Synopsis:

Druss, Captain of the Ax, is the stuff of legends. Tales of his battles are told throughout the land, and the stories expand with each telling. But Druss himself grows older, until finally, the warrior turns his back on glory and retreats to his mountain lair. There he awaits his old enemy: death. 

But far below, the barbarian Nadir hordes are on the march. All that stands between them and the Drenai people is a mighty six-walled fortress, Dros Delnoch—a great citadel that seems destined to fall. If it does, the Nadir will sweep inexorably across the land, killing all who oppose them.

Reluctantly Druss agrees to come down from his mountaintop to lead this last, hopeless fight. Lost causes mean nothing to him—he has fought in such battles a thousand times in a thousand lands. And he is a hero to inspire a new generation of warriors. He is Druss the Legend.

Thus begins David Gemmell’s most celebrated novel—an unrivaled classic of mythic heroism and magnificent adventure. . . .

Review:

I’ve officially had people telling me to read David Gemmell for years now. He’s a writing legend best known for his Heroic Fantasy tales. Legend is his first novel and probably one of his best-known works, and often recommended for newcomers to Gemmell’s work. I chose it mostly on a whim, but I’m glad that I did.

Of the plot summary, there is little to say. The story focuses almost exclusively on the siege of the walled city of Dros Delnoch by the Nadir invaders. An aging legend named Druss, Captain of the Ax, is convinced to fight one last time against truly hopeless odds. What follows is very much a classic siege story, filled with action, betrayal, page-turning tension, and magic.

It wasn’t the plot, though, that seized my attention. It was the characters and the heart with which they’re written. These are hard men and women, shaped by hard times and constant strife. They’re not as complex as what we’ve come to expect in more modern fantasy, but they’re compelling all the same.

The Siege of Dros Delnoch is a tale of bravery, courage, and honor, and I’ll confess, is exactly the sort of story I’m a sucker for. Gemmel is rightfully considered one of the foundational voices in Heroic Fantasy, and after reading Legend I better understand why.

Legend was published in 1984, and while it still largely holds up, there are some signs of its age. The very ending of the story, in particular, incorporates a fair amount of deus ex machina that probably wouldn’t survive a developmental editor these days. That being said, I was enjoying the characters enough that I was in a pretty forgiving mood.

If you’re looking for a tale of honor in warfare, loads of action, and compelling characters, Legend is a great book to crack open.

TL;DR Review: Razor-sharp dialogue, a wildly imaginative alt-history fantasy world, and wonderfully extravagant characters result in what may be Joe Abercrombie’s best work to date.

Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds.

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.

Full Review:

A hapless priest and a colorful gang of monsters and mischief-makers are tasked by the Holy Pope (who happens to be an adorable 10-year old child) to travel across Europe to set up a street thief as the Empress of one of the most powerful nations in the world. Sounds like the setup for either a really bizarre joke or a truly spectacular fantasy novel.

The Devils follows along with this nameless crew of misfits and malefactors—which includes a deathless knight, a foppish vampire, the third best necromancer in all of Europe (who will make sure you know it!), a jack-of-all-trades, an amnesiac werewolf, an invisible elf (the pointy-eared kind), and a bureaucratic monk who has no business being out of his rectory—on their journey across war-torn, magic-scarred, and immensely fascinating lands on this holy mission. But a more unholy company has never existed, and the story is all the more fun for it.

As ever, Abercrombie’s characters are truly colorful and extravagant to an extreme. Brother Diaz starts off as precisely the milksop you’d expect, but keep reading and watch him grow a spine in the most intriguing of ways. Balthazar (with too many names to list here) is a bloviating, self-aggrandizing arse who…well, he pretty much stays the same, but finds some humanity along the way. Alex the street thief is on her way to become Empress Alexia (with too many names and titles to list here), and in so doing, discovers the truth of what it truly means to be a leader and ruler. Vigga the werewolf has spent her whole life forgetting her grim past and every bad thing, and is the happiest, friendliest, horniest murderous force of nature you could hope to meet.

Go into this book expecting nothing and prepared for anything. The most unexpected twists and turns, the most shocking surprises and revelations, and you’ll still be blown away.

The balance between grimdarkness and those ever-so-precious-and-rare moments of happiness is spectacular. The characters grow by inches rather than miles, but their evolutions are such a delight to discover as you go along for this wild ride.

