Wiz Duos, Book 1 by David Gullen and Ben Wright

This new series from Wizard’s Tower Press hearkens back to the golden age of SFF publishing, specifically the Ace Doubles that were massively popular between 1952 and 1978. However, whereas Ace had a tendency to mash together two (often massively) abridged novels, Wizard’s Tower are giving us two complete novellas in each book. And this first volume is a damned good place to start.

First up is The God Road by David Gullen. It’s an interesting tale of refugees fleeing a failing city. Except the city is a giant carcass, and the refugees are all insectoids. I really loved this one, and would be very interested in seeing more from this setting.

The second story, To Sail the Interstice by Ben Wright, is a novella made up of several shorter stories, with the protagonists visiting a few different worlds within a multiversal setting, with each story being told from a slightly different point of view. In that respect, it feels a bit like a short mosaic novel, and for me that made it particularly intriguing.

Both tales tell us stories of characters taken out of their usual environment and thrust into an unfamiliar, much bigger world, and the adventures they have there. And I’ve got to admit, both stories are strong on their own. Put them together, and you’ve got a book that’s simply fantastic.

The second volume came out at the same time as this one did, and I’ll be giving that a read at some point soon. And if that’s as good as this one, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more in the series going forward.