someone who is charismatic may be able to manipulate others to do their bidding even against their own best interests. The opposite sex can also have power. What would you do to be with the partner you love/lust for ? Mistress Hel is a Dominatrix who speciali s e...
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![ScarletGenevieve Cogman]()
FantasyThere 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 Revolution...
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![HimGeoff Ryman]()
FantasyPeople like to read for differing reasons. Some like to be entertained, whilst others like to be challenged, if you are lucky, you will get a book that will do both. Taking on an alternative history of the New Testament is challenging enough, but making the main protagonist a woman who says that the...
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![HallowdeneGeorge Mann]()
FantasyHallowdene 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...
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![Batman: The Court of OwlsGreg Cox]()
Science FictionBatman stalks the villains of Gotham and for many he is their worst nightmare. Bats may be inherently scary to some, but in nature they are not the top of the food chain and several animals like to eat them for a snack. One such animal is the Owl, a natural enemy of the Bat. This being Gotham dressi...
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![RestorationGuy Adams]()
FantasyRestoration is the second part of the duology that began with the quite brilliant The World House , written by Guy Adams. None who enter the World House leave it unchanged. The purpose behind the reality bending dimension has finally become clear but in the same way that you can't observe an event w...
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![The World HouseGuy Adams]()
FantasyThe World House is the first novel of a two part modern fantasy, written by Guy Adams. An unassuming wooden box, small enough to hold in one hand and carved with Japanese writing, except it doesn't open as you would expect a box to, it opens the door to the most unusual house you could ever dream (o...
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![Reluctant ImmortalsGwendolyn Kiste]()
HorrorClassic stories leaving copyright has been a boon to modern authors who are suddenly able to play with much loved characters as they wish. The mash up is not unusual when two contemporary characters suddenly meet, but often these books are set at the same time as the original text. What would happen...
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![Cabaret in FlamesHache Pueyo]()
HorrorWhen is a vampire not a vampire? When it is a Gul. These strange creatures are part of everyday life in this version of Brazil, the secret for the humans who want to survive is to stay at home after curfew, lest they be eaten by Guls or taken for enemies of the state by the Fascists who run the coun...
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![Red GloveHolly Black]()
FantasyIt'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...
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![City of Dreams & NightmareIan Whates]()
FantasyCity 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 an...
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![Books and BewitchmentIsla Jewell]()
FantasyAs a born cynic, I am always on the lookout for the angle in life and in fiction, but sometimes something is what it seems on the surface; wholesome. Not all books need to challenge the reader and leave them exhausted. Novels can be an escape, an entertainment, full of love and magic. Books and Bewi...
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![Death's DisciplesJ Robert King]()
FantasyDeath's Disciples is a dark urban fantasy novel by J Robert King and published by Angry Robot Books. When she woke up in the hospital, she could barely remember getting on the flight, let alone the terrorist bomb of that killed everyone else on board. But she can hear the voices in her head, voices...
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![Monkey Around Jadie Jang]()
FantasyWatching 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 viewing. It was not a...
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![The Manifestations of Sherlock HolmesJames Lovegrove]()
General FictionWhen you think of a Sherlock Holmes do you imagine a novel or a short story? The reality is that many tales that we know from Arthur Conan Doyle are from his short stories and it is more the modern reimagining of the character that have taken the longer form. James Lovegrove is a leading modern Sher...
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![PremonitionsJamie Schultz]()
FantasyIt’s the kind of heist Karyn Ames has dreamed of—enough to set her crew up pretty well and enough to keep her safely stocked on a very rare, very expensive black market drug. Without it, Karyn hallucinates slices of the future overlapped with her present until she’s incapacitated and completely over...
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![SplinteredJamie Schultz]()
FantasyIf you like your urban fantasy dark and gruesome with an added touch of horror, Splintered and its predecessor Premonitions are right up your alley. This sequel picks up shortly after the first book, following Anna Ruiz and the rest of the crew. Since the events of the previous novel, Karyn is out o...
