A quick, easy read, Beyond the Atmosphere introduces into a complex setting of warring species, internal intrigues, widely distinct cultures. This setting, the variety of the cultures in particular for me, is the book’s strongest feature: from the insectoid Masters to the Founders who retreated to an entirely different dimension, it is an interesting setting […]
There is a good story in Into the Violet Gardens, dealing with government betrayal and the abuse of ‘others’/racism, but its prose and narrative composition make it difficult to enjoy and sometimes difficult to follow.On the subject of its prose, the book makes excessive, and most often weak, use of similes, sometimes as many as […]
Aerovoyant is a complicated review for me: it is well written, the characters are complex (Alphonse in particular) and the pacing is strong, making for an entertaining read from start to finish; but it is also driven by a message (the author expresses as much in the foreword) and there were many times during the […]
While well-written, Hills of Heather and Bone is a fairly standard on a conceptual level with its magic system and core plot revolving around necromancy and magical persecution. There’s some neat bits of creativity where the bones house the memories of the dead, and the necromancers must record or honor those memories in exchange for […]
The Dragon Bone Chair is well written (if potentially a bit dry) with an excellent main character arc in Simon. Simon’s growth is slow and believable, with him starting out as dreamy and a bit scatter brained and evolving in more than just competence but in tangibly maturing as well.But I also found the book […]
My thoughts on Up Jumps the Devil are complicated; The story is well written, sometimes beautifully so, with strong, complex characters, and a wonderful mystic/fairytale quality to many of its scenes and descriptions; it is also a mix of a longer narrative interjected with flashbacks and short-stories about the devil’s interactions with famous historical figures […]
Starfall is a book that will appeal to a specific type of reader; huge effort was devoted to developing the world in which the story takes place, both in the environment, the technological setting, and how the characters interact with these, the various subspecies, and the cultures of the various nations. The Soonayhin culture and […]
Actual rating 3.5Living gargoyles, vegan alchemists, smuggling rings, and hidden tunnels, oh my.The Accidental Alchemist is the second of my recent delve into cozy mysteries, and it does an effective job at feeding the readers hints as to the culprit of the the murder and at providing believable suspects other than the true murderer.The characters […]
Decent prose, characters, and pacing. I very much enjoyed the concept of the ship being a deathtrap and it was well utilized throughout the story. I also enjoyed Ava as a character, but some of her motivations lacked explanation; the core root of her character being someone who wants to avoid responsibility is effective and […]
Available in vlog & podcast https://youtu.be/bkkJq_4QCpwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDUWXYFfpk4
The Mortal Blade is one of those book that, while well written, didn’t impart a strong impression on me. The writing is solid, most of the main characters well constructed, and the pacing is quick but steady. Its setting is a more standard sword and sorcery fantasy, which I was ready for after a selection […]
Available in vlog & podcast https://youtu.be/bkkJq_4QCpwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi8EbEdnfUo
