New Book Review - The Summer War by Naomi Novic

Name - The Summer War

Written by - Naomi Novik

Narrated by - Ella Lynch 

Published by - Del Rey / Penguin

Audiobook by - Random House Audio

Telling a story in the vain of classic fairy tales is more easily said than done. And Novik did a brilliant job of pulling off a layer of mesmerizing prose; the first two thirds of the book flowed so brilliantly with its richly imagined little setting and the trio of siblings with their individual voices. But the last third and the ending were just worked out a little awkwardly, leaving me wondering if the author could have maybe taken things in a different direction for a better closure.

Naomi Novik is a well-known writer in fantasy circles, always praised for her beautiful depiction of fairytale-inspired prose and setting. And her fluency in this regard is felt from the beginning. The tale of the centuries-long Summer Wars and our heroine Celia getting caught in it with her family started very engagingly. With emphasis on style rather than substance to tell the story, the author created a fully fleshed heroine and also her two brothers, both unique in their own way.

Celia in her hormone-induced emotional angst curses her oldest brother Argent for never finding love in his life. Then after Argent left, she grew close to her middle brother Roric, who is quite an interesting character in his own right. Then she tries to break the curse, but unfortunately gets caught in the animosity of the two kingdoms herself. 

The story starts with beautiful and lyrical prose, introduces its characters and world brilliantly, but somehow loses momentum towards the end. It changes its direction quite unsuspectingly and gives a rather patched up ending not giving all the characters proper closer. Roric was the best character and surely deserved more time to shine, and Argent, on the other hand, gets a fast and all of a sudden romance shoved in his face and dealt with poorly.

A novella with so much promise that never fully delivered, this gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-young

Name - A Plagued Sea

Written by - Kim Bo-young 

Translated by - Sophie Bowman 

Series - Lovecraft Reanimated 

Published by - Honford Star  

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Honford Star for this opportunity.

This one started so well, had so much potential, the main character was portrayed with such finesse, yet somehow did not achieve what it promised. The Lovecraftian atmosphere was created with perfect nuances, racial angles were explored a bit, and the twists were also utilized quite well. Yet it could have been so much more poignant with a bit more work.

Kim Bo-young is one of the most famous science fiction writers in South Korea, has received various awards in his country, and one of the few writers from Korea to be translated into English. As far as I am aware, she had two collections published in English prior to this; 'A Plagued Sea' is her first novella published by Honford Star.

This novella is part of The Lovecraft Reanimated project by Honford Star, which translates Korean speculative fiction writers reimagining the works of horror master H.P. Lovecraft, giving them their own unique signature updating these stories for modern sensibilities.

The author manages to capture the true atmospheric charisma of the Cthulhu mythos in her attempt at recreating a modern version of 'The Shadow over Innsmouth'. Her interpretation incorporates the truly horrifying existential dread of Lovecraft, with even modern technological forms of communication unable to alleviate the despair of being locked in isolation, abuse, and racism in the form of social media posts and the characters using internet forums to create awareness and propaganda regarding the mysterious incidence of Haewon village.

The character of Moyoung was a fine creation, with her desperation and anguish over not being able to save her niece, her almost illogical yet understandable hatred towards the infected, her inner struggle of not being able to become a member of the villagers nor being able to be a member of normal society, and her manic paranoia in trying to deal with the source of her calamities. But sadly the other characters didn't get as much attention and felt rather like placeholders compared to her.

The author touched on the sense of racism, social stigma, and uncalled for abuse towards the unfortunate infected, but didn't really elaborate on this aspect of the story much, which in my opinion could have elevated this retelling to a whole new level. Rather she focused on the grotesque and monstrous horror angles of the story, which resulted in a fun reading experience nevertheless.

The prose was quite a delightful read; I simply loved the first chapter that introduced us to Muyoung and her niece, and also the chapter which revealed the new species. Sophie Bowman did a brilliant job with the translation, as I never really felt like I wasn't reading the book in its native form.

This was a fun read, made me interested in the Lovecraft Reanimated series as well as other stories from Kim Bo-young, but it also felt like a missed opportunity at creating the perfect Lovecraftian horror for the modern age due to its shortcomings.

3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - One Day All This Will Be Yours

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Narrated by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Published by - Solaris (Rebellion Publishing Ltd.)

Audiobook by - Penguin Audio 

The characteristic charm of Tchaikovsky that I adore is to be found all over this novella. Interesting protagonist, enjoyable and humorous prose, and a truly unique and well-thought-out setting to boot. But maybe I just wasn't reading it at the proper time, but I felt it should have been shorter or it lacked a bit of something giving it that extra edge.

This is yet another different kind of attempt by the author to write about the end times with his signature sense of humor and masterfully flowing prose. There was time traveling hijinks abound with lots of entertaining jokes at the expanse of historical figures and periods.

