by NRB | 28 Mar 2023 | Fiction, SFF |
AK Larkwood’s debut fantasy series combines a death cult, magical artefacts, and an accomplished assassin. ‘Only I am without end, for desolation is my watchword. Yet nothing is to be forgotten that belongs to me. All things that are lost come into my keeping.’...
by NRB | 6 Sep 2022 | Fiction, SFF |
Juliet Marillier’s Warrior Bards series is a joy to read and has a lot to say about tolerance. I remember the times when Brocc and I played and sang for weddings and festivals. That feels so long ago. Before Swan Island. Before I met Dau … A different world. But...
by NRB | 11 Aug 2022 | Fiction, SFF |
Melbourne-based Astrid Scholte’s new novel pits its characters against injustice. Liars … recount their stories perfectly. As though they’ve memorised the story from start to finish. However, the truth is organic. Details are remembered in bits and pieces....
by NRB | 11 Mar 2021 | Fiction, SFF |
Dan Frey’s novel is both a critique of Silicon Valley and an exploration of what it might mean if we really could see into the future. Time travel is one of the most persistent and fun tropes in science fiction. The list of time travel books, TV shows and movies...
by NRB | 25 Feb 2021 | Fiction, SFF |
Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series encompasses battles both mental and physical. A thousand quotes from noted scholars leapt to her mind. Accounts of what it was like to be in war. She’d read hundreds; some so detailed, she’d been able to smell the blood in...
by NRB | 3 Dec 2020 | Fiction, SFF |
Forty writers celebrate the lesser known characters and corners of the Star Wars universe with this celebration of the blockbuster sequel. The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most famous sequels in cinema history, and arguably still the best of the Star Wars films....
by NRB | 20 Aug 2020 | Fiction, SFF |
Truel1f3 delivers a satisfying conclusion to Jay Kristoff’s dystopian Lifel1k3 series, a tale of love, sacrifice and betrayal. ‘You built a world on metal backs. Held together by metal hands. And one day soon, those hands will close. And they’ll become fists.’...
by NRB | 13 Aug 2020 | Fiction, SFF |
Micaiah Johnson delivers a fresh take on multiple worlds and explores issues of power, nature and fate in her novel The Space Between Worlds. The idea of multiple worlds or multiple realities is a common one in science fiction. In her debut, The Space Between...
by NRB | 21 Jul 2020 | Fiction, SFF |
Trudi Canavan provides a suitably epic final instalment to her Millennium’s Rule series with Maker’s Curse. ‘All you can do is make sure you only have enemies because you are a good person.’ The bestselling author of four previous series, including...
by NRB | 16 Apr 2020 | Fiction, SFF |
NK Jemisin’s new novel is both an urban fantasy and a love letter to New York. NK Jemisin has come off her three-for-three Hugo wins for the Broken Earth trilogy with something completely different. The City We Became firmly puts the urban into urban fantasy,...
by NRB | 26 Mar 2020 | Fiction, SFF |
Hafsah Faizal draws on Arabic culture in her first novel, spinning a tale of an evil forest, a lost jewel, and a magical quest. Love is for children, said the girl. Death is for fools, said the shadow. Darkness is my destiny, said the boy. Allegiance is my...
by NRB | 20 Feb 2020 | Fiction, SFF |
The world has literally stopped turning in Andrew Hunter Murray’s dystopian thriller. Andrew Hunter Murray’s debut novel The Last Day is one of an interesting new strain of post-apocalyptic dystopian thrillers. Unlike standard cli-fi apocalypses that project...
CHER The Memoir Part 1. Reviewed by Naomi Manuell16 January 2025Cher is a genuine superstar who has had an extraordinary career across music, [ … ]
PETER GODWIN Exit Wounds. Reviewed by Ann Skea15 January 2025Peter Godwin’s memoir charts a life of exile, ranging from the horror of civil [ … ]
MARK SMITH Three Boys Gone. Reviewed by Michael Jongen14 January 2025Mark Smith’s first novel for adults is both a psychological thriller and an [ … ]
NRB readers’ favourite reviews of 202419 December 2024Welcome to our most popular reviews of the year. Is your favourite among them? [ … ]