Tag: Reviews By Me

Review of Keith Stevenson’s “Traitor’s Bargain (Lenticular Book 2)”

On By Carol RylesIn Reviews By Me, SF

This space opera continues from Traitor’s Run, with rebels from different planets joining forces to stop the invasion and destruction of not only the Kretz Homeworld, but also many worlds beyond.

Udon, is a humanoid crustacean-like alien, and also a survivor of the first assault on his Homeworld. Like many of his kind, he has been maimed to purposely strip him of the advantage of having telepathic abilities.

Rhees is a disgraced human pilot who soon learns that most of what she previously believed was a lie, and was consequently sentenced to a death she managed to escape.

Denev, who was once loyal to the Hegemony, suspects its leaders murdered his parents, and now understands Rhees is not a traitor, but is fighting for freedom from the evil forces that have corrupted the Hegemony’s original goal of protecting Earth from future invasions.

This novel’s strengths are in its character development. It was great to see Udon progress from a victim to a fighter. Rhees who often second guessed herself in Book 1, now refuses to be gaslit and is assertive and commanding. Denev’s role is relatively minor so far, but I suspect there will be a few surprises for him in Book 3. I enjoyed seeing good and bad in enemies and friends alike, which reinforces the understanding that peace can only be found when pre-conceived prejudices are questioned.

Readers who enjoyed Book 1 of this series will definitely enjoy Book 2. And the cover is awesome!

Review of AG Slatter’s “Briar Book of the Dead”

On By Carol RylesIn Fantasy, Reviews By Me

It’s always a pleasure to dip into AG Slatter’s Sourdough stories, and this latest offering is an absolute gem. Ellie is from a long line of witches, and is supposedly without magic. Soon she is plunged into a role that requires both magic and wits. Will wits be enough? Or will she master secret newly-discovered skills in time to prevent an evil that threatens not only her loved ones and herself, but her entire village and beyond. There is so much to love about this novel, and for this reader, the characterisation turned out to be as stunning as the trials and tribulations Ellie must face. I found myself easily immersed in this imagined world that was equal parts intriguing, wonderful and surprising. Highly recommended for anyone who loves intelligent fantasy fiction outside of the generic mould. And if they haven’t read any of Slatter’s previous fiction, it will definitely have them seeking out more.

Cover Blurb:

“Set in the same universe as the acclaimed All the Murmuring Bones and The Path of Thorns (one of Oprah Daily’s Top 25 Fantasy Novels of 2022), this beautifully told Gothic fairy tale of ghosts, witches, deadly secrets and past sins, will be perfect for fans of Hannah Whitten and Ava Reid.

Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations. The Briar family of witches run the town of Silverton, caring for its inhabitants with their skills and magic. In the usual scheme of things, they would be burnt for their sorcery, but the church has given them dispensation in return for their protection of the borders of the Darklands, where the much-feared Leech Lords hold sway.

Ellie is being trained as a steward, administering for the town, and warding off the insistent interest of the church. When her grandmother dies suddenly, Ellie’s cousin Audra rises to the position of Briar Witch, propelling Ellie into her new role. As she navigates fresh challenges, an unexpected new ability to see and speak to the dead leads her to uncover sinister family secrets, stories of burnings, lost grimoires and evil spells. Reeling from one revelation to the next, she seeks answers from the long dead and is forced to decide who to trust, as a devastating plot threatens to destroy everything the Briar witches have sacrificed so much to build.

Told in the award-winning author’s trademark gorgeous, addictive prose, this is an intricately woven tale of a family of witches struggling against the bonds of past sins and persecution.“

Details and purchasing options at Titan Books and also:

Review of Richard Harland’s FERREN & THE ANGEL

On By Carol RylesIn Uncategorized

In Ferren and the Angel Harland reworks the trope of celestial intervention into a dystopian future where Heaven and Earth have been at war for hundreds of years and both are all but destroyed. Humanity’s few remaining tribes must now endure a pre-industrial existence, where outside oppressors forcibly recruit young men and women to fight. As yet, no tribe member has ever returned. When the time for the next recruitment draws near, the strangest of things happens: an angel falls to Earth. Seemingly clueless, helpless and fragile, her presence is as much problematic as miraculous.

Ferren is almost of age. His curiosity and willingness to question traditional beliefs risks turning him into an outcast. When he discovers the angel and decides to help her, his eyes are opened to enemies who lurk in the most unexpected of places. Ferren must now step away from his familiar life and face horrors that even the angel could not imagine.

There is so much to love about this newly revised, Richard Harland classic. Along with a fast-moving story and excellent world-building are little details that made me smile, eg, the everyday relics from the present world of the reader, revered as treasures by Ferren’s people, much like we, ourselves, value — and at times puzzle over — everyday relics from our own distant pasts. At times, it is difficult to tell who is friend and who is foe, and therefore it is most satisfying to see the main characters develop and grow as they struggle to learn.

Ferren and the Angel is an enjoyable coming of age story, in a society that has unknowingly reached a turning point. Can the survivors reclaim the glorious years of their distant ancestors? Or will they discard their humanity and devolve into something unrecognisable?

Published 6th November, 2023 by IFWG. Click here for more details and purchasing options

Review of: The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar

On By Carol RylesIn Fantasy, Reviews By Me

A Novella by Indra Das

I absolutely loved this novella. Ru comes from nowhere, but maybe from somewhere in Calcutta. His mysterious beginnings shape his way of seeing in ways he can barely comprehend. His path to understanding is thwarted when his eccentric parents regularly feed him a tea of forgetfulness. He is not quite an outcast in the world he inhabits, and barely belongs to another world that may or may not exist.

The gorgeous cover was enough for me to pick up this novella, even before I’d read the equally gorgeous sample chapter. Rich and poignant prose, along with a wonderfully slow burn about queerness, difference, growing up, falling in love, and the yearning for a reality that is more complex than it seems. Adding to the beauty – and also blurring the boundaries between the impossible and the real – are dragons!

Published June 2023 by Subterranean Press. Details here.