It is the Age of Enlightenment — of new and magical political movements, from the necromancer Robespierre calling for revolution in France to the weather mage Toussaint L’Ouverture leading the slaves of Haiti in their fight for freedom, to the bold new Prime Minister William Pitt weighing the legalization of magic amongst commoners in Britain and abolition throughout its colonies overseas. But amidst all of the upheaval of the early modern world, there is an unknown force inciting all of human civilization into violent conflict. And it will require the combined efforts of revolutionaries, magicians, and abolitionists to unmask this hidden enemy before the whole world falls to darkness and chaos. This week I’m taking a look at the latest novel from H G Parry. A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a reimagining of a key moment in European history, with the addition of some distinctly more fantastical elements. Taken from Africa as a small child Fina, is a slave on a British plantation in Jamaica. Magic is used to control the workforce as they are forced to toil in back breaking conditions. Fina has learned to internalise everything as the magic that binds her ensures complete, unyielding…

Beyond the walls of the small village of Mythen Rood lies an unrecognizable world. A world where overgrown forests are filled with choker trees and deadly vines and seeds that will kill you where you stand. And if they don’t get you, one of the dangerous shunned men will. Koli has lived in Mythen Rood his entire life. He knows the first rule of survival is that you don’t venture beyond the walls. What he doesn’t know is – what happens when you aren’t given a choice? I’ll begin with a short apology. Over the last few weeks, I’ve struggled with keeping on top of my book reviewing schedule. My reading has been fine (it’s helping to keep me sane to be honest) but writing has been a real problem. Hopefully now that I’ve managed to get a better handle on the strange times we currently find ourselves in, normal service has been resumed. The Girl with All the Gifts and The Boy on The Bridge are two of my favourite post-apocalyptic novels of recent years, so when I was given the opportunity to read M R Carey’s latest dystopian tale, I jumped at the chance. Koli has spent his…

Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She’s got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all. I’ve just finished reading The City We Became by N K Jemisin, and it has melted my brain in a whole host of marvellous ways. With that in mind, please be advised that what follows may be a little disjointed, but it covers a whole host of topics. Putting it simply, I have many, many things I need to discuss. I’ve long been of the opinion that cities are a microcosm of the larger world. Places like London or Tokyo are a melting pot of cultures. All human life is condensed together to form a weird cross-pollinated mishmash of society. I’m also a big fan of the idea that every city has its own character. Jemisin takes that idea and runs with it. The main quintet of characters, the five boroughs are wonderfully realised creations. Manhattan, The…

I’m Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are three things you should know before you hire me: Sobriety costs extra. My services are confidential. I don’t work for humans. It’s nothing personal – I’m human myself. But after what happened, it’s not the humans who need my help. I just want one real case. One chance to do something good. Because it’s my fault the magic is never coming back. The inhabitants of Sunder City have fallen on hard times. An event known as The Coda has stripped all the magic from their world. Everyone is suffering and each day things only seem to be getting worse. In the shadow of this terrible event, a much-loved teacher has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Fetch Phillips, a down at heel human gumshoe, is tasked with tracing the rogue educator. It shouldn’t be a difficult case. I mean, how far can an ageing ex-vampire who has problems climbing stairs get? Like all the best literary investigators, Fetch is an absolute shambles as a human being. It’s hardly a surprise really. He sees himself as responsible, at least in part, for the biggest catastrophe to befall the world he lives…

For his entire life, Charley Sutherland has concealed a magical ability he can’t quite control: he can bring characters from books into the real world. His older brother, Rob — a young lawyer with a normal house, a normal fiancee, and an utterly normal life — hopes that this strange family secret will disappear with disuse, and he will be discharged from his life’s duty of protecting Charley and the real world from each other. But then, literary characters start causing trouble in their city, making threats about destroying the world… and for once, it isn’t Charley’s doing. There’s someone else who shares his powers. It’s up to Charley and a reluctant Rob to stop them, before these characters tear apart the fabric of reality. I’ll begin this review with a couple of apologies. Firstly, I didn’t manage to complete a review to tie in with the publication date of the novel last week. Sometimes, when I find myself entirely engrossed in a book that I adore, I like to revel in it and take my time. Secondly, when I write a review about a book I adore, I have something of a tendency to wax a bit more lyrical…

South Africa in the 1880s. A young and naive English doctor by the name of William Abbey witnesses the lynching of a local boy by the white colonists. As the child dies, his mother curses William. William begins to understand what the curse means when the shadow of the dead boy starts following him across the world. It never stops, never rests. It can cross oceans and mountains. And if it catches him, the person he loves most in the world will die. I’ll admit that over the last few years I have become a huge fan of Claire North’s writing, so a new novel is always cause for excitement here at The Eloquent Page. When The Pursuit of William Abbey arrived, my carefully maintained review schedule was immediately thrown out the window. I was powerless to resist the call. The premise is simple, Doctor William Abbey stood back and let a horrific event occur, making himself complicit by his inaction. His penance? To be forever followed by a ghost who will kill someone Abbey loves if it catches up with him. There is more, however. Abbey is also cursed to know the truth of people’s hearts. Not that sanitized…

Two nations at war. A prize beyond compare. For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war. The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted. Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war. I’m a sucker for stories about pirates, I can’t help it. I still remember the first time I saw The Crimson Pirate with Burt Lancaster when I was a small child, I was immediately in awe. Novels about pirates are just as much fun. The only thing better than a novel about pirates is a fantasy novel about pirates. R J Barker’s latest, The Bone Ships, is the tale of a desperate crew setting course on a desperate mission. Joron Twiner is down on his luck. Duelling with the wrong person’s son has resulted in exile to a black ship. Only the lowliest of criminals, the lowest of the low, are condemned to such a pitiful existence. Joron is the shipwife (captain) of The…

Please note, Jade War is the second book in The Green Bone Saga. If you have not read Jade City then it is likely what follows will contain some minor spoilers. Consider yourself duly warned! On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years. Beyond Kekon’s borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon’s most prized resource, could make them rich – or give them the edge they’d need to topple their rivals. Faced with threats on all sides, the Kaul family is forced to form new and dangerous alliances, confront enemies in the darkest streets and the tallest office towers, and put honor aside in order to do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival – and that of all the Green Bones of Kekon. Back in 2017, I had the distinct pleasure of reading Jade City by Fonda Lee. It was one of my favourite books that year. The second book…

For Teagan Frost, sh* just got real. Teagan Frost is having a hard time keeping it together. Sure, she’s got telekinetic powers — a skill that the government is all too happy to make use of, sending her on secret break-in missions that no ordinary human could carry out. But all she really wants to do is kick back, have a beer, and pretend she’s normal for once. But then a body turns up at the site of her last job — murdered in a way that only someone like Teagan could have pulled off. She’s got 24 hours to clear her name – and it’s not just her life at stake. If she can’t unravel the conspiracy in time, her hometown of Los Angeles will be in the crosshairs of an underground battle that’s on the brink of exploding . . . There has been a trend over the last couple of years when it comes to book titles, you may have spotted it. In fact, this phenomenon has become so common I have given it a name, I call it The Person With The Thing effect. Don’t believe me? There are plenty of examples – The Girl With…

Everyone has heard of the Gameshouse. But few know all its secrets… It is the place where fortunes can be made and lost through chess, backgammon – every game under the sun. But those whom fortune favors may be invited to compete in the higher league… a league where the games played are of politics and empires, of economics and kings. It is a league where Capture the Castle involves real castles, where hide and seek takes place on the scale of a continent. Among those worthy of competing in the higher league, three unusually talented contestants play for the highest stakes of all… I’ve made no secret about the fact that I love Claire North’s work. 84K is masterful, and managed to blow my mind. The End of the Day is utterly sublime and remains a firm favourite. In fact, I’ll go further, it has a much-coveted place on my list of top ten books. With these shocking revelations in mind, it may not come as much of a surprise when I tell you I was excited when a copy of The Gameshouse arrived through my letterbox. The Gameshouse is a collected edition of three previously published e-novellas: The…

My name’s Griz. My childhood wasn’t like yours. I’ve never had friends, and in my whole life I’ve not met enough people to play a game of football. My parents told me how crowded the world used to be, but we were never lonely on our remote island. We had each other, and our dogs. Then the thief came. There may be no law left except what you make of it. But if you steal my dog, you can at least expect me to come after you. Because if we aren’t loyal to the things we love, what’s the point? Like a moth to a flame, I once again find myself hopelessly drawn towards my favourite sub-genre of fiction. I’m not sure what you would call someone who enjoys apocalyptic fiction, I guess apocalist is as good a label as any? Regular visitors to The Eloquent Page will be well-aware of my obsession when it comes to all things cataclysmic. I’ve been stupidly lucky over the last few years. There have been some genuinely exceptional novels released in this category. The good news is that there is another to add to the list. A Boy and His Dog at the…

Please note The Rosewater Insurrection is a direct sequel to Rosewater. With that in mind it is likely, if you are not familiar with the first book in the Wormwood trilogy, then what follows may contain some minor spoilers. Consider yourself warned! All is quiet in the city of Rosewater as it expands on the back of the gargantuan alien Wormwood. Those who know the truth of the invasion keep the secret. The government agent Aminat, the lover of the retired sensitive Kaaro, is at the forefront of the cold, silent conflict. She must capture a woman who is the key to the survival of the human race. But Aminat is stymied by the machinations of the Mayor of Rosewater and the emergence of an old enemy of Wormwood… Last September I read the first book in The Wormwood Trilogy, Rosewater by Tade Thompson. It was one of my highlights of 2018. The sequel, The Rosewater Insurrection, has recently been released and picks up where events left off. The city of Rosewater has become a focal point, not just for Nigeria, but for the entire planet. A vast city-sized entity, known as Wormwood, is slowly changing the world we inhabit….

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. I’ll begin with an admission; I’ve not read much of Ann Leckie’s science fiction writing. The Imperial Radch trilogy entirely passed me by. Such are the trials and tribulations of a book reviewer – so…