Monthly Wrap Up: July 2018

A YA historical fiction, an ARC I’ve got through Netgalley. I quite liked it, and although I’m not into YA that much anymore, it was an enjoyable read about a boy with a plague whose only chance to save his life was if the joined to the Gunpowder Plot – to kill King James and the members of the Parliament.

“Fawkes has many layers and under the obvious surface of the plot there is a depth worth exploring. This book deals with questions of religion, society, acceptance, loss, what it means to give your life for your beliefs and that every coin has two sides. War and hate aren’t always the solution to solve the problem, and sometimes one person, one decision can change the course of events.”

Romance is really out of my comfort zone, but I needed a light read for a weekend back in June. This one wasn’t bad, but didn’t make me want to go back to the genre.

“Actually, this is a perfect summer read for those who like to read romance books, while lounging by a pool, drinking cocktails, and pointedly not acknowledging the world around them. The Lighthouse keeper blends romance, mystery, past and present loves together nicely.”

I think this was one of the best reads of the month. Admittedly, I liked this better than Rise of Gods. It had action, humor, gods, blood and everything you want in a modern UF fantasy. Even if it’s written in present tense. It was also a first book I picked a song for. A feature I plan to do with every read from now on.

“Wrath of Gods is a hell of a ride, which won’t leave you bored, and most probably will break your heart. Fast paced, brutal, gripping and it’s full of surprises. I haven’t enjoyed an urban fantasy this much for a while now.”

Okay, I cheated a bit with this one, because I’ve read it last year, but it was time to rewrite that review. Book 2 of the Broken Stone Chronicle series, and a much faster read than Devil’s Night Dawning. It has so many plotlines that I have no idea how Damien keeps track of them.

“In Warlock’s Sun Rising Damien turns the action and the magic up a notch. We get everything from battle scenes through demon wakening rituals to political scheming. If  you don’t find something you love in fantasy in this book, then you didn’t look hard enough.”

My first review that appeared on Fantasy Book Review! It’s a shame I didn’t like the book better 🙁 I swear I tried, but it had a few faults I couldn’t overlook.

“Overall, Red Season Rising is a fast-paced, intriguing and promising dark fantasy debut. Maybe it’s not perfect, and maybe not everyone will like it, but it has the potential to be epic. It has a ruthless, cruel villain you’ll love to hate, a main character who fights with addiction while trying to keep his head clear, and side characters whom you might find liking. The red season is rising, and your soul is at stake. You better pray to Dajda to keep you safe until her children come to embrace you.”

This month we have a draw for best book. Besides Wrath of Gods, Alien Stars were my other highest rated book. But then, I loved all the Harry Stubbs books, so that’s not much of a surprise. This time Harry ventures deeper into Science-fiction.

“Alien Stars still has that unique atmosphere the other books also had: the prose is flowing, the characters are alive, and London leaps off the pages. If you are looking for a mystery, a historical fiction or even a science fiction novel, you’ll get all three in one.”

If I had a review that needed rewriting more than Warlock’s Sun Rising, then this was it. I’ve read it almost a year ago as an ARC and wrote up a review which Benedict liked but I’ve no idea why, because it was horrible. I tried to give justice to this book with a better one. I liked the third Yarnsworld book as well as the others, but it’s not my favorite of them all.

“Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords is Zorro meets The Three Musketeers. It has adventure, exciting sword fights, clashing morals. The reckless youthfulness meets the wise seasoned fighter and sets sparkles. And of course there is no Benedict Patrick novel without rich mythology and folklore to make the Yarnsworld a place you’d like to visit.”

Damien Black is one of my favorite people in the scene, but I gushed a lot about him and his work, so this time I let him do the work for himself. We’ve talked about writing, his books, his experiences regarding last year’s SPFBO and music of course. An additional info: Warlock’s Sun Rising will be available on Audible as well as Devil’s Night Dawning!

I’ve been spoiled by fine british gentlemen this month, since David Hambling also braved my interrogation skills and visited the Asylum, knowing what awaited for him. A lot of questions about his work, the Harry Stubbs series, Lovecraft and traveling among other things.

A.M. Justice had written an article about music in fantasy, and showed through her own book, A Wizard’s Forge how music is part of Vic’s story.

Megan Mackie, author of The Finder of  the Lucky Devil, provided me with an excerpt of her SPFBO entry book, namely Chapter 3. Along with A. M. Justice she is also a first timer in SPFBO, so make sure to check it out. Both of their books are one sale for a few days to celebrate the start of the new season!

Martin Owton, author of the Nandor Tales series decided to show to you guys his short story, A Matter of Blood. This introduces us to the main character of the series, Aron and tells the story how he helped out a young men and dealt with some persistent killer who was more than determined to take revenge on him. After he took his own.