Book Review: The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss

In a backwater town, a man with a hidden past spends his days running a well-kept inn. But then a traveller known as The Chronicler comes upon him one night and recognises him for who he really is; Kvothe, the Kingkiller. The book (and the series) opens with Kvothe passing himself off as a humble […]

Book Review: Rage of the Old Gods, by Tyler Edwards

My rating: 3 of 5 stars Gamers and movie-goers are probably now going to be familiar with mechs and giant robots, especially in content from the sf genre. Think Pacific Rim and Transformers, or Armoured Core and Zone of Enders. But how many times have you come across giant robots trying to wipe out humanity […]

Book Review: Shawn Mihalik’s Flute Player

My rating: 2 of 5 stars The Flute Player is a whimsical fairytale set during the bombing of France during WWII. The story is split between a hospital and a village situated in a magical land that exists between reality and dreams. A young lady has had an accident and lies in a coma, whilst […]

Book Review: Mockingjay (Hunger Games)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Mockingjay is the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I started reading this trilogy back in September 2011 and have had this final part sitting on my kindle for nearly eight months. Its not that I didn’t want to read it right away. I wanted to draw out […]

Book Review: Healer’s Touch by Deb E. Howell

Howell’s Healer’s Touch is an interesting twist on a stock fantasy character class. Instead of Healers being gentle and mild-mannered clerics, they are highly feared by the populace and coveted by military powers for their destructive abilities. Healer’s Touch title character, Llew is a street urchin who has suffered abandonment by both parents at a […]

Book Review: Nightingale by David Farland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Nightingale is the first in a series of urban fantasy books by David Farland, bestselling author of the Runelord fantasy series and mentor to a whole new generation of bestselling genre writers. Nightingale is about a changeling boy named Bron Jones who has been raised through the social welfare […]

Book Review: Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars A boy on a boat with a tiger hardly sounds like something that could hold your attention over 401 pages. You will find the Life of Pi filed under Literary works, although Wikipedia claims its a fantasy adventure, which I am sure many readers would contest. But the story […]

Review: The Golden Queen, A Masterclass in Resonance

My rating: 4 of 5 stars David Wolverton (better known by his pseudonym, David Farland) is a master of utilizing resonance in writing, a fact that is starkly evident in the Golden Queen. The book resonates strongly with the Star Wars mythos, which makes sense as Wolverton has written a number of Star Wars expanded […]

Review: The Mammoth Book of Nebula SF

The Mammoth Book of Nebula Awards SF by Kevin J. Anderson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Put together an eclectic collection of Nebula award-winning short stories and novelettes, as well as a full length novella selected by Kevin J Anderson and you know you’re in for a treat. Each story is distinct in its […]

Review: Conan the Cimmerian

Conan the Cimmerian continues to capture the imaginations of readers 80 years after Robert Ervin Howard penned the first Conan story, The Phoenix on the Sword, in 1932. Since then, the iconic character of Conan has graced magazines, books, comic books, cartoons, television serials, video games and the big screen. This particular tome contains all […]