Scott Lynch’s Red Seas Under Red Skies is a worthy follow-up to The Lies of Locke Lamora, a novel I thoroughly enjoyed. In this sequel, Gentlemen Bastards Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of treachery, piracy, and deceit that kept me turning the pages until the novel’s near cliffhanger…
I believe Stephen King is one of the greatest writers of our time. Several of his novels, including The Stand, ‘Salem’s Lot, and Wizard and Glass, are among my all-time favorites. So, when I discovered he had written another fantasy novel titled Fairy Tale, I bought it immediately and dove right in. My review has…
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, the first installment in his Gentleman Bastards series, is arguably the best book I’ve read since George R.R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords. In fact, I venture to say it’s one of the finest pieces of fantasy fiction I’ve had the pleasure of delving into for many…
Of all the fantasy novels I read at the end of last year, A Warrior’s Burden by Jacob Peppers may have been my favorite. My review has been a long time coming, primarily due to the time I’ve spent away from my blog while finishing the third book in the trilogy that began with Enoch’s…
Among the bestselling fantasy fiction I’ve been reading lately is A Forest of Vanity and Valour by A.P. Beswick. The story is a fantasy retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, and it’s quite good. Here’s my review. Vireo Reinhold plays the role of Robert of Locksley in Beswick’s retelling, set in the fictional kingdom…
It’s probably been a year since I finished The White Tower, an epic fantasy by Michael Wisehart, and I’m beyond past due in recommending this book. Commercially, the book has been very successful and racked up thousands of positive Amazon reviews. For readers who like sprawling fantasy novels with abundant magic and a small army…
I’ve been away from the blog for nearly three months, although there’s been a good reason for my absence — I’ve been working feverishly to finish the final book in my Dragon-Myth Cycle trilogy, and a complete draft is nearly in sight! But I am way behind on writing reviews for books I think my…
Of all the fantasy novels I read growing up, Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz was among the few that affected me the most. Published in 1970, it was a short novel that introduced me to two things that have influenced my writing ever since: a quasi-historical medieval setting and a puzzle-like plot. The novel takes…
It’s been a while since I’ve delved into High Fantasy. This type of fiction is the legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien – fantasy tales with an epic scope set in a world of elves, dwarves, and men. It’s the fantasy I grew up with crafted by Tolkien’s successors: Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Robert Jordan, and, more…
Amazon’s bestseller list for fantasy fiction has long featured books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, all about his now-famous character called The Witcher. For years, I passed on those books, but once Netflix brought The Witcher to TV, I decided I had to see what all the hype was about. It still took a while,…
When I read all of Michael Moorcock’s Elric novels in the early ‘80s, The Fortress of the Pearl was not part of the story. It wasn’t published in the U.S. until 1989, but I missed it. I only learned about it when I began re-reading the Elric books as part of my recent foray into…