An immortal Knight of the Round Table faces his greatest challenge yet—saving the politically polarized, rapidly warming world from itself—in this slyly funny contemporary take on Arthurian legend. Legends don’t always live up to reality. Being reborn as an immortal defender of the realm gets awfully tiring over the years—or at least that’s what Sir Kay’s thinking as he claws his way up from beneath the earth yet again. Kay once rode alongside his brother, King Arthur, as a Knight of the Round Table. Since then, he has fought at Hastings and at Waterloo and in both World Wars. But now he finds himself in a strange new world where oceans have risen, the army’s been privatized, and half of Britain’s been sold to foreign powers. The dragon that’s running amok—that he can handle. The rest? He’s not so sure. Mariam’s spent her life fighting what’s wrong with her country. But she’s just one ordinary person, up against a hopelessly broken system. So when she meets Kay, she dares to hope that the world has finally found the savior it needs. Yet as the two travel through this bizarre and dangerous land, they discover that a magical plot of apocalyptic…

Please note The Tyranny of Faith is the second book in The Empire of the Wolf trilogy. If you haven’t read The Justice of Kings then what follows will likely contain minor spoilers. Consider yourselves duly warned! A Justice’s work is never done. The Battle of Galen’s Vale is over, but the war for the Empire’s future has just begun. Concerned by rumors that the Magistratum’s authority is waning, Sir Konrad Vonvalt returns to Sova to find the capital city gripped by intrigue and whispers of rebellion. In the Senate, patricians speak openly against the Emperor, while fanatics preach holy vengeance on the streets. Yet facing down these threats to the throne will have to wait, for the Emperor’s grandson has been kidnapped – and Vonvalt is charged with rescuing the missing prince. His quest will lead him – and his allies Helena, Bressinger and Sir Radomir – to the southern frontier, where they will once again face the puritanical fury of Bartholomew Claver and his templar knights – and a dark power far more terrifying than they could have imagined. The Justice of Kings was a first-rate fantasy thriller and one of my favourite novels from 2022. Its sequel…

Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus’ empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning, wit, and her trusted circle of maids, can she maintain the tenuous peace needed for the kingdom to survive. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca’s shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses— that will change the course of the world. Something a little bit different today. This week’s book is…

Please note, The Hunger of the Gods is the second book in an ongoing series. I would strongly advise reading book one, The Shadow of the Gods, before proceeding further as what follows will likely contain minor spoilers. Consider yourself duly warned.  Lik-Rifa, the dragon god of legend, has been freed from her eternal prison. Now she plots a new age of blood and conquest. As Orka continues the hunt for her missing son, the Bloodsworn sweep south in a desperate race to save one of their own – and Varg takes the first steps on the path of vengeance. Elvar has sworn to fulfil her blood oath and rescue a prisoner from the clutches of Lik-Rifa and her dragonborn followers, but first she must persuade the Battle-Grim to follow her. Yet even the might of the Bloodsworn and Battle-Grim cannot stand alone against a dragon god. Their hope lies within the mad writings of a chained god. A book of forbidden magic with the power to raise the wolf god Ulfrir from the dead . . . and bring about a battle that will shake the foundations of the earth.  I’ve been looking forward to this. The Shadow of…

Out Past the Stars is book three in The Farian War trilogy. Please note, what follows may contain minor spoilers if you’ve not read books one and two… Who am I kidding, of course it will contain spoilers. How could it not? The book blurb is a spoiler for goodness sake. When Hail finally confronts the Farian gods, the last thing she expects to discover is that they’re part of the Hiervet, an alien race who once spread war throughout the galaxy long before humanity’s ancestors crawled out of the sludge of Earth’s oceans. The discovery carries with it dire news: the Hiervet are coming, eager to take revenge on those who escaped and they don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire. The fate of the galaxy is on the line and Hail will have to make one final gamble to leverage chaos into peace. Here we are at the grand finale of Hail Bristol’s story. After many twists and turns the final book in The Farian War trilogy, Out Past the Stars, has arrived. The good news is that Hail’s swansong is exactly what I had hoped it would be. She leaves us on a high, doing what…

Please note, this is a direct sequel to The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind. It is entirely possible that if you have not read book one in The Frost Files series then this review will contain something akin to minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya! Teagan Frost’s life is finally back on track. Her role working for the government as a psychokinetic operative is going well and she might even be on course for convincing her crush to go out with her. But, little does she know, that sh*t is about to hit the fan . . . A young boy with the ability to cause earthquakes has come to Los Angeles – home to the San Andreas, one of the most lethal fault lines in the world. If Teagan can’t stop him, the entire city – and the rest of California – could be wiped off the map. For reference, before we begin, I’m going to refer to this book henceforth as Random Sh*t. I can’t be bothered typing Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air all the time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a brilliant title for a brilliant book, but it’s wearing me…

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…

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…

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…

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…

YOU DIE WHEN YOU DIE . . . You can’t change your fate – so throw yourself into battle, because you’ll either win or wake up drinking mead in the halls of your ancestors. That’s what Finn’s tribe believe. But when their settlement is massacred by a hostile tribe and Finn and several friends, companions and rivals make their escape across a brutal, unfamiliar landscape, Finn will fight harder than he’s ever fought in his life. He wants to live – even if he only lives long enough to tell Thyri Treelegs how he feels about her. Hardwork doesn’t really live up to its name. It is actually quite an idyllic place to grow up. The villagers lead a cosy life, the local native tribespeople are more than happy to provide them with resources like food. Everything is nice and tranquil up until the point where a group of warriors arrive with the intention of killing every man, woman and child. A massacre ensues, but a small group of Hardworkers manage to escape their gruesome fate. Pursued by the fearsome Owsla*, the elite warriors of the Calnian empire, the villagers run for their lives. When we first met Finnbogi the…

There’s nothing special about Ben Garston. He’s just a guy with an attitude in a beat-up leather jacket, drowning his sorrows in a downtown bar. Or so he’d have you believe. What Ben Garston can’t let you know is that he was once known as Red Ben. That the world of myth and legend isn’t just a fantasy, as we’ve been led to believe. And he certainly can’t let you know the secret of what’s hiding just beneath his skin… But not even Ben knows what kind of hell is about to break loose. A centuries-old rivalry has just resurfaced, and the delicate balance between his world and ours is about to be shattered. I love that moment when a book clicks. When you’re reading an author’s work for the first time, and suddenly you just get it. There is always the little frisson of panic whenever an author is an unknown quantity. Will I enjoy their work or will it be for someone else and not for me?  Within a handful of pages I knew without question that James Bennett was going to be an author whose work I was going to enjoy. ‘Red’ Ben Garston is a complicated…