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![Blood RitesJim Butcher]()
FantasyBlood 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 development...
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![ChangesJim Butcher]()
FantasyAfter 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. So the big new...
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![Dead BeatJim Butcher]()
FantasyThe Word of Kemmler, a book of potentially catastrophic power should it fall into the wrong hands. Mor tif er ous 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...
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![Death MasksJim Butcher]()
FantasyThe 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 probl...
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![Fool MoonJim Butcher]()
FantasyFool 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...
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![Ghost StoryJim Butcher]()
FantasyIt'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 history wi...
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![Grave PerilJim Butcher]()
FantasyThe 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...
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![Skin GameJim Butcher]()
FantasyA 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...
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![Small FavourJim Butcher]()
FantasyNo 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 Mab, Queen...
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![Storm FrontJim Butcher]()
FantasyStorm 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 chan...
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![Summer KnightJim Butcher]()
FantasyThe 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,...
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![Turn CoatJim Butcher]()
FantasyTurn 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 after being...
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![White NightJim Butcher]()
FantasyWhite 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 beginning with Stor...
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![Peace TalksJim Butcher]()
FantasyA 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...
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![Battle GroundJim Butcher]()
FantasyA 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...
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![Twelve MonthsJim Butcher]()
FantasyBefore we get started, given that this book is number 18 in the series, the review inevitably has spoilers for what's happened previously. This is unavoidable, but if you haven't read Battle Ground or indeed the 16 books before that, then this review isn't for you. Still here? Good. If you have been...
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![Hard TimeJodi Taylor]()
Science FictionThe timeline is fragile. Stand on a butterfly in the Jurassic Era and you may end up returning to a world in which we all have seven arms – useful for multi-tasking. If time travel were available not everybody wou ld respect the past and therefore, it needs to be policed. A subtle and intelligent te...
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![The Night AlphabetJoelle Taylor]()
Science FictionThere are books in a person’s life that helps to define their taste in genres. I was lucky enough in my teenage years to work my way through some of the classics of science fiction instilling a lifelong love of the genre. One novel that stands out among the best was Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Ma...
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![The KindnessJohn Ajvide Lindqvist]()
HorrorI like to think that the world is built upon small acts of kindness. Whilst nation states and some individuals may be doing their best to destroy the world, the rest of us are just trying to get by. This can be helped with a please or a thank you. If you see someone drop their credit card, you would...
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![The Gaia ChimeJohnny Worthen]()
HorrorWhat can cause the end of the World? A massive explosion, a meteor the size of the moon tearing it in two? What would cause the end of the World and what would cause the end of humankind are two very different things. Our watery globe will still be spinning long after we are food for the worms, huma...
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![No HeroJonathan Wood]()
FantasyArthur 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 d...
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![The Shadow GlassJosh Winning]()
FantasyIf you are of a certain age, you will know that the 80s was by far the best decade for pop culture, the films, music, comics, books, all unbeatable. All the films and TV shows basking in that 80s nostalgia prove it so. But wait, what is that? A load of 90s-based films and TV shows are starting to be...
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![Hard SpellJustin Gustainis]()
FantasySet 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...
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![The Bog WifeKay Chronister]()
HorrorHow big does a cult have to be to become a cult? Does it have to be thousands of people? Hundreds? Tens? Could one family be a cult? If you brought your children up in a remote location without access to the internet and media, it may be possible to make them believe almost anything. Like a tale abo...
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![Waking the WitchKelley Armstrong]()
FantasyWaking 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 guardia...
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![HoundedKevin Hearne]()
FantasyHounded 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...
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![HexedKevin Hearne]()
FantasyHexed 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 o...
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![HammeredKevin Hearne]()
FantasyHammered 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...
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![Lycanthropy and Other Chronic IllnessesKristen O'neal]()
Stories about monsters were told back in the day as a way of making people scared. And they should be. How do you stop a curious child from walking in the woods at night or going for a swim in a deep lagoon? You speak of vampires, werewolves and merfolk that are there to eat them. This may not be tr...
