‘A bloodcap, an angelus and a Jack Russell terrier. They’re all I had by me to face mortal combat with the Queen of the Ælves. I’d be dead in minutes…’
The historic streets of Edinburgh hide a parallel realm of shadowy killers, vicious ælves and deranged shades. All that stands between them and the unsuspecting populace are a daemon called Archer and the group of angelii he’s feuding with.
Drew Macleod is caught in the middle. Someone, somewhere is hunting him. But why? Delving deeper into this parallel realm, Drew finds allies in a feisty herbalist, an ancient creature in disguise and an old clock-maker – but are any of them really who they seem to be?
Touchpaper takes us on an exciting journey in the footsteps of Neverwhere and Rivers of London. This original and imaginative story lets a quirky cast of characters lead us into a hidden and dangerous world. The contemporary setting and the richness of the characters holds our attention in a fast-paced and at times humorous read, full of plot twists and quirky details.
Format: 508 pages, Paperback Published: July 12, 2022 by Angry Robot ISBN: 9780857669827
Inar is Master Builder for the Kingdom of Mishig-Tenh. Life is hard after the Kingdom lost the war against the League of Free Cities. Doubly so since his father betrayed the King and paid the ultimate price. And now the King’s terrifying chancellor and torturer in chief has arrived and instructed Inar to go and work for the League. And to spy for him. And any builder knows you don’t put yourself between a rock and a hard place.
Far away Anton, Blade Priest for Craithe, the God Mountain, is about to be caught up in a vicious internal war that will tear his religion apart. Chosen from infancy to conduct human sacrifice, he is secretly relieved that the practice has been abruptly stopped. But an ancient enemy has returned, an occult conspiracy is unfolding, and he will struggle to keep his hands clean in a world engulfed by bloodshed.
In a series of constantly surprising twists and turns that take the reader through a vividly imagined and original world full of familiar tensions and surprising perspectives on old tropes, Inar and Anton find that others in their story may have more influence on their lives, on the future of the League and on their whole world than they, or the reader imagined.
My Review
I picked up this book at FantasyCon last year, although more precisely the author gave me a copy after the final panel about the essentials an adventurer needs and I asked why no one ever took a map and compass? I think it’s being raised by a former Scout, and being a Guide myself from a young age, I just naturally just consider maps, compasses and spare change for a phone, as essentials for adventuring off the beaten track. These days of course, finding a pay phone is hard, so you should take your phone charger and a spare battery pack in your bag. If you can get a signal, you can get help!
Okay, so back to the book.
Our first main character is Inar, a master builder from the recently conquered kingdom of Mishig-Tenh. The League want him to help them find a way into the Hidden Kingdom. And they won’t take no for an answer. Since his father and brother were executed as traitors, and Inar will go the same way if he doesn’t spy for the remaining leaders of the kingdom, he agrees. He has to lead a team of explorers through the mountains to meet representatives from the Mountain God. Things go very wrong, and secrets are revealed that probably should have been kept hidden, including a girl, called Duna, who can bring down mountains.
Our second main character is Anton, one of the last Blade Priests, vertzan of the God Mountain, Craithe. At nineteen, Anton has only one friend in the monastery-fortress, his sister-priestess, Elecy. They have been trained from a young age to perform the human sacrifices required by the demi-gods on the Mountain, until the demi-gods (giant vultures, called Guardians) decided that they don’t want human sacrifice anymore. This has caused a rift in the faith, between the traditionalists and the progressives. Anton is chosen to be the successor to the altzan-al (high priest/pope?) until he’s set up for the murder of the altzan-al. Rescued by Elecy and a young scout, he sets out to find allies in the outside world, while Elecy stays behind to keep an eye on the new regime.
There’s a war and invasions, gods die. Things explode. Duna gets high and goes a little bit battle-mad. At the end, the world has changed for everyone involved, while Duna and Elecy meet up and head out into the world, probably causing mayhem in the future. I can’t wait to read the second book, which isn’t out for another year.
Mad elves, high on mushrooms, kidnap the main characters and their parties. It’s a unique idea – elves are humans who take a mushroom that makes them feel immortal, and not feel pain as their ears and face are cut. I
One of the people in the League party is a surveyor, and Inar is amazed by the idea of accurate surveys. I love the idea of introducing new ideas into a world and seeing how they play out with the different cultures. Inar doesn’t understand why they were traveling so slowly, although a reader would when the mentions of notes and poles, sighting on mountains, that sort of thing.
