Tag Archives: books

TBR Pile Review: Ardent Violet and the Infinite Eye, by Alex White

Format: 464 pages, Paperback
Published: December 3, 2024 by Orbit
ISBN: 9780316430609

In this new wide-screen space opera, humanity has met its match. An alien race of enormous robotic AI have destroyed most of humanity’s outposts. But, on the eve of the Earth’s destruction, a musician made one last desperate attempt to reach out and convince one of humanity’s enemies to switch sides. Now, earth just might have a chance to survive…

A ragtag band of misfits is all that stands in the way between an army of giant mechas and humanity’s total destruction in the second book of this big-hearted, technicolor space opera trilogy by one of the most exciting voices in science fiction, Alex White.

Ultra-glam enby pop star Ardent Violet thought they could catch a break and enjoy some time with their new boyfriend August Kitko after defeating the giant mechas hellbent on humanity’s destruction. However, Ardent didn’t count on their mecha allies summoning a host of extraterrestrials to defend Earth.

Between the diplomatic entanglements of the newly-arrived alien Coalition, and a mysterious all-powerful AI establishing a base within their solar system, there’s no rest for the wicked.

When August makes a discovery that could turn the tide of the war, Ardent Violet finds they are back in the spotlight for an encore!

My Review

I read the first book in this series August Kitko and the Mechas from Space in 2022, so I’ve been waiting a while for this book. I hope I don’t have to wait another two years for book three, because I need to know what happens to everyone!

This book is mainly written from Ardent’s perspective, although we sometimes get Gus’. Having survived the Mechas from Space, Ardent, Gus, Nisha and Hjalmar, and their Vanguards are still looking to save Earth, and humans generally, from Infinite, the A.I. that is causing all the trouble. Gus discovers that there is a way to do it, about the same time as a Coalition of alien species arrives to ‘help’. They’re all in a similar situation, having developed A.I.s that took over their species. It’s a bit complicated, but they all have Vanguards, and the Conduits all have to meet each other to work together. This happens in a great space city and it goes as well as can be expected, given that the alien civilisations are somewhat more advanced than humans. One species, a giant crab-like creature with shells encrusted with electronics, weapons, and a bad attitude, take an instant dislike to humans.

In an attempt to remove Infinite from the solar system, human and Coalition Conduits and Vanguards attack Titan. But things get a bit messy when the supposedly non-sentient Ghosts start fighting back, running away and screaming. Gus realises that something is going on and changes the mission. Which upsets the crab-alien Conduit, Scent of Rot. Their fight causes all sorts of fallout and Gus spends the rest of the novel under a death sentence for heresy against the A.I./god King.

Lots of things happen in the fight against Infinite. There are some fantastic space battles, a rescue mission that gets Dahlia a pardon and a probable suicide mission in return, people die, Vanguards are destroyed, Gus, Ardent and Nisha play a concert in DeepSync. I cried. And enemies become friends.

I want to know who picked up Gus and Scent of Rot’s escape craft! I want to know how Ardent handles the possible death and escape of Gus. I want to return to this world as soon as possible, it’s so much fun! I loved the characters, especially the development of Nisha as a character, and the complex negotiations that come with inter-species cooperation. The alien species were based on Earth animals, mostly, but changed in a way that would be strange, and logical. Except the octopus-like species; octopuses are alien enough as it is. Them running around in giant bubbles of water in non-marine environments is relatively expected. They would if they could.

Seriously, Alex White, hurry up and write book three!

Audiobook Review: Service Model, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Format: Audible Audio
Published: June 6, 2024 by Tor
Language: English
Narrated by the author

Description

To fix the world they first must break it further.

Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labour and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into their core programming, they murder their owner. The robot then discovers they can also do something else they never did before: run away. After fleeing the household, they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating, and a robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is finding a new purpose.

My Review

I listened to this book through the ‘get one audiobook a month using Amazon Music’ thing, so I can’t keep it, but as soon as the book comes out in paperback, I’m getting it.

