Fantasy
Rivers of London Review: Police Work Gets a Ghost Problem
Rivers of London is a funny, London-drunk urban fantasy with a slack middle. My real, spoiler-light take on Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant debut.
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Category: Fantasy
Fantasy
The Dresden Files Review: Butcher’s Wizard PI
My honest, opinionated take on The Dresden Files and Jim Butcher's Storm Front: a rough, funny, oddly loyal start to a huge urban fantasy series.
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Fantasy
The Ocean at the End of the Lane Review: Childhood Terror in a Small, Perfect Book
My honest take on Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane: a small, strange, aching book about the terror of childhood. Who it's…
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Fantasy
Iron Druid Chronicles Review: Gods, Swords, and One Very Talkative Dog
My honest, opinionated review of Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles (Hounded, 2011): the fun, the wisecracks, the wizard-dad dog, and the real flaws.
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Fantasy
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Review: Greek Gods, Bad Parents, Great Fun
My honest, opinionated take on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians: what still lands, what feels dated, and who should actually read it.
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Fantasy
The Stormlight Archive Review: Sanderson’s Epic Weighed
My honest take on The Way of Kings and The Stormlight Archive: brutal length, a slow build, and the bridge-run scene that made it all worth…
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Fantasy
The Broken Empire Review: Following a Monster on Purpose
Mark Lawrence's Prince of Thorns and The Broken Empire trilogy, reviewed honestly: brilliant prose, a monstrous narrator, and why it split readers down the middle.
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Fantasy
Red Queen Review: A Ruthless Twist Inside Familiar YA Fantasy
My messy, honest take on Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard: the twist that got me, the tropes that didn't, and whether the hype holds up in…
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Fantasy
The Kingkiller Chronicle Review: Gorgeous Prose, Great Ambition, No Ending
The Name of the Wind is some of the most gorgeous prose in fantasy, wrapped in a series that may never finish. My honest, conflicted take…
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Fantasy
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review: Spectacle, Time Travel, and a Divided Fandom
A first-person, no-fluff take on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: the time-turner mess, the one relationship that saves it, and who should actually skip it.
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Fantasy
The First Law Review: Bloody Fantasy With a Knife-Sharp Sense of Humor
The First Law trilogy is grimdark done right: brutal, funny, cynical, and slow to start. Here's why Abercrombie's cast wrecked me, and my honest rating.
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Fantasy
The Inheritance Trilogy Review: Jemisin’s Fierce Debut
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is messy, horny, and one of the boldest fantasy debuts of the 2010s. Here's what works, what doesn't, and my honest rating.
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Fantasy
The Sword of Shannara Review: Fantasy’s First Blockbuster
The Sword of Shannara is famously the book that copied Tolkien and sold millions anyway. Is it a slog, a comfort read, or both? My honest,…
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Fantasy
The Riftwar Saga Review: Two Worlds, One War, and a Classic Fantasy Gateway
Magician: Apprentice launched Feist's Riftwar Saga in 1982. Comfort-food epic fantasy that's dated in places but still hooks you. Here's my honest read.
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Fantasy
The Book of the New Sun Review: A Beautiful Puzzle With a Liar at Its Center
Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is dense, dazzling, and built on a narrator who lies. Here's why it broke my brain and whether…
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Fantasy
The Farseer Trilogy Review: Robin Hobb Makes an Assassin Hurt
My honest take on Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice: a slow, quietly devastating fantasy about a royal bastard, his dog, and a wolf. Who should read it.
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Fantasy
The Black Company Review: Fantasy’s First Grunts
Glen Cook's The Black Company (1984) is grimdark before grimdark had a name. Terse, brutal, foundational, and not for everyone. My honest 4/5 take.
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Fantasy
Elric of Melniboné Review: Moorcock’s Anti-Conan
Moorcock's Elric is a doom-soaked, sword-stealing-your-soul antihero from 1972. Brilliant and dated in the same breath. Here's my honest, messy take.
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Fantasy
Conan the Barbarian Review: Howard’s Pulp Original
My honest take on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian: pulpy, violent, weirdly literate, occasionally ugly, and still faster than almost anything written since.
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Fantasy
Gormenghast Review: Mervyn Peake’s Strange Masterpiece
Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast is a slow, gorgeous, maddening castle of a book. Here's who it's for, who should run, and why it stuck with me.
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Fantasy
The Belgariad Review: Why This Familiar Fantasy Still Feels Like Home
The Belgariad is comfort-food fantasy: predictable, a little dated, and weirdly impossible to put down. Here's why I keep going back to it.
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