In addition to the amazing characters and pacing, the world is just an absolute treat. Imagine a Europe (and the rest of the world) where Carthage conquered the Roman Empire then s*** the bed and destroyed themselves in a magical cataclysm. The subtle (and not-so-subtle) alterations to history lead us to a Europe with two Popes/Patriarchs, two feuding churches, a Holy Land infested with bloodthirsty elves, and so much more. It’s a delight to marinade in this world and discover just how insane it can become when magic and monsters and mythologies are all real.

And, of course, the dialogue and narration are razor-sharp as ever. Every time you switch POVs, the voice shifts and becomes immediately identifiable as belonging to that character, vastly different from the other. You’re treated to a deep dive into each character’s heads, their struggles, hopes, fears, dreams, and particular appetites for blood or necromancy or theft.

The banter is spectacular, the repartees beyond witty, and the brief moments of introspection and growth a marvel to behold.

Abercrombie is at his absolute sharpest in this brilliant, bloody, and batshit alt-history fantasy adventure! It’s an adventure that keeps getting wilder in every possible way and I adored every minute I spent in it.

Synopsis:

No less blood is shed when bonds become broken.

Threats come from all sides as Ladrican ships wait off the coast and a mysterious untethered threat becomes impossible to ignore.

Lin is pushed to breaking as he struggles to stall Ladrica’s assault. War is upon Danica, but like an infection allowed to fester, the threat of the untethered can no longer be ignored.

Soldier. Hero. Monster.

Review:

There’s always something special when a series you fell in love with ends. Not to mention all sorts of emotions. The Binding Tenets trilogy is one of those stories for me. It started with Bloodwoven (which was released one year to the day ago), grew with Bloodbound, and finally crescendos with Bloodless. The feels were there when I read Bloodless, and it’s very safe to say that Terral stuck the landing!

Bloodless picks up right where Bloodbound ends, so some light spoilers ahead. Lin’s surrogate daughter is once again the center of the plot and it is up to our no-longer-questioning hero to save her, and maybe save all of Danica with her. With war closing in on Danica, a new threat, a true threat, rises. The untethered are no longer empty vessels attacking at random, no, a leader has bound (yeah, that’s a lore pun right there) them.

As with Bloodwoven and Bloodbound, this story is told exclusively via Lin’s POV. We’ve seen this man go from true believer in the world he lives in to a man who no longer is bound by those same rules. He’s come to terms with his condition, and his growth over this series has been nothing short of exceptional. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are some excellent twists on Lin’s journey and as a reader, you cannot help but root for the man, to cry alongside him, to yearn to just for him to be free. There is a very compelling ending to Lin’s journey and it was extremely satisfying to see where Lin ends up.

The surrounding cast is still great. Denny is still the beating heart of this series and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. She’s just amazing and I loved spending all the time with her. If Terral ever wants to write a prequel novella, Denny should be the main character! Since Bloodbound went in a different direction with Lin and Danica at large, we finally get to see some characters from Bloodwoven return, especially Tylle (Lin’s unrequited love interest). Tylle is as mysterious as ever, and it was great to see how the new version of Lin interacted with her. But it is the Horned King who steals the show here. He is the one who has created an army with the untethered. Again, no spoilers, but he was pretty damn frightening and was a worthy adversary for this final book of the trilogy.

One thing is absolutely certain, this story had a very satisfying ending for all characters. It was completely logical based on the world and arc Terral crafted. I was completely here for the ending.

With each book in the series, Terral has grown as a writer. The prose, while always strong, remains excellent. But you can really tell he’s leveled up as the scenes felt more alive, more visceral as the series has progressed. The pace of Bloodless is relentless as the end nears. And again, I think Terral seriously stuck the landing.

It has to be said, the magic of this series was always fun, but we only got snippets of battles throughout the first two books. Yeah they were action packed to the brim, but this final book took it to 11. Wefts were thrown left and right, people were hewn by the score. It was a bloody good time.

Honestly, The Binding Tenets trilogy is vastly underrated and more people really need check it out. Bloodless is just the perfect ending to a well-written journey of a man shattering the pillars of his beliefs against the true reality of his world. Seriously, go read this trilogy, you won’t be upset. Proud of you, Greg, this trilogy rocks!

Synopsis:

Cross the wrong men and meet their blades!

In a rugged frontier town, two broken men wander aimlessly–Grimlock, a tormented soul despised by the townspeople he protects, searches for a brother he may never find, while Vigilanton, a disgraced knight bound by shame, serves a vicious crime lord.

