Fantasy
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Marked, by Sue Tingey Published 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books First read of the books acquired at FantasyCon 2015 is Sue Tingey’s Marked, book 1 of the Soulseer Chronicles. It is the story of a woman, Lucky de Salle, who sees the dead and makes a living helping them pass on. Her best friend is…
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Fenrir by M.D. Lachlan is the sequel to Wolfsangel and is really the same story. I’ll explain what I mean in a moment. In Fenrir, a merchant is sent to bring a French noblewoman from Paris to Rus king Helgi because there is a prophecy that Odin will manifest on earth and trigger Ragnarok. The…
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Half a King is Joe Abercrombie’s first YA novel and the first part of the Shattered Sea trilogy. The protagonist is Prince Yarvi, who is studying to become a healer/priest/diplomat. He has a twisted hand which means he can’t wield a weapon, somewhat of a disadvantage in a medieval setting where might is right. But…
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Zoo City by Lauren Beukes is set in a world where those who commit crimes gain animal companions and psychic powers. It’s not considered a good thing and those with animals sink to the bottom of the pile, making a living however they can. Former music journalist, murderer and junkie, Zinzi December finds things that…
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A palimpsest is a manuscript page that has had the original text scraped off so it can be used again. Palimpsest by Cathrynne M. Valente is a gorgeous, sumptuous fantasy; reading it is like taking a luxurious, candle lit bubble bath. Palimpsest is a fantasy city populated with weird and wonderful creatures that is entered…
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The Republic of Thieves is the third book in Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards cycle. To say I have been eagerly awaiting this book is quite the understatement. The Lies of Locke Lamora was one of the books that got me back into reading fantasy. I read almost entirely fantasy and science fiction when I was…
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I was reading articles about worldbuilding on Fantasy Faction and one of them mentioned Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. It was an example of how changing something in your fantasy world has ramifications that ripple through the whole society. In this case, a religion that sees sex as a sacred act, as a way to…
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The Quest by Wilbur Smith is apparently the fourth book in a series (that once again I haven’t read the rest of), but I didn’t know that until I read the jacket blurb to write this post. According to the blurb, Egypt is beset by plagues and the Pharaoh has summoned a warlock to save…
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I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while. It turns out that The Steel Remains was the first in a trilogy after all. Richard Morgan’s The Cold Commands is the second in the series. Ringil is busy exacting revenge on the slave traders who took his cousin. He slaughters a whole caravan and heads…
Boudica Marginalia 