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![A Blade so BlackL.L. McKinney]()
FantasyPopstars of the 60s dread their back catalogue going into the public domain. Their retirement fund has now been opened to everyone to listen to for free. If you think that is sad, please spare a moment for the poor authors who have long died and whose work is open to all. The likes of Shakespeare, D...
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![Zoo CityLauren Beukes]()
FantasyZoo City is an Urban fantasy novel by the South African author Lauren Beukes. Zinzi December is a woman with a gift, and perhaps a curse - over ten years ago a remarkable and disturbing event changed the lives of many, and the world in general. Those who have committed the crime of murder, or otherw...
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![Interstellar MegaChefLavanya Lakshminarayan]()
Science FictionI enjoy it when the publishing community gets together and decides to proclaim there is a new subgenre. These are a collection of books that have already been written but are now herded into a common bracket. Romantasy and Cosy Fantasy are doing great, and I have read a few of these. Low stake conse...
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![Sparks of Bright MatterLeeanne O'donnell]()
FantasyIt feels like we take science for granted in the modern world; buildings that tower into the sky, above them flying machines made from metal. Stop and think for a moment at how wonderous all these advances have been, how we use the internet to communicate today, or how a simple invention like the LE...
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![Wonders Never CeaseLexy Hudson]()
FantasyI do not think of myself as a person of culture, but when I stop to think about it, I have likely been to more theatre productions, museums and Stately Homes than most people. I can thank my mother for this as being forced to go as a youth has made me appreciate them and want to go as an adult. One...
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![The Curious Affair of the Missing MummiesLisa Tuttle]()
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 Case o...
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![Dot Slash MagicLiz Shipton]()
FantasyI 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...
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![The 13th WitchMark Hayden]()
FantasyI 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...
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![BurrowedMary Baader Kaley]()
Science FictionWhen the apocalypse happens, science fiction has taught us that some of us will run below and others will be left on the surface. Pick a side. Down below could be a Fallout or Wool situation, better than being on the surface, dead or a mutant. Up above could be The Time Machine or Mary Baader Kaley’...
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![Vegas KnightsMatt Forbeck]()
FantasyVegas Knights is an urban fantasy novel by Matt Forbeck. Set in Las Vegas (Nevada) the story tells the tale of two college guys Jackson and Bill at the University of Michigan who also happen to be students of magic (or "trans-quantum postulating" in scientific terminology). Having learnt such valuab...
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![King MakerMaurice Broaddus]()
FantasyKing Maker is an Urban fantasy novel by Maurice Broaddus, retelling the the ancient Arthurian legend through lives of Indianapolis street gangs and the first in "The knights of Breton Court" series. The story involves the principal character of King, son of Luther and destined to try and unite the f...
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![King’s JusticeMaurice Broaddus]()
FantasyKing’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 attem...
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![The Edge of ReasonMelinda Snodgrass]()
FantasyReading 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 nove...
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![The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & ClayMichael Chabon]()
General FictionIllustration ©2018 Chris Samnee from The Folio Society edition of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay It is 1939. Forced to live together in a small New York apartment, two young men, Samuel Clay and Joseph Kavalier bond over their shared interest in comic books and cartoon art. Together, they...
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![Killing ItMike Bockoven]()
HorrorPeople have used the insanity plea in defence of some heinous crimes. Was it months of planning that made you act or next door’s Labrador? When buying a property, it may be a clever idea to heed the warning of the stranger who tells you not to listen the voice when it appears. The last owner went on...
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![Sixty One NailsMike Shevdon]()
FantasySixty One Nails is an urban fantasy novel of a secret war raging beneath the streets of London, written by Mike Shevdon. Under the nations capital there is a whole other world where magic is real, the world of the Feyre. A dark magic will be unleashed by the Untained… Unless a new hero can be found....
