Despite a rough experience with the Night’s Dawn trilogy, I once again find myself enjoying Peter F. Hamilton’s ability to create worlds. I found myself lured by two of Light Chaser’s promises. One, Light Chaser is a novella instead of a 2000 page epic; and two, he has a co-author, Gareth Powell. I figured why…
Looking back on my childhood summers feels like gazing through a thin, glistening veil. The sheen washes away the less desirable moments--scrapes, tears, time-outs--and shows me an idyllic scene that, in retrospect, probably contains a portion of truth and a smidgen of selective memory. Step through the veil, and some of the negatives cascade into…
In The Watchful City, by S. Qiouyi Lu, calls itself a ‘mosaic novella,’ which is a fitting description. The book is organized into two parts. One follows Anima, an augmented human - one of several who oversees the city of Ora. She acts like a foundation for the second part of the story; a series…
Continue reading ➞ In The Watchful City – Seeing Is Believing
Earlier this year, my sister and I started a joint TikTok account: BookRush. Mostly, it features the Rush siblings ribbing each other for their poor taste in books and sharing new reads with the larger “BookTok” community. Occasionally, we’ll put out a poll asking BookTok folks to chime in on big bookish debates. To date,…
With The Expanse sadly ending this year, I have been on the lookout for new space operas to fill the void, and I have found a new contender. Site favorite Adrian Tchaikovsky has put out the first novel in a sweeping science-fiction epic titled Shards of Earth, and it is a wild ride. Tchaikovsky has…
Guess what? I finally won a Goodreads giveaway! That’s how I ended up with The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid. It took about six weeks to arrive, but when it did, I paused my Guy Gavriel Kay marathon and quickly switched gears to see what this debut had in store. In the village…
Continue reading ➞ The Wolf And The Woodsman – All Bark, No Bite
The best part about being a book reviewer is when you find an underappreciated gem that you get to psychotically rant about to all your friends, family, and readers. I have now purchased 4 copies of Blood of an Exile for friends because I think The Dragons of Terra series by Brian Naslund is one…
Continue reading ➞ Fury Of A Demon – Angry That You Haven’t Read It
Many years ago, before I joined the site, Andrew reviewed a little book called The Last Wish. After watching the Netflix adaptation last year, pressure from a couple of friends, and a series of YouTube videos (by the wonderful Eric Sophia at their channel Curio) about the franchise, I decided to dive headlong into the…
TJ Klune, you’ve done it again. Last year’s The House In The Cerulean Sea earned a perfect score for its unique blend of heart, charm, and signature Klune quirk. This year’s Under the Whispering Door tells me, simply, that Klune is a master of his craft, and that he should skyrocket straight to the top…
Continue reading ➞ Under The Whispering Door – Drop Dead Gorgeous
The Summer Tree was my first foray into Guy Gavriel Kay’s pantheon and let me tell you, I’m officially a fan. Based on Kay’s presence on The Quill To Live’s Recommendations page, I knew enough to expect something special. I was not prepared for the assault on my heartstrings or the pure fantastical wonder that…
