What did I just read?! If you’re familiar with this popular scifi book about a secret government agency protecting the world from mysterious anomalies that can disappear themselves from people’s minds (i.e. everyone forgets they exist) you might be thinking that I’m doing schtick. You might think I’m making jokes in the tone of this…
Category: (3 out of 5)
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang – Book Review
I have not had the best track record when it comes to Asian-inspired modern fantasy stories. I was underwhelmed by Fonda Lee’s Jade City and Jade War, and reading R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War was so disappointing that I took a one-year break from the sub-genre. To motivate myself to try again, I decided to…
The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom, Book 1) by Rachel Gillig – Book Review
While fantasy is probably my favourite genre of fiction, fantasy-romance (aka “romantasy”) has not been a subgenre that has appealed to me very much. Nevertheless, in the interest of expanding my horizons, I gave The Knight and the Moth (a very popular recent romantasy novel) a try. Unfortunately, despite attempting to go in with an…
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky – Book Review
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s novella, Elder Race, plays around with a concept that sci-fi fans are likely familiar with from author Arthur C. Clarke’s highly resonant quote that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. It starts out as an epic fantasy story where a young princess, Lynesse Fourth Daughter, climbs a forbidden peak to seek…
Hogfather (Discworld, Book 20) by Terry Pratchett – Book Review
As the second (maybe third) book I have read from the Discworld series by pre-eminent fantasy humourist Terry Pratchett, I was uncertain whether I would like this story of Death taking over from Hogfather (i.e. Discworld Santa) when the holiday’s iconic fat man is unavailable. My previous Discworld experience taught me that the humour would…
The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, Book 1) by James Islington – Book Review
I was hoping to love The Will of the Many, a very popular book about an orphaned prince named Vis, surviving in the Rome-inspired empire that destroyed his nation and family. When he is adopted/blackmailed by a prominent senator to act as his agent and spy within a highly reputable academy, Vis’s life not only…
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – Book Review
Any post-apocalyptic story was going to start out behind the ball for me, as I am not a fan. However, this one was written by acclaimed Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel, it’s one of Barack Obama’s faves, and has already been adapted for TV, so there’s a lot to like even before reading it….
The Nice House on the Lake by James Tynion IV (art by Álvaro Martínez Bueno) – Graphic Novel Review
The creepy covers of this comic book series suggest something dark, macabre and scary — perfect for spooky season. However, what we have is a Lost style mystery box where a group of 12 individuals are invited by their mutual friend, Walter, to a luxuriously nice house by the lake. It doesn’t take long before…
Plunge by Joe Hill (art by Stuart Immonen) – Graphic Novel Review
I’ve been having a fun spooky season so far this year, and wanted to continue with a sci-fi graphic novel series with some Lovecraftian cosmic horror mixed in. However, I was a bit nervous about this one because it is the brainchild of famous horror scion Joe Hill. I had previously tried out his classic…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 