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Thursday, October 27, 2022

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston - Review

 


Wednesday, October 26, 2022

GUEST POST: The Lure of the Badass Heroine By Stacey McEwan

 

(Author image thanks to Fantasy Hive)

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

SPFBO 8 Announcement: Here's our Finalist

 


TODAY IS THE DAY!


We have chosen our champion, and we’re excited to announce the winner and runners-up.


Cover reveal: Myriad by Joshua David Bellin


Myriad is a mind-bending time travelling sci-fi thriller that will keep readers guessing to the very end.

Monday, October 24, 2022

Book review: Weyward by Emilia Hart

 


Buy Weyward here - U.K. | U.S.

Sunday, October 23, 2022

Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans - Review

 


OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE
Buy Empire of Exiles HERE

Friday, October 21, 2022

FBC Videocast: Trigger Warning & Grimdark Fantasy Discussion with H. L. Tinsley, Clayton Snyder, Michael R. Fletcher & Krystle Matar (by Mihir Wanchoo)

 




Please enjoy this wonderfully stimulating discussion that Clayton, Holly, Krystle and Michael had with regards to trigger warnings in Grimdark & dark fantasy. 

Therefore, it is my sincere hope that you enjoy this conversation and please feel free to let us know what you think either in the comments below or comments on the Youtube video. 



Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Exclusive Cover Reveal + Q&A: The Crew by Sadir Samir (interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Demon's Reign Cover Reveal Q&A with David Estes & Ben Galley (interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

 


Monday, October 17, 2022

Book review: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

 


Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

AUTHOR INFO: ​Called "One of the up-and-coming masters of SF short fiction" by Locus Online, Ray Nayler's critically acclaimed stories have seen print in Asimov's, Clarkesworld, Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Nightmare, as well as in many "Best Of" anthologies, including The Very Best of the Best: 35 Years of The Year’s Best Science Fiction.

For nearly half his life, he has lived and worked outside the United States in the Foreign Service and the Peace Corps, including a stint as Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer at the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Beginning in September 2022, he will serve as the international advisor to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Publisher: MCD (October 4, 2022) Page count: 420 Formats: ebook, paperback, audio

Friday, October 14, 2022

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean - Review

OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE
Buy The Book Eaters HERE

OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Sunyi Dean (sun-yee deen) is an autistic author of fantasy fiction. Originally born in the States and raised in Hong Kong, she now lives in Yorkshire with her children. When not reading, running, falling over in yoga, or rolling d20s, she sometimes escapes the city to wildswim in lonely dales.

FORMAT/INFO: The Book Eaters was published on August 2nd, 2022, by Tor Books. It is 298 pages split across 35 chapters. It is told in third person from two POVs, including Devon. It is available in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Devon Fairweather is a book eater, a supernatural creature that sustains herself by literally eating books. In return, she gains the knowledge the book contained. After a lifetime of being fed a strict diet of fairytales, Devon’s used to doing what she’s told and patiently waiting in the hopes of one day having the happily ever after she craves. But when her son is born with an offshoot craving to consume human minds, Devon finds herself fiercely fighting to escape the control of the family factions and find freedom for her and her son.

The Book Eaters is a deeply unsettling read that manages to invoke the fierceness of a mother who will do anything to protect her son. This is not a book that pulls punches. Devon has a son whose feedings leave humans catatonic, and she is willing to sacrifice human lives to provide for him. Mind eaters are disturbing creatures, especially due to the way they feed, and one of the reasons this book veers into horror; in fact, mind eaters and book eaters alike are just vampires of a different variety.

But balancing out this horror aspect is the burning passion Devon has to protect her son Cai. I am not a mother myself, yet I was filled with Devon’s rage at the book eater society that tried to dictate what happened to her and her son, without any input from the mother herself. Women in book eater society exist solely to reproduce and are not given any consideration in any matters, from where they live to what happens to their children. And because the books a book eater eats shapes their personalities, Devon is prone to thinking that the bad things that happen to her are her fault, that she shouldn’t have caused trouble. At least, that’s how she behaves until the Families finally go too far.

The story itself is told in alternating timelines, going back and forth between a present day Devon (in the early 2000s) and Devon’s life growing up. There’s plenty of tension in both storylines, and I was equally excited to solve the mystery of Devon’s early life as I was to see how she would handle her current predicament. I was a bit surprised to find this was a relatively modern day story, but it wasn’t any real hurdle to my enjoyment of the story once I adapted my expectations. (In fact, since the Families are isolationists, large parts of the story felt like they could have been Any Time.) I especially liked that video games became a way for Devon to experience stories outside the ones she’d been fed; it was a fun addition to looking at the way different medias shape our lives.

