Books shelved under “Fantasy”

As I started reading A Far Better Thing, I feared I might have to DNF it. That would be a shame, as I hate doing so with eARCs from NetGalley. Fortunately, after a few chapters, something shifted. H.G. Parry hooked me, and I was extremely invested in this tale of faerie changelings during the Reign of Terror.

Sydney Carton was switched at birth with a changeling, and now he exists as a mortal servant…

Get in, loser, we’re writing an encomium. When I read Some Desperate Glory, I became an instant Emily Tesh fangirl. That book rocked my world, and if you want thoughtful science fiction, you must read it; I am so thrilled it won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. But this review is about Tesh’s latest, The Incandescent. I was vibrating with excitement to read this one and preordered it from my local indie…

Although I was charmed by Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger, I was also wary. I want to challenge myself when it comes to the subgenres I read, yet I recognize I often have good reason for not reading those subgenres—and there is nothing wrong with having preferences! That might be the case here. On the other hand, I also think this is a novel that could be much, much stronger. I received an eARC of…

What would you do to belong? And what would you do if you thought you didn’t belong, in fact that your attempts to belong had harmed the very people you love the most? The second Chronicles of Nerezia novella this year and the fifth overall in the series, Motes of Inspiration struck a chord in me unlike any of the entries since Awakenings. After several competent, entertaining, yet fairly straightforward entries in a row,…

Two years ago I read an interesting little novelette by Ai Jiang and was intrigued. Now I’ve got a review copy of A Palace Near the Wind courtesy NetGalley, and I remain intrigued. Jiang once again harnesses her incredible talent for descriptive prose and layers atop that an impressive, tender style of characterization. I wanted to like this more than I did—and will explain why I didn’t—but I did like it quite a bit.

Liu…

Somehow I’ve never heard of the “weird west” subgenre and now it’s everywhere on my book social feed. So it goes. It’s not my usual niche, but Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger, by K.C. Grifant, looked interesting enough to branch out. I received a review copy via NetGalley.

The eponymous Melinda West is, as the title suggests, a monster gunslinger. That is, she is a gunslinger who kills monsters, not a monster who slings a…

Mmm, mmm, mmm. Heather O’Neill can serve it. As I reflected in my review of When We Lost Our Heads, her skill as a writer has only deepened and matured since its precocious and sublime debut almost two decades ago. The Capital of Dreams wasn’t as revelatory or enchanting for me, yet it was still a fascinating work of storytelling.

Sofia is a fourteen-year-old girl living in the Capital of Elysia, a fictional European…

What would you do if someone stole your heart? Literally, actually took it from your body but you didn’t die? Because hearts power their magic. Such a perfect premise for a story, and Andrea Eames explores it well in A Harvest of Hearts. I received an eARC from NetGalley and Erewhon Books in return for a review.

Foss is a simple country girl, daughter of the village butcher. Then one day, a sorcerer comes…

A couple years ago, I read Dragonfall, and I was lukewarm on picking up the sequel. When I had the opportunity for an eARC via NetGalley, however, I decided to give it a shot. I’m pleased to report Emberclaw is a strong conclusion to this duology (more of these, by the way). L.R. Lam improves on the first entry, and while I still don’t think I am quite their ideal reader, I definitely enjoyed…

Every so often I read a story that reminds me why I love stories and why I love reading in particular. Film and television are great—I watch a lot of both—yet there’s something about the collaboration of imagination between writer and reader that makes a book absolutely magical for its ability to transport the reader elsewhere. I read the eARC of The River Has Roots curled up on my couch on a Sunday afternoon, curled…

One of the unwritten fantasy novels in rattling around in my brain involves a society where people without magic face discrimination and fear. It’s not an original idea, definitely been done before, and it will be done again. So to see Annabel Campbell use this trope in The Outcast Mage is both reassuring and enjoyable! Part bildungsroman, part political thriller, Campbell’s debut isn’t pitch perfect—but it’s got some good moves. Thanks to publisher Orbit and…

Tanya Huff is an author who deserves, in my opinion, far more hype than she seems to receive. First, she’s Canadian (represent!), she’s queer (represent!), and she writes fantasy novels that are unapologetically queer and even sometimes unapologetically Canadian (re-pruh-sent!). I often describe her as an author I like but don’t love in the sense that I’ve seldom given her books a glowing review—Sing the Four Quarters is the first time I’ve rated one…

Another novella, another threat from the mysterious Fragments that prey upon unprepared travellers in Nerezia. This time, Horace and eir companions are at sea! Their ocean crossing is a necessary step in their quest to get answers for Aliyah. Stories from the Deep introduces another new form for the Fragments to take: a violent, terrifying kraken. Yet without going into spoilers, all I’ll say is that Claudie Arseneault once again emphasizes the possibility of waking…

Nothing like a brilliant conclusion to a story well told. I cried—happy tears and sad—and also cheered out loud a couple of times as I made my way through Labyrinth’s Heart. M.A. Carrick successfully sticks the landing, tying up a truly impressive number of loose threads to conclude this story of con artist Ren’s inadvertent quest to save the city of Nadežra. Thus concludes one of the best fantasy trilogies I have ever read.

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As is tradition, let us begin by admiring the incredible angled-title cover art on this book! Then, as is tradition, let me remark upon how I’ve somehow let an egregious span of time elapse (six years?? Really, Kara??) before finally finishing this trilogy. Guardian is a more-than-sufficient conclusion to the series A.J. Hartley started in Steeplejack. This is a beautiful young-adult fantasy series that offers a primer on resisting fascism and bigotry along with…

Ever since I discovered Martha Wells also writes fantasy, I’ve been dying to read more of her back catalogue. Well, clearly Tor Books is reading my reviews and my reviews only because this year they are reissuing Wheel of the Infinite, first published in 2000. Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the eARC.

Maskelle is (was?) the Voice of the Adversary, but when we meet her, she’s essentially a mendicant nun. Rian is…

Three years ago I read The Jasmine Throne, gave it three stars, and said I might read the sequel. Then that sequel, The Oleander Sword, got a four-star rating and an even better review. Now the conclusion, The Lotus Empire is out, and … y’all, this is top-shelf fantasy. Like, we’re talking one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read this year, and a stunning conclusion to The Burning Kingdoms trilogy. Tasha…

Finishing a whole trilogy in less than five months? Must be a new record for me. The Burning God is a hell of an epic conclusion to R.F. Kuang’s Poppy War saga. All I have to say is: George R.R. Martin, eat your fucking heart out. The Red Wedding? Bah. None of the gruesome acts in A Song of Ice and Fire come close to the mayhem and misery inflicted here. This book is dark…

Gods and monsters and nightmares, oh my! The Lost Portal, a sequel to The Last Huntress, promises to be an epic quest. Lenore Borja returns us to the quartet of fierce huntresses: Alice, Soxie, Olivia, and Hadley. Amid affirmations of female friendship and explorations of family ties, these four women are all that stands between the Greek pantheon’s attempt to return to the world—or remake it in the process. The stakes are high—however,…

How do we choose who we are? Or are we simply born to be something, our fate fixed from the start? The Sea Spirit Festival tackles weighty questions for such a brief novella. Claudie Arseneault continues The Chronicles of Nerezia with a high-stakes, dramatic story that centres Aliyah even Horace continues to grow into the hero e hopes to be. I received an eARC in exchange for a review.

Our intrepid adventurers have made it…