The Vragoths’ arrival–brutal conquerors seeking an ancient scepter to shift the balance of power–thrusts these disillusioned men into a deadly game they never asked to play. Redemption is the prize, but only if they can overcome spilled blood, betrayal, and their own inner demons.

Neither sought to be allies, let alone heroes, but vengeance forces them into a fate they cannot escape. Old grudges and past failures threaten to tear their fragile alliance apart. In this battle, there are no second chances. Victory means survival. Defeat means death. And time is running out.


Relentless Blades is a fast-paced epic fantasy that hits hard! If you love heroic battles, deep character struggles, and edge-of-your-seat adventure, this one’s for you! The fight for Zarune begins-are you ready?

Review:

Relentless Blades. It says it in the title. This is not a book trying to shout any views from the top of the tallest tower or the deepest dragon’s lair. This book wants to entertain, and that it does in spades.

You’ll take from other reviews that immersing yourself in the world Carroll has built can be take a few chapters. First off, stick with it. Secondly, once Caroll enters the first fight, you can almost hear the page sigh in response. The writing relaxes, the author’s clear love for Dungeons & Dragons takes centre stage, and off we go on a rollicking, battle-ladened adventure that from that moment does not let up. Entertainment. See. That’s the point.

We have two main characters to focus on. Grimlock, a half-breed with all the baggage that goes along with it, and a sense of honour and duty that shines through. The other is Vig, a supposedly bad apple in his family and a disgraced knight, whose life is turned upside down by the early events in the book. These two POVs are well-written and give diverse and meaningful viewpoints as the story rumbles along at a fast pace.

There is a death-scene that will live with me. Not a common thing, but if you remember the death of Artax from NeverEnding Story, then you know why me and Caroll need to have words. Enough said.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this D&D homage, and recommend it wholeheartedly.

Summary:

A DESTINY SHE NEVER CHOSE. A FATE, SHE CAN’T ESCAPE.

Alira Verbrandt, the Princess of Namelle, savored the scholastic tranquility of her life until the Illyrian Empire descended from the north. On the eve of battle, Alira is drawn into the center of a war that has raged for a thousand years.

Unveiled as a Fate, the descendant of a legendary bloodline, destiny is thrust upon her. Alira must navigate her mortal obligation of defending her people from an empire who means to destroy them, while finding others like her to awaken a rebellious god that may be her last hope..

At the heart of her worry, an ancient record foretells the return of their creator. He who shall pass a final judgment over both humanity and the gods, one they may not survive.

Review:

Looking for some classic-style fantasy but with a modern slant? Then make sure to check out The Waking of Storm and Flame, as it has all the trappings of classic fantasy: chosen ones (The Fates of Aten), meddling gods (who actually walk amongst mortals), magical implements (a nice ring), and heroes getting betrayed. So yeah, perfectly classic fantasy!

When a neighboring land invades, royal Steward of Gondor, I mean Duke Cael Verbrandt raises his army under the leadership of his adoptive sister, Commander Zahra Ke’elle, as well as his younger sister, Alira, and marches to the dwarven lines in hopes of stopping the invasion. Cael is declared King, they’re attacked and overwhelmed. Some things happen, and voila, the siblings are separated and we spend the rest of the novel trying to get back together and save their homeland.

The characters are really what drives this novel, specifically Alira and Zahra, who you could argue are the two main characters. Both are as different as can be. Alira is a bookish young woman who has never been outside their city, has never witnessed battle, nor has she really seen anything outside of her imagination and history books. While Zahra, on the other hand, was trained by their country’s famous general, has become a warrior of renown (she’s one of the few people to kill a very gnarly beastie type guided by the aforementioned meddling gods), and has a mysterious past. Both women are fantastic and trope-filled. Their arcs follow a similar trajectory toward self-discovery and I enjoyed them both equally, although Alira did at times grate on me like a younger sibling should. Cael is your standard fare royal warrior with some baggage, aka feelings of inadequacy. The general and the other side characters have some nice bits to them, but many just move the plot along when needed.

