Category: book review
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In Shadows We Fall by Devin Madson
This novella may only be 102 pages long, but each and ever page of In Shadows We Fall drips with palace politics, intrigue, and deception. Madson’s Aurealis award-winning prequel to the Vengeance trilogy, rips along at a blistering pace leaving the reader no time to pause and catch their breath. Let alone stop to reflect…
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The Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor
While Andrew Taylor beautifully evokes the stifled atmosphere of New York City under siege during the War of Independence (also referred to as the ‘Revolutionary War’). And gives us a plausible enough character in the guise of Mr. Edward Savill, a clerk for the American Office based in London. The over-all arcing storyline could have…
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Extraordinary People by Peter May
I so wanted to ‘like’ EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE by Peter May but, in the end, this one was a little too staged, with sluggish pacing. Moments that could have and should have been tense, and dramatic, were lost amid the travelogue descriptions that sucked up more than their fair share of page length. It’s all very…
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The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold
The Last Smile in Sunder City is a dark urban fantasy and the first book in a planned series, the Fetch Phillips Archives, which promises a great deal more in depth world building and character development. And, even for a debut, Arnold packs it in—for a world that once ran on magic nothing will ever…
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Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell
Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell, is a cleverly plotted and thoroughly immersive alternative future in which you believe a monkey can fly a spitfire. With its well-drawn characters, page-turning intrigue, and clever plot twists—never mind, several neat surprises I never saw coming—it will have you chugging back the strong coffee way into the wee…
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Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst
The world building in Race the Sands treads familiar ground and gives us an Egyptian style setting and culture, living along a great river—the Aur—surrounded by desert. A fabulous dressed fantasy city, the Heart of Becar, and the usual slew of towns and villages with people focused with making a living off the land. Where…
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Red Noise by John P. Murphy
Oh dear, where do I start? Let’s get this one out the way first, billed as Kill Bill meets High Plains Drifter, RED NOISE is neither. It lacks the finesse, the heart, the emotion, and most importantly, the brutal action that peppered both Kill Bill and High Plains Drifter or any damn spaghetti western. RED…
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Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
This is a wonderfully written story about four young people, ranging in ages and backgrounds, set during World War Two, detailing all the horrors and ravages of war, and its effects on those struggling to survive. Vivid and sometimes, horrific moments punctate the spare prose of each character’s short chapters. The four main characters: Florian…
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The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Nahri is a young woman living by her wits on the streets of Cairo, running lucrative cons and healing rituals and staying one step ahead of being caught. She knows nothing about who she is or where she came from, but knows she has a gift for languages, and can heal herself from just about…
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Secrets of State by Matthew Palmer
This is a solid outing from Matthew Palmer, an author that knows his stuff. SECRETS OF STATE, is a thriller with all the right ingredients, that hit all the right notes. The characters are nothing new, but familiar territory is okay as long as there is enough elsewhere to make up for it. And while…