Sailing on a ship sounds awesome until I think about being in the middle of the ocean when a storm hits. It’s fun until it isn’t, and that’s exactly how I would describe my time aboard The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman. With a final sacrifice, the goddess Barrica ends the war by…
Continue reading ➞ The Isles Of The Gods – Charted Trope Territory
Just as I was getting tired of magical school stories, I found myself presented with possibly the best one yet. Some years it is difficult to know which books will be in your top picks and other years you get standout paragons of excellence, like James Islington’s The Will of the Many. Islington already rates…
Continue reading ➞ The Will Of The Many – The Strength Of The Few
Science Fiction can be as expansive as our galaxy and only aims to grow larger and more diverse as time marches inexorably forward. If you’re new to the genre, or even a veteran looking to expand your horizons, it can feel overwhelming to find the right break-in points. Do you think aliens are cool? Or…
Continue reading ➞ Your Star Chart to Science Fiction, No Not That Kind of Star Chart
April rolls along, and it brings with it nice weather for this winter-addled Chicagoan. And lo, an added bonus! Brandon Sanderson’s second Kickstarter book—The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook For Surviving Medieval England—dropped on April 1. It’s the only non-Cosmere book of the bunch, fitting in well with his other projects like Skyward. Mild setup spoilers follow. …
Continue reading ➞ The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook For Surviving Medieval England – Not Quite
After reading the back cover of To Poison a King, I thought I had a good idea of where this story would go. I had the formula mapped out in my head and was convinced I knew how everything would play out. But S.G. Prince said, “To hell with your preconceived notions!” and decided to…
For the last few years, I have spent a significant amount of my free time playing Dungeons and Dragons as a game master. As it eats into my writing and reading time significantly (though I still highly recommend it) I was searching for a way to turn my D&D experiences into content. Thus the idea…
There is not a whole lot of climate fiction out there yet, even though the niche seems to be growing more and more each year. But there has always been one author who has pervaded this small genre whenever people mentioned it: Paolo Bacigalupi. I had read one of his short stories a long while…
This post was originally published on Tor.com. Two questions for you today, lovely readers of Tor.com: How fast do you read? Why? I have a lot of friends who read. In some circles, I am the slowest reader, slotting 50-55 books per year while my comrades knock out 75-100. Insane! In other circles, I’m the…
Continue reading ➞ Nothing Makes Me Read Faster Than an Underwhelming Book
It’s books like Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto that rekindle my love for YA. Over the years I have been worn down after reading many lackluster books in the category, but this one is a bright spark that deserves attention. It’s a unique story that is well-written, has a fully developed world that…
Today I am diving into the increasingly popular The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M.L. Wang. This self-published, Japanese culture-inspired novel has been making larger and larger waves in the fantasy genre over the past few years and is held in quite high regard. I finally managed to find a moment to…