I will say my favorite aspect of TWoSaF are the meddling gods and magic system. There are a few layers to them as there are gods, then there are the Fates of Aten (one of the gods). And on top of that, the gods are at war with each other over reasons. I don’t want to spoil anything there, but I really did enjoy how the gods manifested themselves on the characters via those magical implements. The main implement in this book is the Ring of Terra, and is an earth-based magic weapon of the goddess Drea. And when invoked, Drea actually takes over the user for a time, thus creating some great tension when said character wants to regain control. Another magical weapon (this time a sword the Verbrandts’ father carried into battle) is found, and based on where Alira’s arc ends, the rest of the series will be spent finding the rest of Aten’s Fates/weapons. Another really cool magical tidbit is the sheyde, a shadow being-esque thing that has afflicted Zahra after her battle with the beastie. It’s almost like a possession, and toward the end, it plays a role in Zahra’s arc. This was really neat.

This story is very battle heavy and military forward (based on Betts’ own military background). The entire first half of the book is essentially one big battle. Then when the siblings split up post battle, we have some scenes of politicking to muster more soldiers, then we climax with another huge battle. I will say the battles were great and I loved the accurate chain of command, but there were times I felt discombobulated and didn’t exactly know where I was settings-wise, as well as timeline-wise. Things did kinda blend together because a lot of what happens during the battles were told to the characters via messengers like how actual commanders would have. Until they take the field of battle, which Cael, Zahra, and Alira do often.

The prose teeters on the line of classic fantasy ala Tolkien and a tad modern. I’d say the pace of the story was up and down accordingly due to the battles mentioned above versus the more political side. As a personal taste, I do feel like the economy of setting was not as strong as I would like, meaning I didn’t feel very immersed in the scenes, especially the battles. However, I do feel as there were great emotional beats throughout the story, certain twists were clear as day but the consequences were nice and hit when needed. My biggest gripe, as with most classic SFF books, is the use of third person omniscient POV. I’m just not a fan of head hopping. There were a number of times where the POV wasn’t clear for paragraphs or a ‘she’ was used to describe the character in the scene and it wasn’t clear who ‘she’ was. Again, small things that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this story.

The Waking of Storm and Flame is definitely a love letter to the type of fantasy stories I grew up reading, and I can honestly say I had a fun time with this story. It doesn’t break a ton of new ground but it doesn’t need to. I was fully engaged with Betts’ story and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for these characters in his upcoming sequel, The Last Cry of Innocence, which comes out on May 14th!

Synopsis

This second novel from Nebula Award-winning John Wiswell brings a humanizing, redemptive touch to the Hercules story in this mythological fantasy for fans of Jennifer Saint and Elodie Harper

Heracles, hero of Greece, dedicates all his feats to Hera, goddess of family. Heracles’ mother raised him to revere Hera, as her attempt to avoid the goddess’ wrath. Unbeknownst to Heracles, he is yet another child Hera’s husband, Zeus, had out of wedlock.

Hera loathes every minute of Heracles’ devotion. She finally snaps and sends the Furies to make Heracles kill himself. But the moment Heracles goes mad, his children playfully ambush him, and he slays them instead. When the madness fades, Heracles’s wife, Megara, convinces him to seek revenge. Together they’ll hunt the Furies and learn which god did this.

Believing Hera is the only god he can still trust, Heracles prays to Hera, who is wracked with guilt over killing his children. To mislead Heracles, Hera sends him on monster-slaying quests, but he is too traumatized to enact more violence. Instead, Heracles cares for the Nemean lion, cures the illness of the Lernaean hydra, and bonds with Crete’s giant bull.

Hera struggles with her role in Heracles life as Heracles begins to heal psychologically by connecting with the monsters—while also amassing an army that could lay siege to Olympos.

Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings his signature humanizing touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth—and the goddess reluctantly bound to him.

Review

Recently I read John Wiswell’s debut novel Someone You Can Build A Nest In. I really liked the atypical romance story and found myself vibing a lot with Wiswell’s humor throughout the story. 

If I just “liked” his first novel, I was enraptured by his new book, Wearing the Lion, an inspired take on the ancient Greek tale of Heracles and his Twelve Labors. I was captivated by the reimagining of the classic mythology, laughing throughout at Wiswell’s humor, while at the same time being reduced to tears by the tragedy (and ultimate character redemption) that unfolds with each page. 

Wearing the Lion doesn’t come out until June 17, but I just loved this book so much, I wanted to get the word out sooner than later.

So…strap in…in honor of Heracles’ 12 Labors and the 12 Olympian Gods of Greece, the rambling remainder of this review will be contained in 12 points (slight spoilers ahead for the retelling of a 2,500 year old story)….

