fantasy

The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood – Book Review

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The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood – Book Cover

A.K. Larkwood’s The Thousand Eyes has one big flaw: it marks the end of the story. With this second book, Larkwood wraps up the Serpent Gates series. Other authors might fall to their knees, thanking the heavens for such a unique and brilliant concept, stretching the series across at least five books, knowing this could be the magnum opus of their career. After all, who can guarantee they’ll come up with anything even close to this good again?

The Thousand Eyes Hisses Ominously

Orc girls in love, crazed death-worshipping cults, divine incarnations roaming the earth, and countless worlds you can literally sail between through the Serpent Gates. The setup is monumental. But where Larkwood really shines is in her depiction of gods. In The Unspoken Name, her debut novel, she introduced three deities, any one of which would elevate any fantasy novel.

A goddess of serpents, shattered into a thousand pieces scattered throughout the universe; a terrifying dragon, banished to the cold of space, burning with eternal murderous rage; or an all-knowing entity that kurking in the mysterious depths of a mountain, forever hungry for human sacrifice. These gods create a fantastic foundation for Larkwood’s series.

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Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – Book Review

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Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – Book Cover

Tamsyn Muir has taken a step forward from her debut Gideon the Ninth, which was extremely promising but quickly descended into childishness. Its sequel, Harrow the Ninth, managed to shed some of its growing pains but in return became utterly incomprehensible. With Nona the Ninth, the Australian author continues her utterly unique sci-fi fantasy series that propels necromancy into space. But it feels like a few things in this part aren’t COMPLETELY clear either. For example:

Who, where, and what?

Oh, and why?

Let’s start with the easiest question: “Where?”

Both of the first two parts were set in pretty confined locations. Even though Tamsyn Muir’s universe opens up wide, the author—who exclusively moves necromancers, otherworldly monsters, and skeletons around—shoved them all into one single place. Nona the Ninth finally steps out into the world of humans.

This fixes one of the biggest shortcomings of the first two parts. Sure, it’s fine that the omnipotent emperor of the universe rules everything through necromancy, but wouldn’t it be even more interesting to know how that affects ordinary people? Spoiler: Not well, by the way. Not well at all.

And the answer to “Where?” is: in the city of Who-The-Heck-Knows on the planet God-Knows-Where. Or somewhere like that.

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The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman – Book Review

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The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman – Book

The education system, as a whole, is a real pain. By the time you earn a serious qualification, you’re already neck-deep in debt. If you’re studying to become a thief, the situation is even worse. The Association of Thieves, known as the Takers’ Guild, is well aware that from this point on, you possess every skill necessary to make money. So, they’ll make you work your guts out for them. Kinch Na Shannack, the protagonist of The Blacktongue Thief, finds himself in an even worse predicament. The mysterious mission he’s forced into offers nothing but loss. However, Christopher Buehlman’s readers are in for a treat, as Kinch Na Shannack’s adventures are incredibly entertaining.

Christopher Buehlman – A Refreshing Voice in Fantasy

Standing out in the fantasy genre is no easy feat, that’s for sure. On one hand, there’s an overproduction crisis, and on the other, thanks to sites like Goodreads, it’s often the most mediocre works that gather the biggest fanbases (see: S. A. Chakraborty’s City of Brass). Yet, the multi-talented Buehlman—writer, poet, actor, comedian—has the ability to disarm readers almost immediately, particularly with his humor.

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The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Review

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Daylight War by Peter V. Brett – Book Cover

Demons Never Give You a Moment of Peace

It’s as if Peter V. Brett keeps getting better as a writer with each successive book in the Demon Cycle series. You definitely get that feeling with The Daylight War. And it’s not just because the stakes dramatically increase in this installment, which is true, but rather because Brett uses his characters much more effectively.

At first, the demons that seep to the surface from the depths of the earth during the night seem quite elusive and faceless. However, as the series progresses, you get to know these hellish creatures better and better.

What starts as a seemingly conventional world in The Warded Man, becomes increasingly complex here. And the demons lurking below ground realize that their dinner is becoming tougher and tougher.

In the Demon Cycle, everything and everyone comes in pairs: day and night, humans and demons, the northern duchies of Thesa and Krasia located in the south, the Creator and Everam, Ahmann Jardir and Arlen Bales. This duality is even more pronounced in Krasia, where men and women are separated just as distinctly as the full-fledged Sharum and the lower, despised Khaffit caste.

