Matthew

I can not say enough good things about this book. I did not want this first trilogy to end yet I couldn't finish it fast enough to find out what happens.

Three books in and this series has to be one of the all time best in the genre. It literally has EVERYTHING fantasy has to offer. Take all your favorite authors and things in the genre and put them together and this is what you would get.

I've come to love the characters so much that they almost feel like family. I laughed with them and I cried with them. I wanted only good things to happen to them and only the best for them. But life doesn't always give you happy endings. I thought this was a great ending to the first trilogy and a great tease to the next.

Also, the first three chapters are great and riveting! I was literally pumping my first into the air with joy.

If you're a fan of the fantasy genre or fan of reading at all, I can not recommend this book enough!

I really am going to have to tamper my expectations for the rest of the series. The best compliment I can give this book is that it was like discovering Brandon Sanderson for the first time all over again!

Empire of Dirt, the second book in the nine volume The Echoes Saga, takes everything I loved from the first book and adds even more. There is still a ton of action (though there are few less head decapitations. There new characters that are just as great as the original cast. Lastly, there are revelations! The world within this series just continues to get bigger. Also, the cover is amazing!

The main driving point of this book, and series so far, are the characters. I actually care about the characters. A story can be good but there has to be great characters and this series has them. Many of the characters feel like their my family or best friends.

If you liked the first book, there is no reason you shouldn't like this one!

Sometimes the right book comes along at the right time.

The last couple of books I've read tended to be on the Grim Dark side of Fantasy. I'm quickly becoming burned out on that genre. Thankfully, Paladin Unbound saved me from the dark side.

It's odd that it is now refreshing to have characters that aren't all morally gray. That is just purely heroic and good. We get that a lot in half-Orc Umhra the Peacebreaker and the rest of the Barrow's Pact. I loved each character and rooted for them all.

This is a fast-paced book. Nothing is wasted. The author quickly gets to the point without bogging the story down. The prose won't win any awards but it isn't trying to. It quickly tells the tale it intends to but leaves you wanting more. The world-building is fantastic and there are tons left to be told. Magic is magic and thankfully doesn't need to be fully explained. It's just there and sometimes, like this time, it works.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It turned out to be the perfect book at the perfect time for me. It's fun, quick, and full of great characters and heroism (oh, and tons of devilish creatures as well). I've never played Dungeons and Dragons before but I felt like this book perfectly represented it.

I know there is a sequel already out and I can't wait to get into it. I don't know how many books the author has planned for this series but I hope it's many more!

A Necromancer Called Gam Gam is a heck of a debut from Adam Holcombe. I can say after finishing it that this book is not what I expected. There are heavy themes here along with the humor I was expecting. But this book hits and it hits hard.

Most reviews are simply either a book is good or a book is bad. The reader enjoyed it or didn't enjoy it. I really liked this book. That's why it got five stars. But it's not about being a good book and enjoying it. It's about connecting with this book on a personal level.

There are four main themes in this book. Life, death, loss, and grief. In one month, I will be without my Granddaddy for a year. I never knew such pain, loss, and grief until his death in June 2022. I still cry at least once a week thinking about him and missing him. After I pray every night, I speak aloud to him letting him know that I love him and miss him so much. I never knew it was possible to grieve this much and to miss someone so.

This book conveys the same sense that I feel with my granddaddy's death. I don't know if the author has experienced a close loss like mine and those in this book, but I think he had to have had. He perfectly conveys feelings and emotions, grief and loss. This book connected with me in such a personal way and that's a credit to the success of the author.

This book wasn't what I thought it would be and it's better for it. Sure, the fantasy tropes are there. There are even battles, un-dead, and more than one type of mancer. But the book is perfectly summed up in one word. I won't reveal that word but it's spoken by an un-dead being that shouldn't be able to talk. You'll know it when you read it.

The author makes a personal connection with me. Some authors may ask, does my work have any real meaning? Does it truly make a difference? Adam, your work has meaning and made a difference!

Also, there's a cat named Nugget. Bonus points for that because I love cats!

I went into Daniel M. Ford's The Warden not expecting too much and came away pleasantly surprised.

The Warden is a fantasy book that's not like most fantasy books. There's no saving the world scenario and huge world sprawling adventures and battles. Instead, we get a cozy novel with heartwarming characters and a town that you can root for.

Besides fantasy, we get a little sci-fi and some western genres mixed in. The Warden is like a Sheriff/Marshall/Gunslinger set to protect towns and villages. And Lone Pine is a backwater town that's all about sheep.

The author does a great job of making us fit into this quiet little down. And just like Aelis, we slowly start fitting into the town and caring about its villagers.