1. OK…let’s talk Disney, or just American sensibilities. I teach history to junior high and high school students and have done more than my share of Ancient Greece and the Pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. One thing that absolutely drives me nuts (and I tell my students every year) is the American obsession with binary choices. Coke or Pepsi. Black or White. Republican or Democrat. Star Trek or Star Wars. Those binary choices have negatively impacted retellings of Greek mythology. Inevitably, we get movies like Disney’s Hercules (the Roman name of our hero, even though the story is almost completely Greek). In the Disney version, Zeus and Hera are happily married and Hercules is their son. The villain of the movie is Hades, all to set up the concept of Hercules = Good and Hades = Bad. In reality, the Greek Pantheon was a convoluted mess that isn’t easily defined by a binary protagonist/antagonist relationship. In Wiswell’s Wearing the Lion, the author really showcases the crazy dynamic of Mount Olympus, showing the machinations of more than just Zeus and Hades. In fact, Hades is barely even mentioned in the entire book. Instead we get a fantastic group of side characters…and I just fell in love with…

2. Boar. Well, I did at least. A Boar…man…or perhaps a man who believes himself to be a Boar. When we first meet Boar, his heartbreaking story and how he’s portrayed brought me to tears. His part of the story goes to show how Heracles thinks about the situations he’s put into and at times makes you wonder about…  

3. Heracles the Himbo? Disney’s version puts our hero on center-stage without a ton of book smarts. In the movie Meg pokes fun at it constantly, but the heroic qualities (and Herc’s looks) seem to offset his mental limitations. In Wiswell’s version, Heracles isn’t portrayed as a “hunk,” even pointing out that his god-given strength is so immense that he can’t work off his gut paunch. And while Wiswell doesn’t make Heracles a Rhodes scholar, he definitely uses inventiveness and wiles to complete his tasks. But throughout most of the novel, he does have a gigantic blindspot when it comes to…

4. Hera. When I read about the 12 Labors in school years ago, I always felt like Hera was somewhat justified. Not that it was Heracles’ fault that Zeus cheated on Hera, but it was more than that. This baby is born…this amazing baby fathered by Zeus. And then on top of it all, they name the freakin’ kid after the jilted mother of the gods. And, especially in Wiswell’s version, that name — HERA’S GLORY — leads Heracles to pray to her day after day after day. Was she right in her actions? No…but you can understand it. Which makes for an interesting…

5. Framing device. Wiswell alternates chapters between Hera and Heracles throughout. It creates an interesting look at the story through multiple perspectives, often from victim to perpetrator at the same time. It makes the book fly by quicker, but it feels almost required to slow down when tragedy strikes, but Wiswell wisely plays with the standard…

6. Narrative. In fact, the ancient Greek narrative isn’t a set canon. When you look back at stories like Heracles in Greece or Gilgamesh in Mesopotamia, there are so many possible plots. Many of these tales were oral in nature and just like any story, changes were made when it was told from one group to another. With variety in his back pocket, Wiswell takes a chisel to the typical plot, letting Hera still drive Heracles to the madness that kills his sons, but leaves his wife Megara alive, but altered — frightened — traumatized. Meg knows it had to be a Olympian, so she is the impetus that drives Heracles on the required…

7. Twelve Labors. In the original tradition of Heracles’ labors, it seems almost like a checklist — things that had to be done, regardless of difficulty for his crimes. But in this reimagining, Heracles works through them, not out of an obligation, but with a purpose…retribution. But in his quest for vengeance, he discovers his taste for violence is gone. It makes the Labors less of a chore and more of a quest from one Labor to the next to find answers.  Speaking of answers, I’ve just realized…

8. Twelve of anything is a lot. I didn’t really think this list through before I started. Wow. And neither did Hera. Her pain from… 

9. Zeus’ infidelity. His careless indifference to his own wife and family starts everything from the get-go. From there, he is a key to the story, but notably absent from most of the main storyline. In fact, Wiswell cleverly wove historical eras and the eventual displacement of Greece as the center of the modern world as the eventual explanation for Zeus’ disappearance. And it helped explain a huge plot hole in the Heracles original story – namely, why would Zeus even allow his wife to torment his favorite demigod son, not once, but on over a dozen separate occasions? Speaking again of those Labors, Heracles decision to avert violence leads to a wonderful… 

