Piranesi is a story set in a fantastical House, one that is more like a world; that has multitudes of grand rooms full of distinctive and enigmatic statutes of both creatures and people. The upper floors contain the clouds and sky, the lower floors contain the tides and seas. This story is told from the…
Category: Fantasy
The Failures by Benjamin Liar – Book Review
I went into this book not knowing what to expect. Set in a fantasy world known as the Wanderlands, this story has the grand overtones of a legendary epic, the thrills and pacing of a jaunty adventure, and the riddles and curiosity of a complex puzzle. We follow various groups of characters: immortals planning to…
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu – Book review
Did you know that there was a short novel featuring a female vampire written before Dracula? Carmilla is the story of a young Victorian woman named Laura who lives with her father in the remote Austrian countryside. When one day they happen upon a mother and her daughter in distress while travelling, they offer to…
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 2) by Matt Dinniman – Book Review
The events in this second book in the super-popular Dungeon Crawler Carl series continue immediately after the first one, where hapless and resourceful Carl survived the decimation of Earth to end up running and fighting for his own life in the dungeon (like the kind one finds in RPG video games) that the world has…
Midnight Riot (Rivers of London, Book 1) by Ben Aaronovitch – Book review
cover photo by shadesofword.com An urban fantasy story set in contemporary London UK seems right up my alley (Sorry, I couldn’t find a river-based expression). I love London, having visited the city a few times on vacation, and I’ve watched many British TV shows set there. I have also enjoyed urban fantasy: stories set against…
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher – Book Review
I had read another T. Kingfisher story late last year called Thornhedge that was, like Nettle & Bone, revisiting of a classic fairytale. While I really enjoyed Thornhedge, I came to Nettle & Bone prepared for more of the same. Nevertheless, in this story, T. Kingfisher was not only able to tell a story with…
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang – Book Review
The Poppy War is a fantastical tale inspired by Chinese historical events (of which I am woefully under-educated) involving conflicts with Japan. The novel follows a young orphan named Rin, a foster child of opium dealers in a village in Nikan (a fictionalized China). In her efforts to leave an unhappy life of mistreatment, she…
Six Fantasy Novellas
I love fantasy fiction. As a genre, it brings the reader to so many wonderful, scary, imaginative, and vivid worlds and realities. Having magic in a story really opens up the possibilities for fun exploration and creativity. Over the last few months, I’ve read six novellas (i.e. short novels) that represent a pretty good variety…
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Book Review
I had high expectations for Mexican-Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s acclaimed novel, but was pretty let down. Given the book’s title, yes, there was everything classically gothic, but very little Mexican, aside from the geographic setting (and the occasional Spanish word). This tale of a rich city girl going out to a country mansion to rescue…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 