Jul 07 2021
I don’t know how to properly express the depth of my love for this extraordinary, brilliant book. It’s a book of revolutions and subversions, of challenging the status quo and thinking, really thinking about who gets to be a hero, and who deserves our sympathy and, most of all, who we should strive to be. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/07/07/city-of-iron-and-dust-by-j-p-oakes/
Jul 06 2021
The world-building of this Nusantara-set novel is exemplary, seamlessly incorporating elements of all the cultures that meld and mingle in Malaysia and its neighbors to present a truly fascinating fantasy world. The main nation is Terang, a collection of three city-states, each with its own mystical focus. Suci, the holy city, is known for a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/07/06/amok-by-anna-tan/
Jun 17 2021
I’ve read F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby twice, and each time I’ve been baffled by the acclaim*. Much like the critics of its time, I think the book is fine, but not much more than that. The trouble is that Gatsby is an idiot, Nick not much better, and Tom and Daisy are just …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/06/17/the-chosen-and-the-beautiful-by-nghi-vo/
Jun 04 2021
The elevator pitch is essentially Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander meets Diana Wynne Jones’ The Time Of The Ghost, with naval battles galore (any Dianas who write about those? I’d be awfully pleased to know it.) Ofc, The Kingdoms isn’t quite so rapey as Outlander (thank God) nor as suspenseful as TToTG but is a thoughtful look …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/06/04/the-kingdoms-by-natasha-pulley/
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/06/01/honeycomb-by-joanne-m-harris-charles-vess/
May 20 2021
This might be the first fantasy romance novel where not only did I not want to gouge out the eyes of the protagonists at any point in the proceedings, I was actively rooting for their happiness because I respected every single one of their decisions. Prince Zaya, third in line to the throne of Lushrain, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/05/20/sage-and-king-by-molly-ringle/
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/05/03/odyssey-of-the-dragonlords-players-guide-by-james-ohlen-jesse-sky-drew-karpyshyn/
Apr 30 2021
I’m gonna preface this by saying that I’m sure there are tons of readers who love this book, who just adore this Belle Epoque-inspired fantasy romance novel. And I’m glad for readers who find joy and comfort in its pages. But if you, like me, find shitty historical romance tropes utterly tiresome to the point …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/04/30/the-beautiful-ones-by-silvia-moreno-garcia/
Apr 24 2021
Wasn’t this fun! Susan Arkshaw has grown up in a rural corner of southwestern England, with an absent father and a very absent-minded artist mother. Two minutes before The Left-Handed Booksellers of London opens — on May 1, 1983 — Susan turns 18. She’s also just had one of her recurring dreams, full of giant …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/04/24/the-left-handed-booksellers-of-london-by-garth-nix/
Apr 16 2021
This book was such a struggle to get through, and I might not have done it if I hadn’t been grimly determined to see how Heather Walter made good on the terrific premise of Sleeping Beauty’s true love actually being the dark fairy who cursed her. In the land of Briar, bordering on the fae …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/04/16/malice-by-heather-walter/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire