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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Scott Hawkins is the author of the cult fantasy novel The Library at Mount Char. Before becoming a novelist, he worked as a software engineer and technical writer. After an eleven-year gap between novels, he returned with Blacktail, a dark fantasy that blends horror, myth, and animal perspectives.
Publisher: Crown (US) / Tor Nightfire (UK) Length: 288 pages Formats: Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook
SPOTLIGHT: Headless Horselord: The Two Kings Kickstarter and Interview with Hazem Ameen & Deepak Thomas
Read Chapter 1 of Headless Horselord: The Two Kings
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic Deepak. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer in the first place?
Deepak:
I’ve wanted to tell stories from a very young age. I still have comics I drew
when I was 5 years old. It probably started because I was brought up in family
that cherished books, stories and storytelling. Some of my best memories were
my grandma, uncles and father telling stories from the Bible, the Epics and
their own childhood. I believe good art entertains you, but great art inspires
you to create your own work.
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic Deepak. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer in the first place?
As for
myself, I’ve already completed a Worldbuilding Fantasy artbook called ‘the
Shrines of Araartu’ and self-published it a year prior. That
self-confidence carried me some way, but making a graphic novel turned out to
be a whole different beast altogether. It is a *lot* of work and takes a long
time, but hopefully we’ve learned a lot of things on the way for future
projects.
Q] Let’s talk about Headless Horselord, it’s a graphic novel set in a fantasy land reminiscent of the Indian Deccan. This is such a unique story idea focusing on elements of horror, sword & sorcery mixed in with Indian mythological aspects. Can you both tell us about how tricky/easy it was from a worldbuilding perspective?
Deepak: It
was surprisingly easy. One of the big advantages of the Indian Deccan was that
it’s an unusual setting even for Indian fantasy stories. However, this region
has a very rich and dynamic history. The more difficult aspect was not putting
everything we wanted to put into the story. The Sword and Sorcery aspect was so
obvious once we chose the setting. There’re so many cool legends, and
historical details to pull from. There’s been crazy battles, weird rituals and
sacrifices and iconic characters throughout the Medieval era that this story is
based on.
Q] As a desi SFF reader, this graphic novel
is a breath of fresh air. There might be non-desi readers who might not be
aware of the cool aspects within and hence might be a tad apprehensive. So what
can readers expect from The Headless Horselord and what should they
be looking forward to according to you both?
Deepak:
First of all, the art! Hazem has knocked this out of the park…out of the
city on this one. The art is so gorgeous, detailed and the storytelling is top
notch. I’ve been showing the book to some of the biggest creators in comics and
their jaws dropped seeing the beautiful work in this book. So if nothing else,
have this book on your shelf just as a gorgeous collectible.
But for this into it for the story, if
you’re a fan of Witcher or Berserk, you’ll love this story. It
has all the familiar elements of those stories, but it is imbued with a fresh
setting. By the end of it, you will be fascinated with the history of this era,
and the hope is that you’ll go and look for more books to read about this time.
Q] Can you tell us more about the world
that the Headless Horselord is set in? What are the curiosities (geographical,
mystical, etc.) of this world?
Deepak: The
story is set in a fictionalized version of the Indian Deccan region called
Dakshina. It’s a story that goes through two timelines: a “Golden Age” before
the land was overrun by monsters. This is the era that shows you gorgeous
cities, big battles and the rituals and culture of that era. This is followed
by the “Dark Age” when Dakshina has fallen and is now ruled by the Monster
King. But we wanted to avoid the obvious dichotomy of good versus bad.
Hence, both eras have golden and dark
aspects to it. In the Golden Era we have lot of bloodshed…even genocides. While
in the Dark Ages, jungles are lush again and wildlife is thriving. The story keeps moving between the two eras
and you slowly uncover the mystery of how the world fell and how the Headless
Horselord lost his head. Regarding the mystical aspects, we’ve borrowed myths
from Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Folk religions of the region and combined them
so that the reader is experiencing something new and not just a retread of
familiar tropes.
Q] Can you talk to our readers about some
of the story’s major characters?
Deepak: The
most important character is of course the Headless Horselord himself.
He’s immortal and self-healing, so like a medieval Wolverine. And just like the
mutant, he’s a phenomenal fighter who acts very stoic and gruffy but has a
strong sense of justice and need to help the defenseless. Doesn’t have a mouth so doesn’t talk much.
Which is compensated by his brother, who at this stage is just a decapitated
head. Headless’ brother is the
more friendly and intellectual of the two. He’s very trusting and kind which
can and does get him into trouble.
