The Rosewater Insurrection by Tade Thompson
Orbit , Sci-Fi , Tade Thompson / March 22, 2019

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 Read more […]

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
Ann Leckie , Fantasy , Orbit / February 28, 2019

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 Read more […]

The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft
Fantasy , Josiah Bancroft , Orbit / January 12, 2019

Please note – The Hod King is the third book in the ongoing going series The Books of Babel. If you haven’t read books one and two then what follows is likely to contain some minor spoilery type elements. Consider yourself suitably warned! Fearing an uprising, the Sphinx sends Senlin to investigate a plot that has taken hold in the ringdom of Pelphia. Alone in the city, Senlin infiltrates a bloody arena where hods battle for the public’s entertainment. But his investigation is quickly derailed Read more […]

The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan
Crime , Fantasy , Gareth Hanrahan , Orbit / January 5, 2019

A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy. The city has always been. The city must finally end. When three thieves – an orphan, a ghoul, and a cursed man – are betrayed by the master of the thieves guild, their quest for revenge uncovers dark truths about their city and exposes a dangerous conspiracy, the seeds of which were sown long before they were born. Cari is a drifter Read more […]

How Long ’til Black Future Month by N K Jemisin
Anthology , Fantasy , N K Jemisin , Orbit , Sci-Fi / November 29, 2018

In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded city of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow south must figure out how to save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated Read more […]

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
Fantasy , Orbit , Tasha Suri / November 15, 2018

A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy. The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited. When Read more […]

There Before The Chaos by K B Wagers
K B Wagers , Orbit , Sci-Fi , Thriller / October 11, 2018

Please note, events in There Before The Chaos take place after the end of The Indranan War trilogy. If I were you, I’d be inclined to read those three books first, if you haven’t already. If you don’t then it is highly likely this review will contain spoilery type stuff. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The battle for the throne is over. The war for the galaxy is just beginning.Hail Bristol, former gunrunner and newly-crowned Empress of Indrana, looks forward to retiring her gun and Read more […]

Rosewater by Tade Thompson
Orbit , Sci-Fi , Tade Thompson / September 20, 2018

Rosewater is a town on the edge. A community formed around the edges of a mysterious alien biodome, its residents comprise the hopeful, the hungry and the helpless—people eager for a glimpse inside the dome or a taste of its rumored healing powers. Kaaro is a government agent with a criminal past. He has seen inside the biodome, and doesn’t care to again—but when something begins killing off others like himself, Kaaro must defy his masters to search for an answer, facing his dark history Read more […]

Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames
Fantasy , Nicholas Eames , Orbit / August 30, 2018

Please note, though not a direct sequel, Bloody Rose is set in the same shared universe as Kings of the Wyld. If you haven’t read that first there may well be minor spoilers in the review below. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! Live fast, die young. Tam Hashford is tired of working at her local pub, slinging drinks for world-famous mercenaries and listening to the bards sing of adventure and glory in the world beyond her sleepy hometown. When the biggest mercenary band of Read more […]

King of Assassins by R J Barker
Fantasy , Orbit , R J Barker / August 9, 2018

Please note, King of Assassins is the final part of a trilogy and should be treated as such. If you have not read this novel’s predecessors then this review will contain minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING . . . Many years of peace have passed in Maniyadoc, years of relative calm for the assassin Girton Club-Foot. Even the Forgetting Plague, which ravaged the rest of the kingdoms, seemed to pass them by. But now Rufra ap Vthyr eyes Read more […]

The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
Fantasy , Jonathan French , Orbit / June 21, 2018

LIVE IN THE SADDLE. DIE ON THE HOG. Such is the creed of the half-orcs dwelling in the Lot Lands. Sworn to hardened brotherhoods known as hoofs, these former slaves patrol their unforgiving country astride massive swine bred for war. They are all that stand between the decadent heart of noble Hispartha and marauding bands of full-blood orcs. Jackal rides with the Grey Bastards, one of eight hoofs that have survived the harsh embrace of the Lots. Young, cunning and ambitious, he schemes to Read more […]

84K by Claire North
Claire North , Orbit , Sci-Fi / May 24, 2018

What if your life were defined by a number? What if any crime could be committed without punishment, so long as you could afford to pay the fee assigned to that crime? Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full. But when Theo’s ex-lover Dani is killed, it’s different. This is one death he can’t let become merely an entry on a balance sheet. Because when the richest in the world are getting Read more […]

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides
Fantasy , Orbit , Tyler Whitesides / May 17, 2018

“I’m hiring you to steal the king’s crown.” Ardor Benn is no ordinary thief. Rakish, ambitious, and master of wildly complex heists, he styles himself a Ruse Artist Extraordinaire. When a priest hires him for the most daring ruse yet, Ardor knows he’ll need more than quick wit and sleight of hand. Assembling a dream team of forgers, disguisers, schemers, and thieves, he sets out to steal from the most powerful king the realm has ever known. But it soon becomes clear there’s more at stake Read more […]