OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Everyone knows that only those of noble blood can invoke the ancestors, can call their spirits back to the mortal plane to fight in the wars against the greybloods. Or at least, that's what everyone thinks. But when a young woman in the slums summons a spirit, it sets off a chain reaction of events that will shift the Nine Lands forever. As families fight to determine the fate of the kingdom, one little detail slips through the cracks: not every spirit summoned is an ancestor.
A Song of Legends Lost is a truly unique science-fantasy story that will engross you as it keeps you guessing. It will be tempting for many of you to start this story and within a few chapters proclaim, "I know what's going on!" I certainly did that and I'm here to assure you that, like me, you will be wrong. This blend of magic and technology still has me (pleasantly) confused as to how it all ties together, as we only get a peek behind the curtain by the end of this first book.
The story immediately jumps into some bad situations with multiple characters, plunging you into the middle of things as you meet them. While a few POV characters stay the length of the book, some only stick around for chunks at a time, with the cast of POV characters changing as the story switches from Part 2 to Part 3, etc. This gives us a fairly wide view of the events that are playing out across the kingdom. The author does a good job overall of investing you in the characters, but given how much you jump around, I did occasionally find myself emotionally distanced from some characters more than others.
That's where this story may be a bit frustrating for some. We only have a tantalizing glimpse of what's truly going on, with much mystery still to be unpacked in the subsequent sequels. Personally, there is plenty of adventure and growth to be found just in this book alone, but I did plead a little bit at the end to please give me just a liiiittle more detail of what's really going on? Please?
3:00 AM | 
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Caitlin G. |
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Buy A Drop of Corruption
Read a review of Book One, The Tainted Cup
Read Lukasz's review of A Drop of Corruption
A Drop of Corruption is another rousing success from Robert Jackson Bennett, at once both a twisty mystery and harsh critique of colonialism. Returning fans will settle right back in with Ana and Din's familiar cadence: Din does the leg-work, interviewing witnesses and assessing crime scenes, while Ana takes the information and works out how the pieces come together. I was glad to see how Din had grown into his role, understanding that Ana's sometimes odd requests always have a reason, and knowing what kinds of information Ana is looking for.
Even though Ana and Din are working on behalf of the Empire, this is not a book that takes the side of the Empire. Instead, it uses the mystery to examine the messy can of worms that comes from colonizing an already inhabited land. While many of those Din interviews are high level officials, there is attention paid to the common folk who get caught in the middle of the political games between the Empire and the native regional government. The story also acknowledges that there are no clean solutions to the problem, as the Empire pulling out of the colony comes with its own set of headaches and injustices.
This book never feels like a lecture, however, because the message is blended with the absolutely engrossing world-building. A Drop of Corruption continues to iterate on the weird alchemical enhancements introduced in the first book, introducing us to new weird ways people alter themselves in this world. And in the process of delving deeper into the science of alchemy...well let's say some past things that may have registered as off to some readers may start to make sense.
CONCLUSION: In short, A Drop of Corruption further solidifies Robert Jackson Bennett as an autobuy author for me. From his deep, intricate world-building to his real world commentary, every one of his books is a full meal. Even if you're just here for the mystery, you're going to have a great time. But for those who just want to lose themselves in a completely different world? You need to pick his books up.
Buy The Gentleman and His Vowsmith
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: To save his crumbling family estate, playboy Lord Nicholas Monterris has finally agreed to take a wife. As is tradition, that means the families of the bride and groom will be magically locked into the Monterris family manor while the magical marriage contract is negotiated and signed. To make a bad situation worse, the vowsmith for the bride's family is none other than Dashiell sa Vare, an old flame of Nicholas's who ended their relationship years ago suddenly and without warning. But all past feuds have to be set aside when people start turning up dead. Someone doesn't want this marriage to go through and they're willing to kill to make it happen. Nicholas, Dashiell, and bride-to-be Leaf have to work together to find the murderer before they end up the next victim.