Q] Let’s talk about Headless Horselord, it’s a graphic novel set in a fantasy land reminiscent of the Indian Deccan. This is such a unique story idea focusing on elements of horror, sword & sorcery mixed in with Indian mythological aspects. Can you both tell us about how tricky/easy it was from a worldbuilding perspective?
Then we have Vajra i.e. Headless’
Horse. He’s a beautiful, smart creature who is very loyal and courageous but
also has a short fuse and can quickly get riled up. There’s Huan Wang,
inspired by real life Chinese travelers, who is a foreigner trying to make
sense of this weird world he finds himself in. He’s also very potty-mouthed,
constantly swearing highlighting the irony of someone who claims to be a
spiritual guide on paper but is very material and worldly in real life. He
wants nothing to do with Headless’ mission but finds himself constantly caught
in the crosshairs. Then there are several other interesting characters that I
can’t give too many details about without spoiling the story.
Q] So for someone who hasn't read any of
your previous work Deepak, how would you describe the type of stories that you
write, what would be your pitch for Headless Horselord?
Deepak: I
write fantasy and sci-fi inspired by Indian culture and history. My works are
inspired by blockbuster cinema, anime and of course comics from all parts of
the world. I write fast-paced, action-focused stories and my primary goal is to
introduce readers to the rich, vast world of Indian civilization. If you like
stories like the Witcher, or Conan and want to read something set
in a world that’s not the usual European or East Asian setting, then give Headless
Horselord a shot.
Q] With Headless Horselord: The Two Kings being the first volume of a
series, what can you reveal about your plans for the series (number of books,
etc)?
Deepak: This volume is first in
a trilogy. We already have the outline for volume 2 and 3 and as soon as the
editing wraps on The Two Kings, I’ll start working on volume 2. We are committed
to completing the trilogy up to book 3 which will wrap the full saga. After
that, based on if we have more stories to tell in this world, we’ll take it
forward.
Q] In closing, do you have any parting
thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
Deepak: To all those who have shown your support by following us on Kickstarter, or downloading the first issue, thank you! We have been blown away by the response from the audience. You can support us by backing us on Kickstarter. If you haven’t yet, you can read Chapter 1 for free.
Book links: Amazon, Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chuck Wendig is a New York Times bestselling author, screenwriter, and game designer known for novels like The Book of Accidents, Wanderers, and Wayward. He was a finalist for the Astounding Award and an alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. He is also widely known for his popular writing blog, terribleminds, and lives in Pennsylvania with his family.
Publisher: Del Rey (US) / Cornerstone (UK) Length: 592 pages Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook
Buy Daggerbound
FORMAT/INFO: Daggerbound was published on August 25th, 2026 by Bramble Romance. It is 436 pages long and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Daggerbound is a gem of a romance set in a road trip adventure, perfect for those who like watching an increasingly odd set of companions assemble across a journey. Things start simple enough: Edmund is a cleric and a scholar who is going on one last errand for his temple before he leaves his order forever. All he has to do is deliver a sword to a scholar in another city. Then he accidentally discovers an immortal warrior spirit named the Dervish is bound to the sword, one that is as flirtatious as he is deadly.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Daggerbound is a gem of a romance set in a road trip adventure, perfect for those who like watching an increasingly odd set of companions assemble across a journey. Things start simple enough: Edmund is a cleric and a scholar who is going on one last errand for his temple before he leaves his order forever. All he has to do is deliver a sword to a scholar in another city. Then he accidentally discovers an immortal warrior spirit named the Dervish is bound to the sword, one that is as flirtatious as he is deadly.
From there, Edmund's band of misfits only grows as he and the Dervish travel together. I won't rob you of the delight of discovering these companions for yourselves, but suffice to say that Large Francis will always have a special place in my heart. All of these companions are written in T. Kingfisher's delightfully droll manner, and I loved getting to know these characters as they survive the dangers along the road.
And while much of this story is whimsical and delightful, it is not without peril and some darker elements. The Dervish, in particular, has had some harrowing experiences in his past that get slowly unpacked over the course of the story. The Dervish may be immortal, but that doesn't mean he doesn't experience pain, and not all of the owners of his blade have been particularly kind. But these moments of darkness serve to highlight the relief and joy of being with folks who are good and kind and who just want to help however they can.
I also enjoyed watching the Dervish and Edmund slowly develop their feelings for each other over the course of the book. Edmund, while not romantically inexperienced, trends towards quiet and soft-spoken, while the Dervish is flamboyant and ready to flirt with anything that moves. I'll be honest, the Dervish's bold, persistent flirtations were a little much for my personal preference, but I did like watching him come around to respect and love Edmund.
To make a long story short, if you enjoyed Swordheart, you'll be glad to come back to Swordheart. The same wit and whimsy in writing is on display, with a new pairing to fall in love with. There's a setup teased for a third book in this series, and I am very much looking forward to it when it comes out.
And while much of this story is whimsical and delightful, it is not without peril and some darker elements. The Dervish, in particular, has had some harrowing experiences in his past that get slowly unpacked over the course of the story. The Dervish may be immortal, but that doesn't mean he doesn't experience pain, and not all of the owners of his blade have been particularly kind. But these moments of darkness serve to highlight the relief and joy of being with folks who are good and kind and who just want to help however they can.
I also enjoyed watching the Dervish and Edmund slowly develop their feelings for each other over the course of the book. Edmund, while not romantically inexperienced, trends towards quiet and soft-spoken, while the Dervish is flamboyant and ready to flirt with anything that moves. I'll be honest, the Dervish's bold, persistent flirtations were a little much for my personal preference, but I did like watching him come around to respect and love Edmund.
To make a long story short, if you enjoyed Swordheart, you'll be glad to come back to Swordheart. The same wit and whimsy in writing is on display, with a new pairing to fall in love with. There's a setup teased for a third book in this series, and I am very much looking forward to it when it comes out.
Buy A Trade of Blood
Read our review of Book 1, The Tainted Cup
FORMAT/INFO: A Trade of Blood was published by Del Rey on August 4th, 2026. It is 400 pages long and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: A Trade of Blood is another superb fantasy murder mystery in an eerie, creepy world. This particular installment takes a look at how the meat gets made - and I mean that literally. Ana and Din are sent to a part of the empire renowned for its cattle pastures and butchery floors, as well as for its two feuding noble families who have been squabbling over the land for centuries. As with the previous two books, everything is just a little bit off in a way that is unsettling to the reader. This is an empire willing to alchemically enhance and manipulate anything and anyone for its survival - although in this adventure, we start taking a real peek behind the curtain at the cost of that survival.
This was also a particularly personal adventure for Din, in more ways than one. His own alchemical enhancements that give him an eidetic memory also cost him life span and fertility. And while he may not care so much about losing the ability to procreate, Din starts to get some reminders that his life will likely be much shorter than those around him. It's a realization that makes him grapple with both his past and future.
The mystery itself is a good one - why would a man who confessed to a murder have no recollection of how or why he did it? The answer is absolutely chilling and disquieting. I will say that keeping track of the cast of characters involved in the two feuding houses did become a little bit daunting at times, simply because there were so many names and connections between everyone, but it's a minor issue.
In short, A Trade of Blood has confirmed what I've suspected: if Bennett releases one of these books every year for the foreseeable future, I will be a very happy reader indeed.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: A Trade of Blood is another superb fantasy murder mystery in an eerie, creepy world. This particular installment takes a look at how the meat gets made - and I mean that literally. Ana and Din are sent to a part of the empire renowned for its cattle pastures and butchery floors, as well as for its two feuding noble families who have been squabbling over the land for centuries. As with the previous two books, everything is just a little bit off in a way that is unsettling to the reader. This is an empire willing to alchemically enhance and manipulate anything and anyone for its survival - although in this adventure, we start taking a real peek behind the curtain at the cost of that survival.
This was also a particularly personal adventure for Din, in more ways than one. His own alchemical enhancements that give him an eidetic memory also cost him life span and fertility. And while he may not care so much about losing the ability to procreate, Din starts to get some reminders that his life will likely be much shorter than those around him. It's a realization that makes him grapple with both his past and future.
The mystery itself is a good one - why would a man who confessed to a murder have no recollection of how or why he did it? The answer is absolutely chilling and disquieting. I will say that keeping track of the cast of characters involved in the two feuding houses did become a little bit daunting at times, simply because there were so many names and connections between everyone, but it's a minor issue.
In short, A Trade of Blood has confirmed what I've suspected: if Bennett releases one of these books every year for the foreseeable future, I will be a very happy reader indeed.
Comma Press is an independent & Not-For-Profit publisher that in short fiction from the UK and beyond. China +100 is their newest offering which is edited by Xueting C. Ni. The anthology will be released on 24th September 2026.
This SF anthology features the talents of ten brilliant writers (Lu Hang, Zhou Dedong, Ling Chen , Dan Shi , He Zun, He Xi, Anna Wu, Tang Fei, Zhao Haihong , Yimei Tangguo & Chen Qiufan).
The anthology cover is designed by David Eckersall with art direction done by Ra Page. Checkout how the cover evolved and the official blurb below:
Official Book Blurb: China + 100 poses
a simple question to ten Chinese writers: what might your country look
like in the year 2119 – a century after the first outbreak of
Covid-19?
How might this event – which
triggered a global health crisis – reach across a century of
technological progress, social engineering, and medical advances, to shape the
country and its people? Will the lessons of the pandemic have been learned?
Will the people’s trust in science have been repaired?
Covering
a range of contexts, from transhumanist performance art to lawless
dystopia, these stories use the prism of the future to inspect both
intergenerational repercussions from the 2019 outbreak and imagined future
pandemic scenarios. Along the way, we encounter concrete-devouring super-fungi,
deep-space outbreaks, slum clearances dressed up as ‘quarantine measures’, and
science-defying rumours spreading faster than any virus. However, at the heart
of each story, lies the unique Chinese temperament, acknowledging the loss that
the entire country experienced, and a resilience formed over generations of
disasters and conflict.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael R. Fletcher lives in the endless suburban sprawl north of Toronto. He dreams of trees and seeing the stars at night and being a ninja. He is an unrepentant whiskey-swilling reprobate of the tallest order and thinks grilled cheese sandwiches are a food group.
http://michaelrfletcher.com/
Publisher: Michael R. Fletcher (August 3, 2026) Page count: 358 pages Formats: ab, eb, pp
Buy A Forsaken Prophecy
Read our review of Book 1, A Forbidden Alchemy
Read our review of Book 1, A Forbidden Alchemy
FORMAT/INFO: A Forsaken Prophecy was published by Saga Press on July 21st, 2026. It is 480 pages and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: A Forsaken Prophecy is an excellent sequel full of all the angst and complicated emotions you could want from our poor tortured protagonists. Picking up from the tumultuous events from the end of book one, it does a great job of putting our characters between a rock and a hard place. Each must decide what compromises they’re willing to make: is it more important to make short term compromises in order to survive, or should you refuse to bend even a little in order to protect a fledgling rebellion? What’s more important, your rebellion or those you love? Which one are you willing to sacrifice in order to protect the other? There are plenty of terrible tough decisions to be made, and I was thoroughly engrossed to see how our characters navigated the waters they were in.
Nina in particular really bears the weight of these decisions and as a result, we are treated to some impressive bouts of feminine rage throughout the book as she finally decides she has had ENOUGH. But while Nina does get some fantastic moments to call people out, I did feel like she was put a little bit to the side in this book. That’s in part because there are more POVs in this sequel than there were in book one (which only featured Nina and Patrick). With more POVs, that means there's less time to spend with each POV, and in this case, it felt like Nina got the short end of the stick (somewhat ironic given there were those who were insisting that no one gets to decide her fate but her). Some POVs offered some interesting insights, but some POVs belonged to characters I wanted to drop kick into the sun (sorry not sorry Theo). I preferred it when it was just a two POV book, but I also understand the need to broaden the POVs as the scope of the series broadens.
As for the romance, it continues its delicious slow burn. Without going into spoilers from book one, Nina and Patrick have some things to work through and feelings to grapple with. I enjoyed the turmoil, especially as it didn’t feel like unnecessary roadblocks, but real people working through real emotions brought on by their circumstances.
The plot this time goes into the overarching lore of the world as our characters unpack a hidden prophecy and try to understand its implications. I enjoyed the race against time and continuing to see how other communities are faring in the world, especially as strikes and rebellion pit the upper classes against the working class and regular everyday folks struggle to hold onto ideals when they can’t feed their families.
All in all, A Forsaken Prophecy is an engrossing sequel that continues to put our heroes through the wringer, forcing them to make impossible choices. It’s moody and atmospheric and will throw you right back into all the angst and drama you loved from book one. Cannot wait to see how everything concludes in the finale!
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: A Forsaken Prophecy is an excellent sequel full of all the angst and complicated emotions you could want from our poor tortured protagonists. Picking up from the tumultuous events from the end of book one, it does a great job of putting our characters between a rock and a hard place. Each must decide what compromises they’re willing to make: is it more important to make short term compromises in order to survive, or should you refuse to bend even a little in order to protect a fledgling rebellion? What’s more important, your rebellion or those you love? Which one are you willing to sacrifice in order to protect the other? There are plenty of terrible tough decisions to be made, and I was thoroughly engrossed to see how our characters navigated the waters they were in.
Nina in particular really bears the weight of these decisions and as a result, we are treated to some impressive bouts of feminine rage throughout the book as she finally decides she has had ENOUGH. But while Nina does get some fantastic moments to call people out, I did feel like she was put a little bit to the side in this book. That’s in part because there are more POVs in this sequel than there were in book one (which only featured Nina and Patrick). With more POVs, that means there's less time to spend with each POV, and in this case, it felt like Nina got the short end of the stick (somewhat ironic given there were those who were insisting that no one gets to decide her fate but her). Some POVs offered some interesting insights, but some POVs belonged to characters I wanted to drop kick into the sun (sorry not sorry Theo). I preferred it when it was just a two POV book, but I also understand the need to broaden the POVs as the scope of the series broadens.
As for the romance, it continues its delicious slow burn. Without going into spoilers from book one, Nina and Patrick have some things to work through and feelings to grapple with. I enjoyed the turmoil, especially as it didn’t feel like unnecessary roadblocks, but real people working through real emotions brought on by their circumstances.
The plot this time goes into the overarching lore of the world as our characters unpack a hidden prophecy and try to understand its implications. I enjoyed the race against time and continuing to see how other communities are faring in the world, especially as strikes and rebellion pit the upper classes against the working class and regular everyday folks struggle to hold onto ideals when they can’t feed their families.
All in all, A Forsaken Prophecy is an engrossing sequel that continues to put our heroes through the wringer, forcing them to make impossible choices. It’s moody and atmospheric and will throw you right back into all the angst and drama you loved from book one. Cannot wait to see how everything concludes in the finale!
Monday, July 27, 2026
Exclusive Cover Reveal: Children Of Sun And Moon (Children of the Worldsea #1) by Juhi & Matt Larkin
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chuck Tingle is a mysterious force of energy behind sunglasses and a pink mask. He is also an anonymous author of romance, horror, and fantasy. Chuck was born in Home of Truth, Utah, and now splits time between Billings, Montana and Los Angeles, California. Chuck writes to prove love is real, because love is the most important tool we have when resisting the endless cosmic void. Not everything people say about Chuck is true, but the important parts are.
Learn more at www.ChuckTingle.com
Publisher: Tor Nightfire (July 7, 2026) Page count: 240 Formats:ab, eb, tp, hc
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mike Carey is the acclaimed writer of Lucifer and Hellblazer (now filmed as Constantine). He has recently completed a comics adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, and is the current writer on Marvel's X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four. He has also written the screenplay for a movie, Frost Flowers, which is soon to be produced by Hadaly Films and Bluestar Pictures.
Also writes as Mike Carey
Publisher: Orbit (June 23, 2026) Page count: 400 Formats: all
Buy The Infinite State
FORMAT/INFO: The Infinite State will be published by Tor Books on August 4th, 2026. It is 416 pages and available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Infinite State is a dystopian sci-fi that's ironically undercut by succeeding a little too well at crafting a seemingly inescapable authoritarian police state. I admit, I had to sit with The Infinite State for a bit before I wrote this review. I was caught up in trying to figure out why the bleakness of the author's previous series, Empire of the Wolf, worked for me, while the bleakness of The Infinite State left me underwhelmed. But it has finally clicked. Bear with me for a moment.
In Empire of the Wolf, you are told from page one that the empire in this saga is doomed to fall. We know everything is going to fall apart, but the drama is in HOW it falls apart. More importantly, even though the empire is doomed, the characters we follow still have agency. They are making choices and they are still the ultimate drivers of the narrative. And even in ultimate failure, there are some successes to be found along the way.
In The Infinite State, we arrive at the very worst of times. The empire is a totalitarian surveillance state, where no one is safe from political murder. There should be excitement in watching characters break out of this nightmare. The problem is that success doesn't actually seem like a viable path for our characters. The government knows all their moves before they make them. Resistance is futile. A lot of the story is things happening to them, rather than as a result of their actions. Whatever victories our heroes achieve is because they are caught up in political machinations way above their head, not because they have some cunning plan of their own.
I don't hate the characters outright. Cyprian, an Inspecktor in the state police and by far my favorite of the three POVs, is a competent but disillusioned man who has realized the futility of trying to achieve any real justice. His job is to keep his head down and to make political assassinations disappear. His junior office, starry-eyed with patriotism, can't understand how things work and suffers for it. Cyprian is out here doing his best to survive because he's been around long enough to actually know how to survive. But surviving is all he really does.
Katherine, on the other hand, is a character that stumbles into success. Now there is plenty to be said about the fact that this woman even has the idea to begin with to start a new planet and government. She's the will that keeps the progress of this whole project moving forward. But really, that's all that she contributes: a will to succeed. She's not particularly smart or politically savvy, but somehow keeps moving the ball forward.
And lastly there's Julian, whose poor unfortunate arc is to be the guy who comes from a privileged life in a neighboring regime of planets; when he comes to spend his racing career in Pater Aeternus, he doesn't imagine that life could be THAT bad here. He quickly realizes his mistake when he violates the "morality" clause of his racing contract.
Interesting characters, for sure. But watching them trapped in an authoritarian state, knowing that none of them would break free without circumstances outside their control aligning, that was a level of bleakness I found a bit suffocating. I want to know our heroes can make things happen on their own. Sure, sometimes it takes a bit of luck, but there's got to be that glimmer of hope. And this story was decidedly without hope because for the most part, our characters are just passive prisoners in a nightmare.
Despite all my critiques, I will be continuing with the series. It's still an interesting premise, even if the execution was too bleak for my taste. There's also the fact that, as the first book of the series, our characters are just getting started. They're already more proactive in the final pages; there's every chance that will only grow with time. But if you're looking for an escape from our present world society, this may not be the one for you.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Infinite State is a dystopian sci-fi that's ironically undercut by succeeding a little too well at crafting a seemingly inescapable authoritarian police state. I admit, I had to sit with The Infinite State for a bit before I wrote this review. I was caught up in trying to figure out why the bleakness of the author's previous series, Empire of the Wolf, worked for me, while the bleakness of The Infinite State left me underwhelmed. But it has finally clicked. Bear with me for a moment.
In Empire of the Wolf, you are told from page one that the empire in this saga is doomed to fall. We know everything is going to fall apart, but the drama is in HOW it falls apart. More importantly, even though the empire is doomed, the characters we follow still have agency. They are making choices and they are still the ultimate drivers of the narrative. And even in ultimate failure, there are some successes to be found along the way.
In The Infinite State, we arrive at the very worst of times. The empire is a totalitarian surveillance state, where no one is safe from political murder. There should be excitement in watching characters break out of this nightmare. The problem is that success doesn't actually seem like a viable path for our characters. The government knows all their moves before they make them. Resistance is futile. A lot of the story is things happening to them, rather than as a result of their actions. Whatever victories our heroes achieve is because they are caught up in political machinations way above their head, not because they have some cunning plan of their own.
I don't hate the characters outright. Cyprian, an Inspecktor in the state police and by far my favorite of the three POVs, is a competent but disillusioned man who has realized the futility of trying to achieve any real justice. His job is to keep his head down and to make political assassinations disappear. His junior office, starry-eyed with patriotism, can't understand how things work and suffers for it. Cyprian is out here doing his best to survive because he's been around long enough to actually know how to survive. But surviving is all he really does.
Katherine, on the other hand, is a character that stumbles into success. Now there is plenty to be said about the fact that this woman even has the idea to begin with to start a new planet and government. She's the will that keeps the progress of this whole project moving forward. But really, that's all that she contributes: a will to succeed. She's not particularly smart or politically savvy, but somehow keeps moving the ball forward.
And lastly there's Julian, whose poor unfortunate arc is to be the guy who comes from a privileged life in a neighboring regime of planets; when he comes to spend his racing career in Pater Aeternus, he doesn't imagine that life could be THAT bad here. He quickly realizes his mistake when he violates the "morality" clause of his racing contract.
Interesting characters, for sure. But watching them trapped in an authoritarian state, knowing that none of them would break free without circumstances outside their control aligning, that was a level of bleakness I found a bit suffocating. I want to know our heroes can make things happen on their own. Sure, sometimes it takes a bit of luck, but there's got to be that glimmer of hope. And this story was decidedly without hope because for the most part, our characters are just passive prisoners in a nightmare.
Despite all my critiques, I will be continuing with the series. It's still an interesting premise, even if the execution was too bleak for my taste. There's also the fact that, as the first book of the series, our characters are just getting started. They're already more proactive in the final pages; there's every chance that will only grow with time. But if you're looking for an escape from our present world society, this may not be the one for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: RJ Barker is a critically acclaimed and award-winning author of fantasy fiction. He won the 2020 British Fantasy Society (BFS) Robert Holdstock award for Best Novel for his fourth novel, The Bone Ships.
His debut trilogy The Wounded Kingdom (Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins and King of Assassins) was nominated for the David Gemmel Award, the Kitschie Golden Tentacle, The Compton Crook and the BFS Best Debut and Best Novel awards. It was called ‘Thoroughly entertaining and constantly impressive’ by the Fantasy Hive, ‘One of the best fantasy series you will ever read’ by the BFS, and ‘A singular sensational new voice in epic fantasy’ by Kings of the Wyld author Nicholas Eames.
He followed this with the award-winning Tide Child Trilogy: The Bone Ships, Call of the Bone Ships and The Bone Ship's Wake. These books have been hailed as “One of the most interesting and original fantasy worlds I’ve seen in years” by Adrian Tchaikovsky, and “Brilliant” by Robin Hobb, alongside rave reviews in Starburst, SFX, and a starred review in Booklist: ‘A unique and memorable world – harsh and brutal and full of fully realized, powerful female characters. Barker has managed to craft a story inspired by Moby Dick, Game of Thrones, and pirate lore, and readers will be drawn in and fascinated.’