CONCLUSION: The Book Eaters is a quick read, but one that has plenty to say on motherhood, sacrifices, patriarchy, and cultural impact. It will make you reach for your children (even if you don’t have any) with a desire to protect them. And most of all, it will have you thinking about how the stories we read become a part of us long after we finish the tale.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Anthology review: An Alchemy of Sorrow edited by Virginia McClain



Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

Publisher: Crimson Fox Publishing (November 1, 2022) Page count: 334 p Formats: ebook, paperback, hardcover

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Fantasy Book Critic Video Interview Series: Authors & Their Favourite Books, H. L. Tinsley on Mark Lawrence's Prince Of Thorns (interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

 


Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Prince Of Thorns

Hello everyone, this is the ATFB series, Authors & Their Favourite Books.  This series is inspired by hearing about authors talk about what books inspired them to become wordsmiths in their own right.
 
Today we have with us H. L. (Holly) Tinsley, indie grimdark author of the Vanguard Chronicles, & debutante SPFBO finalist. I chat with Holly about why she loves this book. What aspects of it (prose, characters, etc.) are her favourite and more
 
Therefore, it is my sincere hope that you enjoy this conversation and please feel free to let us know what you think either in the comments below or comments on the Youtube video.



Tuesday, October 11, 2022

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal - Review

OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE:
Order The Spare Man HERE

Monday, October 10, 2022

Leech by Hiron Ennes (reviewed by Shazzie)

 



OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFO: Hiron Ennes is a writer, musician, and student of medicine based in the Pacific Northwest. Their areas of interest include infectious disease, pathology, and anticapitalist healthcare reform. When they're not hunched over a microscope or word document they can be found playing in the snow or playing the harp (though usually not at the same time). They're queer in every sense of the word, and they really want to pet your dog.
 
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: In an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died. The doctor’s replacement has a mystery to solve: discovering how the Institute lost track of one of its many bodies.

For hundreds of years the Interprovincial Medical Institute has grown by taking root in young minds and shaping them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine. The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their ancestors unleashed.

In the frozen north, the Institute's body will discover a competitor for its rung at the top of the evolutionary ladder. A parasite is spreading through the baron's castle, already a dark pit of secrets, lies, violence, and fear. The two will make war on the battlefield of the body. Whichever wins, humanity will lose again.
 
FORMAT/INFO: Leech was published by TorDotComPub on the 27th of September, 2022 in hardcover, trade paperback, ebook and audio formats and contains 336 pages.
 
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: If you want an incredibly unique read, look no further. I was intrigued by the premise of the book and decided of request an ARC. The payoff? Great.

This book begins in a very isolated location and our protagonist who finds himself a replacement for the baron's doctor, who has died of an unknown cause. He suspects a pathogen that spreads and threatens everyone he touches, and wishes to investigate its effects with very little inclination from his employers and those around him. That's about all I want to say about the premise of this book since I think it is something to dive into with as little information as possible.

This book has a very old-time feel to it, and at the same time, reads like modern sci-fi combined with horror. Let's face it, the premise isn't wholly unique, but it is the authors handling of the premise and the narrative structure of the book that make it such a great atmospheric read. It is moving and made me feel an array of emotions. It started slow, but I kept going as I found the writing compelling, and now that I am done reading the book, I find it hard to believe it is a debut.

A word of caution here: this book is not suitable for squeamish readers. I am a little bit of a wuss, and there were a few scenes in it that were quite unsettling for me. I did pause because there is body gore in the pages and some of it can be pretty sickening to read. But overall, I do not regret picking it up because of the narrative structure and what the author has tried doing with this story.

CONCLUSION: 
This book can be a great spooky, eerie read for the reader who wants something that's a wonderful hybrid of goth and science fiction, and for those with medical interests. Despite the narrative, there are clear answers given in the last few pages, and definitely stunning for a debut effort along the theme of bodily autonomy.

Friday, October 7, 2022

The River Of Silver by S. A. Chakraborty (reviewed by Shazzie)

 


OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE
Buy The River Of Silver here - US | UK
Thursday, October 6, 2022

EXCLUSIVE COVER REVEAL + Q&A: THROUGH DREAMS SO DARK by Angela Boord

 


Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Fortune's Fool
Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo (reviewed by Shazzie)

 


Order Into the Riverlands over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Siren Queen
 

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