Binti is the story of a young Himba woman whose life and clan revolve around math and engineering. Her people never leave their home, so the news of her acceptance into Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy, is bittersweet. Binti loves learning, and the opportunity to participate in a program with such a fabulous reputation is of course very exciting. However, that means leaving her home, her family, her friends, everything she has known. It also means that her people will not necessarily see her the same way, as they don’t believe their people should leave. I really liked this element of the story. Binti is trying to do something she loves, learn as much as she can, but cultural tradition and expectations force her to feel like she is not just journeying to a far away school, but abandoning protocol in a way that will alienate her from everything she has ever known forever. That is a very hard choice to make! Binti herself, as a character? What can I say? She is a woman who loves math. As a person who took 400 level math classes for fun in college, this immediately endeared…

Although it shares the same world as The Iron Wolves and The White Towers, Andy Remic’s first book in The Blood Dragon Empire is an entirely different. While those books were very much high-stakes epic fantasies, complete with massive battles and bloodshed, The Dragon Engine is more of a traditional quest tale – albeit one that subverts the usual tropes. For starters, our heroes seem to be the typical gang of adventurers – complete with barbarian, archer, cleric, assassin, and more – but they’re actually retired war veterans whose quest days are comfortably behind them. As it turns out, one of them is dying of cancer, one is drinking his sorrows away, and several are nursing broken hearts. While all but one would have turned down an adventure based solely on greed, they find a common purpose in seeking out a magical cure for their dying companion. While you don’t need any prior knowledge of the two Rage of Kings novels to enjoy this, fans will be pleased to discover that King Yoon is still in control, and as debauched as ever. He has serious competition for the most over-the-top, scene-chewing villain however, in the form of First Cardinal Skalg,…

City of Wonders is book three in James A Moore’s Seven Forges series (Seven Forges being No.1 and The Blasted Lands No.2).  Seven Forges got off to a very intriguing start, The Blasted Lands built strongly on that foundation and left us with a rather jaw dropping finish then City of Wonders came along and left  no doubt that this series is firmly planted in the land of Epic.  Truly this is turning into a series to be reckoned with. I’m not really going to go over much into the plot because it’s going to be very easy to spoil elements of the story that are best revealed as the tale progresses and, whilst talking of spoilers, although I try to avoid them it’s quite possible that this review may contain some revelations for the first two books so please be aware of that.  Also I would say that in order to enjoy the world created by Mr Moore you should start from book No.1 – at least I think so. At the start of the story war is upon the Fellein Empire and masses of people are seeking refuge in Old Canhoon (or the City of Wonders as it…

From Star Wars: X-Wing to Star Wars: The Old Republic, high-profile Star Wars video games have been inspiring their own novel tie-ins for many years. In the spring of 2015, gamers and readers everywhere were delighted to learn that the highly anticipated Star Wars Battlefront will be getting the same treatment. This book, titled Battlefront: Twilight Company, tells the story of the eponymous Rebel Alliance army unit also known as the Sixty-First Mobile Infantry. Recruited from all over the galaxy, the men and women of this ragtag outfit have very little in common, save for one thing – a fervent desire to fight the Empire. In the wake of the Alliance’s first major victory at the Battle of Yavin, the rebels are pressing their advantage, making the push into Imperial territory. However, the enemy has increased its presence on the Mid Rim worlds, ready to stamp out even the tiniest spark of resistance before it can spread, and Twilight Company has little choice but to fall back. The central character of this novel is Sergeant Hazram Namir. While other units have perished, Twilight Company has always survived by rallying around their charismatic commander Captain Micha “Howl” Evon, whom Namir dislikes…

The Clan Chronicles is a series of books (This Gulf of Time and Stars is the first book of the third trilogy) set in a distant future of interstellar travel, alien races, and telepathic abilities. The Trade Pact, the first trilogy, introduced us to the alien Clan, a humanoid race that has doomed itself to extinction through selective breeding. The fact that Clan females kill their prospective mates, though, isn’t the scariest thing about them – it’s the way they exist in secret, disguised as Humans, using their telepathic powers to erase memories and control people without them knowing. Stratification, the second trilogy, is actually a prequel, introducing us to an earlier version of the Clan, long before they joined the Trade Pact, and before they bred themselves to the brink of extinction. Reunification, the third trilogy, is a direct sequel to both stories. This Gulf of Time and Stars advances both the story and the Clan’s situation, introducing us to an era where they have been secretly invited into the Trade Pact, and then just as secretly exposed, adding the threat of extermination to that of extinction. While it could be read on its own, readers will get a lot more out of the story with knowledge of what’s come first. Julie E. Czerneda…