I really enjoyed this book. It's different enough to be special. The ending was kind of weird and sudden but leaves me begging for Part 2 to hurry up and release. I'm ready to move into Lone Pine!

I'm a little late to Christopher Russell's party but it's better late than never!

I'm not gonna lie. I was so close to having this book be a DNF. The book opens with the longest Prolouge I've ever read. Not only was it lengthy but it was a somewhat difficult read. You are literally thrown into this world in the middle Lozaria's biggest battle. I was having some trouble with it. Then, the main characters aren't introduced until about 200 pages in. But once they are introduced, the book becomes a much more easier and enjoyable read.

Rebirth suffers from maybe having too much to include in the first book of a series. Some info dumps and pacing kind of insist that a good portion of the book be in a prequel novella instead of book one of the series. But really, that's my only complaint.

With that out of the way, Christopher creates a living breathing world with some interesting characters. The book made me think of Brandon Sanderson in a Final Fantasy game. The world-building is phenomenal, the magic system is intriguing, and the characters are either very likable or very dislikable. Also, it's kind of steampunky with battle airships and tanks which aren't in your normal fantasy setting.

There is one scene that absolutely got me very emotional. You'll know it when you come to it. I barely knew the character and I was in tears. It was very Sanderson-esque with its conveying of love and emotion and that's some high praise coming from me because I think Brandon Sanderson is the very best at writing characters and conveying very real human emotions.

I'm not saying Christopher Russell is at Brandon Sanderson's level. Sometimes Christopher gets a little too wordy in giving details but as a young author, he can only get better and improve (and as of this writing, I'm a good deal into Book 2 and it's a much better book in every way).

Overall, I'm very glad I stuck with this book. It's a rough start but the ride becomes a lot smoother and more enjoyable as it goes!

Christopher Russell. Remember that name. Only two books in and he shot like a rocket to near the top of my list of names in Fantasy!

Book One, Rebirth, was a tough four-star review for me. It was jarring and difficult at times. I almost DNF'ed it. But I pushed through, growing to enjoy it and giving it four stars. Well, there's no mistake about this one. It's an easy five-star book.

One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Friday Night Lights. Yes, it was about high school football but it was so much more than that. The characters were real. They acted like actual people do in real life. The show made me cry so many times. This book is a lot like Friday Night Lights.

The character work is phenomenal. It would be difficult for you to find another author who brings real characters to life with real issues, flaws, and dilemmas that is not named Brandon Sanderson. There will be characters that you love and that you hate. And your feelings for them may change multiple times during the course of the same book. The author acknowledges that the theme of this book is love and it's abundantly clear that's the case. There are two sections, one is a Graduation Day and another is a letter that someone reads, which absolutely broke me. I can not praise this book enough for its character work.

For all you action fans, don't worry. The action is still there and it comes about like an avalanche at times.

The pacing of this book is much better. In fact, it's just a million times better and deserving of more than even five stars! I'm so excited for more from this universe!

L.R. Schulz knocks it out of the part with a grand slam with this continuation of the Bonds of Kin series. Just because The King Radiant is no more doesn't mean our story with the Glaives siblings is over! Peace hasn't been achieved, rumors surface that the Skae are real, the sun might be dying, and who is the mysterious Sun Prince from across the sea?

A King's Radiance was a nice fantasy story but The Sun Prince is better in every way! More epic, more grand, more adventures, more risks, more emotion, more battles, more fantasy, and more creatures! This book doesn't suffer from being the second in a series. It's actually better than the first book. It keeps all the heart and emotion from the previous installment but amps everything up!

We have the same cast of characters, mostly focusing on the Glaives siblings, who all continue to be great. But new characters are introduced and two of them are standouts. First, there is Zeek. What is it and what is its story? It's interesting to see this world from its point of view. And then there is The Sun Prince himself! He's one of my favorite characters, and getting to know him was great. Is he a friend or foe? I won't say but he is a great character.

There was a shock at the end of Part One that really rattled me. I honestly questioned myself if the story could continue to be as good as it was with what happened. Even though it was jarring, I, like the other characters, slowly got over it and continued to move on.

I will make a note that there was one small sex scene. It wasn't very descriptive or lewd but for some reason, it did kind of jar me. I wasn't expecting it. It doesn't take away anything or dampen the story, it just seemed like it was kind of out of place. But that's just me.

This is an example of what all second books should strive to be. Take everything you loved about the first and just add more! Don't miss out on this!

Back before the wars when I was a pathologist, San Francisco had one physcian for every one thousand people in the city. Neo SF had grown to more than fifteen thousand. There was only one physician for all those people. Doctor Elspeth Darrow.