The Gentleman and His Vowsmith is a well-mixed blend of Regency murder mystery and queer romantasy. It takes two rival noble families and their underlings, traps them in an isolated manor house, and mixes in a little murder and a dash of ghostly apparitions. The result is a pot bubbling over with emotions, ranging from love to resentment. In the forced proximity, people are forced to confront their unspoken affections and hash out long simmering hatred. All of this is underpinned by the overall gothic tone, the dark hallways and eerie sights that leave the guests wondering if the murderer is human...or something else.
And with all this talk of passion, now is the time to mention that this is definitely a spicy romantasy. If you're not a fan of explicit scenes, don't pick this one up. Things get hot and heavy between our leads in short order, and it carries on throughout the book. Honestly, as much as I enjoyed the catharsis of two pining lovers finally satiating themselves, at a certain point I was wishing they would keep their hands off each other for five minutes so we could get back to the murder solving.
(I also want to mention that if you're concerned that the bride in this situation gets the short end of the stick, don't worry. This isn't a situation where she's being cheated on or otherwise getting left out in the cold. She's being forced into the marriage as much as Nicholas and for various reasons is perfectly fine with him wanting to be with someone else.)
I did enjoy the queer reimagining of the Regency era, with same sex pairings fully accepted. This doesn't mean Regency society is suddenly perfect. Social stratification still exists (a noble cannot simply marry a "lowly" vowsmith") and you're still expected to carry on the family name through marriage (even if it requires something like a "stud" clause for those who don't want to sexually partner with their spouse). Nobody blinks an eye, however, at the idea of same sex relationships, as long as all the other social norms are being followed.
Overall the mystery itself is a solid twisty affair, with plenty of clues and red herrings to keep the reader on their toes. There's lots of family drama to unpack, with each new revelation providing another motive for murder. I admit, I was slightly underwhelmed by the eventual reveal of the murderer at the end of the day (given the range of options I had considered), but the journey to get to that point was satisfying.
CONCLUSION: In short, do you like murder mysteries? Do you like romantasy? If you answered yes to both questions, then do yourself a favor and pick up The Gentleman and his Vowsmith
Book review: The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence (The Library Trilogy # 3)
Order The Sanguine Sands over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Crimson Queen
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of The Umbral Storm
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of The Book Of Zog
Read Fantasy Book Critic's interview with Alec Hutson
Read TUS Cover Reveal Q&A with Alec Hutson
Watch ATFB Interview with Alec Hutson
Watch TBOZ & TUS Video interview with Alec Hutson
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: The Heart of the Heart has been found.
In the ruined palace of the Radiant Emperor the Light shard had been hidden for a thousand years, but now a sliver of its power has entered the flesh of Heth Su Canaav. Once Hollow, he has been reborn as one of the Sharded Few. Its discovery will shake the world . . . if anyone lives to tell of its existence.
For hunters stalk the refugees from the Duskhold. Powerful Sharded, unnatural sorcerers, and creatures that they cannot yet comprehend. Deryn and Heth must flee to the ancient city of Karath, where they hope answers await about who was behind the attempt to murder Rhenna Shen, and why one of the mysterious Elowyn directed them to find the House of Last Light.
The north lurches towards war, Shadow and Storm closing around the flickering Flame, while the Blood scheme in the black ziggurats of the Sanguine City, and far away something stirs in the frozen wastes where the disciples of Ice cling to an ancient faith . . .
CLASSIFICATION: The Sharded Few saga is a unique mix of The Way of Kings and Blood Song as it provides the epic world & magic system of Brandon Sanderson’s magnum opus while also providing the character rich story found in Anthony Ryan’s debut.
FORMAT/INFO: The Sanguine Sands is 528 pages long divided over forty-five POV titled chapters with a prologue and an epilogue. Narration is in the third person via Deryn, Heth Su Canaav, Alia, Kaliss & a singular POV chapter (titled the Cleric). This is the second volume of the Sharded Few series.
