"Clara stood outside a stranger's tent, holding a naked sword in her hands." Istvhan is a paladin - or rather, he was before his god, the (slightly misnamed) Saint of Steel died. The death was an extremely traumatic event for his followers, and the berserker paladins mostly did not fare well. Now there are seven … Continue reading Paladin’s Strength – T Kingfisher
"'Why do you feed the cats, othala?'" I'm delighted to have another chance to spend time with Thara Celehar, a Witness for the Dead who we first met in The Goblin Emperor and is now treating us to a third book from his own point of view. Celehar is a prelate of one of the religions that … Continue reading The Tomb of Dragons – Katherine Addison
I had mixed feelings about the first season of this adaptation of Tolkien's appendices and such, and I'd suggest going into season two was a mix of being a little more prepared for what to expect, and ultimately finding it had the same problems - and strengths! - as the first series. There's always a … Continue reading Rings of Power (season 2)
"Once upon a time, a knight came riding into the holler." The Knight and the Butcherbird comes with the description, "A dystopian fairy tale" and honestly I can't beat that. And I am in awe of how much of a world is conjured up in just 36 pages! The post-apocalyptic setting feels all-too bleak, with … Continue reading The Knight and the Butcherbird – Alix E Harrow
"Basit Deniau's greatest architectural triumph is the house he died in." Rose House lies in the middle of nowhere, deep in the Mohave desert. It was the crowning glory of the already-successful architect, Basit Deniau, because this wasn't just stone and glass and sweeping curves: Rose House is alive. Every part of it is infused … Continue reading Rose/House – Arkady Martine
"'Guv?' My barman was a mechanical, multi-limbed lifeform from a system in the vicinity of Arcturus." After discovering interstellar travel - via a phenomenon dubbed 'tramlines' - mankind's diaspora takes on new meaning when Earth is destroyed by the utterly alien 'Cutters'. Not wholly of our reality, these near-unstoppable killing machines seem to have no … Continue reading Future’s Edge – Gareth Powell
Alex Cross (Aldis Hodge) is a homicide detective and forensic psychologist. Based on the series of books by James Patterson, we've had a couple of previous adaptations - two movies staring Morgan Freeman, one with Tyler Perry - but this TV series has decided not to follow any of the books in particular. We find … Continue reading Cross (season 1)
"I have to admit, it was a lovely wedding." Gemma Doyle - possibly a very distant relation to the famous author - runs a Sherlock Holmes-themed bookshop in her adopted USA. Although she'd deny it, she's definitely a bit of a Sherlock herself and over the course of nine books has solved many crimes. Given … Continue reading The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime – Vicki Delany
"There was never any question but that I would become an engineer." We first met Martin Hench in Red Team Blues (2023), although I didn't stumble across the self-employed forensic accountant until his second outing, The Bezzle (2024). Now, I know what you're thinking: forensic accounting? Yawn! But somehow Cory Doctorow writes the most absorbing page-turners about just … Continue reading Picks and Shovels – Cory Doctorow
"Are you just a little tired of reading science fiction novels that take eons to finish?" A good short story is a hard thing to achieve. A good science fiction short story is nigh on a miracle, given that the genre benefits from world building and explanations of the 'otherness' presented. And so, while not … Continue reading New Adventures in Space Opera – various
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