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![Strangeness and CharmMike Shevdon]()
FantasyIt 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'm...
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![The Eighth CourtMike Shevdon]()
FantasyOne 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 nov...
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![The Road to BedlamMike Shevdon]()
FantasyThe 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 soo...
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![Listen to Your SisterNeena Viel]()
HorrorI come from a large family and there is a special way that you can wind one another up. Years of experience and knowledge comes in handy when you are trying to annoy someone, you may not have seen each other for ages, but one shared experience can bring it all back in an instant. In a healthy family...
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![American GodsNeil Gaiman]()
FantasyAs a science fiction fan it has to be said that we are becoming increasingly lucky. Film and TV companies seem to have finally grasped that the genre is a gold mine for stories, and that when done right, these stories can attract a big audience. American Gods is one of the more recent stories to bec...
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![The Graveyard BookNeil Gaiman]()
FantasyFollowing the horrific murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a dis-used graveyard populated by ghosts and other undead creatures of the night - completely unaware of the death of his parents. Taking pity on the innocent child the ghosts agree to raise him as their own, naming him Nobod...
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![A Master of DjinnP. Djèlí Clark]()
FantasyUrban 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. Djeli Clark has created...
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![London FallingPaul Cornell]()
FantasyLondon 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 Who stories...
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![DrakePeter McLean]()
FantasyI picked this book up as I was looking for more urban fantasy to try. I love the Dresden files and given that new books in that series only seem to appear infrequently, I was getting an urban fantasy itch. This book stood out as it was recommended by talented and under-appreciated author Dave Hutchi...
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![CackleRachel Harrison]()
FantasyWitches have a bad reputation, green skinned, covered in warts and prone to stealing children so that they can use their bones for broth. People feared the idea of witches so much that they would place innocent people on trial. Don’t they realise that if witches were as powerful as they thought, the...
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![The Lonely LandsRamsey Campbell]()
HorrorAs long as someone remembers a loved one, they are never truly gone. This could be done by visiting their final resting place or a special location that you used to go to together. It could even be a keepsake that reminds you of them. Looking at the object you can almost see their smile or hear thei...
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![Bigfoot Loose and Fin Fancy FreeRandy Henderson]()
FantasyPhineas (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...
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![Something Wicked This Way ComesRay Bradbury]()
FantasyIllustration ©2019 Tim McDonagh from The Folio Society edition of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes The bright yellow cover of this Folio Society edition of Bradbury’s classic fantasy novel is inset with a cartoon-like carnival poster, clearly telegraphing what the reader might expect...
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![Sandman SlimRichard Kadrey]()
FantasyI'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 spent the lat eleven y...
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![Bystander 27Rik Hoskin]()
FantasyThe past twenty years or so has seen a massive increase in the visibility of Superheroes. The likes of Superman , Batman and Spiderman have been around for decades, but the market is so rich that many niche properties are having their time in the sun. The boom has not only promoted Superheroes, but...
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![Bleeding HeartsRy Herman]()
FantasyI have always wondered how people can believe in some things but not others. If you have a world that has vampires roaming at night, what makes bloodsuckers so great that they get to be the only things that bump in the night? Ry Herman already introduced us to the idea of vampires, witches and a gli...
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![EvocationS T Gibson]()
FantasyIt 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...
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![GorseSam K Horton]()
FantasyHistory is facinating, but we often focus on the big characters, the big battles. Whilst King’s were being beheaded and bombs dropped, people kept on peopleling. The history of the normal person can be forgotten, but we exist too. What happened to the normal person on the street when organised relig...
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![Queen of the DeadSarah Broadway]()
FantasyMy partner and I have differing opinions on ghosts. I like to read about them but am incredibly cynical that they exist. My partner is more of a believer. I just refuse to believe that ghoulies can exist without more evidence, we live in a surveillance society at this point. However, even I would st...