Wick Welker's newest novel, Saint Elspeth, is an instant sci-fi classic! Twenty years after the arrival of aliens, Dr. Elspeth Darrow does everything she can to help the citizens of Neo SF be cared for. A journey for some medical supplies leads to some shocking discoveries for Dr. Darrow and it's up to her, and her ‘fellowship', to figure out the mysteries that lead to our planet's potential end or salvation.

I can no longer sleep because of the worry, but it's no longer a worry for the present which is already sealed - the story already written. Nor do I worry about my tragic past that the Hila came and stole from me. No, I worry for the world that comes after the relics of pre-war people are finally swept from the earth. I worry that we're on the cusp of reverse human evolution where clinical trials are replaced by witch trials. I fear I am a mere residue on glass - an airbrushed silhouette of a grasping hand reaching for the walls of ancient caves. We had one chance at civilization. I'm uncertain we deserve another.

“What were once were? People are the same now as they were then.”

“Little by little, each human mind adds to the story of knowledge. Someone toils their whole lives trying to figure something out. They figure out maybe a millimeter of the problem, and the next generation takes it from there. Everyone is like one link in the chain of scientific knowledge.”

Wick Welker is our generation's Michael Crichton. That's high praise! They have many similarities and both write excellent books. Sadly, Michael is gone but thankfully Wick is just getting started!

The less said about this book the better. I had no idea what to expect going in. I've read two Wick Welker books before this. Dark Theory, 5 stars and a personal favorite of mine, and Saint Elspeth, 4 stars. I was expecting to like this book, just as I liked the others, but I came away loving this book!

Three books I've read of Wick's and there seems to be a common theme throughout all three that I've read. The human condition. How humanity seems to be its own worst enemy. Saint Elspeth talked about it through an alien “invasion” while Refraction talks about it through time and dimensions. Both are compelling while making excellent science fiction.

Just like Saint Elspeth, there's a lot of technical and scientific jargon that I didn't know. But also like his other books, Wick doesn't make you feel stupid with it. Like Michael Crichton, it's all made believable through the story. Wick is clearly smarter than you and I and while he doesn't make you feel stupid, he doesn't talk down to you either.

Wick Welker is a name you should be looking out for. He continues to knock it out of the park with every book. I eagerly look forward to more work by this excellent author!

“The sword cares not who it cuts.”

That's the tagline for this book. This book is a sword that will cut you over and over and have you begging for more! Quite simply, this is THE Fantasy Book of the Year! In fact, it's in the Top 10 Fantasy Books of all time and it's one of my favorite books! Oh, and one more thing... A TALKING SWORD!!!

I love fantasy books that are highly fantastic and full of imagination. Author Gareth Hanrahan has to have one of the most creative and imaginative minds. This book has everything you could ever ask for in a fantasy novel. The world building is next level!

Imagine if you will, that the in the Lord of the Rings, there were no Hobbits. But the Fellowship still formed and they were able to win! Then imagine what happens after the book ends. That the stories, poems, and songs all tell of the mighty heroes and their victory and they all lived happily ever after. But what if it wasn't happily ever after? What if life still goes on? This is what this book is.

Alf is such a great character and his companion, the talking sword, Spellbreaker is also a fantastic character. Alf keeps putting Spellbreaker away but I wanted more of this talking sword. Olva, Alf's sister, is the character we can relate to. She's the normal person who gets introduced to the world in all its beauty and horrors. I wondered why she was included in this tale, but it works itself out. She really represents us getting to discover this world.

The prose also deserves a mention. It's kind of written in a classical fantasy-type prose that I really enjoyed. It's not at all difficult but it fit this world perfectly! Also, the cover is amazing. Just look at it! Oh... and there's a dog!

I have a new favorite author and a new favorite book. I can not hype up this book or love it any more than I do! Waiting for book two is a bummer but it will be an instant buy, as will any book this author writes!

Going into this read, I knew nothing about the book or the author. When I first got into Book Twitter, I somehow saw the cover of this and instantly purchased it. That cover is beautiful and amazing! Thankfully, what's inside isn't too bad either.

A King's Radiance is truly a fantastic tale. Sure, there are a few common fantasy tropes within it, but this book is really about family at the heart of it. It's successful and it works because I care about the characters within it. Sure, they can be aggravating at times and make decisions that make you want to pull your hair out. But that is something that real people do. No one is perfect, but at the end of the day, this family cares about one another.

The main characters are great, along with the side characters, and really carry this story along. But then, at a certain point, you get a twist. And another twist. And then the twists keep coming making this book even more enjoyable.

If you like classic fantasy, family relationships, twists, and of course, gorgeous covers, then this book is for you!

