The Tempering of Men is the second book in the Iskryne series co-authored by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette.  The first book is A Companion to Wolves, which began as a fun parody of the concept of animal companions and evolved into a novel. A third book, An Apprentice to Elves, is supposed to be released in 2013. The Tempering of Men was released today as a hardcover and an ebook. Since this is a review for the second book […]

Naamah’s Blessing is the final book in Jacqueline Carey’s companion trilogy to the first two trilogies comprising Kushiel’s Legacy, which began with Kushiel’s Dart.  This newest trilogy takes place well after the end of the first two and can be read without first reading the books that came before (I’ve only read Kushiel’s Dart myself, although I really enjoyed it and should get on reading the rest of them).  The books in the Naamah trilogy before this one are Naamah’s […]

As quite possibly the most talked about fantasy release of 2011, A Dance With Dragons probably needs no introduction.  Just in case you somehow haven’t heard of it for some reason, it’s the fifth book in the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, which has gained a lot of popularity this year with the airing of the first season of Game of Thrones on HBO.  The first four books in the series are as […]

The Uncertain Places is a fantasy book incorporating fairy tales set in Berkeley, California, in the 1970s and some of the 1980s. The author, Lisa Goldstein, won the American Book Award for her novel The Red Magician.  She has also been nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and several other awards, including the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award. Ben Avery and Will Taylor have been friends for years so it’s […]

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is a young adult contemporary fantasy novel coming out this September.  It will be available in hardcover, as an ebook, and as an audiobook.  Since it ends with “to be continued,” there will be at least one sequel, although I haven’t been able to find any information on it or how many books there will be total. (Update: I asked Laini Taylor about the number of books on Twitter and she said […]

Song of Scarabaeus, a debut science fiction novel by Sara Creasy, was nominated for both the Philip K. Dick Award and the Aurealis Award for Best SF Novel.  Its sequel and the conclusion to the story, Children of Scarabeaus, was released earlier this year. When Edie has to leave lunch to look into a freight car that stopped working properly, she figures it’s all part of the job.  Instead, her guard is knocked out by a woman carrying a weapon […]