Book Review: Queen Demon by Martha Wells

Queen Demon is the sequel to Witch King by Martha Wells, part of the The Rising World series. I picked it up on discount to check it out, even though it wasn't my favorite series. Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Dahin believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs' Well, and the Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there's something he isn't telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself. 

Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch?

And can he trust his companions to do what’s right?

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

This is the 2nd book in the original Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. It's been a long time since I read these, but I'm making my way slowly through them again. Here is the blurb from the Kindle version:

Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire. Three separate armies attack. As the siege tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

La Belle Sauvage is the first of The Book of Dust, a separate trilogy set in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials universe. I enjoyed the first series so I figured I'd give this one a try. Here is the Goodreads blurb:

Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything but is not much noticed himself. And so perhaps it was inevitable that he would become a spy...

Malcolm's father runs an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his daemon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue.

He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust--and the spy it was intended for finds him.

When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, Malcolm sees suspicious characters everywhere; Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; an Egyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl--just a baby--named Lyra.

Lyra is the kind of person who draws people in like magnets. And Malcolm will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through the storm.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson

Isles of the Emberdark is a Cosmere novel by Brandon Sanderson. This was offered as part of a Kickstarter I backed and I've heard it referred to as the 5th of the Secret Projects, a series of books he wrote during the COVID lockdown years. Here is the Goodreads blurb:

The Ones Above are starting to grow impatient and want to build an installation to breed and collect Aviar on one of First of the Sun's islands. Vathi and Dusk are trying to figure out how to delay their progress and are also dealing with people from another world, likely Roshar. Dusk realizes that the people of First of the Sun are hopelessly outmatched and decides to go through Patji's Eye, the perpendicularity on the island Patji, to try to enlist help.

Read on for my mostly spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I decided to re-read the Mistborn series after the epic finale in Wind and Truth. As some folks know, many of Brandon Sanderson's novels are connected via the Cosmere. Events in one are sometimes mentioned in others and sometimes there are even characters that journey between the worlds. The news I hear is that Mistborn Era 3 will be finished before we get Stormlight Archive Era 2 and so it seems like a good time to start brushing up on the story there. Here is the Goodreads blurb for Mistborn:

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

Wind and Truth is the 5th novel in The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderon. This series is a 10-book series, but told in two 5-book arcs. This makes it the novel the conclusion of the first arc of the story. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

Dalinar Kholin has challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions, and the Knights Radiant and the nations of Roshar have a mere 10 days to prepare for the worst. The fate of the entire world—and the Cosmere at large—hangs in the balance.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson

I've been on a bit of a Sanderson binge lately, trying to re-read the Stormlight Archive books in time for Wind and Truth. Turns out, I had originally missed this novella, set between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War. I'm glad I got the chance to read it, since it offers some very interesting hints about the Cosmere. Here's the official blurb:

When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akina, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn't fallen into enemy hands. Knights Radiant who fly too near find their Stormlight suddenly drained, so the voyage must be by sea.

Shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a Stormlight-ingesting winged larkin, a species once thought extinct. Now Rysn's pet is ill, and any hope for Chiri-Chiri’s recovery can be found only at the ancestral home of the larkin: Akinah. With the help of Lopen, the formerly one-armed Windrunner, Rysn must accept Navani's quest and sail into the perilous storm from which no one has returned alive. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.

As a novella, I'll only give some brief thoughts after the jump.

Book Review: Spellbreaker by Blake Charlton

Spellbreaker is the third and final novel in the Spellwright series. It's probably my favorite of the three given all that happens alongside the setting. Here is the official blurb:

Leandra Weal has a bad habit of getting herself in dangerous situations.

While hunting neodemons in her role as Warden of Ixos, Leandra obtains a prophetic spell that provides a glimpse one day into her future. She discovers that she is doomed to murder someone she loves, soon, but not who.

Leandra’s quest to unravel the mystery of the murder-she-will-commit becomes more urgent when her chronic disease flares up and the Ixonian Archipelago is plagued by natural disasters, demon worshiping cults, and fierce political infighting. Everywhere she turns, Leandra finds herself amid conflict.

As chaos spreads across Ixos, Leandra and her troubled family – her misspelling wizard father Nicodemus Weal and dragon-of-a-mother Francesca DeVega – must race to uncover the shocking truth about a prophesied demonic invasion, human language, and their own identities–if they don't kill each other first.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Spellbound by Blake Charlton

This is the second book in the Spellwright trilogy by Blake Charlton. This continues the story 10 years after the prior book with some new characters. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

Francesca DeVega is a healer in the city of Avel, composing magical sentences that close wounds and disspell curses. But when a newly dead patient sits up and tells her that she must flee the infirmary or face a fate worse than death, Francesca finds herself in the middle of a game she doesn't understand―one that ties her to the notorious rogue wizard Nicodemus Weal and brings her face-to-face with demons, demigods, and a man she hoped never to see again.

Ten years ago, Nico escaped Starhaven Academy, leaving behind his failed life, in which he was considered disabled and felt useless. Now, in Spellbound, he's starting fresh, using his newfound gifts in the dark Chthonic languages to pursue the emerald that holds his birthright. Unfortunately, he can't escape the chaos of his old life. His mentor suffers from an incurable curse, agents of the fabled Halcyon hunt him day and night, pieces of Francesca's story don't add up, and the prophesized War of Disjunction looms on the horizon.

Nico and Francesca don't know it yet, but they are going to have to fit together the pieces of an age-old puzzle and discover the demon's darkest secret….