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![Magic for LiarsSarah Gailey]()
FantasyThere are books that ruin it for anyone else. Harry Potter has basically made it impossible to make a book set in a magical school without someone saying, “rip off”. Just don’t mention to those people that The Worst Witch has been around a lot longer. Still, it takes a brave soul to set their book i...
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![Smoke EatersSean Grigsby]()
Science FictionFire fighter Sean Grigsby’s near future debut sees the world infested with dragons risen from beneath the ground. The wingless wyverns rise up to destroy cities and take lives, leaving only the shadows of people - ‘wraiths’ - behind. It’s up to the ‘smoke. Cole Brannigan, a patriotic, hard-working f...
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![The Killing SpellShay Kauwe]()
FantasySticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, but in Shay Kauwe’s The Killing Spell , words will very much hurt you. In fact, words can be fashioned into spells to kill. Not the best in an everyday family situation where words can fly thick and fast, nor in a society where a fe...
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![The Beautiful OnesSilvia Moreno-Garcia]()
FantasyFantasy does not have to be one set thing and as the years progress, I find fantasy books that have moved away from just being magical creatures going out on a quest far more interesting. The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia has the lightest of fantasy touches and uses the genre as a way...
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![Certain Dark ThingsSilvia Moreno-Garcia]()
HorrorIt was not until I browsed my sister’s bookshelves that I realised that vampire fiction is its own genre. She is a prolific reader and seems to exclusively read vampire books. I asked her to lend me some and I realised why you can read so many ‘similar’ books and nothing else, as the books can be va...
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![Signal to NoiseSilvia Moreno-Garcia]()
Science FictionI am not one to look back on my life, preferring to live and enjoy what I have in the present, but when I do it is often about my years at school and University. That person I could have treated better or the time I stood up in assembly by mistake. The events felt at huge at the time, but in retrosp...
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![SaturnaliaStephanie Feldman]()
HorrorWhat happens when the world ends? Do we as a species rally together to save the day at the last possible moment, or do we fiddle whilst Rome burns? If recent history has shown us nothing else, the rich will party, and the poor will die. Nothing new there then. Stephanie Feldman does not see the tren...
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![Dead ThingsStephen Blackmoore]()
FantasyDead Things was one of the few books I bought with post-christmas vouchers, after first seeing the author on twitter where he regularly trades jokes with Chuck Wendig. It's an urban fantasy adventure that follows the life of Eric Carter. Eric's a necromancer, an angry young necromancer who finds the...
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![MongrelsStephen Graham Jones]()
HorrorMongrels is a book that grips you by the jugular right from the start, a bit like the way a werewolf might. Funny enough that's what Mongrels is all about - a family of werewolves who are forced to travel around the USA avoiding the authorities and others who take a dislike their kind. It's a countr...
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![Killer on the RoadStephen Graham Jones]()
HorrorLike any genre, the horror genre has shifts in style and tone. I was always a fan of the nasty horror stories of the late 70s and early 80s. Books that saw lots of terrible things happen to good people. In Killer on the Road author Stephen Graham Jones attempts to capture that Grindhouse feel and gi...
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![God rest ye merry GentlepigTad Williams]()
FantasyI meant to read this festive novella last year however time got the better of me (as it often does). God rest ye merry Gentlepig is a festive tale featuring the angel Bobby Dollar who acts as an advocate for souls sitting in judgement after death. And so on Christmas Eve night he is summoned to act...
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![The Dirty Streets of HeavenTad Williams]()
FantasyFor 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...
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![The Janus CycleTej Turner]()
FantasyEvery now and then I am sent something that stretches the boundaries of my reading interest. The Janus Cycle is one such book. Whilst this book is billed as a novel, it is really a collection of linked short stories. The linked theme follows a disparate group of individuals seemingly connected by th...
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![RabbitsTerry Miles]()
Science FictionAre you playing the game? Made you look. The idea of a metagame that embroils a hero is not a new one, but it is hard to pull off. The amount of financial resources and secrecy that is required to convince Michael Douglas to jump off a building is beyond what the average person can afford, unless yo...
