Review: The Foxglove King

The Foxglove King by Hannah F. Whitten
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Beasts of Paris

The Beasts of Paris by Stef Penney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Our Hideous Progeny

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was the perfect homage to Frankenstein, and I have a feeling that Mary Shelley would have been quite proud to have inspired such a book.

The story follows the great niece of Frankenstein himself, though she does not know such for a long time. Neither does she know of his creation, not until herself and her (waster) husband have need of such information. Mary has a hard life until she marries, and even then things are not perfect. She discovers about her uncles experiments and she decides to attempt them on a smaller scale. But as in the original story, things do not go to plan.

The most horrific part of this story is really how women were treated back at the turn of the century. Expected to be of good breeding, to be a perfect wife, and not to have an opinion that was not first shared by their husbands. I had such empathy for Mary for most of the book, though there were times when I wanted to give her a slap. As well as half the men in the book, with a few notable exceptions.

It was a beautifully written piece, that never lets the original source material down.

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Review: Queen Among the Dead

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you like a good tale of fae set back in the day, a wonderful historic fantasy, then this is the book for you.

I loved this book because of the detailed use of the myths and legends of the Fae in Ireland, a land rich in stories to start with. You have the daughter of the Dadga, a Princess of her People, along with a thief of the normal people that are ruled over by the Dadga. And their tempestuous meetings and growing friendship.

This book is steeped in lore, cleverly used in this tale, one that has the potential to make quite the series. The writing is smooth and easy on the eye, as it were, the language flowing well even with the foreign words. Lesley Livingston has done a wonderful job with this, and I can not wait to see where Neve's story goes from here.

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Review: The Red Scholar's Wake

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was something truly special; if you like a good sci-fi that has the potential to become quite the spectacular space opera, then this is the best choice for you.

Rice Fish is a live ship, a human connected into a spaceship, and she is the widow of the Red Scholar, the head of the Red band of Pirates. She pulls in Xi, a scavenger and bot builder, to help her find out who had killed her wife. And as such, many terrible and wonderful things start to happen.

The world is based on an oriental culture, with women and men marrying as they like. It has some wonderful lgbtq themes, written as the everyday. It is not the focus of the book, made the norm, which is wonderful to read. The world/space that the book is based in is steeped in some great background, making it believable in its harshness. After all, all life is hard, and why would it be any different in the future in space.

This is a rich, wonderful sci-fi that has the potential to become an epic space opera, one I can not wait to read.

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Review: Dragons of Deceit

Dragons of Deceit by Margaret Weis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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STUNG

by Cullen Scott

My Recommendation: *****

I found certain elements of this book quite unsettling, and I am not even a parent.

The book follows a number of characters; Tallon, Shadow, and Sofia being the main ones, each character tells the story in their own chapters.  It follows a world where everyone born has a chip implanted in their heads, and if they kill another person then they too die via this chip.  It has stopped murder, but not everyone wants their chips turned on at 16, and many run off to live off grid.  This story follows Tallon and Sofia, who are about to have their chips turned on, and how their lives begin to spin wildly out of control.

There are elements of this I hated, which unsettled me I should say, and the fact you are taking free control away from people at 16, not to mention having to live with certain consequences if things out of your own control happen, horrifying.  It is a dystopian world without even knowing it is one.  To take people's free will away, to discriminate a group who want to be able to make their own choices, and of course can you really trust anyone who puts a chip in your head?

This is a great book, one that has you digging your toes into the carpet and clenching your jaw without even realising it.  A must read and a hope for a another book to come.