The League is obviously an empire in waiting, despite the rhetoric of freedom, logic and science. Some of the characters from the League have good intentions, but some are very obviously looking to build a legacy. The church of the God Mountain have, or had, an empire and are shrinking, while some factions are looking to accept the change of status, others want to rebuild it. They are mirrors of each other.
I enjoyed the twist at the end, as Anton realises the Guardian’s prophecy is not about him. He’s a bit slow on the uptake; an attentive reader would have picked that up fairly quickly.
The book is chunky at 508 pages, but the story flies along; the world is complex, the characters are fascinating, and the plot kept me engaged.
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The Tyrant Philosophers, Book 3 Narrated by David Thorpe Release date: 05-12-24 Language: English Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 21 hrs and 39 mins
Bloomsbury presents Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky, read by David Thorpe.
Welcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow’s frontline in the Palleseen’s relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world.
Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time.
As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she’s here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly – Gil to her friends – needs a second in the spectacularly illegal, culturally offensive and diplomatically inadvisable duel she must fight at midnight.
Outreach, that part of the Pal machine that has to work within the imperfection of the rest of the world, has a lot of room for the illegal, the unconventional, the unorthodox. But just how much unorthodoxy can Gil and Loret get away with?
As a succession crisis looms, as a long-forgotten feat of necromantic engineering nears fruition, as pirate kings, lizard armies and demons gather, as old gods wane and new gods wax, sooner or later Gil and Loret will have to settle their ledger.
Just as well they are both very, very good with a blade…
My Review
I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but I think this third book is my favourite. We encounter re-occurring characters, like Jack, the former priest, and some of the crew from the hospital, who have settled in Alkhaland, and set up a new hospital in the poor district of the city. Jack has made a new friend who runs the local prison and has an un/comfortable relationship with his demon bride. This comes in very handy later in the story.
Into a complicated city comes Loret, a young, scared woman from Pallisand, sent to be aide to Gil, the Resident. Except Loret is a very bad aide, other than rescuing Gil a couple of times. Loret knows what has been happening in the isles and it scares her. She is too scared to tell Gil, and we learn what happened after the characters from book two return to the Palleseen Sway – the ‘infection’ of belief in Jack’s former god, a healer, and the Fisher King, who is very much not a healer, spreads in the army and then in the general population.
I loved this development in the background story, which travels through all three books. It’s the landscape that the stories take place in, with each book being a focused pinpoint in the wider picture. Nothing in the story-world is static, although the Palles want the world to be static and perfect and are constantly fighting against difference and variation.
Alkhaland has an elderly, grief-stricken ruler, who has three sons and a daughter. Tradition says that only a whole man can rule. The eldest is in exile, the second son, Cam, is his father’s right hand and designated heir, the third son is a child obsessed with death. His daughter is a pawn in the game of alliances.
The worldbuilding and descriptions of Alkhaland’s culture and society are vivid and lively. The characters are individual and have their own complex motivations. Gil is truly distressed by the difficult choices she has to make and her complex relationship with Cam.
When the ruler dies, the sons go to war. Except the youngest who goes to meet death. The daughter joins the demon at the hospital. Cam wins with the help of his friend Gil and her Palleseen troops, who promtly move in and make themselves at home.
The people of Alkhaland do not want to be part of the sway, and after some difficulties they free themselves, with the help of a motley crew of aliens, disaffected Palls, demons, and pirates. The final battle is climactic and exciting to read. The advances and reversals, the personal decisions that could make or break the battle, are brilliantly written.
It’s a complex story, exploring how imperialism sneaks into free places around the world, and the small things and well-meaning people that help it along. The Palleseen Sway reminds me of the British Empire, especially the way we took control of India. Trusted representatives of different European states rolled up in the Indian kingdoms and started cultivating influence, until the kings supported one or the other, and then European states sent armies to ‘help’ the Indian kings, until they control the states themselves.
Adrian Tchaikovsky leaves an author’s note that the places in the book aren’t based on real places but he was influenced by the podcast Revolutions. I don’t think I’ve listened to that podcast but I’ve had a quick scan of the episode titles, it seems to cover the revolutionary period from the reign of Charles II onwards. I shall have to have a listen. I also recommend Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff if you’re interested in revolutionaries.