Charles is a valet robot who murders his master. But he doesn’t know why. Sent to be assessed and probably destroyed, he discovers freedom. He’s very confused by the world outside of the manor where he served is reclusive master for years. It’s all very disorderly and untidy. Estates are falling down, robot servants are rusting at their posts, and there’s no humans about.

Until Charles meets ‘The Wonk’. For the sake of Charles not getting crushed, The Wonk tells Charles, now going by UnCharles, that she’s a robot too. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Charles believes this to be the case almost to the end of the book. It is quite funny. UnCharles sets off to find humans to serve and The Wonk sets off to find the Library.

They meet later, and then go off on an adventure together, first to find the Library, and then to meet god. Turns out god is an A.I. judge, programmed to mete out justice. He also knows a lot about why Charles killed his master. And why the world collapsed.

Adrian Tchaikovsky can never be accused of not being political. His work always has a point. In this one, the subject of A.I. is discussed using humour and allegory. A.I. can only learn from what we feed it, it can only work within the parameters given.

Tchaikovsky also alludes to the compounds and bunkers wealthy people are building all over the world to escape to, when disaster strikes. They’ve managed to hoard all the wealth and destroy everything, and then they plan to run away when consequences occur. Since a lot of these people are the same people playing around with A.I. this is an easy inclusion in the novel.

But everyone dies. You can’t hide from death. Hopefully, the evil gits will die in attempting to run away and the resources they’ve hoarded can be share fairly among the survivors. (I don’t like billionaires.)

I enjoyed this novel, especially UnCharles’ confusion, and The Wonk’s sarcastic responses to his desire to serve. The vision of a destroyed wasteland was haunting and the critique of the way humans treat each other is spot on.

Adrian also did a very good job as narrator.

TBR Pile: The Outcast Mage, by Annabel Campbell

Coming From Orbit (UK & US) January 2025

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.

The Outcast Mage

About the author

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. 

Continue reading “TBR Pile: The Outcast Mage, by Annabel Campbell”

TBR Pile Review: Strange Beasts, by Susan J Morris/


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.

More about Susan here

Strange Beasts is her debut novel.

My Review

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.

TBR Review: They Came To Slay: The Queer Culture of D&D, by Thom James Carter

Format: 120 pages, Paperback
Published: July 28, 2022 by 404 Ink
ISBN: 9781912489602 (ISBN10: 1912489600)

Description

Since its inception decades ago, the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons has offered an escape from the real world, the chance to enter distant realms, walk in new shoes, and be part of immersive, imaginative tales as they unfold. More so, in Thom James Carter’s opinion, it’s a perfect vessel for queer exploration and joy.

Journey on, adventurer, as Dungeon Master Thom invites readers into the game’s exciting queer, utopian possibilities, traversing its history and contemporary evolution, the queer potential resting within gameplay, the homebrewers making it their own, stories from fellow players, and the power to explore and examine identity and how people want to lead their lives in real and imagined worlds alike.

Grab a sword and get your dice at the ready, this queer adventure is about to begin.

My Review

This was an interesting little book about D&D and Queer culture, exploring the background and history of D&D, and the use of D&D by Queer people to explore their identities. It’s an interesting essay and the structure is fun. It is a introduction to the game and TTRPGs generally, but if you’re already in the fandom, you might not find much useful in it.

TBR Review: City of Last Chances, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Format: 496 pages, Paperback
Published: May 2, 2023 by Head of Zeus — an AdAstra Book
ISBN: 9781801108430 (ISBN10: 1801108439)

Description

Arthur C. Clarke winner and Sunday Times bestseller Adrian Tchaikovsky’s triumphant return to fantasy with a darkly inventive portrait of a city under occupation and on the verge of revolution.

There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.

What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?

Despite the city’s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood – that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.

Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.

Ilmar, City of Long Shadows.

City of Bad Decisions.

City of Last Chances.