The protagonist was an irritable man and despite having a grey moral compass, he was very relatable as a narrator based on his circumstances. This really was a story of the times of COVID, incorporating the general chaotic psychological landscape on offer at the time.

But, I really wish I could have read it during the time when we were isolated and panicked and would have probably appreciated it much more.

Nevertheless, I give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - Abyss by Nicholas Binge

Name - Abyss

Written by - Nicholas Binge 

Narrated by - John Lee 

Published by - Tor Publishing Group

Audiobook by - Dreamscape Lore

Well, this one is almost like how it was pitched on the cover. A work inspired by Lovecraftian horror mixed with bits from the show Severance. I enjoyed my audiobook listen of this, while also wishing it had a bit more bulk and some well-developed characters.

Binge knows how to tell a fast-paced thriller with twists, which is quite apparent from the beginning of his newest novella. The protagonist gets suddenly thrown into this mysterious job and meets some unorthodox co-workers and slowly unravels the truth about his sinister employers.

The real world relevance of the main characters' predicament as well as his inability to have social interactions was quite relatable. Adding a mixture of cosmic horror bits into the setting was another fun element, but once again the author kept things a bit unexplained at times regarding the side characters.

And a special shout out to the narration by John Lee, which was quite soothing with his delivery and pacing and probably made me enjoy the book much more than I would have liked if I had read it.

As a matter of fact, the novella felt like the story really could have benefited from a longer length in explaining stuff and dealing with the side characters. And that's my main complaint with the otherwise enjoyable read.

I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - Preaching to the Choir

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Series - Terrible Worlds: Transformations 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Solaris Books for this opportunity.

It seems Tchaikovsky can write in any genre, as this time he tries his hand in writing horror and provides yet another short yet impactful and enjoyable novella. This one has touches of fantasy, gothic and body horror immersed in a fast paced story with bits of real world tidbits to keep the readers googling stuff.

The story follows our protagonist Elena Mendes as she travels with her boyfriend Ross Enderbough to his family mansion Enderby for a rather very special occasion, where she meets with the suspicious and mysterious family members, soon discovers their creepy traditions and witnesses some horrific family secrets.

Compared to other books by the author this one is quite lacking in humor, much more descriptive and atmospheric and there is also rather a distinct lack of plot twists. But despite being predictable at times, it's the prose and execution that made this one such an enjoyable read.

Like most of Tchaikovsky's work, the pages seem to file away, as I kept thinking of just another chapter before other stuff and found out that I'm almost. In these day and age of everyone being so damn busy, and huge and daunting books flooding the market, short and precise reads like this continue to deliver a short breather.

This one gets a spooky 4 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - Extremity by Nicholas Binge

Name - Extremity 

Written by - Nicholas Binge

Published by - Tor Publishing Group

Oftentimes, there are some reads which seem quite fun as you read it, but start to lose some of its fun and coherence when you examine it closely, more so with the perspective of hindsight. 'Extremity' is such a book. A fast-paced mystery and sci-fi hybrid that is a thrilling enough ride while it lasts, but quite forgettable once you are done.

This book is told through the first-person viewpoints of three characters: one veteran, one rookie, and one former police detective. The narrative style seemed a bit odd initially, but soon became comfortable enough and I as a reader was swept away by the blistering pace of plot progression. 

Some plot holes or rather unexplained plot points did make the enjoyment a bit hampered, but the interesting characters and the unexpected directions of the conflict kept me entertained up to the mini cliffhanger ending.

The main problem is that the author hammered through the science fiction bit of the story in his attempt to focus on the thriller aspect. Maybe he did this to keep stuff rolling for future sequels, but the story suffers from keeping the reader a bit unsatisfied when thinking back after finishing the book.

I will probably check out future books if any sequel does come out to see how the author explains the setting further. Meanwhile, this gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - The Hungry Gods by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - The Hungry Gods 

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by - Emma Newman

Series - Terrible Worlds: Innovations 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

Audiobook by - Tantor Media 

Another Adrian Tchaikovsky novella, another innovative and interesting work involving a richly imagined world incorporating relatable and charismatically depicted characters. Nowadays, his work means contender for best of the year list.

This time the setting is a post-apocalyptic resource-depleted world, with animal-inspired factions embroiled in struggle for survival suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of four technologically advanced beings claiming to be gods.

The prose by Tchaikovsky is as enjoyable as ever, seeming to glide through the world building and introducing the main players. The obvious ecological rhetoric is done quite artfully making us ponder if this might occur in our future if we keep on polluting our surroundings. 

The characters are quite skillfully fleshed, having their own purposes and motivations to guide them through to the ending which is quite satisfying as is often the case with the author. I liked Beaker and Iffy the most and would have liked to read more about them.

