Like any great story, The Wheel of Osheim is a book of lies . . . a story of lies . . . a very mythology of lies. Names, people, places, memories, histories – all damned lies. I’m treading on the edge of spoiler territory here (I can see the gaping chasm to my left) but, as we come to discover late in the tale, the entire story of Jalan Kendeth actually hinges on a single lie that’s too painful to even contemplate here. In wrapping up his third and final chapter of The Red Queen’s War, Mark Lawrence has truly outdone himself. I would actually go so far as to say that this is his best book, hands down, and that is no lie. While he’s used a number of different framing devices in spinning his tales of Jorg and Jalan, Lawrence’s approach here is perfectly suited to the shaping of lies. The book opens with Jalan’s comic escape from the bowels of Hell, seemingly robbing us of a resolution to the cliffhanger that ended The Liar’s Key. It’s several chapters later before we get the first fragment of Jalan’s journey through (and escape from) Hell. As for Snorri’s…

Edge of Dark was one of the best books I read in 2015, and one of the novels I included in my 2016 Hugo nomination’s ballot. The reason I loved that story so much and kept thinking about and recommending it to other readers a full year after I finished it, was because of Cooper’s futurist ideas about transhumanism that brought the question”what does it mean to be a human?” to the focus. I was deeply hoping that Spear of Light would be a continuation of that and other futurist ideas, and it was, but this time, it took a back seat to the plot. A few weeks have passed since events at the end of Edge of Dark. Charlie has negotiated the treaty with Next, and while the Next are keeping to themselves, the people of Lym are none too happy that the Next are there at all, regardless if they are keeping to their promise. And with this giant wall the Next are building around all of their territory, the people are close to revolting. The people of Lym aren’t the only ones upset with the Next. While they are angry because they are on their planet, the people of the Shinning Revolution hate that Next even exist at all….

They say there’s a certain amount of truth in fairy tales. Despite their fantastical nature, the stories usually have some basis in reality, providing a moral compass during turbulent times, often teaching lessons which can be applied to one’s own life. If nothing else, the “trueness” may lie in the big picture rather than the details, such as the honesty of the character’s emotions or the essence of their relationships. How far would you go to save someone you love, for instance? And what might you be willing to sacrifice to get your happily ever after? Roses and Rot is a novel that encompasses these concepts, using metafiction to address the basic literary conventions of fairy tales in order to convey the story’s full purpose and meaning. It follows the lives of two sisters, both of whom are talented artists in their own fields. Imogen, our narrator, is a writer, while her younger sibling Marin’s passion is in dance. The two of them grew up together suffering at the hands of their cruel, controlling and abusive mother, but it was awkward and introspective Imogen who bore the brunt of the mistreatment. This prompted Imogen to leave home as soon as…

Children of Earth and Sky is Kay’s latest novel, set in war torn lands. The cast is comprised of a variety of characters, characters that are unlikely companions, crossing paths only by chance. As with Kay’s other books, this is set in a fictional land/world, but quite closely matches our own. There are a good number of characters in this, but I think it works well as it helps give perspectives and information from a variety of sources. This always helps paint a broader picture. That said, some readers may find it breaks the flow of the story a bit as the story is often jumping from one story to another. Personally, this is not an aspect that bothers me but I do know some readers prefer a more constant source for the story. As one might expect, this world can brutal, and there are great hardships that help steer our characters onto their current courses. Danica is a determined young woman, set of on vengeance for the loss of her family. She is fiercely independent and not afraid of calculated risks. Honestly, she does not seem to fear much in this world. Perhaps that comes from losing so much….

The full title of this anthology is actually Sharp Ends: Stories from the World of the First Law, so fans of Joe Abercrombie’s novels set in this universe should be in for a treat. All thirteen tales in here are set in the Circle of the World, spanning a period that starts about a decade before the beginning of The Blade Itself and ends a few years after Red Country, and some feature locations and characters that have appeared before in his novels. Most of the stories in here have also been previously published in other places, but here they all are for the first time, collected together in this neat and convenient little package, along with some new content besides. I must confess here though, that these types of anthologies aren’t typically in my scope but of course I had to make an exception for Sharp Ends because Abercrombie is one of my favorite authors! When I pick up a collection of short stories, I usually go for those that are made up of standalones and original tales rather than the ones containing shorts/novellas which tie into an existing series’ “universe”. In general, if I’m going to spend time…

