Book review: The Price of Power by Michael Michel
Book links: Amazon | Goodreads
About the book: Prince Barodane could not hold back the darkness. Not even in himself. He laid an innocent city in its grave and then died a hero.
In his absence, war whispers across the land.
Power-hungry highborn dispatch spies and assassins to the shadows as they maneuver for the throne, while an even greater threat rises in the South. Monsters and cultists flock to the banners of a mad prophet determined to control reality…and then shatter it.
Destiny stalks three to the brink of oblivion.
A dead prince who isn’t dead. Barodane buried his shameful past in a stupor of drugs, drink, and crime. Now, he’d rather watch the world fall apart than wear the crown again.
An orphan with hero’s blood who's forced to make a harrowing betray her country or sacrifice her first love.
And a powerful seer who has no choice at all–her grandson must die.
If any of them fails to pay the price…
The cost will be the world’s complete annihilation.
Formats: Audiobook, ebook, paperback
Two empires have been struggling for decades. One side invaded and enslaved the other, but the slaves broke free and overcame their oppressors while unifying disparate territories into a sovereign nation. But as time passed, the oppressed became the oppressors; they enacted a horrifying tradition of permanently scarring the newborns of their old enemies. There are legitimate arguments on both sides for generational hatred, and the current balance of peace vs. rebellion is teetering on the precipice of disaster.
We follow several POVs across the continent: a powerful Grandmother tasked with training a doomed young boy; an isolated princess forced to prove her worth to save the kingdom from shattering into chaos; a disgraced war veteran-turned-drug dealer haunted by madness and regret; an ally of the veteran who traded honor for loyalty; a defeated and abused pig farmer who embarks on a suicide march up a cursed mountain haunted by demons and untold power.
The vast majority of the story has very little crossover between the characters, but the threads start to weave together near the conclusion. While there was some predictably with some of the later reveals, Michel’s strong character development and emotional growth elevated the reading experience.
The pacing was also strong, as I longed to return to each POV to see what would happen next — but was never upset about switching over to the next chapter POV. There was a good balance between action, plot development, and the emotional struggles each character was facing.
This is not a short book, but it still felt like it was all about setup — characters were introduced, stakes were raised, and pieces put in place for a long, complex, and exciting journey ahead.
I wouldn’t classify this as grimdark although it’s easy to see how others might. Just be warned that this is not an uplifting book — many terrible things happen to good people, and justice is fleeting. But for those who like grit and grime and no easy solutions, this is an easy recommendation to make. I already started the prequel novella and eagerly await book two’s release.
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Buy The Incandescent
FORMAT/INFO: The Incandescent was published by Tor Books on May 13th, 2025. It is 432 pages long and is available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: As the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in England, Dr. Walden's day is full of everything from faculty meetings to demons trying to break through the school's wards. She is constantly torn between keeping up on mundane admin while trying to stop idiot teenagers from messing with magic beyond their capabilities. But what is Dr. Walden to do when the greatest threat to the school might be herself?
The Incandescent is a fresh spin on the magical academia genre, where the overworked, underpaid faculty at an elite boarding school get to shine front and center. Nearly, if not all, magical academia books I have read have been from the POV of the students. I've seen plenty of books where a group of scrappy teenagers discovers a dark conspiracy afoot at their school. They sneak behind teachers' backs, dabble in a bit of forbidden magic or research, and generally defy authority, all in the name of saving the day.
But let's face it, many teenagers aren't noble heroes on a quest - they're idiots. Enter the exasperated staff of Chetwood Academy, trying to help shape students on their quest to discover their path in life, while also making sure they don't fall prey to demonic possession because they cut corners while drawing a summoning diagram. Dr. Walden and her staff are just as often trying to save the students from themselves as much as from outside threats, all while grading papers, offering career counseling, and managing the school's budget.
The Incandescent also takes a moment to examine and critique the whole structure of elitist boarding school culture. It examines the notion that what parents aren't paying for isn't really a top tier education; they're paying for their child to join the network of alumni scattered across the country and use that network for the rest of their lives. It's the social connections that truly matter to most parents, the security of knowing their child will have plenty of contacts who will open doors for them in the future. This in turn perpetuates systemic class disparities, as most often only those who can pay for the connections, get the connections.
I want to take a moment to note that while the marketing for this book makes a point of mentioning this is a sapphic story, you shouldn't expect a sweeping romance. Relationships are just one part of Dr. Walden's life, and certainly not the focus - which is good, because I found those romance dynamics one of the weaker parts of the story. On the one hand, I liked that Dr. Walden is grappling with the complications of juggling potential romance with the demands of her career. But there was just no chemistry between Dr. Walden and her love interest, leaving not particularly interested in what happened on that front.
CONCLUSION: The Incandescent is a worthy addition to the shelves of magical academia, and any fan of the genre should give it a read. It examines school culture from the rare perspective of the teacher, but it doesn't put forth that the teachers have all the answers; one of the best scenes is a student who challenges Dr. Walden's notion of how well their life situation and an elite boarding school education track go together. It gives you food for thought while also being an entertaining blend of school exams and demonic invasions, making The Incandescent a definite recommend.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: As the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in England, Dr. Walden's day is full of everything from faculty meetings to demons trying to break through the school's wards. She is constantly torn between keeping up on mundane admin while trying to stop idiot teenagers from messing with magic beyond their capabilities. But what is Dr. Walden to do when the greatest threat to the school might be herself?
The Incandescent is a fresh spin on the magical academia genre, where the overworked, underpaid faculty at an elite boarding school get to shine front and center. Nearly, if not all, magical academia books I have read have been from the POV of the students. I've seen plenty of books where a group of scrappy teenagers discovers a dark conspiracy afoot at their school. They sneak behind teachers' backs, dabble in a bit of forbidden magic or research, and generally defy authority, all in the name of saving the day.
But let's face it, many teenagers aren't noble heroes on a quest - they're idiots. Enter the exasperated staff of Chetwood Academy, trying to help shape students on their quest to discover their path in life, while also making sure they don't fall prey to demonic possession because they cut corners while drawing a summoning diagram. Dr. Walden and her staff are just as often trying to save the students from themselves as much as from outside threats, all while grading papers, offering career counseling, and managing the school's budget.
The Incandescent also takes a moment to examine and critique the whole structure of elitist boarding school culture. It examines the notion that what parents aren't paying for isn't really a top tier education; they're paying for their child to join the network of alumni scattered across the country and use that network for the rest of their lives. It's the social connections that truly matter to most parents, the security of knowing their child will have plenty of contacts who will open doors for them in the future. This in turn perpetuates systemic class disparities, as most often only those who can pay for the connections, get the connections.
I want to take a moment to note that while the marketing for this book makes a point of mentioning this is a sapphic story, you shouldn't expect a sweeping romance. Relationships are just one part of Dr. Walden's life, and certainly not the focus - which is good, because I found those romance dynamics one of the weaker parts of the story. On the one hand, I liked that Dr. Walden is grappling with the complications of juggling potential romance with the demands of her career. But there was just no chemistry between Dr. Walden and her love interest, leaving not particularly interested in what happened on that front.
CONCLUSION: The Incandescent is a worthy addition to the shelves of magical academia, and any fan of the genre should give it a read. It examines school culture from the rare perspective of the teacher, but it doesn't put forth that the teachers have all the answers; one of the best scenes is a student who challenges Dr. Walden's notion of how well their life situation and an elite boarding school education track go together. It gives you food for thought while also being an entertaining blend of school exams and demonic invasions, making The Incandescent a definite recommend.
Book Review: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
Book links: Tor Publishing Group | Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alix E. Harrow is the Hugo Award winning author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Once and Future Witches, and various short fiction. Her Fractured Fables series, beginning with the novella A Spindle Splintered, has been praised for its refreshing twist on familiar fairy tales. A former academic and adjunct, Harrow lives in Virginia with her husband and their two semi-feral kids.
Publisher: Tor Books (Expected October 2025)
Formats: Audiobook, ebook, paperback
Told from an alternating second-person narrative (!) that echoes through time (!!), the story brings to mind Ken Grimwood’s classic Replay in all the best ways. Stories of this particular genre seem like they’d be especially difficult to execute, but Harrow does a remarkable job at harvesting all the seeds planted throughout the story.
I’m not going to divulge any further plot details as that would spoil some of the fun. Trust that the book is full of surprises and runs the full gamut of emotions, so prepare yourself for an immersive reading experience.
Sorry for cutting this short, but I have to go. If you need me, I’ll be waiting beneath the yew tree…
Official Author Website
Pre-order God’s Junk Drawer over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Ex-Heroes
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Patriots
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Ex-Communication
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Purgatory
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Isle
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Junkie Quatrain
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of 14
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Fold
Pre-order God’s Junk Drawer over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Ex-Heroes
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Patriots
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Ex-Communication
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Purgatory
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Ex-Isle
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Junkie Quatrain
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of 14
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Fold
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of The Broken Room
Read Fantasy Book Critic Interview with Peter Clines
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s second interview with Peter Clines
Read I See Dead People by Peter Clines (Guest Post)
Read Fantasy Book Critic Interview with Peter Clines
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s second interview with Peter Clines
Read I See Dead People by Peter Clines (Guest Post)
We are big fans of Peter Clines at Fantasy Book Critic and it's been a while since we have gotten to read some of Pete's fabulously twisted tales. So it is with great pleasure that we got news of the cover for God's Junk Drawer.
Peter's newest standalone book is being released by Blackstone Publishing on Nov. 11th 2025 and here's the snazzy cover for it featuring the talents of James T. Egan (Bookfly design).
Forty years ago, the Gather family—James, his daughter Beau, and his son Billy—vanished during a whitewater rafting trip and were presumed dead.
Five years later, Billy reappeared on the far side of the world, telling an impossible tale of a primordial valley populated by dinosaurs, aliens, Neanderthals, and androids. Little Billy became the punchline of so very many jokes, until he finally faded from the public eye.
Now, a group of graduate astronomy students follow their professor, Noah Barnes, up a mountain for what they believe is a simple stargazing trip. But they’re about to travel a lot farther than they planned …
Noah—the now grown Billy Gather—has finally figured out how to get back to the Valley. Accidentally bringing his students along with him, he’s confident he can get everyone back home, safe and sound.
But the Valley is a puzzle—one it turns out Noah hasn''t figured out—and they’ll need to solve it together if there’s any chance of making it out alive.
Pulling from Earth’s past, future, and beyond, Peter Clines has created a complex, dangerous world, navigated by a dynamic ensemble cast, and a story that is thrilling as it is funny and heartfelt.
Book links: Amazon, Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adam Oyebanji was born in Coatbridge, in the West of Scotland, and is now in Edinburgh, by way of Birmingham, London, Lagos, Nigeria, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New York. After graduating from Birmingham University and Harvard Law School, he worked as a barrister, before moving to New York to work in counter-terrorist financing in Wall Street, helping to choke off the money supply that builds weapons of mass destruction, narcotics empires and human trafficking networks. His first novel, Braking Day, was a finalist for the Canopus Award.
Publisher: DAW (May 20, 2025) Length: 432 pages (Kindle edition) Formats: Audiobook, ebook, paperback
Buy Level: Ascension
Read our review of Book 1, Level: Unknown
FORMAT/INFO: Level: Ascension was published by Orbit Books on May 13th, 2025. It is 400 pages long and available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In order to save his world, Nick will have to end another. With a large black disc traveling closer and closer to his research station, Nick spends nearly all his time in the fantasy world of Yensere, a digital simulation created by a mysterious alien artifact. In Yensere, the god-king Vaan has frozen a similar looking black sun in the sky; this has prevented an apocalypse in Yensere but disrupted the patterns of time and nature in a way that seems to be destroying the world anyway, if more slowly. If Nick is to understand the doom that approaches his people, he will have to kill the god-king Vaan and unleash disaster on Yensere so that he can gain whatever knowledge he can. But before then, he'll have to defeat the god-king's chosen champions - a task that will come with a devastating cost.
Level:Ascension continues to expand its world in interesting ways, but the plot was overwhelmed by the sheer number of fight sequences. On the plus side we get to learn more about Frost, her origin, and how her sister went missing. It added some much needed personal stakes to the story beyond the also important "save the world." I also appreciated the teases we get indicating that Yensere isn't the only digital world contained within the alien artifact.
But these small nuggets of clues and character insight were overwhelmed by fight after fight after fight. On the one hand, I understand that a LitRPG is going to have a lot of battles in it, especially when it's inspired by a game like Dark Souls. Going from one epic fight to another is literally what that game genre is all about. But the more fights you have with everyone wielding awe-inspiring powers, the less exciting each encounter feels.
Don't get me wrong, in a vacuum the individual fights are impressive. As always, this author delivers a powerhouse finale that is a great set piece with personal stakes. But I could have used one or two fewer fights and a little more time expanding on some of the other characters. Sir Gareth, for instance, was a strong part of book one, but gets a bit left by the wayside in this sequel, a hazard of several new characters entering the playing field.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In order to save his world, Nick will have to end another. With a large black disc traveling closer and closer to his research station, Nick spends nearly all his time in the fantasy world of Yensere, a digital simulation created by a mysterious alien artifact. In Yensere, the god-king Vaan has frozen a similar looking black sun in the sky; this has prevented an apocalypse in Yensere but disrupted the patterns of time and nature in a way that seems to be destroying the world anyway, if more slowly. If Nick is to understand the doom that approaches his people, he will have to kill the god-king Vaan and unleash disaster on Yensere so that he can gain whatever knowledge he can. But before then, he'll have to defeat the god-king's chosen champions - a task that will come with a devastating cost.
Level:Ascension continues to expand its world in interesting ways, but the plot was overwhelmed by the sheer number of fight sequences. On the plus side we get to learn more about Frost, her origin, and how her sister went missing. It added some much needed personal stakes to the story beyond the also important "save the world." I also appreciated the teases we get indicating that Yensere isn't the only digital world contained within the alien artifact.
But these small nuggets of clues and character insight were overwhelmed by fight after fight after fight. On the one hand, I understand that a LitRPG is going to have a lot of battles in it, especially when it's inspired by a game like Dark Souls. Going from one epic fight to another is literally what that game genre is all about. But the more fights you have with everyone wielding awe-inspiring powers, the less exciting each encounter feels.
