Tag: Fantasy

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab

I nearly fainted with pleasure when I finished this book and realized, holy shit, it’s a complete book! Way too many genre authors nowadays — or at least those whose works I’ve had the misfortune of reading recently — think that writing a series means that each 300+ page novel doesn’t need to tell a …

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The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1) by Rin Chupeco

I really wanted this book to work, and here’s the main reason why it didn’t, at least for me: 17 year-old Tea is just so full of herself that there isn’t room for anything interesting to be on display. The narrative is split into two, as with Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles. There’s a first-person narrative …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/08/04/the-bone-witch-the-bone-witch-1-by-rin-chupeco/

Pacific Fire by Greg van Eekhout

Pacific Fire follows its predecessor, California Bones, as an adventure caper set in a darkly magical California that is both contemporary and off kilter. Transport within Los Angeles, for example, is all on boats in canals, the city a gargantuan Venice, and the head of the Department of Water and Power is a feared water …

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The Book Of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri

In all honesty, I can’t decide whether I liked that ending or not. It sorta demands more storytelling when this book is clearly complete as it is, and while I could not help but smile in satisfaction at the last word of the novel, I also felt — in hindsight and not, crucially, at the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/07/05/the-book-of-hidden-things-by-francesco-dimitri/

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

A savage yet still somehow YA retelling of The Little Mermaid fairy tale that eschews insipidity and gender tropes, but has some really annoyingly poor language choices throughout. Princess Lira is a siren, seventeen years old and raised by her mother the Sea Queen to be a deadly killer. Her preferred target is the princes …

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Summerlong by Peter S. Beagle

Abe, a cranky retired history professor who’s pretty good on the harmonica. Joanna, a flight attendant who’s logged plenty of miles but still has a ways to go before she can stay on the friendly ground. They’re an unlikely pair, and they maintain their separate residences, separate worlds, but sixteen years together have been good …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/06/26/summerlong-by-peter-s-beagle/

An Interview with R S Ford, author of A Demon In Silver

Q: Every book has its own story about how it came to be conceived and written as it did. How did A Demon In Silver evolve? A: It actually sprang from an idea for a totally different novel. I came up with a concept set in the modern day, featuring warring gods who had fought …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/06/20/author-interview-with-r-s-ford-author-of-a-demon-in-silver/

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Just in time for World Cup, I have finished Unseen Academicals, the Discworld book that takes up soccer — football, as it is known in some places, or foot-the-ball, as it is generally called in Ankh-Morpork. I had not been looking forward to this particular book on my trek through all of the main Discworld novels. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/06/17/unseen-academicals-by-terry-pratchett/

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

War for the Oaks had a band-naming scene before the name of your next band became a Thing. It had fantastic conflicts in a downtown setting before vampires were ever thought to be sparkly. It has strong female protagonists as if that is the most natural thing in the world, which of course it is. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/06/15/war-for-the-oaks-by-emma-bull/

A Demon in Silver (War of the Archons #1) by R.S. Ford

Maybe I don’t read enough (hahaHAHAHA) but I honestly can’t think of a grimdark meets high fantasy series that is as accessible as R. S. Ford’s War of The Archons. Granted, we only have the first book, A Demon In Silver, but I was well impressed with how Mr Ford took the best elements of …

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