Smorgasbord Fantasia

 The Genius has done it again! Joe Abercrombie , a master storyteller with his pulse on the bleeding dark heart of our society, has given us yet another masterpiece in the rousing, heart-wrenching conclusion to the Age of Madness , the new trilogy series set in the same world as the First Law trilogy - with this book, The Wisdom of Crowds.   So for readers catching up new on this series, this review contains obvious spoilers of what has transpired before and I would advise, not to continue but to go pick up the whole trilogy which, in my humble opinion, is another crowning achievement in the epic fantasy genre. So, the Civil War ravages through the country and our newly appointed King Orso, has to contend with a bloody revolution in the Capital Agriont, led by the Burners. Leo and Savine, despite having suffered a humiliating defeat at that battle of Stoffenbeck, find reasons to cling to their life and scanty ambitions even as the tides turn. Back in the North, Rikke also has ...

It is actually hard to believe that The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart is her debut - Inspired by multiple Asian-cultures, the first book of the Drowning Empire trilogy reads like a seasoned, epic fantasy that features a vast and fascinating world, a well thought-out magic system - all of this headlined by well rounded interesting characters, whose motivations, flaws and inspirations drive the narrative forwards in fluent confident prose, that never takes the foot off the pedal.   The broad contours of the narrative in this first of a series goes like this: Lin Sukai is the heir to the The Phoenix Empire ruled by a reclusive Emperor, who unfortunately isn't willing to accept Lin as his successor until she proves herself worthy enough to take on the reins. Lin is obviously frustrated by this but more importantly, by the fact that she has no memory of her last four years before she woke up, supposedly from a coma recovering from a disease. And the Emperor sets her on a task to...

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by KS Villoso is a stunning debut about a conflict-ridden empire built on Asian cultural folklores (mainly Filipino) featuring an absolute badass leading lady known as the Bitch Queen who is ready to die and kill equally, to protect her duty, honour and love. This book is one of the self-published success stories, that got picked up by Orbit and re-released into the larger world ( to the absolute delight of readers like me!) - the paperback version just released last week and I happened to get an ARC for the same, a while back. Had been seeing glowing reviews of this character-driven epic fantasy all over the my feeds and I knew, I had to check this out. Having sat through yesterday night, feverishly turning the pages like mad at two thirty am yesterday night to reach the end, I can vouch for the fact that you haven't read anything like this, in a while among the whole epic fantasy stories or narratives. Initially and even till the point of three-fo...

So The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan  ranks right up there, in terms of my most anticipated books of 2019  and the pre-publication buzz has been nothing short of fantastic. I stalk Gareth on his blog and followed his reddit AMA  and so no wonder, when I got approved for the ARC for Gutter Prayer, I was way over the moon, sun and all the stars. Now having breathlessly finished his gut-punchy debut, I guess I finally know what all the fuzz was about. And well deserved, I might add. Grim-dark by way of New Weird (Think China Mievelle) Gareth has built  an immensely intricate and detailed world in his accomplished debut, The Gutter Prayer. Friendships, betrayals and forgotten myths come alive in a mad chaotic tale set in the ancient city of Guerdon - a crumbling metropolis that runs on alchemy and broken faith. Three unlikely allies go up against ancient guilds, a corrupt watch and a horde of demons from the underworld as the world around them gets caught up ...

Continuing on with our (ir)-regular feaure focused on highlighting eagerly anticipated SFF novels, this week we shine the light on Empire of Sand ( First in the Books of Ambha series) by Tasha Suri . Why am I so amped up about this one? It's based on South Asian myths and influences. [ I stalk Tasha on twitter and I know her interests in Mughal Empire and period bollywood movies should have sparked off some ideas :D] A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy. The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited. When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she m...

Been a while since I posted anything on this meme ( Looks like it's been discontinued?) but would like to go ahead anyways and post my anticipated books for this year ( and the next!) in the speculative fiction space. This week - we are focusing on The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan , another remarkable debut that has generated all the right buzz and has just the most amazing premise, for a dark fantasy novel. In the ancient city of Guerdon, three thieves – an orphan, a ghoul and a cursed man – are accused of a crime they didn’t commit. Their quest for revenge exposes a perilous conspiracy, the seeds of which were sown long before they were born. A centuries-old magical war is on the verge of reigniting and in the tunnels deep below the city, a malevolent power stirs. Only by standing together can the three friends prevent a conflict that would bring total devastation to their city – and the world beyond. Coming from Orbit books, this one is set to hit the shops ear...

