by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 21, 2022 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Scorpica is everything I want in epic fantasy—world-building that still makes characters the focus of the story. G.R. Macallister creates entrancing characters in places I’ll never forget. She’s billed this as book one of a new series—The Five Queendoms—and I’m...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 10, 2022 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Thomas Olde Heuvelt takes readers deep into the blizzard of his imagination in his book, Echo. Released in Dutch in 2019 and translated into English for release this week, the book represents excellent horror writing. It will chill you to the bone, because of its...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 9, 2022 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
The Sisterhood of New Amsterdam* is a two-book series (so far) from Urban Fantasy author Craig Schaefer. If you enjoy this genre and haven’t picked up his books, now is your chance. He explores a new world in an alternate New York City with ties to ancient myths,...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jan 25, 2022 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Emily St. John Mandel wrote Station Eleven in the early 2010s and published it in 2014. So this is technically a backlist choice. However, with the pandemic-related storyline and the recent HBO adaptation, Station Eleven is more relevant than ever. I’ll review both...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jan 21, 2022 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
The 2018 book Circe by Madeline Miller retells the mythological story of the daughter of Helios and a nymph named Perse. Helios is the sun god and a Titan, the group of original gods. (That brings an entirely different meaning to the current term OG.) Myths credit her...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Dec 31, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Secret Santa is a creepy horror novella from Andrew Shaffer. His Obama Biden mysteries are enjoyable, so I picked this up during the year. Of course, the best time to read a Christmas-themed book is December. My only regret is getting the review posted after the...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Dec 22, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Andy Weir creates a science fiction masterwork in Project Hail Mary. It deserves to be on every “Best of 2021” list, particularly the audiobook lists. There’s copious science within this adventure story among the stars of a distant galaxy. And also considerably more...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Nov 14, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Gold Diggers by Sanjina Sathian is two parts a story about children of Indian immigrants balancing tradition with assimilation. It’s one part a history, with a nod to alternative histories. And it’s another part of magical realism that draws on cultural traditions,...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Nov 5, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
City of Time and Magic gives Paula Brackston a chance to resolve the cliffhanger from her last book in the Found Things series. And in true Brackston fashion, the resolution includes history, magic, time travel, and a little romance. Our favorite time traveler,...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Sep 11, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Catriona Ward takes an unsettling angle on horror in her upcoming book, The Last House on Needless Street. (Expected publication date is September 28, 2021.) Ted is a loner to the extreme. He’s got partial custody of his daughter Lauren and enjoys the company of his...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Aug 24, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Silvia Moreno-Garcia combines noir detective style, vampire action, and Aztec legends in her upcoming reissue, Certain Dark Things. The supernatural mythology is compelling and her characters, human and otherwise, are unique. I’ve read eleventy million vampire books,...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Aug 15, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Stephen Graham Jones (SGJ) is a prolific writer, delving deep into the horror genre. His 2021 entry to the canon is My Heart is a Chainsaw. (Anticipated publication on August 31.) In it, 17-year-old Jade Daniels is a rabid fan of slasher films. She’s watched them all...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 15, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
The Library at Mount Char, a spectacular debut novel from Scott Hawkins, combines epic and urban fantasy. It’s confusing for a long while, but thankfully the focus ultimately tightens. Better still, Hawkins creates memorable characters whose true nature hovers just...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 27, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Mariam Petrosyan is an Armenian-born author living in Russia. The Gray House is her debut novel, and she says her only novel. Although it’s a prize winner in Russia, I found it confusing and often amateurish. My main feeling at the end is, “thank goodness that’s...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | May 28, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
In her Dr. Greta Helsing series, author Vivian Shaw mixes weird science, likable characters, and tongue-in-cheek humor in a contemporary fantasy brew. Not as gritty as some urban fantasy, the books are built around Helsing’s career as a medical doctor to supernatural...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Apr 16, 2021 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead was a straight-up palate cleanser choice for me. You know, those books that don’t require much thought. I sped through the audiobook, partly because it’s shorter and partly because I enjoyed the story. Fantasy books often work like this...
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