K. M. Alexander
A group of soldiers in WW1 discovers a wounded angel in No Man's Land, and all hell breaks loose. I went into this book knowing only that and found myself entranced. It's like Kraus wrote a book specifically for me to enjoy. It's brutal and beautiful. Hopeful but often horrific. It's all told via a single enormous sentence, which drags you helter-skelter through the mud of the trenches until the very end. I loved it.
If you love shield walls, this is the book for you! The groundwork in The Rise of Mages pays off as the story surges. Drakeford's deft hand with large-scale combat, political intrigue, and the economic weight of a massive military campaign truly shines. As the Ire brothers continue their quest to liberate their people, the scope of events expands, and the stakes rise with every bloody chapter, culminating in a harrowing end that leaves you eager for what comes next. I'm ready for book three.
There is so much here that sucked me in. It's a post-apocalyptic book that confronts dealing with an apocalypse, it's a mecha book but done in a grounded way that feels more Battletech than Transformers, and it's a weird-fantasy-faith book that at times feels like an homage to Warhammer 40k, but forges its own path. Loads of twists and turns and solid characters, the sort of thing I crave in a genre-bending novel. I'll be back for more.
Ripplinger does something special in this final entry into the Verdant Revival, and it is delightful. On the surface, Tomorrow's Shepherd is an action-packed adventure that blends genres, yet looking deeper, it is a book infused with the fun of 80s cartoons and somehow still a treatise on trauma and faith, yet told in a straightforward and approachable way. While it was sad to see the trilogy end, I couldn't have imagined a better ending. Love Live the Verde.
A southern gothic-cum-cosmic horror story that oozes atmosphere and dread with the turn of every page. Brilliantly written, The Hollow Kind weaves two tales of different generations of the Redfern family. Tragedy subsumes the story as each struggle with inner demons and even darker family secrets on their thousand-acre turpentine estate deep in the Georgia pines. A phenomenal book and Davidson's best work to date.
Arguably one of the best biographies I have ever read, a thorough and empathetic look into city and state politics, the building of great public works, and the tragic figure that is Robert Moses. If one wants to understand the car-focused traffic-snarled city planning we see and experience in our modern world, this is the primer.
A gripping historical horror set in France during the Black Plague that is as bleak as it is intense. Buehelman beautifully builds out the hellish world of 1348 Avignon and populates it with empathetic, if not fraught, characters while weaving their journey into a much larger and significantly more epic tale. Angels. Demons. Redemption. Sacrifice. War in heaven and on Earth. I was absorbed from its harrowing beginning to its spectacular ending. I wish I could erase my brain and read it again for the first time— Between Two Fires has become not only my favorite read this year but one of my favorites of all time.
This sun-baked vampire horror set in Texas unexpectedly became a new favorite. A surprisingly tense, character-focused narrative. Brutal. Anguished. Tormented. Bloody. Lyrical in ways that remind me of Cormac McCarthy without the weight. It's not shy of confronting the cracked ugliness of humanity and finding the beauty between the fissures. Davidson is an incredible writer, and I immediately purchased his more recent novel after finishing In the Valley of the Sun. We need more horror like this.
Centered on Jennifer Howard's laborious task of cleaning up the remains of her mother's house, Clutter is a very personal history book. Using this event as a catalyst, Howard traces a thoroughly fascinating chronicle following the rise of modern consumer culture from the gilded parlors of Victorian England through the industrial era to today. Compelling and well-researched, the scope is broad, but the book never loses its heart. Since finishing, I've found myself rethinking my own relationship with the things I own and how every purchase, ever discard, and ever reuse impacts the world around me. Absolutely worth a read.
In recent years, the Divine Cities have become one of my favorite urban fantasy series, mostly for its fresh approach to the genre, atypical characters, and serious exploration of themes oft-ignored within mainstream fantasy. With City of Miracles, Bennett wrapped up the trilogy with a heartbreaking yet thoroughly satisfying ending. This story is a bit tighter and more focused than the previous two while wrapping up various loose ends rather nicely. It's rare to find a final book in a series that resonates with me as much as City of Miracles did—it's easily my favorite book in the trilogy.
A thoroughly fresh debut that is unlike anything I've read before. Rushing brings his unique, well-researched world of 1920s Paris to life with a captivating voice. There's a transgressive edge here, intentionally subversive—the characters are morally gray and the situations even more so. Don't expect a saccharine overly-romantic version of Paris; this is a stained, broken, and bloody place. RADIO is a jazz-infused, opium-soaked, historical fantasy that explodes from the opening chapter and never relents until its final pages—a welcome addition to modern fantasy literature.
“It is important to learn from history. But it's just as important not to curse the future because of mistakes made in the past.”The second entry in The Verdant Revival maintains the thrilling pace of the original and manages to balance its unique genre-bending mashup while still expanding the world of Verde. [b:Tomorrow's Shepherd 42738321 Tomorrow's Shepherd (The Verdant Revival Book 2) Michael Ripplinger https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541781579l/42738321.SY75.jpg 66460208] carries the reader into new, exciting, and often dangerous places. It's rare a book can be so fun and still manage to tell a heartful and human tale about loss, legacy, and the desire to improve things for everyone. It's rarer still that its story will stick with you even after you turn over the last page—a fantastic entry into the series that will leave the reader ready for more.
A masterpiece of modern cosmic horror that grounds itself in humanity. Jacobs does a lot with a little; his prose is lyrical and evocative. The setting and characters are captivating and unique to the genre. Moving cosmic horror away from the dreary hills of New England and to the streets of Málaga, Spain and the mountains of South America was a refreshing change. The result is a surprisingly deep novella that recasts cosmic horror's themes with a raw originality. I was enthralled from start to finish.
We've all known someone who's battled addiction, we've seen it destroy lives and ruin relationships. Yet, we struggle to understand it. Lauren Sapala's Between the Shadow and Lo confronts the blight of addiction head on, and it does so beautifully. The prose is haunting and poetic taking you on a cyclical tour through the life of Leah, a young woman living and drinking her way through Seattle in the early 2000s. Her tale is raw and unabashed—some would say transgressive—but it is oh so important. The details—at times funny, sometimes tragic, yet always reflective—are an intimate window into the mind of a person struggling with addiction and mental illness. In that way, the novel opens a door. It makes the reader see the person beyond the symptoms. As dark as the journey becomes there is a light. We build empathy for Leah, and on the way, it leaves a little room for hope. Outstanding.
Any attempt to encapsulate Side Life in a small review will ultimately do it an injustice. It is a book of facets, and each reflects a theme as varied as the realities explored within its pages. It is on the surface a poignant sci-fi thriller that delves into the speculative theories of parallel universes and time-travel. Had it stopped there it would have been an entertaining little adventure, but Side Life isn't satisfied with entertainment alone. Instead, it chooses to become something more. It's a study on love, loss, and family. It is an introspection on humanity, reality, and self-identity. It is also an inward look at a broken man struggling to understand his existence and exorcise his personal, and often dark, demons. For many authors, juggling these internal realities would be difficult, but Steve Toutonghi does it with aplomb. Side Life is fast-paced, sharply witted, entertaining, and occasionally disturbing—it serves as a reflection on how messy our reality and humanity can be and how each little decision we make can have a profound impact on our personal truth and contentment. It is both utterly tragic and yet ultimately hopeful. Long after I closed the cover, Side Life has stuck with me. A thoroughly wonderful book.