August looks like an 'august' month indeed with noteworthy sequels to some of the biggest debuts of the last year.  The ones I personally am most kicked about are the following:  Tower of Living and Dying by Anna Smith Spark : The 'queen of grim dark' is back with the second installment to the series,  Empires of Dust  (I thoroughly enjoyed the mad caper that was book one!) that continues the doomed tale of the unbalanced heir, Marith as he wields the power of the throne of the White Isles. Promises to be bleak, grim and sordidly dark. Right up my alley! Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames  : if you thought that the bunch of oldies  reunion was the great band ever in the Band Series, then wait until you read the next instalment that tells the story of the daughter Rose and her band. I have heard it tops the  first book  and that is saying a LOT.  Even if its just a speck of dust on that first book, then hells come alive...

After the Unwritten graphic novel series and The Girl with All the Gifts , M R Carey ( Pen name ) is now one of my all time favorite writer. His novels are a reality-check, a sucker-punch to the guts in the way things finally unfold, mostly bleak and grim but the overall narratives work wonders in terms of driving the plot forward. I love his novels. And so with Fellside . If you are here seeking a 'spiritual' sequel to Girl with All the Gifts or are looking to be taken on a similar flow, then you are going to be disappointed. Fellside is a different book - a book much closer to reality dealing with pain, guilt and greed - all things human in a very grim book set inside a maximum-security prison. But that short description really doesn't do the book justice - as Carey paints a sympathetic picture of Jess Moulson , the girl accused of manslaughter of a ten-year old boy and having deliberately set the apartment complex on fire, while being high on drugs. Jess is on ...

So Orbit has come out with some fascinating cover-reveals for their Fall 2015 catalog..And a lot of titles are series continuations or conclusions. Here are some: A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall About the Book:   FIVE VILLAINS. ONE LEGENDARY GENERAL. A FINAL QUEST FOR VENGEANCE. Twenty years ago, feared general Cobalt Zosia led her five villainous captains and mercenary army into battle, wrestling monsters and toppling an empire. When there were no more titles to win and no more worlds to conquer, she retired and gave up her legend to history. Now the peace she carved for herself has been shattered by the unprovoked slaughter of her village. Seeking bloody vengeance, Zosia heads for battle once more, but to find justice she must confront grudge-bearing enemies, once-loyal allies, and an unknown army that marches under a familiar banner. A CROWN FOR COLD SILVER is an outstanding epic fantasy debut featuring an unforgettable warrior. What's in it f...

Fade to Black , is a 2013 Orbit debut by Francis Knight , first in a trilogy that features Rojan Dizon , a "Pain-Mage". Interestingly, Orbit has a back-to-back publishing schedule with this trilogy with the second in the series, Before the Fall is already out in the market while the third is poised to hit the stands in Jan 2014. Urban fantasy has never been my cup of cake. Sexy smart eighteen-year old college kids who never fit in to normal societies and then one day discover that they are in fact the last of a race and are invested with powers unimaginable and turn into hot hunky(male) or smoking hot (female) vampires toting shiny black guns caught in a war between angels and werewolves and in the process also discover that their secret crush is a member of the opposite gang ( take your pick: Faerie, Angel, Werewolf, Vampire). Does he or she save the world and also get to happily-ever-after with their heart-sworns?  < aaaaaarrrrghhhh > Happy to let you know t...

Orbit has always been one of my favorite fantasy publishing houses and the 2014 cover reveal of some of the most anticipated "to-read" titles in Science Fiction and Fantasy is a glorious spread of some of the most heart-achingly beautiful book-covers ever! Below are a few which I, personally thought were absolutely bewitchingly mind-blowing (Add to that, the fact that these are some of the series or stand-alones written by the new reigning masters of this genre!!) A Dance of Shadows by David Dalglish (Shadowcloaks # 4) Haern is the King's Watcher, born an assassin only to become the city of Veldaren's protector against the thief guilds. When Lord Victor Kane attacks the city, determined to stamp out all corruption, foreign gangs pour in amidst the chaos in an attempt to overthrow the current lords of the underworld. And when a mysterious killer known as the Widow begins mutilating thieves, paranoia engulfs the city. Haern knows someone is behind the t...