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![A Stroke of the PenTerry Pratchett]()
FantasyThey say that you should never meet your heroes, lest they disappoint, but I have met several of my favourite authors over the years and have always had a pleasant experience. I never had the chance to meet Sir Terry Pratchett which was a shame as he was, like for many readers of genre fiction, one...
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![Perilous TimesThomas D Lee]()
FantasyI love an Arthurian Legend retelling, Perilous Times by Thomas D Lee is not even the first one that I have read this year, but it shows how flexible authors can be with Old King Arty. Lee does not retell the tales of yore but extrapolates into the present and the future. When Arthur was buried, he w...
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![RelicsTim Lebbon]()
FantasyAngela 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 succh a...
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![Jekyll & Hyde: Consulting DetectivesTim Major]()
I always forget how unpleasant some of the antiheros were in Victorian era fantasy and science fiction. In my mind I think of the era being full of ladies and gentlemen, but there were plenty of loathsome people too. Looking back on the working conditions and how society treated its poor, perhaps I...
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![Jekyll & Hyde: Winter RetreatTim Major]()
FantasyIf you could invite anyone to a winter retreat, who would it be? Family, friends, someone famous. What you should never do is invite a detective, anytime you do, someone always seems to end up dead. In the case of Jekyll & Hyde: Winter Retreat by Tim Major, you get two private detectives for the p...
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![Earthquake WeatherTim Powers]()
FantasyTim's middle names should be has super because there just isn't really any other explanation as to how someone can write the way he does. This is nowhere more evident than in his Fault Lines Trilogy and in particular the finale of the story — Earthquake Weather . The book is set within the San Frans...
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![My Brothers KeeperTim Powers]()
HorrorThe stories that the Brontë sisters wrote have an extreme gothic appeal and you only need to visit their old home in Haworth to know what inspired them. There did not seem much else to do than walk the moors and avoid dying. Whilst the town may be picturesque now, full of cobbled streets and Hovis a...
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![Night TerrorsTim Waggoner]()
FantasyFor many people clowns are the stuff of nightmares and there they should remain. In the modern age you can pretty much live a life free of these demon entertainers; just avoid going to the circus, CBEEBIES and any films about IT. But what about if the clowns of your dreams decided to leave and com...
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![Deaths Sweet EmbraceTracey O Hara]()
FantasyThere 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...
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![Boneshops & BonedustTravis Baldree]()
FantasyI have read a lot of Fantasy fiction over the years and have picked up trends as time passes from the classic High Fantasy epics of the 80s to the gritty Low Fantasy of more recent times. A new trend is in town, and I see Travis Baldree at the vanguard of Cosy Fantasy. Legends & Lattes was a sfbook....
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![Death Most DefiniteTrent Jamieson]()
FantasyDeath Most Definite is an urban fantasy novel by Trent Jamieson. Steven de Selby has a most unusual career, he helps spirits pass to the underworld, and stops Zombies (stirrers) walking the earth. He and his parents are necromancers, also known as "pomps". This being the 21st century, these pomps ha...
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![A Market of Dreams and DestinyTrip Galey]()
FantasyThere are two ways to treat fairy folk in a fantasy novel. You can hide them, only the protagonist knowing that there is a secret world in the forest. Or you can embrace them. Make the likes of goblins and fairies' part of everyday life. In A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey, an accord has...
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![Maria the WantedV Castro]()
HorrorOne of the benefits of being a vampire is not the insatiable lust for human blood, but the eternal life. It can make meeting other vampires a tad strange as that 25-year-old looking person may actually be 100 years old, or a 1000. They try to act all modern, but they always have that whiff of the Re...
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![The Liar of Red ValleyWalter Goodwater]()
HorrorThere are many flavours of horror, but one that I prefer is American Gothic. There is something about the Deep South of America that mixes well with horror. It already feels like a foreign and mysterious place to many of us so when you add the notion of things that go bump in the night it seems to m...
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