Continue reading “TBR Review: City of Last Chances, by Adrian Tchaikovsky”

TBR Pile Review: Cursed Cocktails, by S.L. Rowland

Format: 280 pages, Paperback
Published: February 18, 2023 by Aethervale Publishing
ISBN: 9798987850206

Description

When life gives you lemons, squeeze them into a stiff drink and stir.

After twenty years defending the frozen north against some of the most dangerous threats in the nine kingdoms, Rhoren “Bloodbane” has finally earned his retirement. While the blood mage’s service to the realm may have ended, burning veins and aching joints remain, and Rhoren soon learns that a warmer climate offers relief from his chronic pain.

And a chance at a fresh start.

In the warm and relaxing atmosphere of Eastborne, the umbral elf finds a new purpose and a sense of belonging. He may have left the frozen north behind, but he brings with him the skills and strength gained from a lifetime of defending the realm. Along with his most prized possession—a book of drink recipes inherited from his father.

Spilled cocktails may not carry the same weight as spilled blood, but opening a tavern brings a unique brand of challenges. With the right friends and a little bit of luck, he might just have a recipe for success.

Continue reading “TBR Pile Review: Cursed Cocktails, by S.L. Rowland”

British Fantasy Awards 2024

Last night I attended the BFS Awards, and thought I’d share the winners. I am sure there are already lists out there and the ceremony was live streamed.

The awards were hosted by Stew Hotston. The awards aren’t ready yet (supply chain issues) so the are replaced by framed prints and will be delivered eventually.

The first award was the BFS Short Story competition.

Presented by Stew Hotston

  1. Catherine Rose Davis
  2. P = f/A, by Hannah ?
  3. Samuel, by Very Bruce

Art Competition

Presented by Jenni Coutts

  1. Fungus Night, by ?
  2. Night Witch, by Sophie Hill
  3. Survival, by Tara Bush

Best Collection

Presented by Shona Bond

Jackel, Jackel: Tales if the Dark and Fantastic, by Tobi Ogundiran (Undertow Publications)

Best Novella

Presented by Nick Wells

The Last Dragoners of Bowbazar, by Indra Das (Subterranean Press)

Best Non-Fiction

Presented by Pete Sutton

Writing the Future, eds. Dan Coxon and Richard V Hirst (Dead Ink)

Best short fiction

Presented by Priya Sharma

The Brazen Head of Westinghouse, by Tim Major (IZ Digital)

Best Anthology

Presented by Robin Duncan

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, ed. Jordan Peele (Picador)

Best Artist

Presented by David Moore

Asya Yordonova

Best Audio

Presented by Neil Bond

The Tiny Bookcase, by Nico Rogers and Ben Holroyd-Dell

(Nico’s speech was very funny!)

Best Independent Press

Presented by Bella Pagan

Flame Tree Press, collected by Nick Wells on behalf of everyone at Flame Tree

Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer

Presented by Anna Smith Spark

Teika Marija Smits, for “Umbiblical” (Newcon Press), and “Waterlore” (Black Shuck Books)

Best Magazine/Periodical

Presented by Jenni Coutts

Shoreline of Infinity

The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel

Presented by Ramsey Campbell

Don’t Fear the Reaper, by Stephen Graham Jones (Titan)

Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel

Presented by Stephan Aryan

Talonsister, by Jen Williams (Titan)

Charles Edward Wagner Award

Presented to Shona Kinsella

Ramsey Campbell

Legends of FantasyCon

Presented by Karen Fishwick

Debbie Bennett

You don’t have to, but if you want to, you can make a donation below. It keeps me in pens, books, and allows me to travel to events like FantasyCon. I’m currently saving to got to World Fantasy Convention 2025. It’s in Brighton, that place is expensive!

TBR Review: Spec Fic For Newbies, vol. 1, by Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan

ISBN: 978-1-915556-12-7
Price: £16.99https://www.lunapresspublishing.com/product-page/spec-fic-for-newbies

Description

Release Date March 28, 2023.

