Marc Aplin's Blog, page 62
March 25, 2019
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in Teixcalaan to find that her predecessor, from the same mining station (Lsel Station), has died. Although his death is put down to an accident, Mahit suspects foul play and she must uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim. At the core of A Memory Called Empire is a murder […]
March 22, 2019
Frostgrave and Carnevale – Two Skirmish Wargame Reviews
In the last couple of years, tabletop gaming has become more popular. A lot of people don’t have the space, budget or playing time for vast wargames involving hundreds of models, and smaller-scale, skirmish games have arisen to fill the gap. I thought I’d have a look at two such games: Carnevale, sold by TTCombat, […]
March 20, 2019
The Steel Prince by V. E. Schwab
Well, fellow adventurers, she’s done it again. V. E. Schwab delivers another amazing story with her Shades of Magic expansion comic book entitled: The Steel Prince. Published in March 2019 from Titan Comics, The Steel Prince is an adult fantasy comic book that explores the backstory of a secondary character in the Shades of Magic […]
March 19, 2019
The Son of Summer Stars by Meredith Ann Pierce
Spoiler Warning: Minor spoilers for The Birth of the Firebringer, Dark Moon and The Son of Summer Stars. “Little unicorn,” he answered mildly, “attend. We gryphons are not the ones who trespass Ishi’s Vale. But consider: with the birth of your flock’s long-sought Firebringer, does not time at last betide you to depart and reclaim […]
March 13, 2019
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss
First, a disclaimer: This book draws heavily on various Victorian and pre-Victorian speculative fiction, as does its sequel (which I will review next month). I was a very precocious teen and actually read all the novels referenced in this book during high school, so I can’t say whether or not the book would be as […]
March 11, 2019
The Anointed by Keith Ward – SPFBO #4 Finals Review
* Disclaimer * Writing and reading are subjective arts. What some folks will absolutely love, others will dislike. It is a bit like Marmite in the UK—normal people dislike it intensely, but some weird folks actually enjoy the taste of warm road surface with fresh roadkill upon their tongue. To each their own, I suppose. […]
March 5, 2019
Mind Machines by Dima Zales and Anna Zaires
I’ll confess: I’ve still not made the switch from physical book to ebook. I’m lingering on the border still, but more on the side of print. I only really step into the Kindle realm if there’s an offer on. It was through a notification from the Kindle app on my phone that this title was […]
Mind Machines by Dima Zales
I’ll confess: I’ve still not made the switch from physical book to ebook. I’m lingering on the border still, but more on the side of print. I only really step into the Kindle realm if there’s an offer on. It was through a notification from the Kindle app on my phone that this title was […]
March 3, 2019
Out of Nowhere by Patrick LeClerc – SPFBO #4 Finals Review
* Disclaimer * Writing and reading are subjective arts. What some folks will absolutely love, others will dislike. It is a bit like Marmite in the UK—normal people dislike it intensely, but some weird folks actually enjoy the taste of warm road surface with fresh roadkill upon their tongue. To each their own, I suppose. […]
February 28, 2019
The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft – Review + Fan Theories!
Spoiler Warning: If you haven’t read books one and two in The Books of Babel series then go and read them now, and/or check out Fantasy-Faction’s reviews of both books here and here. Not reading this series is a bad life-choice, there’s simply no other way of putting it. If you’ve somehow skipped both books […]
