This article was originally published at Reactor. We open on an undulating meadow: The reeds sway in the wind, dancing to a tune lost on human (or elven) ears. A creek bisects the plain, its ripples and gurgles in harmony with the chirps and squeaks of nearby wildlife. In the distance, two figures mosey down…
Continue reading ➞ What Are The Best Bard/Barbarian Pairings In Fantasy?
If you, dear reader, are looking for a hidden gem, I have some secret sauce for you. Late last year I snuck in a review for Lord of a Shattered Land, the first book in The Chronicles of Hanuvar. The book, by Howard Andrew Jones, made our Best of 2023 list and was easily one…
Continue reading ➞ Shadow Of The Smoking Mountain – Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire
I managed to squeak in a lot of really good books in November as I tried to catch up on everything before our end-of-year list. Turns out having a child doesn’t do great things for your free time—who knew? Though I managed to read everything I wanted, I still have a large backlog of books…
Continue reading ➞ Lord Of A Shattered Land – Better Together
In a few weeks, we’ll release our top books of 2019 list! This has been a strong year for fantasy and sci-fi; with a number of powerful debuts, and the countless sequels and new releases made narrowing down our list very difficult. However, one debut that has definitely earned a spot on the list is…
Continue reading ➞ Upon The Flight Of The Queen – A Clipped Wing
Every year the Quill to Live sit down in December to plan our collective reading schedule for the next year. It's a long process, and it heavily involves combing through release dates of series we are following and, more importantly, digging into the hundreds of upcoming and highly anticipated book lists made by publishers, authors,…
I apparently have a thing for military orders. Or, I guess not military, but organized groups of fantasy heroes. Maybe all of us who read the genre do, as most fantasy books have them. There always seems to be some group of warriors with a cliche name like “the Night Fighters” in every fantasy book.…
Continue reading ➞ For The Killing Of Kings – For The Having Of A Good Time
