#FF Fantasy Reviewers #WyrdAndWonder Week 2

Every Friday throughout this Wyrd and Wonder month, I’ll be doing a “Follow Friday” blog post featuring fantasy book reviews from five bloggers I follow and one from a collaborative site. What better way to celebrate fantasy than to shout out fantasy book reviewers!

Week One

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Tom @ TAG Posts. 

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams.

To call The Ninth Rain a part of the Fantasy genre would be a disservice to this book. Yes there are mystical elven-like beings, talk of dragons, and a witch with a penchant for pyromania; but simply labelling this as Fantasy takes away from the expansive universe that Williams is creating in this, the start of her new trilogy.
Seamlessly mixing her fantasy with a sense of dystopia and touches of sci fi, Williams has crafted a wonderfully thought out world that wraps around and pulls you in faster than enchanted vines powered by space technology.

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Book Wol @ The Tome And Tankard Inn.

The Court Of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

The Cocktail

In The Court of Broken Knives, Spark’s literary voice is so strong and distinct that it’s almost a character in its own right. This prose is the prose of literary fiction, and personally I found it to be a daring move on Spark’s part and exciting change from the usual fare.
Overall, this was a grimdark novel that read very differently than most – I found that I appreciated the lack of overly detailed descriptions of unnecessary violence that can sometimes be a hallmark of the subgenre.
Spark may have been kidding around when she made her Twitter handle @queenofgrimdark, but she wasn’t wrong. I’ll be looking forward to book 2.

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Womble @ Run Along The Shelves. 

Age of Assassins by RJ Barker.

It’s a story which takes several standard fantasy ideas – kingdom in turmoil, assassins and palace intrigue and creates something fresh and new. Barker has a great ear for dialogue that informs character.
This was an immensely satisfying read.  I felt like I’d visited a new kind of world I’d not been to before; loved the emotional punches and moments you want to punch the air when Girton succeeds and worry over characters when in danger.
I think this is one of the best debuts in 2017 and well worth your time as I think this series could be well worth your time and I’m intrigued where it is going

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Jason @ Off The TBR.  

Blackwing by Ed McDonald.

Blackwing is a story that forces the reader to examine a number of themes. What do we put our hope in? What are the means of our salvation? Is it god(s), people, or powerful objects? It examines the age old story of the big and powerful over and against the small and weak; and how the common people are used by the powerful to their own ends, and how they always tend to suffer and die. It examines whether the ends sometimes really do justify the means.
Blackwing ends interestingly enough with a hint of hope amidst a sea of carnage. It’s hard to say though whether it is genuine hope, or a false hope that will lead to more despair. What is certain is more violence and destruction is coming and I can’t wait for the sequel.

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Susy @ Susy’s Cozy World. 

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli.

I liked the book, I really enjoyed it, it hooked me up from the beginning and the things just get better and better during the reading. The story is quite captivating and is full of action, and we see the present and the past.  I couldn’t put it down and when I had to close it (sometimes I need to sleep, too, and I have to go to work, even when I am not so keen to do so!) I thought about it, about his characters and their stories, and we have dragons!

 

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The Fantasy Inn. 

Paternus by Dyrk Ashton.

Review by Tam.

Paternus was a really interesting read for me, and probably one of the better researched books I’ve read. It is filled with mythology from all around the world, which I really enjoyed reading about. Dyrk does a really good job at describing a lot of things, with the occasional weird metaphor thrown in as well. For the most part I enjoyed his prose and the way the world is built.

 

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