RJ lives in Leeds with his wife, son and a collection of questionable taxidermy, odd art, scary music and more books than they have room for. He grew up reading whatever he could get his hands on, and has always been 'that one with the book in his pocket'. Having played in rock bands before deciding he was a rubbish musician, RJ returned to his first love, fiction.
Website: www.rjbarker.co.uk
Twitter: @dedbutdrmng
Publisher: Tor Books (May 19, 2026) Page count: 432 Formats: audio, ebook, pp
Official Author Website
Joseph John Lee is an author with two finished series and he has been writing for the past couple of years to launch his epic fantasy debut. The Forham Papers is the new series and book 1 is titled The Ashen Viper. The book will be launched via kickstarter and you can click the "notify on launch" button over here.
Here's what the author had revealed about it so far: "This book—and series—will take you across three continents for a tale rich with lore, deep characters, political scheming, and a truly epic scale. In this absolute brick of a book, you'll find immortal demigods influencing the world's histories from the shadows, an order of undead assassins who were unleashed to appease a madman's grief, symbiotic magicks that grant power to a user just as much as they grant insanity . . . oh, and the central character has been described as a cross between Anomander Rake and Goku.
It is a story for those long enamored with grand and epic fantasies, for the fans of works like the Malazan Book of the Fallen and The Stormlight Archive."
Here's the artwork by Christopher Cant. The book cover can be seen below with design provided by Rachel St. Clair.
It is by the hands of loresmen that heroes and villains are risen from history’s foundations, today’s stories that became yesterday’s histories that became the legends of yore. And from those legends emerge truths…of a sort. The truths that best serve a story when the facts have been lost to the decay of time.
The war that spelled the end of the Second Age was long mired in such murky truths, in these legends accepted as history, these fables and songs that served as the only surviving memory of those fateful days. Until now. Until these Forahm Papers, and whatever they may contain within.
For it is not the singular hero and villain who weave a story’s tapestry, but the many hands who break from the foundations and hold the truth aloft.
The ministry official who must investigate a sudden disappearance. The reluctant hero who saved a queen and doomed an entire people in the process. The exile whose very soul threatens the destruction of all around her. The son of a traitor who will stop at nothing to see honor restored to his name. The untested heiress faced with a long-dormant storm coming to rage over her land once more.
And the man whose name endured within the darker threads of history, cursed in the shadows as an assassin of kings, an arbiter of doom, a devil taken flesh. For if there is a truth hidden amongst these papers, it must begin here. It must begin with him: the Ashen Viper.
FORMAT/INFO: The Eye of Leviathan was published on July 14th, 2026. It is 499 pages and available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Eye of Leviathan is a juxtaposition of whimsy and harsh reality that makes for a brutal examination of religious conversion and colonialism. Many readers will come to this having devoured the author duo's previous series, and I want to set the tone for what you're getting. The Rook & Rose trilogy (one of my all time favorites) is what I would call a "romantic adventure" fantasy. There's lavish balls, masked vigilantes, duels, con artists, crime lords with hearts of gold, all the trappings of a good old time. There's of course danger in it, but it's all a dashing affair.
The Eye of Leviathan, however, is darker in tone. It's a historical fantasy, grounded in an alternate version of our world where the Spanish have discovered a doorway to a faerie realm they call the Sea Beyond. In this history, Spain has given up its claim to the New World (the Americas) in favor of conquering this magical world instead.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Eye of Leviathan is a juxtaposition of whimsy and harsh reality that makes for a brutal examination of religious conversion and colonialism. Many readers will come to this having devoured the author duo's previous series, and I want to set the tone for what you're getting. The Rook & Rose trilogy (one of my all time favorites) is what I would call a "romantic adventure" fantasy. There's lavish balls, masked vigilantes, duels, con artists, crime lords with hearts of gold, all the trappings of a good old time. There's of course danger in it, but it's all a dashing affair.
The Eye of Leviathan, however, is darker in tone. It's a historical fantasy, grounded in an alternate version of our world where the Spanish have discovered a doorway to a faerie realm they call the Sea Beyond. In this history, Spain has given up its claim to the New World (the Americas) in favor of conquering this magical world instead.
The Sea Beyond is full of all the wonder you would expect. There's enchantments, strange creatures, terrible faeries who use the truth to lie to your face, and a whole ocean of moving islands. It's not perfect and it's not a utopia, but it's its own place and has its own culture and way of doing things. When the Spanish arrive, however, they immediately set about shaping the Sea Beyond into their view of how the world should be. Islands are literally pinned down, with some inhabitants slaughtered and others facing a cruel fate: baptism, which removes a faerie's immortality and makes them magically enslaved to those who hold their name. It's not a subtle metaphor, but it's certainly an effective one.