If you’re a fan of comics and are looking for a clever, humorous, and merciless riff on the superhero genre, then Almost Infamous is most definitely the book for you! Matt Carter’s novel is a wildly entertaining, satirical take on the characters and worlds we imagine when we picture the Marvel or DC universes, and as a twist, his protagonist is a horny, uppity teenage supervillain. To get a sense of the zaniness you’re in for, just take a peek at the book’s first few pages, featuring a “Brief History of Superheroes.” Super powers—whether you were born with them, cursed with them, granted them as a result of radioactive freak accident, changed by a gene-splicing experiment gone wrong, and so on and so forth—are just a common fact of life. Superhumans are real. Oh, and by the way, so are Atlanteans, Lemurians, magicians, aliens, demons, golems, mortal gods who walk the earth, and pretty much every kind of power-endowed beings you can think of. All real. Over time, these powered-individuals have altered the course of history and changed the face of the earth. Some of them have used their abilities for good. Others, not so much. In 1969, the conflict…

I’ve been salivating over this amazing cover for months now, and I was so excited to be able to read Mishell Baker’s debut. I thought I was going to get one type of story, but ultimately Borderline blew me away with its odd—but somehow workable—combination of elements. First, the setting is Los Angeles, Baker’s hometown, and sunny Tinseltown turns out to be the perfect setting. The story revolves around a famous film director whose “muse” has gone missing. It turns out that every creative person on Earth has a muse from a parallel world called Arcadia, where the Seelie and Unseelie Courts are real, and the fey are not just the stuff of movies. And then there is Millie. Millie is definitely a new favorite character, and despite her rough edges I dare you not to fall in love with her. Baker has given her a double whammy of disabilities. First, she has borderline personality disorder (which I didn’t know anything about before I read this book) and she’s been institutionalized for the past six months after a suicide attempt, during which she lost both her legs. So not only is she mentally ill, but she’s a double amputee as…

Lots of interesting things are happening in the horror genre lately, as evidenced by my latest venture into Thomas E. Sniegoski’s new novel The Demonists. Imagine The Exorcist, urban fantasy style! This is also my first book by the author, and it certainly won’t be the last—not if there’s more like this coming my way. The story follows the husband-and-wife team of John Fogg and Theodora Knight, who are the world’s foremost experts on paranormal investigation. They’re even the stars of their own show called Spirit Chasers, a reality TV series that probes into supposedly haunted locations. But on Halloween night, the show producers decide to do a special episode as a publicity stunt, filming live as John and Theo investigate an old house reported to be filled with dark energy. Things should have unfolded like any other show, but then the hosts go into the basement and everything goes terribly wrong. The whole world watches in horror as the crew are massacred live on screen. John manages to survive, but not without sustaining serious injury. And Theo… Something much worse has happened to John’s wife, who is a powerful psychic medium in her own right. Though afterwards everyone was…

If you’re not reading this series yet, you should be! My love for it just grows and grows, and indeed I think In the Labyrinth of Drakes may be my favorite Memoir by Lady Trent installment yet! So many questions that I had are finally answered, and there are plenty of other major reveals for readers who have been following our protagonist on her adventures. I promise you, this is one book you do not want to miss. This is an important volume that covers the events that vaulted Isabella, Lady Trent into fame, and it is a must-read. Author Marie Brennan has written that there will be five books in all in this series, but instead of winding down at book four, Isabella’s story is simply building up even more momentum. Past installments have brought us to the inhospitable mountains of Vystrana, the sweltering jungles of Mouleen, and upon the high seas to the tropical islands of Keonga. Naturally, In the Labyrinth of Drakes is another opportunity to visit another all new biome on the quest for more dragons and more science! This time, Isabella is heading into the scorching deserts of Akhia, hoping to study the golden drakes that…

Masks and Shadows is a delight of a book full of mystery, music, court politics and romance. Oh, and lets not forget the nefarious shadows and disturbing deaths. This was a quick and wonderful read for me, I read it in about a day and really enjoyed just immersing myself if the world and characters Burgis created. While we get several different POVs in this, I really felt Charlotte was the central character. A young widow, she has decided to visit her younger sister at Eszterháza Palace. This is a wonderful place, or appears to be at a surface glance, where Prince Niko has built his own opera house complete with one of the most renowned conductors of the time. The music and opera were a wonderful feature of this story, giving rich details and wonderful characters and interplay. Maybe I am just a sucker for stories that feature theaters and performers, but regardless, this was very well done. We quickly learn that Charlotte is a person who is always scrambling to please others and abide by the rules. If anyone has expectations of her, she does whatever she can to not let them down, even when their expectations may not match…