However, The Daylight War is about unification. Humanity must unite under the banner of the Deliverer if they are to defeat their common enemy. The problem is that there are two Deliverers. And each one is convinced that he is the true one. And with good reason…

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Fairy Tale by Stephen King – Book Review

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There are other worlds than these

Fairy Tale by Stephen King – Book cover

Okay, we already know this. Especially Stephen King readers, considering you just have to think of the Dark Tower series, which delves into this theme partially. King has likely written every kind of book by now. However, a fairy tale hasn’t emerged from his witch’s kitchen yet. Until now. Although the fourth installment of the aforementioned series (The Wind Through the Keyhole) comes pretty close. And while it’s typical in the works of the American master for fundamentally unrelated universes to intertwine, it’s not questionable that with a fairy tale, you need to venture into another world. Well, if you can bear with it until then.

Thorough preparation for the unknown

Roughly one-third of Stephen King’s heavyweight Fairy Tale is just the introduction. What other authors accomplish in twenty pages, he generously multiplies by ten. (Perhaps even half would be MORE than enough.) Of course, when it comes to him, this is a forgivable offense. If someone can write so captivatingly about a grumpy old man and his decrepit, old dog, then there’s nothing to do but read on. Especially since King continuously piques your curiosity. And the slow-starting friendship between the old man harboring mythical secrets and the well-meaning, penance-prepared Charlie Reade is also hindered by numerous difficulties and vile villains.

To pave a direct path from the acquaintance of Mr. Bowditch and Charlie to another world, some authorial assistance doesn’t hurt. This thing has a name. It’s called: Radar. Who happens to be a dog.

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A.K. Larkwood: The Unspoken Name – Book Review

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A.K. Larkwood: The Unspoken Name - Book Cover

There’s no denying that with the Internet, the golden age of fantasy writers has arrived. With a slight exaggeration, publishers release every piece of crap. If someone reads a lot of fantasy, they can easily find that from the three newly released books in the genre, (at least) two are mediocre junk. Especially if it’s a debut author. Fortunately, this is not the case with A.K. Larkwood’s first book, “The Unspoken Name”.

Walking Pace

At the beginning of the book, your doubts may not completely dissipate though. “The Unspoken Name” immediately grabs your imagination with its completely unique world-building, but initially it still seems rather nondescript. When the Chosen Bride, Csorwe, starts climbing the stairs towards the mysterious god’s sanctuary, presumably to be consumed as their next meal, a more experienced writer might have written this scene as far more chilling. Csorwe just casually walks up.

But the same blandness is evident in the rescuer, the wizard Belthandros Sethennai. This gentleman is a powerful mage, but it doesn’t really come across. He seems more like someone who claims to be this, but doesn’t really provide any evidence of it.

It takes some time before you realize they’re both just like that.

A. K. Larkwood, however, ensures that you don’t give up until the real adventures begin.

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The Witcher – The First Three Seasons – Series Review

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The Witcher series poster

Andrzej Sapkowski, the Polish fantasy author, has incredibly good luck. Actually, he has two strokes of luck. His overwritten, rambling, and disjointed “Witcher” series first inspired a successful role-playing game, and then Netflix decided to give a shot to the magic-supported, mutant monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia. Sapkowski and the subscribers of the streaming platform couldn’t have been luckier. (Maybe just a tiny bit luckier.)

Because the claim applies to Sapkowski just as much as it does to the renowned sci-fi writer Kilgore Trout*: his ideas are good, but his style is terrible. However, the Netflix series cleverly pruned away what was unnecessary and kept the rest. “The Witcher” builds a twisting, exciting, and unique medieval world, full of great heroes, magic, adventures, and plenty of emotional highs. At least in the first season.

Season 1: The Witcher Starts with a Full Swing

The books’ occasionally fairy-tale-like twists barely make an appearance here; the striga reverting to human upon hearing a rooster’s crow, and the genie fulfilling three wishes remain, but let’s not be greedy.

