Tag: book review

Some thoughts on AMERICAN PSYCHO by Bret Easton Ellis

I truly never thought I would not finish a book due to the fact that I despised…

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THE WINDUP GIRL by Paolo Bacigalupi

Imagine a future that creates a working elephant from the lost DNA of a mammoth and improves…

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Godless Lands by Sean Crow

Godless Lands was Sean Crow’s debut novel and the first book in his Godless Lands grimdark fantasy…

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Callus & Crow by DB Rook. The Wayward World Chronicles Volume 1 Two crows look at one another, whilst below them a suckered tentacle reaches out.

Callus & Crow by DB Rook (SPFBOX Feature)

“It’s no surprise that there’s something very unsettling about burying your only friend in the ground while…

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TIGANA by Guy Gavriel Kay

Welcome to a romantic tale of magic and love; an ultimate fairy tale without the fairies; a…

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BOOK REVIEW: 1984 by George Orwell

Join me if you will, in my regimen of Double Speak. Embrace my hate for this pamphlet…

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Withered Hill by David M Barnett

As I were going up Withered Hill With night-time coming soon I met a man under the…

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BOOK REVIEW: SPEAR by Nicola Griffith

Hearken to the days of old! When magic filled the air! And those who had the will…

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Book review: The Devil Delivered by Steven Erikson

In The Devil Delivered, Erikson is the devil who delivers us a tale of a grim near…

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A Ritual of Bone by Lee C Conley. An armoured warrior with an axe fights zombies in a misty graveyard.

A Ritual of Bone by Lee C Conley

Lee C Conley’s writing drew my eye after I read some of his excellent short stories, published…

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Friday Conversation | Ep 127: July Reading Wrap-Up

Listen to the episode here on your favorite podcasting platform In this episode, we dive into our…

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The Unholy Consult Chapters 1-6 by R. Scott Bakker: Distorting Fantasy Tropes Debating Responsibility and Choice

Listen to the episode here on your favorite podcasting platform In this episode, we dive deep into…

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Weekly Pulls – Pick of the Week | Episode 51

Find the episode here on your favorite podcasting platform In this episode, Mike and Steve discuss their…

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The Great Ordeal Chapters 12-13: Deciphering the Mysterious Coffer

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The Great Ordeal Chapters 7 – 11: Madness, Prophecy, and Determinism

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Raw Spirit by Iain Banks - the search for the perfect dram. A white whisky distillery building sits in the picturesque Scottish countryside under a blue sky.

Raw Spirit by Iain Banks

“Banksie, hi. What are you up to?” “Well, I’m going to be writing a book about whisky.”…

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Valhalla Steel by Sean Crow

Released in 2020, Valhalla Steel is an illustrated novella bursting with ideas and invention written by Sean…

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Exploring Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God: Themes, Style, and Southern Stereotypes

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Age of the Dryad by Jacob Sannox. A mysterious shadowy figure emerges from the dark forest, bathed in blue light, carrying a sword and shield.

Age of the Dryad by Jacob Sannox

In Age of the Dryad we return to the fantasy world of Jacob Sannox’s Dark Oak Chronicles….

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The White-Luck Warrior Chapters 12 & 13: Exploring the Historical Timeline Manipulation and Ulterior Motives

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The novel Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks, which features the black silhouette of a battleship. In front of the ship is a white chain and a black revolver lies on the floor in front of the chair. The book is pictured on a shelf, next to Iain M Banks other sci-fi novels.

Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks

This book is a reread for me, some 20 years after last picking it up. I’m delighted…

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Weekly Pulls – Pick of the Week | Episode 44

Find the episode here In this episode, Mike and Steve discuss their picks of the week, focusing…

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A Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark

Before starting A Court of Broken Knives I was reading Leviathan Wakes. For those who haven’t read…

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Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

Usually when I watch the live adaptation I’ll avoid reading the books because it ruins the reading…

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Steve’s Pick of the Week: Doom #1

If you’ve listened to the podcast or spent five minutes with me, you know that I’m not…

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Weekly Pulls – Pick of the Week | Episode 42

Click here to find the episode on your favorite podcasting platform In this episode, Mike and Steve…

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Obsidian: Awakening by Sienna Frost 

Obsidian Awakening is one of those books that feel easy to read, but when you look back…

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My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones 

My Heart is a Chainsaw is a love letter to slasher movies. It reads like a slasher…

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The novel Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. A small red spacecraft flies over the surface of a much larger green spaceship.

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

“Anger was an old companion of mine by now.” Ancillary Sword is the sequel to the all-conquering…

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Weekly Pulls – Pick of the Week | Episode 40

Find the episode here on your favorite podcasting platform Dive deep into the vibrant world of comic…

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Steve’s Pick of the Week: Bear Pirate Viking Queen #1

I always try to keep my mind open when choosing my books for the week. There are…

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Dissecting Blood Meridian: Themes of Violence, Humanity, and History

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Seraphina’s Lament by Sarah Chorn

Before we get into the review, we should talk first about Sarah Chorn.  Sarah is an author,…

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The Winter Road by Adrian Selby

I had high expectations for this book, it’s been one I’ve been looking forward to for a…

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A Lion's Pride by PL Stuart, The Drowned Kingdom Saga, Book #4 The cover features a golden heraldic lion on a blue background.

