Welcome to The Quill To Live, your guide to every world but this one. We’re your one-stop destination for sci-fi and fantasy book reviews, thoughts, and lists. 

We love to read, and we love to write about what we read. It’s that simple. You can come to The Quill To Live (QTL)  for new reviews and discussions every week. 

Meet The Team

Andrew 

Andrew was obsessed with recommending books to his friends years before he started QTL. With a background in creative writing and having strong opinions, he loves to spend most of his time finding unknown gems in the back of bookstores. His passionate fever in forcing his friends to read books he knew (correctly) they would like earned him the nickname “the book tyrant” for his well-intentioned micromanagement of others’ reading schedules. Now he channels that passion into reviews for the readers of the QTL, as well as providing direction to the herd of cats that are his co-reviewers and friends. 

Favorites: The Divine Cities, Malazan, Culture, Greatcoats, The Stormlight Archive, The First Law

Alex 

Alex has been an ongoing experiment in Andrew’s book recommendation scheme since 2011, though he’s been reading since middle school. While he did not begin writing for QTL until 2017, he’s been on the receiving end of the Tyrant’s encroachments and opinion salvos for years. However, Alex knows how to fire back and has a well-established trench line to counter Andrew, while making advancements of his own into science fiction and occasionally fantasy. Known internally as “the tsundere reviewer,” he delights in over-analyzing themes and prefers to engage works from a systemic perspective, often bypassing their entertainment value to his own detriment. All he really wants is to read science fiction and laugh at “bad” politics, but he is starting to find more joy in highlighting new emerging voices within the genre.

Favorites: Children of Time, The Culture, A Memory Called Empire, Malazan, The First Law

Cole 

Cole joined The Quill To Live in 2018 with various YA books under his belt and a whole world of adult fantasy ahead of him, earning him the “Book Rookie” moniker. He grew up traversing the vast ocean of young adult fantasy, only discovering the wider SFF pantheon once Andrew yelled at him until he read The Divine Cities. Now, Cole can be found chasing his own tail as he tries to catch up on the genre’s crowning stories while clawing his way up an ever-growing TBR of new releases. His quest? Bring a fresh perspective to the site’s most beloved stories and become a full-fledged SFF expert. 

Favorites: The Divine Cities, The House In The Cerulean Sea, 2001: A Space Odyssey

Brandee

Brandee is the newest member of The Quill To Live. With a varied reading history, her fantasy obsession truly began in college after she picked up A Song Of Ice And Fire. She spent the next several years catching up on young adult fantasy that had passed her by. Bearing a striking resemblance to Gollum, Brandee was clutching YA and crying out “My precious!” when the QTL crew came along. Since then, she has expanded her TBR to encompass SFF’s established greats while seeking out the genre’s new, diverse voices.

Favorites: A Song Of Ice And Fire, The Queen’s Thief, Howl’s Moving Castle

Julia

Julia has been with QTL since its inception as its PR and publicity guru. She fell into this position easily as she works in the marketing world and is married to QTL’s founder, the book tyrant himself, Andrew. She also is an avid reader in her own right, but of many genres including fantasy, historical fiction, classics, and mystery/thriller. However, despite initial misgivings, she generally ends up reading and enjoying whatever Andrew recommends. When she is not tweeting our latest reviews (follow us at @QuillToLive), she enjoys reading, baking, and chasing her two kittens around the house. 

Favorites: The Eyre Affair, Lord of the Silverbow, Shorefall, Three Parts Dead