Lindsay Buroker’s books are always good for a fast-paced, page-turning ride—and Warrior Mage is no exception. It’s the first in the author’s new Chains of Honor series and there is never a dull moment, from the beautiful cover to a closing scene that leaves the reader chomping at the bit for what happens next. I was delighted to take the author up on her offer of a free read in exchange for an honest review. So here it is! Buroker takes seriously the instructions to “start in the middle of the action.” Yanko stifled a groan, trying to blink away […]
Category Archives: book review
Review: In Siege of Daylight, by Gregory S. Close
Are you a fan of traditional fantasy? In Seige of Daylight delivers a sweeping fantasy tale full of adventure, prophecy, and intrigue. Author Gregory S. Close translates many of the familiar tropes into his own breed of characters—characters with flavor and rich backgrounds in a setting that is comfortable, but not too familiar. His pacing is spot-on, and his prose provides some lovely scenes. If there’s one thing that interrupted the read, it would be the naming conventions. Close veers from horrendous, unpronounceable, apostrophe-ridden monikers to French (what?) names without missing a beat. Many of the characters and creatures share […]
Book Review: The Shadow of What Was Lost
Whim struck, and I went with it. Author James Islington is being compared to the likes of Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss—and while I can see that influence on his writing, don’t let it fool you into thinking he can’t “do his own thang.” He did, and pretty well, too! Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the […]
Books We Love
Welcome to the Friday Feature of our Fantasy writers group, A Drift of Quills! We Quills get together once a month to chat up aspects of reading and writing. We’re returning to the topic of books we love best—and this will be something we revisit from time to time, because hello! we’re readers *and* writers. Being a writer (or an editor) changes the way one reads things. It’s not strictly for entertainment anymore, but how cool is it to do your favorite thing for work? Still, the quality of a book obviously affects enjoyment. For me to forget about the […]
Book Review: Dark Currents
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Emperor’s Edge, and the fun continues in Dark Currents. Buroker has developed a good, solid framework of society that isn’t thrown off kilter with the inclusion of magic—a magic that is referred to in Amaranthe’s world as “science.” Her writing style is smooth and engaging, neatly balancing narrative and dialogue. The characters continue to capture the reader’s interest. What’s more, they develop even further—no cardboard cutouts here! They are each wonderfully detailed and clearly different from one another, and the fact that they are not all always comfortable and heroic makes […]
Care and Feeding of Authors
Traditionally, publishing houses were the ones to discover and nurture notable authors. With the shift to indie publishing, the responsibility falls upon the reader themselves. Isn’t it cool? You have the power! “After conducting more than 250,000 interviews about reading behavior since 2004, Codex has found that a major shift has taken place in discovery in the past two years, as digital books have become a significant part of the book world. Two years ago, 35% of book purchases were made because readers found out about a book in bricks-and-mortar bookstores, the single-largest site of discovery. This year, that figure […]
Double Delight With Traditional and Indie Books
Our panel project, A Drift of Quills, is still in its infant stages, but I look forward to our posts on the first Fridays of the month. My fellow Quills are fun to work with, and I love seeing what responses each of them have to the topics we’ve selected. I hope you do, too! Without further ado… C.M.J. WALLACE Author of The Rift Series (beginning with Sing the Midnight Stars) C.M.J.’s Website For this month’s topic, we decided to identify one traditionally published and one indie-published fantasy novel that we enjoyed and explain why. My fellow Quillers won’t know this […]
Book Review: The Written by Ben Galley
I picked this book up because I loved the cover (nothing new there, right? Great cover), my interest was piqued by the blurb, and because I read good things about it. I really wanted to like it, but… at best I came away with mixed feelings. Galley has made use of some truly beautiful prose, but it is unfortunately buried in a hailstorm of adjectives and repetition that tangled the flow rather than moving it along. He tells an interesting story about an unusual character, but… his choice of wording put a distance between me and the characters that was only […]
Book Review: Gravity’s Revenge by A.E. Marling
I am so pleased to be taking part of a blog tour for A.E. Marling’s newest book, Gravity’s Revenge. I have been a fan since I first got my hands on the excellent Brood of Bones, the first book set in the Lands of Loam, and look forward with eager anticipation to each new release—and he is a remarkably prolific, chalking up four books in the space of two years. Lucky for us, he keeps getting better and better. If you haven’t yet paid a visit to the Lands of Loam, it’s just a short flight away, and the journey […]
Book Review: Sinai by William Smethurst
Are you a connoisseur of Egyptology? I can’t really say that I am, though I do enjoy trivial bits of information about the area, the people that lived there, mythology, weapons, and artwork. My dad went on a tour of Egypt and came back with pictures and presents for everyone, and he piqued my curiosity. I also enjoy the occasional historical thriller. When the publisher invited me to read and review this book, I found the description intriguing: From the Egypt of The Exodus, to an Egypt falling under an Islamic revolution… A story that starts in 1350BC and ends […]