What a ride it’s been! We went from Murder Hogwarts to Magic Spartacus to this, a dark, Tolkienian triumph I’m going to dub Return of the Goth. Surprised? Me too. But we shouldn’t be. Jay Kristoff may write with some pop turns of phrase (and filthy cussing), but his ambitions have always been Epic with …
There are always trends in publishing, but a recent one was particularly odd: the use of “nine” in titles. Was everyone excited about 2019 for some reason? Is there some kind of numerology pact among authors? Are the nine muses subtly signaling for attention? I don’t know. But hey, here’s a list to keep track …
Oh, Dustin. You have confidence, but your charisma-based checks don’t always succeed. Also, nobody believes you have a girlfriend from summer camp. But that’s ok, boo! You just keep singing. Riddle-Master Trilogy (Patricia A. McKillip) – If you wanted to build a character and a story out of the riddle-battle scene from The Hobbit (which …
Imagine that The Martian and Lovecraft had a baby that was raised by the Alien franchise and you probably have a good approximation of Walking to Aldebaran, a novella by the prolific Adrian Tchaikovsky. It features our snark-savvy hero Gary Rendell as he gets separated from the rest of his crew and tries to find …
Poor Will Byers. While everyone else was having teenage drama (whether or not they were teenagers), all he wanted to do was play D&D. I sympathize, Will! In his honor, here are books to help you develop your cleric, and maybe help fight a Mind Flayer or two. City of Stairs (Robert Jackson Bennett) – …
The Bone Garden, due out next week, has already been compared to The Graveyard Book and Coraline, which is certainly accurate in the broad strokes. It takes place in a graveyard, and features two children having dangerous adventures between the tombstones. And like Coraline, the heroine is a young girl investigating a very strange mystery, …
If you only read one book this summer, let it be Margaret Owen’s The Merciful Crow. Actually, if you only read one book this year, let it be The Merciful Crow, too. I’m serious. I’ve read a lot of good books this year, but none have this absolutely magical combination of first-class worldbuilding, stellar characterization, …
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim starts out exactly as its pitch promises: it’s Project Runway meets Mulan. Maia, daughter of a tailor who has fallen on hard times, longs to be known for who she is inside, rather than as the girl everyone sees on the outside. Aside from singing “Reflection” and getting a …
I know, I know. Everyone’s done with apocalypse fiction. Now everyone wants hopepunk and high fantasy and escapism. Fine, fine. That’s valid. The world’s a tire fire and you need relief from the flames. Sometimes the last thing you think you need is another story of destruction and dismay. But allow me to present The …
There are a lot of talented writers out there, and not all of them publish through big-name houses. Unfortunately, spectacular titles sometimes get lost in the incessant churn of publicity and new releases, but never fear! Here are three titles that deserve to be ranked with the best of the big names. 1. The City …