Category: Fantasy

City of Bones by Martha Wells

City of Bones by Martha Wells

When I sat down to read City of Bones it was just what the doctor ordered: an immersive fantasy adventure that wasn’t too terribly obvious, but that wasn’t exploding with structural or thematic ambition, not trying to expand the genre or blow the reader away with stylistic genius. That willingness to let the book be …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/07/city-of-bones-by-martha-wells/

Hugo Awards 2024: Best Short Story Nominees

And we’re back! After the registration debacle in Chengdu last year — never mind all the subsequent scandals — it was a relief to be able to sign up quickly and easily for Glasgow and get my voting packet for the 2024 Hugo Awards. I begin my coverage, as always, with the Best Short Story …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/06/06/hugo-awards-2024-best-short-story-nominees/

Marked by L. R. W. Lee (EXCERPT)

Hi, readers! We’re so pleased to be able to give you a sneak peek of the third book in the addictive Morningstar Academy series, about a fallen angel who fights to save a world spiraling out of control, while trying to protect humans and her own heart. Following the first two books in the series, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/05/16/marked-by-l-r-w-lee-excerpt/

Nothing Special, Vol One: Through the Elder Woods by Katie Cook

Contrary to the title, this book actually is something quite special. Callie Benson has always felt like something of an outcast, even in a world where humans and non-humans more or less co-exist (tho in large part due to the fact that most humans don’t actually believe that non-humans like Callie and her dad are …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/04/24/nothing-special-vol-one-through-the-elder-woods-by-katie-cook/

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

“What kind of a life do you lead where you find yourself building a dog of bones?” (p. 2) Marra asks herself, though of course she knows. It’s the readers who want to know how she has come to this distinctly creepy, slightly mad pass. And she’s come to it wearing a cloak of owlcloth …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/04/14/nettle-and-bone-by-t-kingfisher/

Die Farbe der Rache by Cornelia Funke

Die Farbe der Rache by Cornelia Funke

“And they all lived happily ever after.” That wasn’t quite the ending of Cornelia Funke’s epic Tintenherz (Inkheart) trilogy — some 2000 pages of action in and between the author’s world and the world within the books, complete with characters who can cross the borders and others who can write the stories from within — but …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/31/die-farbe-der-rache-by-cornelia-funke/

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Legends & Lattes showed the end of the adventuring career of Viv, an orc barbarian who decided she had had enough of treasure hunts and dungeon crawls. Bookshops & Bonedust shows how her first adventure very nearly became her last, and how the times in between quests can be every bit as important as the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/30/bookshops-bonedust-by-travis-baldree/

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix

“Does what it says on the tin” is a lovely Britishism for a lovely British book because The Sinister Booksellers of Bath keeps the promises that it makes. It’s a direct sequel to The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, picking up a few months after the end of that story. Merlin and Susan are still together, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/23/the-sinister-booksellers-of-bath-by-garth-nix/

The Inventor, Vol. 1: The Dangerous Discovery by Lars Henrik Eriksen

Hahaha, omg, Linnea is a much better person than I am, I would never want to speak to Cobalt again after what happens mid-way in this book! But before we get there, this graphic novel — with strong overtones of both Hayao Miyazaki and Pokemon properties — tells the tale of Cobalt Cogg, a young …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/19/the-inventor-vol-1-the-dangerous-discovery-by-lars-henrik-eriksen/

Sharp Wit And The Company Of Women edited by Michele Abounader

A Wave Blue World goes from strength to strength with this, their latest comics anthology focusing on women, blades and sapphic love. As with any anthology, there’s a broad range of subject and subjective quality, meant to appeal to all tastes while still revolving around the central theme. More importantly, Sharp Wit And The Company …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/03/11/sharp-wit-and-the-company-of-women-edited-by-michele-abounader/