10. Found family. After killing his sons, Heracles is in a bad place and isn’t looking to replace them…just to avenge them. But in his quest for truth, the Twelve Labors don’t represent subtraction, but Heracles adding to his life by working through his grief. I mentioned Boar (a wonderful character), but he also adds the Nemean Lion (Wiswell may actually be insane for actually letting Heracles name him Purrseus), the Hydra, the Golden Hind, and the Cretan Bull to his crew. Each play a key role in getting him back to a place where he can face his demons and his tormentor. That tormentor again, we just keep coming back to…

11. Hera. Heracles is clearly the focus of this story, but there are two redemption arcs here and Hera goes on her own journey as well. In Wearing the Lion, Wiswell keeps the gods fairly consistent, which makes sense. Athena has her key attributes and keeps to those, same as Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo, etc. But that consistent characterization shows how much Hera actually change and evolves over the course of the book. A book which was…

12. Excellent. I said it at the beginning, but I can’t help saying it again. Wiswell wrote a divine book in Wearing the Lion, weaving modern sensibilities into an ancient tale in a Mediterranean setting. When Heracles returned home at the end of his journey, Megara’s embrace had me weeping and I don’t know that I’ll forget how I felt in that moment any time soon. If you enjoy retellings of Greek myths or just great books in general, I think you’ll enjoy Wearing the Lion.  

Thank you to DAW for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Wearing the Lion releases on June 17.

Synopsis:

The balance of power in Epheria is shifting.

Gods are waking.

The world is burning.

Ashes and dust are all that will remain.

Review:

Firstly, Hello. The below is entirely spoiler free.

This will be the first piece of writing that makes its way to a public space in roughly two years, so I am deeply apologetic for how poor this will be, but sometimes you read books so good that they deserve a review, consider this my Michael Jordan moment.

Secondly, Ryan Cahill is a butthead. I’ve said it on twitter, I will say it again in other public forums. The man is consistent in his attempts at causing me emotional damage, but If I stop him then I get no more books, a vicious cycle.

And finally, before we get to the semblance of a review that you find below, if you haven’t read my writing before, its rambly and nonsensical, but it’s like having a chat with a friend and that’s all I really care about. So, either leave now or forever hold your peace.

Actual Review:

I bought my copy of Of Blood and Fire from Cahill’s own personal website when he was still selling copies he signed at home and posted out himself. While this may not seem important and is somewhat just me bragging about having one of the first every signed copies, it does link somewhat to what was one of my first ever reviews when I began blogging, I called OBAF a nostalgia bomb, a grown up, better written version of Eragon, I loved it, but I didn’t think it was mind-blowingly unique. I rated it highly.

The more I read of Cahills work the more I think this sometimes was entirely on purpose, as an unknown Indie author, he took one of this generations favourite fantasy books, remade it in his own image, and then punched us in the throat with it, figuratively speaking. We were all hooked, and we all wanted more.

Next was Of Darkness and Light, it was a 9.5/10. It wasn’t the Eldest v2 that I somewhat expected, it was undeniably its own book, it wasn’t a punch to the throat, it was a chokehold, one we were never removing ourselves from. Of War and Ruin came next, it was a 10/10, but if my scoring is anything to go by should then it should be a 12/10, (my rating structure is clearly flawed) and as I’m clearly stuck in the analogy now, I guess it was a front suplex maybe? I never watched any wrestling, but it looks suitably painful.

I would call Of War and Ruin one of the best fantasy books ever written. Its certainly in my top 5.

Of Empires and Dust. There’s a lot of reasons to love this book and the Bound and the Broken in general. Dragons are the coolest, this is an immediate win. Cahill writes incredible action and as the stakes get higher and more pieces appear on the board these moments only get more intense and more exciting. His world building continues to floor me, every book has expanded so much that it’s hard to believe that this is that same Epheria we where first introduced to. The new plot lines in OEAD absolutely floored me, so many bloody twists, so much I didn’t see, so much I shall have to look out for in my next reread.

“Nothing is ever like the stories. If the stories told the truth, people would never pick up swords.”

But what really gets me about Cahill’s writing is that well he draws you in emotionally. The connection I have with these characters, how emotionally involved I am with these boys that don’t even exist, equals and sometimes transcends those I have for living, breathing humans. Maybe this is a weird thing to admit, but I know full well if you picked me up and plonked me in Epheria I would follow Calen, Dann and the gang till my dying days.