The series, however, excels in many aspects where the Polish author falls short. The perpetually mournful Geralt, constantly sulking in the books, is nowhere to be found; instead, we have a laconic, endlessly cynical yet still feeling hero. Henry Cavill was truly born to play a Witcher. The paper-based version’s silly and dim-witted Dandelion, whom you’d rather smack with his own lute incessantly, has transformed into a charming and lovable rogue. And Yennefer… well, we all know what powerful sorceresses are like. Yennefer in the series is just as arrogant and insufferable but also a sexy beast. Moreover, some of the most emotional scenes in the early episodes are tied to her. Of course, this required the creators to thoroughly and perhaps somewhat unjustifiably alter the timeline of the books’ plot.

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Joe Abercrombie: The Trouble with Peace – Book Review

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Joe Abercrombie: The Trouble with Peace - Book Cover

What can happen in a monumental fantasy series after the supreme mage deals with everyone as he pleases? (Raymond E. Feist could tell you about this in connection with the Riftwar Cycle books.) However, Lord Bayaz doesn’t really have any opponents left on the horizon. Joe Abercrombie decided to sideline Bayaz and continue the adventure in the First Law world with The Age of Madness trilogy, introducing many new and old characters, advancing the history of the Union in a tableau-like manner, now also welcoming the industrial revolution alongside magic, spewing smoke and fire.

The second part of the trilogy, “The Trouble with Peace”, seemingly follows the same recipe as the first. The characters engage in conflicts of local significance, and nothing earth-shattering really happens. A rebellion raises its head here and there, and the strong men of The North, as usual, make trouble, but they always do that. (Let’s add that without this tough and wild masculinity, Abercrombie’s series probably wouldn’t work so well, as mostly only the Union’s bureaucracy and petty political disputes would remain.)

And yet, you find that The Age of Madness is much better to read than all of Abercrombie’s previous books. Perhaps because now the characters from earlier stories, who were often of simple (solely fighting or sulking) nature, come to life. (Except, of course, Caul Shivers, the current most dangerous man in the North. But he’s doing just fine as he is.)

It is said that truly good writers can write about everyday events in a way that makes them seem much more than they are. Well, the viewpoint characters of “The Trouble with Peace” easily accomplish this task. If we consider just the three extremely strong female protagonists of the book (a spy loyal to the point of self-sacrifice, a clairvoyant who regularly poops his pants, and Adua’s ruthless and ambitious businesswoman, who is provided with a tailwind by the Inquisition itself), we see that at least two of them are very difficult to fit into the likable personalities category, yet you eagerly flip through the pages, following their fate with bated breath.

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Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – Book Review

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Harrow the Ninth book cover

The prequel to Tamsyn Muir’s novel “Harrow The Ninth” was a hugely successful sci-fi novel of 2019. “Gideon the Ninth” won several awards, including the Locus Award, and left even the most esteemed sci-fi authors in awe. “Gideon the Ninth” burst onto the science fiction scene with pulsating energy, cheeky yet clever humor, and a unique vision (necromancers + romance = necromance). Only to then shift to a larger portion of the story resembling a subdued Agatha Christie mystery.

“Harrow the Ninth” lacks that dynamic start but fortunately, it also lacks the occasional anemia found in its predecessor. However, in return, it is at times completely incomprehensible.

Literally.

The first thought-provoking moment occurs when you realize there’s not a single mention of Gideon, the protagonist of the Locked Tomb series’ first installment. It’s as if her existence has been erased. Then, the alternating chapters of the book are written in different grammatical persons (second-person singular vs third-person singular) while each chapter has the same viewpoint character: Harrowhark Nonagesimus, the charming but troubled teenage necromancer.

To top it off, characters show up in the pink, who died in the first book.

Are you into solving puzzles? Do you have a university degree? If neither applies to you, there’s a chance that up to about 80% of this book, you’ll wish “Harrow the Ninth”, to hell. And it’s no wonder if, along the way, you come to the conclusion that either reading the book titled “Harrow the Ninth” is entirely unnecessary or its predecessor, filled with the trials of Gideon Nav.

Maybe you won’t give up on Muir’s book halfway for only two reasons. One, if you’ve already crafted a compelling closing sentence for your book review and don’t want it to go to waste. The other is the Australian author’s writing style.

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Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King – Book Review

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Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King – Book Cover

I’ll admit, among all kinds of books, I’m particularly drawn to the hefty ones. Luckily for me, one of my favorite authors, Stephen King, has a bit of a reputation for being verbose, so he often treats us to some heavy-weight works. In Sleeping Beauties, the master storyteller, with the help of his eager son Owen, explores what might happen if all women suddenly fell asleep. Permanently.

