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REVIEW- Shackled Fates (The Hanged God #2) by Thilde Kold Holdt
Bend me over and call me Sally. Shackled Fates was somehow better than Northern Wrath and I LOVED it. Close your eyes and imagine waking up in another time, a time for brutality, a time for pain, a time of the gods. Holdt as always transports me into the rugged Norse landscape and has me instantly picking up a shield ready to defend both honour and family. You are walking through the blood-soaked plains, weapons are discarded, the ravens are flying overhead and the sound of metal upon metal can be heard in the distance. That’s why Holdt’s books are a special kind of magic. Shackled Fates is a story…
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REVIEW – Among Thieves by M.J. Kuhn
Among Thieves is the Money Heist Vs Assasins Creed mashup that we didn’t know we needed. MJ Kuhn talks to her readers like they are in the room with her. She’s sitting them down and talking about an idea she has, an idea of stealing a powerful relic and convincing us all it’s a great idea. She shares her wisdom with us in a dark and hypnotic fashion. Whilst reading Among Thieves I had many “aha moments, damn this is good and how can I be a part of this amazing group?” A lot resonated with me – putting on a front to hide the inner despair of a broken…
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REVIEW – A Ritual of Bone (The Dead Sagas #1) by Lee C. Conley
A Ritual of Bone is a unique and propulsive love affair with zombie fiction. It is new and refreshing and it was as ambitious as it was gritty and I was ready and willing to fight with the dead. It is the first book in the Dead Sagas series and manages to create individual plots (well more like mini-stories, really) that so perfectly interweaves at a crescendo leaving the reader gasping and hungering for more. The writing is visceral and the world-building takes you away into a time that bears no meaning but a time that aches to be discovered to be understood. Master Logan and his apprentice are dabbling…
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Review: The Darkest Dusk by D.W. Ross
The Darkest Dusk excels in everything Norse fantasy. The landscape, the characterisation, and the brutal display of humanity is stark and painful. The sequel to Cold From the North brings us a continuation of the story without negating everything I loved from book one. The story continues with a rush, like a snowstorm that wants to blind your vision, it disorientates you, it leaves you cold to your very bones and anything can blindside you. D.W. Ross has honed his skill and you can tell the love and devotion that has gone into creating this sprawling epic Norse fantasy. Book two of the Onyxborn Chronicles, The Darkest Dusk and immediately…
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Review: The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie
The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie feels like his life’s work taking its earned place on the top of the pedestal. It feels like the end of an era with the First Law Series having its final curtain call. As with any much-beloved series, it’s hard to close that final chapter and say goodbye to the scheming, betrayals, and bloodshed. It’s hard to know sometimes which way Abercrombie will take his characters and what end they’ll be dealt but trust in the author and his vision because it’s worth the ride and I believe that every character got the ending they needed. “Debauchery is profitable under any government” The…
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Review: The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie
The Trouble with Peace is Abercrombie’s best book to date. Dark. Bloody. Utterly hypnotic. How on earth do you review something flawless, something so resolutely perfect? A story that details the travesty of war, the brutality of love, and the burden of power. Peace can be glorious but the truth is told – it is rarely the peace a nation would come to know. Enemies in the shadows, whispers in the halls, treason is never far from the mind. “We’re all like children, Rikke. The older you get, the more you realize the grown-ups won’t suddenly walk in and set things right. You want things right, you have to put…