“The elf didn’t approach, for which Calen was thankful; he needed a moment. In truth he needed a lifetime, but he’d settle for a moment”

Every POV is gripping, every character introduced is a necessary piece of the story, every page demands I read every word, and every paragraph makes me so excited I want to skip to the end of the chapter. Ryan writes with a passion that viscerally pours from the pages in a way I only feel from those great authors like Robin Hobb, Fonda Lee and John Gwynne. Cahill takes OEAD and those pages hes poured his love into and uses them to cement himself at the pinnacle of the Fantasy genre as one of the greats, and anyone that disagrees can fight me.

This book for all its action, all its rage and war, all its ruin and death, is a story of family, of loyalty and brotherhood, of promises made and love untold. It’s a book about the bonds between people and their fight to build a better world for the people they love. Its perfection in fantasy, its literary perfection, and its bloody spectacular.

My rating for Of Empires and Dust is 100/10. Its 500 gold stars. It’s every participation trophy I can buy. Its every award I can find.

tl:dr Of Empires and Dust is real good and you should read it. It made me cry 3 times.

TL;DR Review: Fun, easy-reading adventure with an upbeat, humorous flavor. Enjoyable and suitable for all ages.

Sir Dashing Junior was only knighted because they couldn’t knight his father twice. Now he’s determined to prove he’s worthy of his new title.

With an aspiring ranger, an awkward friar, and a book-loving orc, DJ will venture across the territory of Uh to reach the Amulet of the Goddess, proving that he’s truly worthy of knighthood.

Along the way, he and his companions will encounter a cursed author, a violent noodle cult, democratic goblins, and a whole lot more.

It’s a journey fraught with danger and discovery, and the territory is rich with monsters and magic, so is DJ’s quest for respect really worth the cost?

Full Review:

The Legend of Uh was a lovely, simple, easy read.

The story follows Dashing Junior, or DJ, a young man who gets knighted because his city couldn’t knight his hero father twice. You can imagine what kind of standard DJ has to live up to, and the need to be a hero and undertake a quest worthy of a knight drives him to leave home and set off on an adventure to faraway lands.

At his side are his best friend (an aspiring ranger), a massive warrior/librarian orc, and a priest/cleric with the inability to speak at a normal volume. The four of them venture out into the wide D&D-flavored world to seek their adventure…and instantly get bogged down in side quests.

I thought it was a funny way to deviate from the epic feel of so many fantasy novels. The characters basically go from side quest to side quest, but that wandering is what leads to the true thrust of the story: what it really means to be a hero, and how to find purpose.

DJ is a terrible warrior and has no hope of living up to his father, but with every job and undertaking, he gets to see more of who he really wants to be and has the freedom to explore it. Ultimately, that leads to him becoming a greater hero than he could ever have imagined—only in the last way he could have pictured.

This book is excellent for young readers (10+), but even adults will find it entertaining and amusing. Though there was never any big-scale, epic adventures, I kept reading because I wanted to see what sidetrack or deviation would pull them away next.

The world was colorful, the characters a lot of fun, and even if it wasn’t the most profound book I’ve read all year, it still had a good message and felt emotionally satisfying by the end.

Synopsis

An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying.

Review

I tried to do this book about halfway through last year, but I got a little stuck in the second chapter of the audiobook. Something wasn’t working with me and I was struggling a bit. But I’ve seen SO many recommendations for The Lies of Locke Lamora, that I wanted to give it another shot. I powered through the second chapter and…boy was I glad I did. And let me just say after reading this powerhouse of a novel…

I’m sorry, Scott Lynch. I was unfamiliar with your game. 

This was a book that could have gone off in so many different directions and I would have understood. But even from the start, Lynch takes the reader on a rollercoaster, with ups, downs, loops and dark caves. Once I got a few hours into the book, I was good and truly hooked and couldn’t stop. 

Our protagonist – the titular Locke Lamora, is set up from the start as a genius thief, but also one that is so clever, it will get him into trouble with problems seen and unseen. And truly, that’s where the brilliance of this novel comes into play. With a lesser author, Locke would have cruised through the story as an untouchable superhero of sorts, and the audience would have had a rollicking good time. A lesser author wouldn’t have taken the risks that Lynch did. A lesser author couldn’t have written this book. 

Lynch is clearly not the lesser author. He takes his time and sets up our protagonist for heartbreak and life-altering chaos. There are sequels to this book, but it never feels like we are being set up for the next book or what comes later in the series. In fact, I bet there were probably about three or four times where I was convinced our hero wasn’t going to make it out of the book in one piece. 

