Category: Urban Fantasy

What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

All three Rivers of London novellas that have been published to date — The Furthest Station, The October Man, and now What Abigail Did That Summer — have left me wanting more, which is a fine recommendation for books that are meant as light, if occasionally spooky, entertainment. The stories all take place in and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/29/what-abigail-did-that-summer-by-ben-aaronovitch/

The Destroyer of Worlds by Matt Ruff

The Destroyer of Worlds by Matt Ruff

Reader, I was invested. Possibly even enthralled. At one point, I thought “Matt Ruff, if you XXXXX, I am throwing this book right out of the train window, and possibly Lovecraft Country too as soon as I get home and put my hands on my copy.” Not because the event would have been cheap or …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/28/the-destroyer-of-worlds-by-matt-ruff/

Monster Support Group: The Mummy’s Curse by Laura Suárez

What an utterly charming book about learning how to listen to others! The Mummy’s Curse is ostensibly the story of a stubborn young pharaoh doomed to remain trapped in her mummy form, possibly for all eternity. Anatiti, the mummy in question, is “celebrating” her 3000th Death Day with the other monsters of Deadbury’s Monster Support …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/17/monster-support-group-the-mummys-curse-by-laura-suarez/

Freaking Romance: Volume One by Snailords

One of the problems with putting a long-running webtoon into graphic novel form is that it can be hard sometimes to figure out what makes a good stopping point. And that’s pretty much my only criticism of this (now complete) paranormal romance story, as two haunted people discover that they’re sharing an apartment with something …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/10/12/freaking-romance-volume-one-by-snailords/

Art Brut, Vol 1: The Winking Woman by W. Maxwell Prince & Martín Morazzo

with colors by Mat Lopes, backup colors by Chris O’Halloran, and letters & design by Good Old Neon. This is easily one of the most intelligently artistic graphic novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. You don’t have to be an art history major to enjoy this book but a passing familiarity with the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/09/26/art-brut-vol-1-the-winking-woman-by-w-maxwell-prince-martin-morazzo/

The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch

Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch

Odd reports from the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground have come to the attention of Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit he’s a part of. They’ve come through as part of a project to deal with sexual assaults and offensive behavior on the transport system, and part of that was “improving reporting rates …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/09/17/the-furthest-station-by-ben-aaronovitch/

Cla$$war (Vol 1) by Rob Williams, Trevor Hairsine & Travel Foreman

with, in my opinion, extremely important art continuity provided by colorist Len O’Grady. A transition between artists can feel really jarring, but Mr O’Grady did a spectacular job of keeping things consistent, such that I wouldn’t even have noticed a different artist on my first reading if I hadn’t already known that going in. And …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/08/17/clawar-vol-1-by-rob-williams-trevor-hairsine-travel-foreman/

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch

One of the ways that the Folly — the secret unit of London’s Metropolitan Police Service that deals with the supernatural — is integrated into regular police work is that they receive reports concerning missing children. Apparently in previous eras, rogue practitioners used to use children for some very rogue practices. And so Nightingale dispatches Peter …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/07/29/foxglove-summer-by-ben-aaronovitch-2/

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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/16/the-nightmare-brigade-3-finding-alice-by-franck-thilliez-yomgui-dumont-drac/

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Legends and 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 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2023/06/03/legends-lattes-by-travis-baldree/