Tag Archives: fantasy

Flash review: Burning Books for Pleasure and Profit by K. J. Parker

This fast-paced, amusing story is a pleasure to read. It combines an inventive world, a moral quandary that the author very efficiently and plausibly resolves, and characters that have a certain charm, be they the heroes or antagonists. The story … Continue reading

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Book review: Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire 1) by Yoon Ha Lee

This short and relatively inoffensive book has become quite polarizing in the SF circles. Some fans loved the novel enough to nominate it for the Hugo award. Others were dismayed by the needlessly difficult writing style. I see it as … Continue reading

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Book review: A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

As far as modern retellings of classic fairy tales go, Harrow’s take on The Sleeping Beauty is quite original, emotional, and featuring one of the most efficient writing I’ve seen among this year’s Hugo nominees. The characters are highly relatable, … Continue reading

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Book review: Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children 6) by Seanan McGuire

Another year rolls by, and another book in the Wayward Children series gets nominated for the Hugo award. Unfortunately, as time goes by, the series seems to have lost its spark and became somewhat stale. This title digs itself into … Continue reading

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Book review: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

For an epic fairy tale, this story is exceedingly personable and nuanced. It features interesting characters with strong arcs, but also vast empires in exotic locales and cultures. Add to it a little bit of magic, some more faith in … Continue reading

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Book review: Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

With three stories crammed into a very small novella, extensive hints at worldbuilding, dialogue that is often incomplete and confusing, this book is a mess to read. The setting is tantalizingly exotic, some of the plot offers interesting parallels to … Continue reading

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Book review: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Chambers has set a new trend in science fiction storytelling. Her works are usually very comfortable, inoffensive, full of hope, and light on technical details. She may not have been the first, but other writers are already being compared to … Continue reading

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Book review: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

This Hugo nominee for the best novella is remarkable in only one aspect: it’s wholly unremarkable.  The best I can say about this book is that it provides a pleasant short read, devoid of any immediate conflict or anything that … Continue reading

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Book review: Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire

The fifth book in the Wayward Children delivers more easy reading, simple plot and amazing worldbuilding.  Who cares that the internal logic is broken, as long as the readers can experience one of the most inventive fantasy worlds of the … Continue reading

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Book review: Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

More necromancers in space!  Leviathan-sized beasts that can’t be killed by anything short of a black hole!  Ghosts, revenants, possessed corpses, hyperspace that looks more like a river full of floating corpses, a space station full of skeletons and planet-killing … Continue reading

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