Reading the blurb on the back of A.R. Witham's The Legend of Black Jack, I initially thought this would be a Fantasy version of Harry Potter. While there might be a few similarities, this is not Harry Potter.

This is a very imaginative and creative entry in the Fantasy genre. While this story is contained, there's enough world building and enough things that really aren't explained that could lead to more stories or this being a series.

It was a quick fun read with a diverse cast of likeable (and unlikeable) characters. I thought this would be geared more towards a younger audience but it's what a fun scary 80's PG-13 movie would be if it were a book.

The heart and soul of this book though is the relationship between father and son.

I highly recommend this book and would like to see more stories from this universe!

I do not even know where to begin. I wish I had an amazing vocabulary and could eloquently express how good this book really is. Unfortunately, I'm just a country bumpkin from Tennessee, so I'll try my best.

I'm sure all readers have that one moment and book that forever changed their life. When I was a kid in Junior High (I'm 38 now so it was a bit ago), I read Stephen King's The Stand. That book left a profound mark on my life. Then, as recently as a few years ago, I discovered and read Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings and that book had a huge impact as well. I claim that it changed my life. The Way of Kings showed me that there is so much more to books than just the story. Journey before Destination, right?

Both the books I just mentioned showed me that not only could books be incredible stories but that they could have a ton of heart, make you emotional, and create new best friends for life even though these new friends aren't real. They were so much more than just a book. The feeling I had when I finished The Way of Kings is the same exact feeling I got after finishing Dark Theory. In short, this masterpiece is my favorite book... EVER!

“Technology is so poor these days, tyrants can only use the weapons of the past-weapons they dig up-combustible engines that they patch back together. Mankind has proven that they cannot wisely wield the technology they develop and that's the era in which we now live. May as well be the stone ages.”

“What makes a person who they are? Is it their thoughts? Actions? What they would've done? Don't be afraid of who you were. Be afraid of never learning enough to change for the better.”

EVERYTHING

I didn't know what to expect when I purchased this book. The Broken Binding had a special edition of the Quest for Heroes Duology and I love their special editions so I decided to pick this up. I'm really glad I did because not only does the book look fantastic but it also delivers a pretty good time.

This book is all about the characters, PTSD from war and battles, and what it means to be a coward and a hero. As each character gets introduced, I really didn't know what to think and expect about them. But man, the character development and the bond that this group slowly creates is good stuff.

This is a very slowly developing book. There's not a lot of action until near the end as the majority of the book is spent on the journey to their destination. There's some mystery as well that slowly gets revealed by the end. But this one is all about the characters.

There's also a set up for the second book that has me excited to spend more time in this world and with these characters.

This is the first book by David Dalglish that I've ever read and going in I didn't know what to expect. The little blurb on the back sounded interesting enough and I've always liked books and characters that deal with religion (as I am a Christian myself). But after reading this book, David Dalglish is an author to watch.

Sure, this book deals with religion and monsters and the discovery of a long lost ‘world' but this book is all about the characters. I absolutely fell in love with all of them. The way they come together, find each other, and interact with each other is just great. The dialogue between the group of friends is what blew me away. It's believable and it's also down right hilarious. Devin in one my favorite literary characters and the afterword made the character even more special.

This book is dark. There are tons of deaths and many of them are extremely gory. It's probably the most gore I've ever read. Some might feel that the book is dark enough to make it Grim Dark but I don't. At it's core, it's about friendships, relationships, and hope. There is so much love and hope and humor that shines beyond the gore. I mean, I literally laughed and cried while reading this book!

I devoured this book in six days (I have a full time job and then spend several hours with my Granny after work). I just couldn't get enough of it! I can't wait to see where the next book goes but if it continues on the same path, this Trilogy will become one of my all time favorites.

The cover alone made me purchase this book. Well, I mean, I also did check out some of the reviews it was getting, but that cover was what sold me. While the cover is awesome, it's the contents within the book that is even better!

Rise of the Ranger is the first book (in a series of nine) in The Echoes Saga by Philip C. Quaintrell. This is an indie and self-published author and frankly, I'm surprised no major publishing company has picked this up yet. This book is basically a love letter to the fantasy genre. It combines classic and modern fantasy and has a little of everything.

The story follows a large cast and I can honestly say, there wasn't one character or story that I didn't like. In fact, I enjoyed all of the characters. It may seem a little bit of a stretch for some characters to instantly like each other but considering how I pretty much love everything about this book, I'm willing to forgive that.

While reading this, I told myself that when I finished I was going to start reading something else. However, I enjoyed it so much, I decided to go ahead and immediately jump into the next one to finish the first trilogy.

I can only hope that someday we will get nice leather-bound special editions of this series. I'd immediately snatch those up!