FRANCIS SPUFFORD Nonesuch. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Award-winning author Francis Spufford’s new novel is a historical fantasy set during the Blitz in London. Francis Spufford’s fourth novel, Nonesuch, is a beguiling combination of historical and speculative fiction. Spufford effortlessly blends the experience of living...
JARED POON City of Others. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
Set in Singapore, Jared Poon’s first novel is fantasy fiction that asks whether our brains only register what we want to see around us. Over the last few years there has been a proliferation of Asian authors drawing on their own cultures to make significant inroads...
KESHE CHOW For No Mortal Creature. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Australian Keshe Chow’s award-winning debut The Girl With No Reflection became an international bestseller. Her second does not disappoint. In her hidden magical village, Jia Liu hasn’t felt as though she belongs for a long time, ever since it became clear...
RF KUANG Katabasis. Reviewed by Robert Goodman
The bestselling author of Yellowface returns to dark fantasy with her new novel set amid university life – and Hell. RF Kuang burst into the global literary scene with her satirical work Yellowface. But for some she was already there, following a debut trilogy of...
ALINA BELLCHAMBERS The Order of Masks. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Spies, magic, intrigue, and the human cost of an expanding empire all feature in Australian author Alina Bellchambers’ debut fantasy. Growing up on the run from mysterious criminals with her mother, Mira has always dreamed of having safety and stability; of being able...
SARAH BETH DURST The Spellshop. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Sarah Beth Durst calls her new novel ‘cozy fantasy’ and delivers a tale of magic, persecution – and jam-making. Librarian Kiela flees the burning Great Library of Alyssium with Caz, her chatty, sentient spider-plant assistant, and as many priceless (and highly...
LEIGH BARDUGO The Familiar. Reviewed by Ann Skea
The bestselling creator of the Grishaverse turns to the history of 16th-century Spain for this story of a young woman with magical powers. If the bread hadn’t burned, this would be a very different story. So it would. Luzia would not have used her magical skills, Doña...
LEIGH BARDUGO Hell Bent. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Leigh Bardugo’s Alex Stern continues her adventures among Yale’s elite societies, picking up where Ninth House left off. ‘… This is what your magic is for, isn’t it? This is what it does. Props up the people in power, lets the people with everything take a...
MARIA LEWIS The Rose Daughter. Reviewed by Amelia Dudley
Aurealis award-winner Maria Lewis has created an imaginative world that is both compelling and addictive. ‘All the best characters have scars…not just the villains.’ Set in a fantasy universe shared with her other novels, but still satisfying as a standalone read, The...DUNCAN LAY Valley of Shields: Empire of Bones Two. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson
This fast-paced epic fantasy has plenty of Machiavellian twists and poses some deeper questions. Book Two of Duncan Lay’s Empire of Bones trilogy opens with an emotionally devastated Rhiannon trying to deal with a series of powerful shocks. She has found that the men...
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