JULIET MARILLIER Den of Wolves: Blackthorn & Grim #3. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Juliet Marillier’s fine new fairy tale weaves stories within stories in complex and riveting ways. This is the third volume to follow the adventures of the healer Blackthorn and her friend and companion Grim, set in the northern Irish part of Dalriada, a sixth...
ANGELA SLATTER Vigil. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
Vigil makes a very rich pudding. Neil Gaiman and Ben Aaronovitch have both blended crime and fantasy in a very seductive fashion and Angela Slatter has done the same with this tale of the crimes that result from a clash of the Weyrd and the Normal, set in...
KIM FALCONER The Blood in the Beginning: Ava Sykes #1. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
A killer ride packed with punches, this riveting cross-genre urban-fantasy thriller is set in dystopian Los Angeles. Ava Sykes is a 24-year-old in her final year of studying medical science at UCLA. After graduation she hopes to be accepted for an internship with the...
BRIOHNY DOYLE The Island Will Sink. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
A dystopian future, inventive language and an irresistible finish distinguish Briohny Doyle’s debut novel. This is an exciting and fascinating read, a very clever speculative dystopian novel set in a not too distant future. The world faces...
MIKE JONES with LEONIE JONES The Reparation: The Transgressions Cycle Book Three. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
This third instalment of the Trangressions Cycle is Australian Gothic horror at its gruesome best. Welcome to the church of St Agnes, where truths are whispered and the voices of the dead struggle to be heard. Spanning the years 1946 to 1952, The Reparation follows...
RJURIK DAVIDSON The Stars Askew. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
The Stars Askew continues Australian fantasy author Rjurik Davidson’s dark tale of revolution, treachery and personal sacrifice begun in his debut novel Unwrapped Sky. Again, this story is set in the richly imagined city of Caeli Amur where magical beasts, grinding...
BEN PEEK Leviathan’s Blood: Children Book Two. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
Leviathan’s Blood covers a lot of ground and introduces a whole new world of wonders, all vividly and indelibly portrayed. I’m not overstating things when I say that Ben Peek is one of the most accomplished writers of richly detailed and intricately plotted epic...
MURIEL BARBERY The Life of Elves. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
The author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog creates an intensely poetic battle between good and evil in The Life of Elves. This story concerns two changeling babies who are found in strange circumstances. One is adopted by a family in rural France and the other is...
MIKE JONES The Scrimshaw Marionette: The Transgressions Cycle Book Two. Reviewed by Lou Murphy
This gritty gothic horror novel of hardship and brutality contains a vile mystery that only time can solve. The Scrimshaw Marionette begins with a prologue set in 1881 on Flukesplade Island, a remote whaling station in the Tasman Sea and an unforgiving environment...
MARIANNE DE PIERRES Mythmaker. Reviewed by Keith Stevenson
Virgin Jackson confronts demon wolves, gang lords and stone witches in this sequel to Peacemaker. In 2014, Marianne De Pierres pulled off an impressive hat-trick with Peacemaker, the first book in her Virgin Jackson series, effortlessly blending crime, sci-fi and...
IAIN PEARS Arcadia. Reviewed by Chris Maher
The author of An Instance of the Fingerpost explores what happens when words create worlds. What if Alice’s Wonderland was a science fiction creation rather than a fantastic one? By what previously undiscovered scientific laws would that be possible? In Arcadia, Pears...
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