Name(s): Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, Ancillary MercyAuthor: Ann LeckiePublisher: Orbit BooksCover Art: John HarrisAwards: Hugo, Nebula, British Science Fiction Association, Arthur C. Clarke, Locus etc. etc.Audiobooks: Recorded Books (Book 1); Hachette Audio UK (Book 2) Ancillary Justice had (IIRC) won almost every award the SFF genre had to offer, with good reason. It’s no easy feat,…

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell: A Tough Scifi Must-Read

Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.Matthew Ten, Verse Twenty-Nine I read The Sparrow some time back, but I am reviewing it here only now. The book raises some uncomfortable questions about our perception of and our (according to the book, unfounded) expectations from God. Mary Russell does a spectacular job of blending science and religion in this book. For…

Review: Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Book: Thorn (Dauntless Path Book 1)Author: Intisar KhananiPublished: March 2020Trope: Goose Girl Retelling, Identity Theft with a TwistRating: 8 of 10 / Recommended Thorn has been getting a lot of blogger attention lately, even though released much earlier. When I realized it was a cozy Goose Girl retelling, I knew I had to give it a try. I liked it exceedingly, but Thorn also turned out to be…

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

Wild Sign is Book #5 for Cloak & Dagger 2021 Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs was like water after a reading drought! I was half afraid that the series would have lost its charm, but I needn’t have worried. Happy to report that this was an awesome read. Continue reading

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Echo North is the latest retelling of the East of the Sun and West of the Moon folk tale. To give it a new twist, Meyer has added in elements of Beauty & the Beast, and Tam Lin (one of my favorites). Echo is forced to make a bargain with the White Wolf in order to save her dying father. As part of the bargain, she must live in a strange, magical house with the Wolf for one year. But Echo soon…

Book Quote: On the Enduring Charm of Fantasy Fiction

“I write fantasy because it’s there. I have no other excuse for sitting down for several hours a day indulging my imagination. Daydreaming. Thinking up imaginary people, impossible places. Imagination is the golden-eyed monster that never sleeps. It must be fed; it cannot be ignored. Making it tell the same tale over and over again makes it thin and whining; its scales begin to fall off; its…

The Firebird Chronicles (Books #1-3) by T. A. White

The Firebird Chronicles is a new space opera series by T. A. White. You would have to read the series in order, starting with the crackling Rules of Redemption. The Plot Kira Forrest has been in hiding for several years since the last battle against the scourge of the dangerous and power-hungry Tsavitee. She is famous as both war hero and deserter, and now lives on the fringes as a space-ship…