April 7th, 2025 marked the e-book publication of The Sanguine Sands and it was self-published by the author. Cover art is by YAM (Mansik Yang) and design-typography by Shawn T. King.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: I’ve been besotted with this world and story since Alec Hutson first granted me an ARC of The Umbral Storm. The first book was an incredible start and it was my favourite book of 2022 alongside being FBC’s SPFBO Finalist selection. The author had gone through very trying personal situations and that’s the major reason for the 3 year wait between TUS and its sequel. But here we are and when The Sanguine Sands landed in my inbox, I was overjoyed as I couldn’t wait to see how the author upped the magnificent story that was The Umbral Storm.
The Sanguine Sands opens up with a prologue wherein we get to see a further corner of the world and within it a very creepy monastery with a wild interior design. I believe the timing of the prologue corresponds to the latter half of TUS. The story opens with our POV characters Alia, Deryn, Heth and lady Rhenna as they are the only survivors of the assassination attempt. However Alia and Heth are not longer just “hollow”. They have now newer aspects to themselves and have been given a path towards the free city of Karath. Wherein they must find the House of Last Light and learn more about the mysteries of the world. However they also have to lay low while making the journey as Rhenna wishes to know who truly was behind the assassination attempt. All of this and more machinations abide in this thrilling sequel which ups the ante in every department.
Let me state the obvious, I was a huge fan of the first book and hence one might wonder how objective my review can be. Let me assure you, I was very apprehensive about this sequel as anticipation can often kneecap one’s favourites more than anything else. Alec had also written a different fantasy title in between (The Pale Blade) this series and that meant he was returning almost 3 years to this sequel. I was so wrong about having to worry as I can safely shout that this book is triply magnificent.
Once again the worldbuilding shines as we get more knowledge about the various Sharded holds but also about various geographical aspects of the world and get a nautical journey as well. The author also illuminates other races that are present in the world and here I must highlight the author’s love for turtles within his books (you’ll know when you see it).
This book outdoes its predecessor in one more aspect, TUS’s start was said to be a bit on the slower side by some but here there’s no slowing down at all, from the moment the foursome start their journey towards Karath to the exciting climax, the plot pace is ever engaging. Another plus point in the characterization and herein the trio of Alia, Deryn & Heth get more to do. Alia particularly also gets more chapters than in the first volume. Plus one of my favourite secondary characters from the first book Kaliss gets a POV turn and her chapters are even more action-packed than the rest of the book.
The character work has to be lauded as we get to see all three of our POV characters break out of their mould and learn to adapt to new (& frankly scary situations). I enjoyed how the author is allowing these young characters to age into the adults they will becoming. Alec Hutson is a person who knows how to keep the readers enticed with his characterization and this series is another fine example of it.
This book similar to the first one is absolutely filled to the brim with worldbuilding and within this sequel we get to know more of the world’s history, theological past and magic system workings. I can’t reveal more because they are all huge spoilers but safe to say, most if not all of my curiosities (as spoken with Alec in our interview) were answered. I LOVED this aspect as it made the worlbuilding junkie go gaga. Lastly the ending was just perfect, it ends the story so precisely and with such a tantalizing premise that I felt the climax was better than its predecessor.
For me, there were only two minor complaints about this book. First that it ends on such a tantalizing note and now we have to wait until the third book releases to find out what happens next. Secondly I think the author kept the story with a very tight focus on the main POV characters. I thought that there was a possibility that if we could have seen more of the events in the north and it would added to the epicness of the story. However that would also detract from the plot’s tightness and maybe I would be complaining otherwise.
Book review: The Book That Broke The World by Mark Lawrence (The Library Trilogy # 1)
Livira is brains. Evar is muscle. But it’s Mark Lawrence’s book, so you can’t oversimplify it like that.
Book review: A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert Jackson Bennett is a two-time award winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel, an Edgar Award winner for Best Paperback Original, and is also the 2010 recipient of the Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer, and a Philip K Dick Award Citation of Excellence. City of Stairs was shortlisted for the Locus Award and the World Fantasy Award. City of Blades was a finalist for the 2015 World Fantasy, Locus, and British Fantasy Awards. His eighth novel, FOUNDRYSIDE, will be available in the US on 8/21 of 2018 and the UK on 8/23.
Publisher: Del Rey (April 1, 2025) Length: 458 Formats: audiobook, ebook, hardcover