I highly recommend this book and the series in general. I need more stories set in this world, but I think this trilogy is complete as it is, charting the beginning of the end of empire. I hear there’s a short story hiding in an anthology somewhere, so I need to get hold of that anthology.
The narration was excellent and fully embodied the different characters.
Published: Aug 08 2024 Paperback ISBN: 9780356516509 £10.99
Description
The Trials of Empire is the epic conclusion to the bestselling Empire of the Wolf series, where Sir Konrad Vonvalt – the most powerful and feared of the Emperor’s Justices – must finally face the dark powers that seek to detroy the Empire. THE TIME OF JUDGEMENT IS AT HAND
The Empire of the Wolf is on its knees, but there’s life in the great beast yet.
To save it, Sir Konrad Vonvalt and Helena must look beyond its borders for allies – to the wolfmen of the southern plains, and the pagan clans in the north. But old grievances run deep, and both factions would benefit from the fall of Sova.
Even these allies might not be enough. Their enemy, the zealot Bartholomew Claver, wields infernal powers bestowed on him by a mysterious demonic patron. If Vonvalt and Helena are to stand against him, they will need friends on both sides of the mortal plane – but such allegiances carry a heavy price.
As the battlelines are drawn in both Sova and the afterlife, the final reckoning draws close. Here, at the beating heart of the Empire, the two-headed wolf will be reborn in a blaze of justice . . . or crushed beneath the shadow of tyranny.
In the city of Amoria, where magic rules all, Naila is the ultimate conundrum. A student under the watchful eye of Amoria’s sprawling Academy, Naila is undeniably gifted, yet she has never been able to harness her abilities. And time is running out. If she fails, she’ll be forced into exile, or worse – consumed by her own magic.
For decades mages and the magicless Hollows have lived side-by-side peacefully. But now that peace is threatened as old resentments bubble over. A powerful anti-Hollow faction led by Amoria’s most influential mages is determined to cast the Hollows out. With her Hollow background, Nalia is in danger of being exiled from everything she knows and everyone she loves if she cannot unlock her power.
When a tragic incident threatens her place at the Academy, Naila is saved by Haelius Akana, the most powerful living mage. A scholar and fellow outcast, Haelius is fascinated by Naila’s inability to use magic. Eager to help someone in whom he sees so much of himself, he stakes his position at the Academy on teaching her. Trapped in the deadly schemes of Amoria’s elite, Naila must dig deep to discover the truth of her powers – or watch the city she loves descend into civil war.
Annabel writes fantasy with fierce female characters and disaster wizards, and believes everything is improved by dragons.
She lives in a tiny village in Scotland, where most of her neighbours are sheep. She has a PhD in cardiovascular science, and when not making things up for a living, she works as a Medical Writer.
Her other joys are red wine, playing games, or showing you too many pictures of her dog.
Ludluda, the sequel to Gogmagog, takes us on a haunting and delightfully witty adventure in a fantasy world which defies genre.
Luluda tells the story of a journey through a strange modern city whose power is sourced from the ghost of a dragon. Ludwich may no longer be at war with its great political rival overseas, but veteran sailor Cady Meade, survivor of many battles, suspects that the hard-won peace is about to break. She promises to deliver a preternatural ten-year old girl to a coming-of-age festival in the heart of Ludwich. But she has been warned by the prophets that dangers lie ahead.
Cady suspects that the young girl’s fate is entwined with that of the city. When the girl disappears, the old sailor must hunt her down, accompanied by a know-it-all mechanical man whose circuits are slowly grinding to dust. But Cady’s mission has always been to guard Ludwich from enemies both known and occult, and she will never give up.
Following the course of the River Nysis through the city, and beyond, Cady must uncover the final mysteries of the great dragon Haakenur’s life and death and afterlife. Her greatest battle is about to begin.
Category: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy ISBN: 9781399734783 Publication date: October 17, 2024 Format: Hardback RRP: £20.00 Publisher: Hodderscape
Book Description
When the Gendarmes ask the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena for help, they don’t expect them to send Samantha Harker.
She’s a researcher, more used to papercuts than knife fights. Sam is also the daughter of Dracula’s killer and can see into the minds of monsters. It’s a perilous power, one that could help her crack this case ─ or have her thrown into an asylum.
Dr Helena Moriarty is Sam’s reluctant partner, the Society’s finest agent who has forged a formidable path in her notorious father’s shadow. Professor Moriarty is in hiding, but he still makes his presence known: Hel’s partners have a way of dying in mysterious circumstances.
