The second of the Rivers of London novellas I’m reviewing at the moment is one from significantly earlier than Winter’s Gift, and set at basically the opposite time of the year. What Abigail Did That Summer goes back in the timeline to Foxglove Summer, and checks in with what was going on in London, with Peter’s cousin Abigail getting to know the Foxes, and going on some adventures of her own.
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While I’m caught up on the Rivers of London novels, I’ve fallen behind on a couple of the novellas – at the end of 2023, I decided to get caught up on those novellas. The first I decided to get caught up on was Winter’s Gifts. The novel focuses on Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds (first appearing in Whispers Underground), and introduces the demimonde of the United States to the series, the same way that The October Man introduced the demimonde of Germany.
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December’s Sword & Laser Book Club pick was a Dungeon Fantasy novel, Kings of the Wyld, one that takes a different spin on the “Adventuring Band” concept – treating the “Band” idea like a rock band.
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It’s time to kick off the new year with a look at a series of nonfiction books that I finished reading last year.
This week I’ve got a review of a book about film history, covering the history of Japanese Animation.
This year had a new full Murderbot novel, System Collapse, which I was eagerly looking forward to the whole year? How eager was I – I pre-ordered the audiobook and spent Kumoricon listening to it when I was going back & forth from the con (instead of listening to anime podcasts like I normally do). So, how well did it meet my expectations? Fantastically.
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So, I’ve moved on to the next of the Vinyl Detective novels after Flip Back with Low Action, which once again has kept with the trend started with that book of moving between music scenes, after exhausting types of records (more or less – the Detective hasn’t gone after a Picture Disk yet). This time covering the ’70s Punk scene.
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If you asked me to describe The Mimicking of Known Successes by genre, I’d say it’s a queer science fiction cozy mystery that isn’t quite solarpunk, but I’d almost describe it as solarpunk-adjacent. It’s also a nice, brisk read that doesn’t break 200 pages, so if you’re also looking for a mystery that fits those criteria that you’d like to read when heading out for Thanksgiving (or other upcoming holidays), it’s a good book to pick up.
Read moreThis week I start getting a little caught up with some of the books I’ve read for the Sword & Laser Book Club, with a look at one of the best-selling fantasy novels of 2023 – Fourth Wing.
The Library at Mount Char was October’s pick for the Sword & Laser book club, as a “Sword” pick (meaning fantasy) and something meant to be mildly horror adjacent (as co-host Veronica Belmont doesn’t handle horror well – which is fine). The book itself is some okay splatter horror with a side of urban fantasy, but it didn’t quite land for me.
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Time to catch up with the book reviews for the Sword & Laser Book Club, with my thoughts on China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh.
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Time to finally get caught up with the Sword & Laser picks with Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, the August pick.
As a content warning – in addition to this book discussing a murder, it also includes a discussion of sexual assault, including a character who is raped while drugged.
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Unfortunately, I’ve fallen a little behind again on the books covered in the Sword & Laser Book Club, from a review standpoint, so it’s time for me to get caught up with some of the past books that I’ve read and finished. The first of these is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
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I’m continuing to get caught up with the Sword & Laser podcast books, with Children of Time.
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I continue to get caught up with my Sword & Laser picks with Under Fortunate Stars.
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I give my thoughts on a nice cozy little fantasy novel feels like it’s being held back from being as cozy as it wants to be.
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The new Murderbot novel is coming out later this year, so it’s time to get caught up here so I’m ready to talk about it once it comes out.
Read moreChildren of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky was this month’s pick for the Sword & Laser Book Club, and it’s a bit of a complicated book. The novel juggles two different kinds of stories, with two different levels of stakes, and which also vaguely intersect until the very end of the story. One of those stories was one which I enjoyed and looked forward to encountering – which was good because it took most of the book. The other kind of just had me on edge and wasn’t exactly a pleasant read.
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It’s time to take a look at Bitmap Books companion volume to the CRPG Book – the JRPG Book.
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It’s time to get to the book version of Shadows of the Empire.
Read moreA while back I reviewed The CRPG Book, a book from Bitmap Books covering the history of Computer RPGs through various eras of titles in the medium, with write-ups from various authors. The book has since received a follow-up, The JRPG Book, written by Kurt Kalata with contributions by other authors. I’ve finished reading that, so it’s time to give my thoughts on the book.
Read moreThis month’s pick for the Sword & Laser Book Club, and the winner of their Madness In March Tournament was Legends & Lattes, a book that had been on my recommendations list for quite a bit, so it’s time to take a look at it.
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It’s time to look at the book adaptation of the DLC for Final Fantasy XV that we didn’t get (and a little bit that we did)
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Weird of the White Wolf is the fourth part of the first of the current set of Elric omnibus volumes, and undoubtedly, this is where things get serious. I mean – there were serious things before, but this is where Elric gets shoved headlong into his destiny (the “Weird” in the title referring the Old English use of the word – Wyrd – meaning destiny) – like it or not (tending towards “or not”). And this is helped by the fact that here is where we encounter the first stories in the publication order, even if they’re not the first in Elric’s internal chronology.
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