The book is a fantasy novel, but the fantastical elements take a bit to show up. For a good quarter of the book, it reads in many ways like a medieval or Renaissance-era historical novel about young thieves in a vaguely European city. But the magical system Lynch brings in adds danger and unpredictability to the mix, upending Locke and his friends, right when they think they have the world by the tail. 

I really don’t want to even talk much about the book’s plot. The part that threw me off last year was a time jump that I didn’t see coming, but Lynch utilizes time in clever ways. The book moves seamlessly from one set piece to the next and Lynch plays with time and the reader’s expectation of time as well. In a way, Lynch is toying with us as readers in how he tells the story, and I love him for it.

The Lies of Locke Lamora isn’t a new book – published originally in 2006 – but I couldn’t resist writing up a review for a book that very well may make my Top Ten of the year. I thoroughly enjoyed it and now need to track down the next entries in the Gentlemen Bastard series to bring Locke and his crew back in my life. 

Synopsis

Combat Monsters brings together twenty award-winning and bestselling speculative fiction authors who each bring their own spin on an alternate history of World War II.

New research has uncovered deeply buried military secrets—both the Allied and Axis special operations during World War II included monsters. Did the Soviets use a dragon to win the Battle of Kursk? Did a vampire fight for the Canadians in Holland? Did the US drop the second atomic bomb on a kaiju?

This collection takes real events from World War II and injects them with fantastical creatures that mirror the “unreality” of war itself. Each story—and two poems—feature mythical, mystical, and otherwise unexplainable beings that change the course of history. Dragons rise and fall, witches cast deadly spells, mermaids reroute torpedoes, and all manner of “monsters” intervene for better or worse in the global turmoil of World War II.

Together, Combat Monsters challenge the very definition of monstrous, with the brutality of war as a sobering backdrop.

Review

I have a soft spot for short story anthologies. Don’t get me wrong — I love an epic fantasy or a sprawling sci-fi space opera as well — but there is something special about a book with a few handfuls of small little narratives. Each tale has its own writing style, its own perspective, its own flavor. And if you don’t like one of the stories — Good News! There’s plenty more to dive into. And these anthologies are easy to read in chunks…putting it down after a few stories without needing to worry about where you were in the book.

I was thrilled to get an early copy of Combat Monsters: Untold Tales of World War II in exchange for an honest review. I had a blast with the anthology and I know I’ll be thinking about some of the stories for a while to come. 

Combat Monsters takes a wide and ranging look at World War II from the early years to the final nail in the coffin with the bombing of Nagasaki. As a history teacher in my daytime job, I really connected with this book. There was so much to appreciate about this well-edited book. The stories were put in chronological order; the stories can just about exist on their own even without the monster and supernatural elements; there is a great variety with stories featured from each theater of the last great war. 

Whenever I review an anthology, I like to point out a few of my individual favorite stories, so here are the ones that really resonated with me: 

The Fourth Man by Jeff Edwards

For me, this was the best of the bunch. Wow. This is a story that really leaned into all the prompts. World War II – check. Supernatural beast – check. Something that shows that perhaps the horrors of war are not the only horrors in this life or beyond – check. I loved the framing device with the main character looking for absolution in the present day for the “sin” he committed during the war, crossing a line that helped the Allies win. There was a great combination of action, and ideas that are going to keep me thinking for quite some time, I think. 

Grigoriy’s Army by Catherine Stine

One of the fun things I like to teach about is Hannibal trying to invade Rome with war elephants. Catherine Stine takes the ideas of animals in war and takes it a step further. Through a tragic childhood that left Grigoriy abnormally bright but also stunted socially, he used his and his father’s research to genetically engineer an army of bears to defeat the Nazis. I would have loved for this story to keep going and to see what else poor Grigoriy has up his sleeve after the war ended.  

Bockscar by David Mack

The closing story in this collection is about the crew of the plane heading to Nagasaki and the ethical dilemma they find themselves in. I really don’t want to spoil this story, but there is a lot more to see in this story beyond the “should we?” or “shouldn’t we?” questions the crew asks in the moments before they reach Japan. Even without the twist in this story, I was enjoying this one for the simple ethical questions that we are still asking today, but the hidden reasons for the bombing make it all the more juicy. 

I would love to write something about each story — in fact if I wrote this review tomorrow, I’d probably pick two or three different stories to highlight. I found a few new authors to be aware of in the future and enjoyed new works by some writers I already loved. I really did have a great time with this book and will definitely be checking out other works edited by Henry Herz in the future.