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: The Long Price Quartet series by Daniel Abraham

Unlike my usual reviews, this one focuses on the entire series of The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham, all 4 books, rather than a single one. Basically, I was travelling while I was reading the first one and didn't get a chance to write up something before the second, so decided to just take the whole series as a whole. These include, A Shadow in Summer, A Betrayal in Winter, An Autumn War, and The Price of Spring. Here is a blurb covering the full series:

The unforgettable fantasy epic series that marks Daniel Abraham, one half of the writing team behind The Expanse, as one of the most enthralling fantasy writers to emerge in recent years

In a world of ancient empires and immortal magics, one man stands at the crossroads of history.

The aggressively expansionist Galt empire has already conquered lands across a huge continent. But the cities of the Khaiem resist Galt's power with the andat creatures of magic with godlike powers. But magic and treacherous politics have brought a bitter harvest of violence and sorrow.

Otah Machi, caught between ancient wonders and a modern empire, has survived more than most men endure in two lifetimes. He is the culmination of a complex inheritance, and his own existence is the fulcrum around which the wheels of epic history rotate through achingly poignant cycles of life and death, love and betrayal.

Now, when the world seems utterly lost, all depends on Otah, and the lost loves and found family he has desperately hoped to protect from the tragedy that beckons. If they can summon the courage and power to forgive and resist darkness, all their hopes could be salvaged—along with their world.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

I've read several of Ann Leckie's science fiction books, like Ancillary Justice and Provenance. The Raven Tower is her newest fantasy novel and I decided to give it a try. Here is the Goodreads blurb:

For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven's Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven's watch, the city flourishes.

But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods.

It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo--aide to Mawat, the true Lease--arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven's Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself...and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson

The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson is the 4th and final novel of the "Year of Sanderson", the crowd-funded project started towards the end of the COVID pandemic. This one in particular is a very interesting book dedicated to the fans of the Cosmere.

Years ago he had comrades in arms and a cause to believe in, but now the man who calls himself Nomad knows only a life on the run. Forced to hop from world to world in the Cosmere whenever the relentless Night Brigade gets too close, Nomad lands on a new planet and is instantly caught up in the struggle between a tyrant and the rebels who want only to escape being turned into mindless slaves—all under the constant threat of a sunrise whose heat will melt the very stones. Unable to understand the language, can he navigate the conflict and gain enough power to leap offworld before his mind or body pay the ultimate price?

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

Lord of Chaos is the 6th book in The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I revisited my re-read after watching a bit of the new season on Amazon. I'll probably get through a full re-read, but taking my time since I already know the story. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world ...

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne -- and where an unexpected visitor may change the world ...

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march ...

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally ...

And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway ...

Read on for my spoiler-free review, though spoilers for the prior books are fair game.

Book Review: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

This book has been on my to-read for a long time and I had heard it was very similar to The Hands of the Emperor, which remains one my favorite books to date. I finally decided to give it a try. Here is the Goodreads blurb:

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

This is the third of Sanderson's Secret Projects. It's another Cosmere novel, but with a more personal feel as it's about the unique relationship of the two main characters. Drawing from a lot of recognizable influences, this one is quite interesting.

Yumi comes from a land of gardens, meditation, and spirits, while Painter lives in a world of darkness, technology, and nightmares. When their lives suddenly become intertwined in strange ways, can they put aside their differences and work together to uncover the mysteries of their situation and save each other’s communities from certain disaster?

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Witch King by Martha Wells

I've several books of Martha Wells, but all of them have been about Murderbot and featured a science fiction setting. I saw plenty of advertisements about this book and figured I'd give it a try. I like to vary between science fiction and fantasy and if this is as good as the Murderbot Diaries then this one should be quite fun. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

"I didn't know you were a... demon."

"You idiot. I'm the demon."

Kai's having a long day in Martha Wells' WITCH KING....

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.

He’s not going to like the answers.

Read on for my spoiler free review.

Book Review: The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

Book 2 of Sanderson's Kickstarter is here and it's an interesting deviation from this usual style. Here's the blurb:

A man awakens in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he is there. Chased by a group from his own time, his sole hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories, making allies among the locals, and perhaps even trusting in their superstitious boasts. His only help from the “real world” should have been a guidebook entitled The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?

As a novella, I'll forgo my usual format and just write out some impressions. More after the jump.

Book Review: The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson

The Lost Metal is a long overdue conclusion to the Wax and Wayne series of Mistborn novels, the second era for the Misborn series. 

For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set-with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders-since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner Wayne find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between Elendel and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate-whose corruption Wax and Steris have sought to expose-and Bilming is even more entangled. After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial's god, Harmony, reveals that Bilming has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn't the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere-Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial...at any cost. Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.

Read on for my spoiler-free review, though bear in mind prior novels to this one are fair game when it comes to spoilers.

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

A friend of mine had recommended several books by Erin Morgenstern and I had read and thoroughly enjoyed The Starless Sea, so I figured it give The Night Circus a read. Instead of a magical library we have a magical circus. It seemed intriguing and atmospheric, here's the Goodreads blurb:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Tress of the Emerald Sea is the first of Sanderson's "Secret Project"- a set of four novels written during the height of the covid pandemic and being independently published. As a Sanderson fan I had to sign up for them since I knew they would be fun reads and indeed the first hasn't disappointed. Plus as a Cosmere novel it connects to his grander universe. I look forward to seeing what the other 3 will be.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

Read on for my spoiler-free review.