By mid-1916, British forces fighting in Europe have mastered the logistics of spiritualism well enough to gain occasional tactical advantages in the never-ending trench warfare of the Western Front. Men die; they report in to the Spirit Corps; the knowledge that they bought with their lives — a sniper’s location here, a hidden advance there, a …
Category: Fantasy
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/19/ghost-talkers-by-mary-robinette-kowal/
Jun 18 2023
The Way Home by Peter S. Beagle
Two novellas in the world of The Last Unicorn? Yes, please. “Two Hearts,” the first, is closer in tone to Beagle’s classic novel. Sooz, who is nine when the story begins, tells of what happens when the griffin who has settled into her village’s woods stops eating sheep and goats, and starts taking away children …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/18/the-way-home-by-peter-s-beagle/
Jun 16 2023
The Nightmare Brigade #3: Finding Alice by Franck Thilliez, Yomgui Dumont & Drac
I really admire how well each of the books in this engrossing urban fantasy series lead in to one another. In this volume, Esteban, Tristan and Sarah, a.k.a the intrepid explorers of the Nightmare Brigade, are finally ready to plunge into the sleeping mind of Leonard, one of the Clinic’s most difficult patients. They’re going …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/16/the-nightmare-brigade-3-finding-alice-by-franck-thilliez-yomgui-dumont-drac/
Jun 03 2023
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Well, I was charmed. What do D&D adventurers do when they’ve decided that they’ve quested their last quest and crawled their last dungeon? In the case of Viv, the orc barbarian who’s ready to hang up her greatsword Blackblood, her heart’s desire is to bring to the city of Thune the wonders of a fabled …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/03/legends-lattes-by-travis-baldree/
May 31 2023
Witch And Famous by Angela M. Sanders
I do so love how this mystery series goes from strength to strength, as our librarian heroine Josie Way learns how to control her witchy powers while helping out the citizens of the small town of Wilfred, Oregon. Bibliomancy isn’t just about recommending the right books to the right people at the right time, but …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/05/31/witch-and-famous-by-angela-m-sanders/
May 21 2023
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
In contrast to Doreen, I do not feel perfectly suited to review Black Water Sister. I’m basically none of the things that the protagonist is, starting with Malaysian and ending with haunted by my maternal grandmother’s ghost. (To be clear, Doreen is not haunted by her grandmother’s ghost either. As far as I know.) None …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/05/21/black-water-sister-by-zen-cho-2/
May 05 2023
Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch
I wrote about Whispers Under Ground that I found the Rivers of London comfort reading, despite the uncanny events, the grisly murders, and the hints about horrible history in British magic. Broken Homes shows that I can still count on a narrator I enjoy spending time with, that there will be adventures and scrapes, and …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/05/05/broken-homes-by-ben-aaronovitch-2/
Apr 23 2023
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
An unconsidered moment of kindness sets Silver in the Wood in motion. Tobias Finch had been in his cottage during an autumn downpour when he spied “a young man in a well-fitted grey coat stumbling along the track with wet leaves blowing into his face and his hat a crumpled ruin in his hands.” (p. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/23/silver-in-the-wood-by-emily-tesh/
Apr 11 2023
The Little Wooden Robot And The Log Princess by Tom Gauld
I didn’t even know Tom Gauld had written a children’s book! This is his first of hopefully many, especially given the delightful allusions peppered throughout this volume to the title characters’ adventures while on their epic journey. Once upon a time, a king and queen lived happily but for the fact that they had no …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/11/the-little-wooden-robot-and-the-log-princess-by-tom-gauld/
Apr 06 2023
Codex Black Vol 1: A Fire Among Clouds by Camilo Moncada Lozano
with colors by Angel/Michi DeSantiago. This is a really fun graphic novel that I almost bounced off of in the first few pages because it’s so darn dark. And I don’t mean in mood: I mean that it’s so visually murky that my brain was refusing to engage with the images on the page. I’d …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/04/06/codex-black-vol-1-a-fire-among-clouds-by-camilo-moncada-lozano/