Before we begin, I have a disclaimer: this is the first Brandon Sanderson book I've read.* Yeah, I'm aware he's big in fantasy, and I'm also aware that most Sanderson fans recommend that newcomers read Mistborn first. I laugh in the face of convention, etc.
As I said in my previous review, I've gone on a Hugo nominee kick. I picked up Too Like the Lightning even though I otherwise probably wouldn't (based on the description). And...well, we'll get to that in a minute.
I guess I've kinda decided to read all this year's Hugo Award nominees, since I've already read three of them. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers was on the list, but it's a sequel to her first novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and I figured I ought to read that one first.
And with this book, thus concludes one of my absolute favorite modern fantasy series. From start to finish, the Divine Cities books are gems of worldbuilding and memorable characters, so let's talk about that finish.
I don't do a lot of movie reviews here, but we need to talk about Wonder Woman, readers.I've been nervous about this movie ever since it was announced.
After I finished reading The Last Mortal Bond a few months back, I was thrilled to discover that Brian Staveley would be releasing a standalone story about Pyrre Lakatur, everyone's favorite death priestess and assassin. So here we are, a few weeks after Skullsworn's release. And let me tell you - it does not disappoint.
Oh. My. God. I have found my new favorite science fiction novel. All right, let's back up. I don't normally read a ton of science fiction (she says, three of her last four reviews being science fiction). I tend to gravitate more toward fantasy in books, sci-fi in TV. So I'd been debating buying Ninefox Gambit for a while.
Full disclosure: after I read (and loved) The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, I bought literally all of N.K. Jemisin's novels. So when they arrived, I went back and forth between the Inheritance trilogy and the Dreamblood Duology.* What decided me? Well, I love Egyptian...everything, so the fact that the Dreamblood books are loosely based on Egypt convinced me to pick those up first.
Sleeping Giants was one of my favorite books of 2016, so you can understand my enthusiasm for Waking Gods. I even timed the other books I was reading so I finished one at lunchtime the day Waking Gods came out, leaving me room to pick it up right away.
I'm a big fan of Peter Clines' Ex-Heroes series, so, given that I'm an author-loyal reader, I decided to pick up Clines' novel The Fold - my first non-Ex-Heroes experience with his writing.
No, I still have not watched The Expanse TV show. But as promised, I picked up Caliban's War pretty quickly after reading (and greatly enjoying) Leviathan Wakes, and I have to say - it was a much better read.
I promised this review a few months ago, after reviewing Death's End (translated by Ken Liu), and I'm here to deliver on that promise. So without further ado, let's discuss The Grace of Kings. Hoo boy.
So I wasn't really expecting a sequel to The Everything Box; The Wrong Dead Guy caught me a little off-guard. That said, I loved the concept of the Men-in-Black-esque DOPS, even if I didn't love all the characters, so I figured I'd give this one a whirl. Plus, mummies. I mean, duh.
I'm getting ready to submit my manuscript for Prisoner of Fate to Revise and Resubmit, a contest where the prize is five weeks of working with a professional editor. As part of that, we're doing a blog hop with writer bios, in the hopes of getting to know each other (and letting the the editors get to know us).
Picking up a debut author's novel is like rolling the dice. Sometimes you get something really amazing; other times, you end up disappointed by the little things that prevent it from reaching its full potential.This time, after reading Thoraiya Dyer's Crossroads of Canopy, I'm sitting somewhere in the middle, but closer to the former.
As I wrote a few weeks ago, A Conjuring of Light was my most anticipated book of 2017. Both of Schwab's previous books in the series were wonderful reads with a fully developed world(s), nuanced characters, clever magic and terrifying villains. It will shock no one to learn that the conclusion to the Shades of Magic series is no different.
You might conclude from my review of Twelve Kings in Sharakhai that I loved the book and the world Beaulieu created. You would be correct. So it will come as no surprise to learn that on the release day for With Blood Upon the Sand, I waltzed to my local B&N, impatiently made them go get a copy from the back, and then waltzed back home to start reading it (despite the enormous stack of "To Reads" currently sitting on my shelf).
Over Christmas of 2015, I went home to visit my parents like I usually do. As part of that visit, I typically raid their DVR (since I refuse to pay for cable channels I don't want) to catch up on shows I'm interested in. My dad, who shares my tastes, mentioned SyFy's new show The Expanse was good, so I enjoyed two episodes.Then I promptly forgot to watch the rest and went home.
When I picked up this book, I thought for sure I'd whiz through it in a few days. It's not very long, and I'm a rather fast reader.Then I ground to a halt within the first few chapters.
Believe it or not, I almost walked past this one. While I do keep up with my favorite authors and read recommendations, I find a lot of new books/authors simply by skimming the SF/F section at my local Barnes & Noble. They had Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, but the title didn't grab me. I bought other books, I left. This happened two or three times before I finally picked up the book, read the blurb and decided to give it a whirl.