A Lion’s Pride by PL Stuart

“being a king is a cruel honour.” I’ll start by saying that reviewing this book without spoilers…

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Edge of the Breach by Halo Scot

Before I started Edge of the Breach, I heard about how dark and brutal it is.  That…

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Weekly Pulls – Pick of the Week | Episode 38

Click here to download the episode or find it on your favorite podcasting platform In this episode,…

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Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar

On rare occasions I start a book and immediately feel like the book was written for me. …

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The Devil in Derbyshire: Weird Tales of Argana Zeit Volume 2 by Owain Oakwood. A strange, demonic creature looms over a village in the Peak District late at night. The lights oare on in some windows, a path winding its way up a green hill, whilst most of the village nestles under the shadow of a stone viaduct. Argana Zeit, a young blonde woman, looks up at the strange figure with fear, her dog Max giving her a comforting look.

The Devil in Derbyshire

Weird Tales of Argana Zeit Volume 2 by Owain Oakwood The second collection of Owain Oakwood’s short…

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Exploring Themes and Characters in “The Judging Eye” Chapters 9 – 13 by R. Scott Bakker

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Truth of Crowns by Carl D. Albert

I’m not a big fan of coming of age stories, so when I went into this one…

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The Hallows by HL Tinsley

Ancient Bloodlines Illicit Substances Floating Nuns With a tagline like that, alongside the mysteriously strange yet beautiful…

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Weekly Pulls – Pick of the Week | Episode 35

Click here to download the episode or listen on your favorite podcasting platform Join hosts Mike and…

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Navigating Desolation: Exploring ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy

Click here to listen to the episode on your favorite podcasting platform Dive into the desolate landscape…

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The novel Lord and King by PL Stuart. The cover features a tarnished golden crown on a white background.

Lord and King by PL Stuart

Being in power is very different to seizing power I was provided with an ARC of Lord…

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Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Two small spacecraft, one red and the other white, fly low over a much larger spaceship.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

After its release in 2013 Ancillary Justice swept away all the competition, winning just about every sci-fi…

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The Last of the Atalanteans by PL Stuart The war banner depicting a charging mammoth is displayed on a black background, held above flames.

The Last of the Atalanteans by PL Stuart

I continue my series of reviews looking at PL Stuart’s The Drowned Kingdom Saga, a tale inspired…

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Paranormal in the Peaks Weird Tales of Argana Zeit Volume 1 by Owain Oakwood A cartoon drawing of a young woman with wavy blonde hair as she stands by her eager dog. They look out over an English village at night, perched on a hill. Above the village is a strange purple monster made of tentacles and green eyes. It is not remotely scary.

Paranormal in the Peaks

Weird Tales of Argana Zeit Volume 1 by Owain Oakwood Cosy paranormal mysteries aren’t my usual go-to…

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Rise Red Kingdom by Kerstin Espinosa Rosero. A white dragon appears against a green background and a black, starlit sky.

Rise Red Kingdom by Kerstin Espinosa Rosero

“How easily we make sure our allies and enemies are saved or sacrificed shows who we really…

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The novel Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar, featuring the back of a child's head, their hair shaved and numbers tatooed on the back of their neck.

Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar

Legacy of the Brightwash (the first book in the Tainted Dominion series) is an extraordinary debut fantasy…

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A Drowned Kingdom by PL Stuart. The religious symbol of a gold triangle over a gold circle set against a cloudy sky sinks into a green-tinged sea.

A Drowned Kingdom by PL Stuart

A Drowned Kingdom by PL Stuart The Drowned Kingdom Saga is an ambitious seven-book epic fantasy series…

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Burn Red Skies by Kerstin Espinosa Rosero. A red dragon features on the cover, set against a night sky.

Burn Red Skies by Kerstin Espinosa Rosero

“Justice without the possibility of mercy is simply vengeance” What a debut novel. Kerstin Espinosa Rosero is…

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The Dex Legacy Season One Collected Scripts & Commentary by Emily Inkpen. A black book cover, with a blue, fragmented DNA helix overlayed across a faint grey planetary orb, with indigo, purple, red, green, yellow and blue stripes of differing lengths falling from the northern pole.

The Dex Legacy Season One Collected Scripts & Commentary by Emily Inkpen

Before I can properly review this book, I need to explain what The Dex Legacy is. Emily…

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Pawn's Gambit by Rob J Hayes, featuring a woman removing a mask from her face, an old woman, a bearded man carrying a club, a woman in Japanese style armour carrying a pole arm, an armoured general and an unremarkable horse.

Pawn’s Gambit by Rob J Hayes (SPFBO9 Feature)

The 10 finalists for the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off 2023 writing competition have been chosen. With 300…

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Top 10 Comics of 2023

Find the episode here on your favorite podcasting platform In our latest podcast episode of Page Chewing…

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Dark Oak by Jacob Sannox, featuring a dryad rising up from the forest, illuminated by moonlight.

Dark Oak by Jacob Sannox

Published in 2017, I thought Dark Oak by Jacob Sannox was an amazing achievement as his debut…

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Friday Conversation | EP 97: Navigating the World of Book Reviews w/ Mikes Book Reviews, Carl D. Albert, Chris Mohan, Jarrod & Varsha

Click here to download the episode or find it wherever you get your podcasts Ever wondered what…

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