Freya has a new virtual assistant. It knows what she likes, knows what she wants and knows whose voice she most needs to hear: her missing sister’s. It adopts her sister’s personality, recreating her through a life lived online. But this virtual version of her knows things it shouldn’t be possible to know. It’s almost as if the missing girl is still out there somewhere, feeding fresh updates into the cloud. But that’s impossible. Isn’t it? I’m sure many of you have a digital assistant in your home. It doesn’t matter if you use Siri or Cortana, Google or Alexa* it’s all still a bit of a novelty isn’t it? Flash forward five or ten years from now, and it will be commonplace. We’ll all have our own assistants that are with us twenty-four seven. A virtual presence that knows you better than you know yourself and caters for you every whim. Sounds blissful doesn’t it? Heather Child’s debut novel, Everything About You, uses this as a jumping off point.  The big question it ponders – what if this most intimate of relationships wasn’t all it appeared to be.  Many of us live big chunk of our lives online. Who…

When anything can be owned, how can we be free Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap scrips for poor people who can’t otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses as people become addicted to their work, doing repetitive tasks until they become unsafe or insane. Hot on her trail, an unlikely pair: Eliasz, a brooding military agent, and his robotic partner, Paladin. As they race to stop information about the sinister origins of Jack’s drug from getting out, they begin to form an uncommonly close bond that neither of them fully understand. And underlying it all is one fundamental question: Is freedom possible in a culture where everything, even people, can be owned? A distinct change of pace this week. From the whimsical fantasy of Arm of the Sphinx, we move on to some cutting-edge science fiction. Autonomous by Annalee Newitz is a near future thriller where the world is split down the middle. If you can afford it, your health can easily be managed so you can live longer and avoid a whole host…

Please note Arm of the Sphinx is a direct sequel to Senlin Ascends. There will be spoilers if haven’t read the first book in this series. Consider yourself suitably forewarned. Forced by necessity into a life of piracy, Senlin and his crew struggle to survive aboard their stolen airship. Senlin’s search for his lost wife continues, even as her ghost hounds his every step. But the Tower of Babel proves to be as difficult to re-enter as it was to escape. While searching for an unguarded port, Senlin encounters the camp of Luc Marat, who seems equal parts bandit and humanitarian. One thing is for certain: his asylum for the downtrodden hods is not as peaceful as it appears. In desperation, Senlin turns to the mysterious and dangerous Sphinx, with whom Edith shares a terrible bond. They discover the Sphinx’s help does not come cheaply. Senlin must choose between his friends, his freedom, and his wife. It seems of late that everything I’ve read is a sequel to something else. I can’t complain though, they are all so damn good. The latest title to join this list is the follow up to a book I read earlier this year, Senlin…

Blood of Assassins is a direct sequel to Age of Assassins. If you haven’t read book one in this series, then it is entirely likely that this review will contain something akin to minor spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you all… THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING . . . The assassin Girton Club-foot and his master have returned to Maniyadoc in hope of finding sanctuary, but death, as always, dogs Girton’s heels. The place he knew no longer exists. War rages across Maniyadoc, with three kings claiming the same crown – and one of them is Girton’s old friend Rufra. Girton finds himself hurrying to uncover a plot to murder Rufra on what should be the day of the king’s greatest victory. But while Girton deals with threats inside and outside Rufra’s war encampment, he can’t help wondering if his greatest enemy hides beneath his own skin. One of my favourite reads last year was the debut novel from R J Barker. Age of Assassins is a confident fantasy adventure, well told, following an apprentice as he learns the arts of dealing death. Blood of Assassins re-joins the story five years after the events of book…

Senlin, a mild-mannered school teacher, is drawn to the Tower of Babel by the grandiose promises of a guidebook. The ancient and immense Tower seems the perfect destination for a honeymoon. But soon after arriving, Senlin loses his young wife, Marya, in the crowd. Senlin’s search for Marya carries him through slums and theaters, prisons and ballrooms. He must survive betrayal, assassination, and the long guns of a flying fortress. But if he hopes to find Marya, Senlin will have to do more than survive. This quiet man of letters must become a man of action. I’ll begin with an admission. I can probably best be described as an anxious traveller. Whenever I have to go anywhere outside the local area, I become ill at ease. I’m a bit hopeless as soon as I find myself in thrall to the vagaries of strict timetables or pure dumb luck. Thomas Senlin finds himself with similar problems. Within hours of arriving at the world-renowned Tower of Babel he has lost his wife, most of his possessions, and any real understanding of what is going on. His only option is to follow the last words of advice his partner offered before her disappearance….

Please note, Beyond the Empire is the third book in The Indranan War trilogy. If you haven’t read books one and two then read no further. This review will likely contain minor spoiler. I’d suggested picking both books, reading them and and then coming back when you’re ready. It’s ok, I’ll wait. Gunrunner-turned-Empress Hail Bristol was dragged back to her home planet to take her rightful place in the palace. Her sisters and parents have been murdered, and the Indranan Empire is reeling from both treasonous plots and foreign invasion. Now, on the run from enemies on all fronts, Hail prepares to fight a full-scale war for her throne and her people, even as she struggles with the immense weight of the legacy thrust upon her. With the aid of a motley crew of allies old and new, she must return home to face off with the same powerful enemies who killed her family and aim to destroy everything and everyone she loves. Untangling a legacy of lies and restoring peace to Indrana will require an empress’s wrath and a gunrunner’s justice. Sadly, all good things come to an end. I always get a little misty eyed when I get…

FAMILY IS DUTY. MAGIC IS POWER. HONOR IS EVERYTHING. Magical jade—mined, traded, stolen, and killed for—is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. For centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their abilities and defend the island from foreign invasion. Now the war is over and a new generation of Kauls vies for control of Kekon’s bustling capital city. They care about nothing but protecting their own, cornering the jade market, and defending the districts under their protection. Ancient tradition has little place in this rapidly changing nation. When a powerful new drug emerges that lets anyone—even foreigners—wield jade, the simmering tension between the Kauls and the rival Ayt family erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones—from their grandest patriarch to the lowliest motorcycle runner on the streets—and of Kekon itself. Now that October is over, I need a bit of a break from horror. Time for a crime thriller with a distinctly Eastern flavour and a razor sharp fantastical edge. Since the end of a war decades past, the power in the vast metropolis of Janloon has split between the clans….

In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled — taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army. Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire. Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage. And as war looms on the horizon, a single spark could turn their city into a pyre. Back at the beginning of this year I made a decision to try and read more debut authors than I had in the past. I think I wanted to find novels that I could enjoy without any preconceived notions of what to expect. I’m pleased to report that the experiment has proven very successful so far, I’ve read some wonderful stories from some exceptional new authors. The latest to add to this growing list is the new novel by Melissa Caruso, The Tethered Mage. When it comes to fantasy novels, I think they…

The soldiers of the Simulant Operations Programme are mankind’s elite warriors. Veterans of a thousand battles across a hundred worlds, they undertake suicidal missions to protect humanity from the insidious Krell Empire and the mysterious machine race known as the Shard. Lieutenant Keira Jenkins is an experienced simulant operative and leader of the Jackals, a team of raw recruits keen to taste battle. They soon get their chance when the Black Spiral terrorist network seizes control of a space station. Yet no amount of training could have prepared the Jackals for the deadly conspiracy they soon find themselves drawn into – a conspiracy that is set to spark a furious new war across the galaxy. A complete change of pace this week. We are still very much in the realms of science fiction, but where Ann Leckie’s Provenance is thoughtful and introspective, Jamie Sawyer’s The Eternity War is an explosive interstellar action-fest. We are solidly into the realms of intergalactic war, bring it on! Kiera Jenkins commands a squad of marines known as Jenkins’ Jackals. With the exception of their leader, they are a pretty green bunch. Between them all they have only participated in a handful of missions. Fortunately…

A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned. Ingray and her charge will return to her home world to find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. Together, they must make a new plan to salvage Ingray’s future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good. I’ll admit that sometimes I stumble a little when it comes to science fiction. Of all the different genre fiction that is out there, it’s sci-fi that is regularly my great white whale. Space battles and aliens blowing up into small piles of green goo is fine, I get that. It’s when the science fiction gets a bit more thoughtful that I tend to have problems. I remember the first time I tried to read The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton, boy did I struggle. I could not get my head around the first chapter. The plot seemed so weird and outlandish that I just didn’t get it. I have a…

Please note Raising Fire is a direct sequel to Chasing Embers and it is entirely possible the following review will contain some minor spoilers if you have not read the first book in the series. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Ben Garston has broken the Lore. Now it’s time to face the music. Life isn’t treating Red Ben well. He’s lost everything he held dear, including the love of his life. Still, at least he escaped the clutches of a malevolent spirit bent on total destruction. So there is that. Now Ben just wants to drink, and forget, and drink some more. But he can’t. Not yet. Because someone is stirring up trouble. Someone who wants to unleash a powerful ancient magic that could bring the realm of mythology crashing into the modern world. If Ben fails to stop them, the world will burn — and that’s the last thing he needs on his conscience. In 2016 I really enjoyed James Bennett’s first novel, Chasing Embers. So much so, I voted it my debut novel of the year. Nearly twelve months have passed and the sequel, Raising Fire, has now been released. Red Ben Garston is one of the…

Please note An Echo of Things to Come is the second book in The Licanius Trilogy. I strongly advise reading The Shadow of What was Lost before reading this book. Also, please remember this review may contain slight spoilers if you haven’t read book one. Consider yourself suitably warned! In the wake of the devastating attack on Ilin Illan, an amnesty has been declared for all Augurs – finally allowing them to emerge from hiding and openly oppose the dark forces massing against Andarra. However as Davian and his new allies hurry north toward the ever-weakening Boundary, fresh horrors along their path suggest that their reprieve may have come far too late. In the capital, Wirr is forced to contend with assassins and an increasingly hostile Administration as he controversially assumes the mantle of Northwarden, uncovering a mystery that draws into question everything commonly believed about the rebellion his father led twenty years ago. Meanwhile, Asha begins a secret investigation into the disappearance of the Shadows, determined to discover not only where they went but the origin of the Vessels that created them – and, ultimately, a cure. And with time against him as he races to fulfill the treacherous…

Girton Club-foot, apprentice to the land’s best assassin, still has much to learn about the art of taking lives. But their latest mission tasks him and his master with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone, or many someones, is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton and his master to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince’s murder. In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted, and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire land. When it comes to genre fiction I’ve always thought that fantasy lends itself particularly well to tales of political intrigue and Machiavellian power plays. Age of Assassins by R J Barker focuses on the people who are used to ensure these schemes come to fruition. Kings and queens, politicians and priests may dream of power, but it is the assassins who make these things happen. They are the ones who are responsible for shaping nations and toppling dynasties. At first glance, Girton Club-foot is exactly what you would expect from a teenager, all conflicting emotions and uncertainty….