Marc Aplin's Blog, page 35

The Girl and the Mountain by Mark Lawrence

Spoiler Warning: This review contains minor spoilers for book one of the Book of the Ice series. Please read with caution if you have yet to finish The Girl in the Stars. “To touch the sky, be prepared to climb.” And climb we must. Mark Lawrence’s second installment to the Book of the Ice series, […]

Leather and Lace by Magen Cubed

First Disclaimer: I received an advance digital review copy of this book in return for an honest review. Second Disclaimer: The copy used for this review is an uncorrected proof. The published edition may be subject to further editing and revision. With that in mind, I will not discuss editing, spelling or grammar in this […]

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Frankenstein meets Hacker meets Solo meets Legend of Zelda, in an Asian family drama. Given my interest in Asian-themed fantasy, it came as a surprise that I didn’t hear about Andrea Stewart’s debut novel, The Bone Shard Daughter, until about a week before it launched to a parade of glowing critical reviews. Of course, Stewart […]

First, Become Ashes by K.M. Szpara

Trigger Warning for First, Become Ashes: This books (not this review) contains explicit sadomasochism and sexual content, as well as abuse and consent violations, including rape. An individual carries their beliefs throughout their life: religious, political, truth and reality. There comes a point within each individual when those beliefs become fixed notions, which become more […]

Anna by Sammy H.K. Smith

The Government has fallen, society is broken, and to survive in the land you need to be intelligent, cunning, and tough. Above that though, you need to be watchful. The towns and cities are walled communities which protect those within and distrust those without. Each maintains a small armed force, and there are those who […]

Anna by Sammy HK Smith

*I received this book as an early ARC from the author. The Government has fallen, society is broken, and to survive in the land you need to be intelligent, cunning, and tough. Above though, you need to be watchful. The towns and cities are walled communities which protect those within and distrust those without. Each […]

Scott Kaelen Interview – The Nameless and the Fallen

Scott Kaelen’s debut novel, The Blighted City, was a semifinalist in the Fourth Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO4), and one of my favorite novels to emerge from that annual fantasy competition (reviewed here). The audiobook version of The Blighted City was also a finalist in the fantasy category of the 2020 Independent Audiobook Awards. When […]

The Fall of Erlon by Robert H. Fleming – SPFBO #6 Finals Review

As empires burn, heroes must rise. Elisa Lannes was once heiress to the mighty Erlonian Empire. But when her mother abandons the empire and her emperor father is defeated on the battlefield and sent into exile, the world she would rule collapses around her. As enemies converge on the capital, Elisa must join with the […]

An Incomplete List of Women Writing in SFF

*Disclaimer* This is, as the title says, an incomplete list. I have tried to put each author in every subgenre they write in. It is very probable there are glaring omissions and that I will facepalm when I notice them missing. It is also very probable that in translating the suggestions on Twitter to Word […]

The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin – SPFBO #6 Finals Review

Editor’s Note: Our overall rating for The Combat Codes is 7/10 as stated above. But our SPFBO rating is 3.5/10. See below for more details. “We fight so the rest shall not have to.” In a world where single combat determines the fate of nations, the Grievar fight so the rest can remain at peace. […]