Hoping to get more releases for this series in future as I will remain trying to finish reading all of available Tchaikovsky stuff (a daunting task indeed). This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

New Novella Review - Elevation by Stephen King

Novella - Elevation
Writer - Stephen King
Published By - Scribner / Hodder & Stoughton

I would like to start the review with clearing one thing first, this is not horror by any stretch of the imagination. This is Stephen King trying out new genres, trying to create a humane little story focusing on the goodness in people and social issues. This is also him doing what he does best, writing prose, which is very hard to put down. While not everyone will like this one, specially those hoping to read a horror story for the season, but none can deny the strength King has over his readers, enthralling them for the journey no matter how brief in actually is.

New Novella Review - 'All Systems Red' by Martha Wells

Novella - All Systems Red  
Writer - Martha Wells    
Series - The Murderbot Diaries #1     
Published By - Tor.com
 
This tells a story from the point-of-view of a robot or A.I. who has hacked into its governor software and has free will although it keeps the pretense of maintaining cover as a SecUnit for a planetary survey team for fear of being destroyed. But their mission doesn't go as planned and the team gets caught up in a conspiracy and finds out the truth about the planet they are in while trying to survive.

New Novella Review - Agents of Dreamland

Novella - Agents of Dreamland  
Writer - Caitlin R. Kiernan    
Published By - Tor.com
 
I am not very familiar with works by H. P. Lovecraft, only read a few of his short stories so far. But decided to check out this novella solely based on the blurb which seemed quite interesting to me. And I am quite glad that I did; 'Agents of Dreamland' is a story filled with suspense, horror, mesmerizing prose prowess and intriguing characters. I finished this in one night and was left with an intense desire to read more about this world, characters and overall more of Caitlin's writing and a strong conviction that I need to check out what this Lovecraft guy is all about once and for all.

New Novella Review - Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day

Novella - Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day 
Writer - Seanan McGuire    
Published By - Tor.com

While urban fantasy is not really my favorite genre to say the least, I really did have rather high expectation from this one. Seanan McGuire is a writer with a lot of hype on the internet and the blurb promised an interesting setting for this novella. The novella might not be extraordinary stuff (but it nearly could have been); but it does provide an unique experience with an unorthodox and imaginative setting, well fleshed out and realistic characters, and a dark and moody atmosphere which is a thought provoking read.

New Novella Review - The Gates of Azyr

Novella - The Gates of Azyr
Writer - Chris Wraight   
Series - Warhammer : Age of Sigmar   
Published By - Black Library
 
Despite my reservations, I was planning on checking out the this novella for a long while now, due to it being the first story set in the new Warhammer setting 'Age of Sigmar'. And for once, I am wondering if I should have bothered? This is just a new kind of bolter-porn, meaning mindless action sequence after action sequence with almost no character development or intrigue. And this got quite boring pretty quickly and seemed like a drag despite its short length.

New Novella Review - The Devil You Know

Novella - The Devil You Know 
Writer - K. J. Parker       
Published By - Tor Books

No action or extravagant world building is necessary, only two characters can a make a story work if you know how to tell it. K. J. Parker proves that with this work of his. There are only two characters telling us their story in alternative first person narrative and the prose and setting are so skillfully engrossing that it is really hard to put down.

New Book Review - A Debt to be Paid

Book - A Debt to be Paid
Writer - Patrick Lacey 
Published By - Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you netgalley and Samhain Publishing, Ltd. for this opportunity.
What would you do when faced with a horror that no one else can see? How far will you go to save your loved ones? And what if the hallucinations that defined your past turns out to be no hallucinations at all? These are some of the questions that the characters must ask themselves in this book. We get a fast paced ride as the main character tries to escape from an unimaginable horror while confronting some disturbing truth from the past.

New Novella Review - Thorgrim

Book - Thorgrim  
Writer - David Guymer  
Series - Warhammer  
Published By - Black Library

As the name suggests this is not the tale of Thorgrim Grudgebearer, but the tale of King Beleger and his queen Emma and their struggles to defend their homeland from the various forces threatening it. This may be the first time when a female dwarf takes the place of one of the main characters and despite the lack of action compared to other black library titles these unique characters are what makes this book interesting.

New Novella Review - The Wurms of Blearmouth

Book - The Wurms of Blearmouth
Writer - Steven Erikson
Series - The Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach #5 
Published By - Tor Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you netgalley and Tor Books for this opportunity.
So what do you get when you mix an epic fantasy setting with dark humor? You get something like this novel, which can also be perceived as the authors attempt at poking some fun at the newly famous genre of grimdark. This short work is full of interesting characters and witty humorous dialogue accompanied by a crazy and violent sense of humor which will surely entertain anyone who can stomach the ensuing chaos.

New Novella Review - Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha

Book - Yarrick: Chains of Golgotha
Writer - David Annandale 
Series - Warhammer 40'000 
Published By - Black Library

I got into this book imagining tons of action, gutsy dialogue play and characters dying left and right. And that is what I got exactly, but with much more. In the short space of the novella the author really puts a lot into our prospective. He gets really into the minds of his characters and through the balls to the wall action he still manages to make us like even the minor side characters and keeps us guessing as to the next little twist or turn of the story.