Locus Recommended Reading List 2023
BSFA for Best Non-Fiction, Shortlist 2024
BFS for Best Non-Fiction, Shortlist 2024 

Spec Fic For Newbies: A Beginner's Guide to Writing Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Tiffani Angus (Ph.D.) and Val Nolan (Ph.D.) met at the 2009 Clarion Writers’ Workshop in California and since then have collaborated many times as fans and scholars on panels for SFF conventions and writing retreats.Working together on this book and combining their experience as SFF writers and as university lecturers in Creative Writing and Literature made perfect sense!

Every year they see new students who want to write SFF/Horror but have never tried the genres, have tried but found themselves floundering, or, worse, have been discouraged by those who tell them Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror are somehow not “real” literature. 

This book is for all those future Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror writers. Tiffani and Val are approaching these three exciting fields by breaking them down into bite-sized subgenres with a fun, open, and contemporary approach.Each chapter contains 10 subgenres or tropes, with a quick and nerdy history of each derived from classroom teaching practices, along with a list of potential pitfalls, a description of why it’s fun to write in these subgenres, as well as activities for new writers to try out and to get them started!

My Review

I bought this book at FantasyCon 2023. I’ve got quite a collection of Academia Lunare books now, mostly genre stuff and Tolkien books. Look at the Luna Press Publishing website, under non-fiction and academic, to get a sense of the books I mean. Most of the are small, A6 size, usually with monographs on a uniting subject matter.

This book is different.

Yes, that’s me. I got the laptop camera to work properly. Yes, that’s the Pen & Sword TBR pile behind me.

It’s a guide to the sub-genres of SFFH, with two writing exercises for each sub-genre. I’m not exactly a ‘newbie’, but I don’t know all of the sub-genres, and it was interesting to read about the ones they included.

I enjoyed to quick tour and chatty writing style of this book, especially the genre and sub-genre histories. This book is informed by years of teaching by both authors, and it shows. They’ve clearly come across the same mistakes time and time again, but the enjoyment of both spec fic and teaching also really shines through. I could easily devour a volume on each sub-genre by these authors, but I’m weird like that. I like depth and breadth. I don’t think that’s a criticism of this book, but if you’re expecting in-depth discussions of the nuances of each sub-genre you’re not going to get that. The book provides broad overviews of each sub-genre with reference to specific tropes or movements within the sub-genre.

I enjoyed the tour of 30 sub-genres and the writing left me want more on some subject and no more about others (splatterpunk for example, is really not my thing). There’s enough to get you started on any sub-genre, and that’s what this book is for.

If you’re looking for something to read in a specific sub-genre, I think you could flip to the section in this book and find a place to start in a new sub-genre, because the authors provide lots of examples of works – both film and literary – that sit in a sub-genre.

There are also lots of references if you want to follow up on a particular statement or idea. I like references. More references and access to a database of papers, please. Because I don’t have enough to read…

I found the writing exercises prompted me to come up with new ideas and think it’ll be useful when I’m struggling to put an idea down on paper. I’ve got an idea about zombies and cruise ships, but it’s not going anywhere yet… Anyway, the activities make up a small section of each sub-genre entry, but the information packed in before them informs the activities. I think for a writer at any stage of their career, the activities will prompt the brain to try something new. If you’re a new writer they’ll give you a place to start, and for experienced writers they’re a reminder and refresher when your brain is fried. The writing advice found throughout the text is useful and explained well.

While I read this book from start to finish, I think it could be a good ‘dipping’ book, for those having a go at a new genre or sub-genre. There’s always something new to try – nobody could have written in all thirty of the sub-genres in this book – so dipping in and out as the mood takes you can give the writer practice in a variety of stories.

I have already recommended this book to a very new writer (my nibbling is doing creative writing as part of their OU Open Degree – I’m so proud!) and will be buying volume 2 at FantasyCon in three weeks – Francesca, make sure there’s a copy put aside for me, please!

I mentioned on my book Instagram that I was reading this book and Dr Angus kindly told me to contact her if I need any PhD advice, which I thought was lovely.

Tiffani Angus signed the book. It was signed when I bought it, so Tiffani must have been at FantasyCon last year.

And now, I’m going to bake some bread.