Tor.com: On the back of a fantastic central character, City of Blades does everything a really good sequel should. If anything, it’s a better book than its predecessor, but without it, it wouldn’t be. It isn’t merely moreof what came before; it takes what was as a basis and builds on it brilliantly, adding additional layers to City of Stairs such that it too is enriched.
Locus: The conflict between Humans First and Last and the Others heats up in this fourth novel, with humans thinking they can “reclaim” more land for themselves and get rid of restrictions on travel between human settlements. HFL steps up their sometimes deadly harrassment of humans and businesses who don’t join their movement (not unlike the early days of the Nazi party). A big part of the problem is the humans are unaware that the Others aren’t fighting back seriously yet they have to decide “how much human” they want to keep. Shapeshifter Simon Wolfgard and others of the Lakeside Courtyard are too fond of the human Meg, the Cassandra sangue or blood prophet, who runs their mailroom. Since she arrived, other humans have been brought into the Courtyard, and some of the Others fear becoming too human. The elementals are angry, though, and the expression of their anger superstorms, tidal waves, and tornadoes will be deadly. Humans could be facing extinction, and the HFL has no clue. There’s a big buildup, but not a lot of specific details about the real attack on humanity when it finally comes. Still, there’s a lot of death and destruction, even if Lakeside Courtyard manages to escape the worst of it. It all comes down to the magic of friendship, but when it’s elemental ponies (Tornado, Hurricane, etc.) and their riders involved, humans, vampires, shapeshifter puppies, and fortune-telling females need to be extra cautious, making a nice blend of scary and charming.
RT Book Review: Top Pick! As the fourth book in Bishop’s phenomenal Others series begins, there is an extinction threat hanging over the entire human population of Thaisia. The only thing preventing it at this point is the Elders’ curiousity about the effect blood prophet Meg Corbyn is having on the Lakeside terra indigene (“Others”). Without a doubt this is one of the best UF series on the market, and in this newest chapter, the peril and terror factors are completely off the charts! Bishop is one hell of a storyteller.
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ocus: Butcher’s new series, The Cinder Spires, brings a wondrously strange world to life, in which humans live in giant spires, towers of stone that extend for miles, like monolithic city states, protecting humanity from the mist-covered, deadly surface world below. Travel between spires requires airships, and battles between unfriendly spires are common. Captain Grimm of the Predator is a privateer, attacking enemy ships for his home, Spire Albion. The airship battles are in fine maritime style with a few airborne twists as ships maneuver up and down, as well as side to side to bring their guns to bear. Unfortunately, their magic shields are vulnerable, and soon Captain Grimm brings his battered ship into port at Albion, hoping to be able to replace the crystals that power and provide lift for the airships. He makes a deal to get those crystals, but also gets involved with some odd characters, including a etherealist who can see the future and a very intelligent cat named Rowl (several sections are in his point-of-view) and his human. It’s an interesting world, with some terrifying monsters, all together a nicely different sort of steampunk fantasy that promises some interesting developments to come.
RT Book Reviews: Top Pick! The first book in Bedford’s new historical fantasy series, Rowankind, seamlessly blends history, magical lore, high-seas adventure and romance into one fantastic story. Bedford crafts emotionally complex relationships and interesting secondary characters while carefully building an innovative yet familiar world. Skilled, brave and smart, the heroine, Ross, bust untangle a web of competing loyalties, hidden agendas and self-delusion in order to decide how to act. The ending satisfies while enticing readers to return to explore the world further.
Publishers Weekly: Swashbuckling adventure collides with mystical mayhem on land and at sea in this rousing historical fantasy series launch set in a magic-infused England in 1800. Rossalinde Tremayne has done well for herself as a privateer in Mad King George’s service, using her abilities as a witch and the ever-present ghost of her long-dead husband (whose reputation and identity she’s borrowed) to claim other ships for profit and the Crown. Her estranged mother’s dying request is for Rossalinde to take a mysterious box, drawing her into a deadly mystery. In order to harness the power within the box, she has to unravel the secrets of a family she never knew existed, all while eluding those who want her dead. When her quest takes her into the hidden land of the Fae, she’ll be forced to make a choice that could alter the fate of an empire. Bedford (Crossways) adeptly weaves together romance, action, and fantastical elements, all set against a richly realized series of far-flung locations. Conflict both nautical and emotional keeps things exciting.
Publishers Weekly: Henry Denton’s life is in tatters—he was abandoned by his father; his boyfriend, Jesse, hanged himself; and he is regularly abducted by aliens who have put Earth’s very fate in his hands. The 16-year-old, nicknamed “Space Boy” by his tormentors, is self-destructing until he finds a friend in new kid Diego and an ally in Jesse’s former pal Audrey. In a style reminiscent of Slaughterhouse-Five, Hutchinson (The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley) intersperses Henry’s experience aboard the “slugger” spaceship with his trials on Earth, where he’s “a punch line at school, a ghost at home.” The extraterrestrial scenes are less the makings of a SF novel than a metaphor for Henry’s isolation and alienation from his family and peers, including a gang of bullies who brutally assault him in a shower and then publicly shame him. Hutchinson has crafted an unflinching portrait of the pain and confusion of young love and loss, thoughtfully exploring topics like dementia, abuse, sexuality, and suicide as they entwine with the messy work of growing up.
Library Journal: Jacob “Trace” Tracy and Boz, his African American partner, are looking for jobs to tide them over until they get hired for their usual work of guiding wagon trains West. Wealthy Miss Fairweather of St. Louis employs them for what looks like an easy task: retrieving a box from a nearby town. Miss Fair- weather didn’t choose the duo by chance. She wants Trace for his ability to see the spirit world, a talent he has possessed (and hidden) since he was injured on the battlefield at Antietam. This first trip entangles Trace and Boz with the interests of a man of unusual talents and evil intent named Mereck, and even as Trace continues to take jobs for Miss Fairweather, Mereck’s attentions grow more dangerous. VERDICT Combining well-wrought historical fiction with just the right amount of scenic details and horror with its tense atmosphere, Messinger’s debut hits on a winning formula. The novel is structured almost like a serial, with different adventures and monsters in each section, but tied together by the friendship of Trace and Boz, and the continuing threats that the spirits pose for the relatively untrained Trace.
Locus: A fascinating and propulsive tale about what could happen when actual humans try to settle a planet and about how little protection technology can really offer in the face of our inherent weaknesses.
VOYA: Believe it or not, Henry’s main problem is not that he gets repeatedly abducted by aliens—it is that the aliens have given him the choice to save Earth from complete destruction or not. Back on Earth things get even harder. Henry is barely holding it together at home and school. His family is broken and troubled. At school, his problems increase. Henry is constantly reminded of his boyfriend Jesse’s suicide, and he avoids his and Jesse’s mutual friend. Then a group of popular guys decide to make it their mission to torture Henry. In the midst of all the pain and drama in his life, Jesse meets Diego. He begins to take a serious look at the people and situations on Earth in order to decide if Earth and humanity are worth saving.
We Are the Ants is a very complex story about serious subjects; however, the writing is not preachy or condescending. The voices of each character are strong and unique. As the characters in the story interact with one another, their language and actions match the situations in which they find themselves. The bullying scenes in the book are intense, violent, and often graphic. Therefore, because Henry experiences so many bad situations, the language that he uses is very explicit. The relationships between Henry and Jesse and Henry and Diego are handled delicately, but the relationship between Henry and Marcus is more shocking. This title is recommend for mature readers.