Category Archives: Book Review

 

  • What Feasts at Night: The new Alex Easton novella sees our hero once again in the wilds of Gallacia, though this time without the homicidal mushrooms

  • Queering Faith in Fantasy Literature: The Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow is producing some very interesting books, including this one

  • Waypoint Seven: A new space opera novella from a Finland-based author and a South African small press

  • Unexploded Remnants: Elaine Gallagher's debut novella is space opera with a strong Indiana Jones influence

  • The Book Blinders: John Clute is justifibly angry about the vandalism perpetrated by the British Library upon its collection of books

  • Ninth Life: The latest novel in Stark Holborn's Factus Sequence focuses on the lives of Gabi Ortiz: child general, rebel commander, and wanted murderer

  • The Brides of High Hill: Cleric Chih is back on the road again. But where is Almost Brilliant? And what about all those dead women...

  • Thornhedge: There is a princess trapped in a tower. Goddess help us all if she ever gets out.

  • The Word: Is there science fiction written and published in Wales? Of course there is. But because it is written and pubished in Wales, you probably haven't heard of it--until now

  • Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits: Could witch trials in the early modern period be evidence of a survival of shamanistic practices among the country folk of Britain? Emma Wilby thinks so.

  • The Book of Love: Kelly Link has finally produced a novel. Inevitably it is the talk of the SF&F community.

  • Song of the Huntress: Lucy Holland returns with another fine book rooted in British myth and history

  • The Butcher of the Forest: Premee Mohamed is lost in the woods from which no one ever returns

  • Bird, Blood, Snow: A leading author of Welsh mainstream fiction takes on the take of Peredur from The Mabinogion

  • The Library of Broken Worlds: In Cheryl's opinion, this was the best SF novel of 2023

  • HIM: The perfect read for this year's Easter Sunday? Geoff Ryman re-imagines Jesus as a trans man.

  • The Dawnhounds: In which Cheryl is once again a sucker for mushroom-based technology. Yes, New Weird is still alive, and living in New Zealand.

  • The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles: Everyone's favourite lesbian detectives on Jupiter are back in another delightful mystery novella.

  • The Four Deaths and One Resurrection of Fyodor Mikhailovich: Zoran Živković is back, with a mosaic novel featuring a very famous protagonist: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky.

  • The Last to Drown: Is there such a thing as trauma-punk? If there was, Lorraine Wilson would be its queen.

  • The Meat Tree: A science fiction retelling of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion? Written by a leading Welsh poet? You'd better believe it.

  • A Midwinter’s Tail: Cats, Christmas and Cornish folklore. Who needs Hallmark anyway?

  • Bookshops and Bonedust: Travis Baldree is back with more cosy fantasy, baked goods, and the occasional necromancer

  • Normal Women: 900 years of history in 600 pages? That's quite a challenge. But then women didn't exist 900 years ago, did they?

  • The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport: Just in time for Panto season, Samit Basu produces a science fiction version of Aladdin (oh no he doesn't - discuss)

  • System Collapse: Martha Wells returns with a new Murderbot novel. What is everyone's favourite killing machine up to now?

  • A Fire Born of Exile: Aliette de Bodard's latest Xuya universe novel is inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo

  • My Brother’s Keeper: Tim Powers reveals the secret lives of the Brontë family. Yorkshire Moors, werewolves, what could possibly go wrong?

  • Spirit: A re-print of Cheryl's review of another science fiction novel inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo. This one is by Gwyneth Jones.

  • This is Not a Grail Romance: Natalia Petrovskaia digs deep into Welsh Arthuriana. Cheryl is fascinated.

  • Silver on the Tree: Cheryl finishes her read through of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence

  • The Blue, Beautiful World: Karen Lord's Cygnus Beta trilogy comes to a conclusion, in the expected smart and thoughtful manner

  • Where Peace is Lost: A new novel from Valerie Valdes, and a new universe to explore to boot

  • The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Alternate History: Jack Dann goes in depth on the art and craft of changing the past (and possibly the future) in fiction

  • Spec Fic for Newbies: In which Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan set out to do exactly what their book says it will do

  • The Best of all Possible Worlds: A reprint of Cheryl's review of the first book in Karen Lord's Cygnus Beta trilogy

  • The Galaxy Game: A reprint of Cheryl's review of book two in Karen Lord's Cygnus Beta trilogy

  • Mammoths at the Gates: Nghi Vo returns to the world of Cleric Chih and the Singing Hills Monastery. Naturally Cheryl is right there with her.

  • Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: Was Tolkien a racist or a 'man of his time'? Dimitra Fimi adds much needed nuance to this popular question.

  • Follow Me: Religion in Fantasy & Science Fiction: The latest in the Academia Lunare series looks at how SF&F treats gods and their worshippers.