Even just imagining it is terrifying!

Who would cook? Who would do the laundry? Who would clean up after that? I sure wouldn’t, that’s for damn sure. Not to mention, lesbian porn as a standalone art form would simply cease to exist!!!

Sleeping Beauties Is a Bit Bland

King (and diligent Owen) don’t explore this traumatic aspect of the premise in their joint work, Sleeping Beauties. Instead, they paint a broad, sweeping picture, centering the events around a small town and its women’s prison. It kicks off with a massive cast of characters, much like Under the Dome, and as in that novel, the story’s strength seems to dissipate and slowly leak away among all these characters. (Except, let’s face it, Under the Dome becomes a total snoozefest around page 70. This book, thankfully, doesn’t reach that level.)

Seasoned King readers, however, will likely feel that Sleeping Beauties falls below the usual standard. It’s as if Stephen King had his diligent son Owen subtracted from him by some mathematical equation. What’s left feels slightly sterile, stripped of the intense energy and deep characterizations typical of King. It’s almost as bare as a screenplay – if you were to turn it into a series, it wouldn’t take too much effort.

Uh, And Where’s the EVIL?!

In The Stand, the transition from normalcy to the post-apocalypse happens right at the beginning of the book. Here, the whole book is about that transition, the gradual slipping away into sleep. I won’t say that the highlighted characters (the upstanding Norcross family members) don’t carry it somewhat, but I also can’t say that all this drama (with some spousal squabbling and a complete lack of capital-letter EVIL) is particularly exciting or gripping.

One thing that does stand out, though, is how much calmer life on Earth would be if women took charge of everything from here on out. No arms race, no war, no worries—maybe just a bit more gossip, and that’s all. (Okay, by that logic, it would be great if the entire government packed up and left immediately, leaving only Kamala Harris and the other chicks behind! Hmm, wait a second. Never mind. Never mind!)

And locked away, yet still carefree,
Beams Eve, offspring of a big tree.

Wait, what?

No Need to Get Excited

Indeed, the catalyst of Sleeping Beauties, the Wooden Lady, aka Evie Black, enters the scene as an Omniscient Bee, an infallible oracle & Terminator, instantly removing any stakes from the start. So there’s no true dramatic clash, or if there is, it’s minuscule and entirely predictable from a mile away. (In case you still don’t get the hint, Evie helpfully spells it out halfway through the book for Dr. Norcross – and thus, for you, too – what the whole game is about. Thanks a lot, Owen, that was a brilliant idea of yours, saving us from any unnecessary suspense or thrills.)

Sleeping Beauties Is a Decent Piece of Craftsmanship

However, before completely ruining everyone’s appetite for this decent piece of work, let’s acknowledge that scene by scene, the book actually works. Despite the overwritten bits, the dragging pace, and the excess of unnecessary characters, Sleeping Beauties manages to keep you hooked because it’s packed with tiny conflicts, mini-stories within the story that, out of sheer curiosity, you just have to know the answers to, or that are simply engaging. What’s more, they’re mixed and paced so skillfully that they carry you through to the big finale – which, interestingly enough, turns out much blander and more boring than the drawn-out buildup.

The same paradox is present in the most unnecessary subplot – the Griner brothers’ antics, which add absolutely nothing meaningful to the whole, yet they’re the most entertaining and most “King-like” part of the book. It really seems like Dad pitched in the most here – if he didn’t write these few, darkly humorous scenes by himself. Plus, of course, he slapped his name on the cover, boosting sales for his kid’s benefit. The rest of the book was likely churned out by young Owen.

Let’s Paint the Whole Thing Green!

And Owen King is clearly a harbinger of new times. You’re not sure right away if his work is a feminist manifesto or more of a Greenpeace-style warning finger. But whichever it may be, you can’t deny there’s a need for it.

Therefore, the blog editorial team hereby awards Sleeping Beauties the Green Piece Prize, newly established this very minute (complete with a Gaia Theory Medal). Winning these is an impressive feat on its own, but if reading this book prevents even one single tough guy from giving his missus a well-deserved smack, or… oh, never mind, let’s leave it at that.

Rating: 7.7/10

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King
702 pages, Hardcover
Published in 2017 by Scribner
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You also may be interested:
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
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UPDATE:
The Green Piece Award is being retroactively granted to
Gun Island and
Earthly Remains as well.