Don't get me wrong, in a vacuum the individual fights are impressive. As always, this author delivers a powerhouse finale that is a great set piece with personal stakes. But I could have used one or two fewer fights and a little more time expanding on some of the other characters. Sir Gareth, for instance, was a strong part of book one, but gets a bit left by the wayside in this sequel, a hazard of several new characters entering the playing field.
CONCLUSION: For some of you, hearing that Level: Ascension is chock full of impressive fight scenes is going to be fantastic news, and I encourage you to go give this series a try! For me, while I enjoy the overall concept of this simulated world, I had a bit of trouble finding the momentum in this particular outing. Perhaps with everything coming to a head in upcoming Level: Apocalypse, I'll find that momentum once more.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Wiswell is a disabled author who lives where New York keeps all its trees. His fiction has been translated into ten languages. He won the 2021 Nebula Award for Best Short Story for "Open House on Haunted Hill," and the 2022 Locus Award for Best Novelette for "That Story Isn't The Story." He has also been a finalist for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Awards. His debut novel, SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN, is due out from DAW Books in 2024. He dreams of hugging a kaiju.
Publisher: DAW (April 2, 2024) Length: 320 p Formats: audiobook, ebook, paperback
Official Author Website
Preorder Dragon Along over HERE
Dragon Along ARC Sign-up Sheet
Preorder Dragon Along over HERE
Dragon Along ARC Sign-up Sheet
Joseph John Lee is an author whom we love at Fantasy Book Critic. He's the author of The Spellbinders & the Gunslingers trilogy. We were so thrilled to be a part of the cover reval for the concluding vlume of the Dragons of Nóra duology.
Dragon Along will be releasing on June 3rd 2025 & here's the cover in all of its glory and do checkout the blurb below
Official Blurb: Sometimes, the promise
of a different story doesn’t quite go the way you planned.
After the adventure of a lifetime and hatching a dragon of his own, Camaráin promises his mother that they won’t be forced on the same journey his sister embarked on. That pledge appears to have happened a bit too literally: for as much as Camaráin’s hatchling Brían loves to sit and read with him, they share neither the Bond nor the friendship that Camaráin’s sister had with her dragon.
When his grandparents invite the family to their new home outside the capital city of Mór, Camaráin thinks the extent of his new story is getting rid of the belligerent gnome that has taken up residence in his grandparents’ bathroom. At least, until the gnome forms an instant rapport with Brían that leaves Camaráin flummoxed—and also quite jealous.
If Camaráin is to discover why he cannot form a Bond with his new dragon, he must navigate the strange webs of Mór spun by a secret scholarly society, a band of fae hunters, tourists taking up too much space, and the banned books section at the local library.
Evidently, the days of bonding over books and a cuppa have yet to make their way to the land of Nóra.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Raymond St. Elmo is a programmer of artificial intelligences and virtual realities, who has no time for literary fabrications of fictitious characters and world-building. And yes, that was meant to be ironic.
A degree in Spanish Literature gave him a love of Magic Realism. Programming gave him a job. The job introduced him to artifical intelligence and virtual realities; as close to magic as reality is likely to get outside the covers of a book. And yes, that was meant to be cynical.
The author of several first-person comic-accounts of strange quests for mysterious manuscripts, mysterious girls in cloaks whose face appears SUDDENLY IN THE FLASH OF LIGHTNING. And yes, that was meant to be dramatic.
Publisher: St. Elmo Labs (April 14, 2025) Length: 414 pages Formats: ebook, paperback
Official Author Website
Pre-order Only A Grave Will Do over HERE
Today we have super thrilled to be part of the cover reveal for the last book of the Malitu trilogy by James Lloyd Dulin,
Feast your eyes on the gorgeous cover for ONLY A GRAVE WILL DO by artist Martin Mottet, the book released on June 24th 2025 and you can checkout the blurb below:
OFFICIAL BLURB: On the march towards war, blood is both a promise and a gamble.
Newly dubbed the Hero of Anilace, Kaylo is thrust into leading a rebellion against insurmountable odds. His people are dying, if not in labor camps, in occupied cities as everything that makes them Ennean is stripped away. In two generations, the Great Spirits will be legends and Ennea will be yet another conquered territory. People look to Kaylo and the myth growing around him to stem the rising tide.
Sixteen years later, a trivial rebellion, a reclusive nation, and a vast empire march towards a battle to decide the fate of Ennea and her people. The actions of the small folk go unseen. Those who want to serve; those who have given up; those imprisoned; those who will fight at any cost; and those who will protect the people they love with every breath will tip the scales. Ennea is not done fighting.
Isn't it gorgeous?
There will also be a blog tour for the book release and you can check out all the details in the graphic below
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