I’ve been lucky enough to receive many unsolicited books from Skyhorse Publishing in the last six months or so, but this book from Skyhorse imprint Talos is, ironically, the only one of their books I’ve requested. And boy, what a book! I nearly passed it by when it popped up on Edelweiss, simply because I have way too many review books as it is. But I thank all the Chinese gods and monsters mentioned in this story that I didn’t pass it up. The Girl With Ghost Eyes will surely be one of my favorite books of the year, and I’m already bemoaning the fact that it’s over, and I don’t know if there will be any more books set in this world! (Note to self: must check with author!) What makes this book so unexpectedly wonderful are two main ingredients: the vibrant magical world, and the characters. The story is set in Chinatown, San Francisco in the late 1800s, a community of immigrant Chinese workers, some of who can perform powerful magic. The story is told by Xian Li-lin, a young woman who is cursed with yin eyes, or “ghost eyes,” which means she is able to peer into…

I loved Made to Kill – it’s so completely different than anything I’ve read recently – I didn’t know what to expect and almost went into it negatively so it was a great surprise to enjoy it so much.   Witty, well written and just downright good reading that made me laugh out loud.  I’ve not read Adam Christopher before but I’ll certainly be taking a look back at his other work after this.   Set in an alternative 60s universe Made to Kill revolves around one central character, who just so happens to be a robot.  In this version of 60s Los Angeles the technology was slightly more advanced than our own of that period and the Government created a programme to roll out robots across the country to take up dangerous or menial tasks.  Unfortunately it was not a success and people railed against their jobs being taken over by robots.  As a result the programme was scrapped and all the robots destroyed.  All but one.  Raymond.  Part of a slightly different programme, Raymond and his super computer Ada survived the destruction and as part of an alternative exercise set up their own PI agency.  The Electromatic Detective Agency.  Well,…

The Geomancer by Clay and Susan Griffith is a further instalment that brings to us the strange and very readable world of The Greyfriar (Gareth) and the Empress of Equatoria.  This is the fourth story set in this unusual alternate world and whilst I will try to avoid spoilers for this particular novel this review may contain spoilers for the previous books.  To be honest – I wouldn’t advise reading this as a standalone.  I think in order to fully appreciate the strength of feeling between the two main characters you have to begin at the beginning. I’m not going to give a long description here about the past history – like I said above I think you need to read this series from the start and with that assumption in mind I’m thinking no backstory is necessary. At the conclusion of the Kingmaker’s Adele was manipulated into using a massive surge of geomancy which wiped out the British clans, freeing the land from vampire rule and creating a protective barrier to prevent their return.  Unfortunately, it also left huge scars on the natural rifts and badly drained Adele, ageing her somewhat in the process. Adele and Gareth now spend…

Funny how I’m generally not big on anthropomorphism but at the same time I do seem to love a lot of books featuring fluffy, furry adorable sentient animals (Redwall, Watership Down, Mouse Guard, etc.) Thus the draw of Daniel Polansky’s The Builders won out, and it was also perfect because I’ve been meaning to check out his work for a long time. The animals in this book are far from soft and cuddly, though. A mouse, a stoat, an opossum, a badger, a salamander, a mole, and an owl all walk into a bar. This however is not the beginning of a joke but a start of a Kill Bill-style tale of vengeance and bloody destruction. One upon a time, all of them stood united against a common enemy, until treachery destroyed the group from within. The last job they were all on together didn’t end so well, so now the battle-hardened mouse known as the Captain is rounding up his old pals again for one last hurrah. But alas, you know what they say about the best laid schemes of mice and men. Before long, both bullets and fur will fly in abundance, as the Captain and his ragtag…

Alice in Wonderland retellings seem to be everywhere these days, and they’re all over the map in terms of style and plot. This latest from Wicked author Gregory Maguire is something quite different from other Alice books I’ve read, and I quite enjoyed it. Would I recommend it to my readers, though? That’s the question. If you’ve read Maguire before—and seeing Wicked on Broadway doesn’t count!—then you will appreciate the author’s distinct writing style. I personally love his writing, although at times it’s a bit too much, as he tends to use words I’ve never heard of before. But in this case—a story set in Victorian England with all its social rules and society’s fear of a changing world—his style is perfectly suited to the tale. If you’re looking for a whimsical, lighthearted Wonderland story, however, you’ll need to look elsewhere. After Alice is a more contemplative examination of family and society in 1860s Oxford, with somber undertones. The story is made up of very short chapters that alternate between two groups of characters. First we have a ten-year old girl named Ada, Alice’s best friend, who has been sent to deliver a jar of marmalade to Alice’s family. She is…