From Paris’ glittering opera house to its darkest catacombs, the investigation pits Sam and Hel against magic, monsters, and men. And beneath their tenuous partnership, something else is growing . . .
But is trusting Hel the key to solving the murders? Or is Sam just another pawn in a Moriarty game?
With characters drawn from the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, Strange Beasts is a twisty puzzle box of a historical fantasy ─ perfect for fans of Genevieve Cogman, Theodora Goss, Freya Marske, T. Kingfisher, and Gail Carriger.
About the author
Susan J. Morris is a fantasy author and editor, best known for a writing advice column featured on Amazon’s Omnivoracious blog and her work editing Forgotten Realms novels. Susan delights in running workshops for Clarion West and in moderating panels for writing symposiums. When not writing or reading, Susan indulges in playing video games, training in Pilates, and experimenting with new plant-based food recipes. She lives in Sammamish, Washington with her partner, two cats, and entirely too many plants.
Susan had that pink hair at FantasyCon in October. It’s very distinctive and eye-catching…and distracting.
I read this book for the British Fantasy Society book club meeting on Sunday afternoon. I got an Audible code from the book club organiser because my Goldsboro Books special edition of Strange Beasts hasn’t arrived yet. It was the October SFF Fellowship book, but I had to cancel my subscription because funds are a bit tight. I ordered it impulsively after chatting to Susan a few times at FantasyCon.
Conversations in the courtyard are responsible for a number of books I’ve bought in the last month…
Anyway, I also ordered a copy of the standard hardback from bookshop.org when I found out it would be the first BFS Book Club book and before Dave sent me an Audible code. So, once again, I have multiple copies of a book.
Totally worth it!
The main characters of Sam Harker and Dr Helena Moriarty are well-rounded, complex characters, each working through their own problems and dealing with their own secrets. They’re officially investigating the Beast attacks, but they both have their own secret missions and they’re being manipulated by multiple parties. They struggle to trust, because they’ve been taught by other people that they can’t trust anyone and can’t trust themselves. Their growth as people and the tentative nature of their relationship from start to finish is realistic.
Sam is the view point character, so we read her thoughts and see events from her perspective, and see her fears and confusion as she deals with the things the mission throws at her.
They’re also really fun characters.
Jacob Van Helsing is not a fun character. He’s an absolute dickhead. Sam’s memories of him as a loving child contrast with the adult man poisoned by his father – the Van Helsing who helped kill Dracul – into hating and fearing her as a Channel. His comeuppance is well-deserved, although I don’t like that he got credit for Sam and Hel’s work. I suspect even if he hadn’t chosen to take credit, Mr Wright would have given him the credit, because the Society, and society in general, is incredibly misogynistic.
I did not work out who the killer was until quite late on; there are a lot of red herrings. Even the identity of the alchemist was a red herring really, when you think about it, another piece on the chess board, but not the player moving the pieces around.
I felt the mix of science and magic was really well done – a delicate balance of folklore and early 20th century science was found and use consistently. The details of Paris in 1903 feel realistic, although I’ve only been to Paris once and didn’t get to go into the catacombs, but I can imagine them being full of mythical beasts and human criminals. The descriptions were very vivid and events tightly plotted. There are characters I’d like to know more about but they don’t come back into the narrative, and other characters that the reader learns about slowly. Each character has their own backstory and personal history.
Also, chemistry is magic, and fun to play with. So long as you don’t accidentally gas people or blow things up.
The plot starts with a bang and doesn’t stop. Well, actually it starts with a threat, then a few bangs, and then a monster attack in a carriage…you get the picture. You’re just taking a breath when the next thing happens. It’s fun, but I had to take a day between reading/listening to a few chapters at a time.
I have listened to the first 14 chapters as audio and read from chapter 15 to the end. The audiobook was really well read, with multiple accents! I would not have been able to pronounce most of the French and German names without hearing them first. It’s been a lot of years since I sturdied French and I wasn’t very good at it even then, and my German is non-existent. I could not understand the French phrases. I’m just going to assume they’re all in good French, make sense, and not question it.
If you enjoyed Gail Carriger’s books, I highly recommend this historical fantasy of Bell Époque Paris. It’s darker and the focus is on the developing friendship/potential romantic relationship rather than a ‘destined partners’ type narrative. I love it.
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Everything Is Better With Dragons 