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…
Tag: book-reviews
The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft – Book Review
The Hexologists is my second venture (after Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Tainted Cup) into an emerging subgenre where we follow detectives investigating crimes/murders in a Victorian/Edwardian-inspired fantasy world. What sets these types of stories obviously apart from classic Sherlock Holmes tales is the addition of magical elements which may be part of the crime, instrumental…
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – Book Review
Unfortunately, this book taught me a lesson about falling for the premise of a book without knowing how it would be handled. The idea of a woman who was magically cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets was a very enticing one, mainly because I related very strongly to it personally. I’ve felt similarly…
The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan, Book 1) by Robert Jackson Bennett — Book Review
Start with a complex murder case, feature a Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson-esque pair of protagonists, and set it in a well-conceived fantasy world full of plant and fungus based semi-science, and I am an easy catch to hook. The Tainted Cup winning this year’s Hugo award for Best Novel didn’t hurt either, allowing its…
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…
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury – Book Review
This classic autumn tale of a spooky carnival that torments a small American town was written a lot more beautifully and lyrically than I had expected. When two young boys, Will and Jim, stumble upon a mysterious carnival setting up outside their town in the middle of the night, things don’t seem quite right, but…
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar – Book Review
I was surprised to love this story much more than I expected. It’s one of the best stories I’ve read this year. However, I’m learning that I have a much harder time talking about why I love a book than criticizing what I dislike about it. In essence, this is a very classic faerie tale…
The Fisherman by John Langan – Book Review
Even though this book came highly recommended as a modern take on the Lovecraftian horror story, from the start, I didn’t really know how we’d get from an upstate New York fish story to a tale of eldritch horror. This story is written with deceptively straightforward language, about some down-to-earth characters. The narrator, Abe is…
Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture 