Bloodsworn is the first book in a new epic fantasy series by British author Tej Turner, and it really does get the series off to a phenomenal start. The narrative follows the adventures of a handful of young friends as they find themselves getting dragged into a magical conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything they hold dear.
There are been some astoundingly good fantasy novels come out over the last couple of years, novels that have, in my opinion, brought a breath of fresh air to the genre. Northern Wrath is another one of those novels.
William Gibson’s treatment of the Alien franchise is in many ways a much better sequel to Aliens than the Alien 3 film we eventually got. True, Ripley is notably absent from the action (apparently Sigourney Weaver initially declined an invitation to return to the franchise, so Gibson had to effectively write her out of his treatment) but what we do get is a damning examination of corporate hubris and the problems that arise when you put profit above morals and common sense. Oh, and there are some xenomorphs, too.
DISCLAIMER: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publishers in return for an honest review. My thanks to Caezik SF & Fantasy for giving me this opportunity.
Robert A. Heinlein, often referred to as ‘the dean of science fiction writers’, died in 1988, so to get a new, previously unpublished novel from one of the pillars of the Golden Age of Sci-Fi is something of an event in its own right. Add to this a lifelong love of Heinlein’s work and as you can probably imagine I was incredibly excited to be able to get my hands on this companion novel to The Number of the Beast (1980). But was it worth it?
As you’ve probably noticed things have been a bit quiet around here for the last few months. I’ve built up a backlog of book reviews that I really need to get written, and aside from the recent post for The Campaign Cast there hasn’t been a new post on this here blog thing since April. Well, that’s going to change, because I’ve decided to join in with #SciFiMonth 2020, running throughout November.
Last year I was fortunate enough to be involved in the first series of The Campaign Trail, a Dungeons and Dragons podcast that takes a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at politics in a fantasy world. Well, series two is almost upon us and once again I am honoured to be a part of this amazing production.