We see all this from two POVs: Estevan, a changeling masquerading as a human to infiltrate the Spanish colonization efforts to disrupt them from the inside, and the Hungry Girl, the mortal child Estevan replaced as a baby who has grown up in faerie and never seen another human until Spanish Conquistadors arrive. Estevan's POV is the more challenging of the two to get acclimated with, as we watch him assume the form of a child and grow over several years. It serves as an introduction to the world, but also required me to brush the cobwebs off my old history education as I tried to place the many names and places that get rattled off at the beginning of the story to establish this alternate history of events. I admit the early chapters were a little rough going because of that, as I struggled to remember what was factual in our world, and what changes had been made for this alternate history.
The Hungry Girl, meanwhile, was an easier character to get to know. Having grown up in wondrous faerie, she knows the ways in which the realm operates. But having never met another human, she is incredibly naive as to how they operate. When she meets the Spanish, she accepts everything they tell her must be true, because these are the only humans she's met and surely they must know the proper way of the world. But as she becomes complicit in their crimes, she starts to question and grow and start to unpack what her people are truly up to.
And that truly is the harshest part of the book, seeing all the beauty and wonder slowly be enslaved and corrupted. Through it all, the Hungry Girl has to wrestle with the hypocrisies and confused messaging of her people, as they tell her the proper way to be, the proper people to hate, the proper religion to follow. I do wish the Hungry Girl had questioned things a little more instead of taking what humans say at face value. After all, she's spent her whole life amongst fae creatures who know how to twist their words to hide their motivations.
The story cuts back and forth between alternating timelines that slowly converge, as Estevan goes through adulthood and embarks upon his present day career. This was where the story started to pick up for me, as the journeys of these two people drew together. Up to that point, I struggled a bit sometimes with feeling a real drive to Estevan's story, as he pursues his career without a real end goal in sight. This book was definitely on the slower side at times, and while I appreciated the magical metaphors, I didn't fully see where the climax was going.
The Eye of Leviathan excels as a condemnation of colonialism while struggling a bit with the overall story. The ending didn't quite catapult me to the sequel; it simply closes one chapter with the promise of a part two. And it felt slower than the ROOK & ROSE books; while those books took me a while to get to, I was so enraptured with the world and the characters I didn't care. This just felt slow overall, especially with some extremely lengthy chapters. It is still a good book overall, but it didn't hit the heights I was hoping of the authors' previous work.
We see all this from two POVs: Estevan, a changeling masquerading as a human to infiltrate the Spanish colonization efforts to disrupt them from the inside, and the Hungry Girl, the mortal child Estevan replaced as a baby who has grown up in faerie and never seen another human until Spanish Conquistadors arrive. Estevan's POV is the more challenging of the two to get acclimated with, as we watch him assume the form of a child and grow over several years. It serves as an introduction to the world, but also required me to brush the cobwebs off my old history education as I tried to place the many names and places that get rattled off at the beginning of the story to establish this alternate history of events. I admit the early chapters were a little rough going because of that, as I struggled to remember what was factual in our world, and what changes had been made for this alternate history.
The Hungry Girl, meanwhile, was an easier character to get to know. Having grown up in wondrous faerie, she knows the ways in which the realm operates. But having never met another human, she is incredibly naive as to how they operate. When she meets the Spanish, she accepts everything they tell her must be true, because these are the only humans she's met and surely they must know the proper way of the world. But as she becomes complicit in their crimes, she starts to question and grow and start to unpack what her people are truly up to.
And that truly is the harshest part of the book, seeing all the beauty and wonder slowly be enslaved and corrupted. Through it all, the Hungry Girl has to wrestle with the hypocrisies and confused messaging of her people, as they tell her the proper way to be, the proper people to hate, the proper religion to follow. I do wish the Hungry Girl had questioned things a little more instead of taking what humans say at face value. After all, she's spent her whole life amongst fae creatures who know how to twist their words to hide their motivations.
The story cuts back and forth between alternating timelines that slowly converge, as Estevan goes through adulthood and embarks upon his present day career. This was where the story started to pick up for me, as the journeys of these two people drew together. Up to that point, I struggled a bit sometimes with feeling a real drive to Estevan's story, as he pursues his career without a real end goal in sight. This book was definitely on the slower side at times, and while I appreciated the magical metaphors, I didn't fully see where the climax was going.
The Eye of Leviathan excels as a condemnation of colonialism while struggling a bit with the overall story. The ending didn't quite catapult me to the sequel; it simply closes one chapter with the promise of a part two. And it felt slower than the ROOK & ROSE books; while those books took me a while to get to, I was so enraptured with the world and the characters I didn't care. This just felt slow overall, especially with some extremely lengthy chapters. It is still a good book overall, but it didn't hit the heights I was hoping of the authors' previous work.
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