New York Times: “Readers seeking a truly refreshing fantasy milieu should travel to Bulikov, and welcome its conquest.”
Read the full New York Times Book Review of City of Stairs here.
Oct 272014
Oct 242014
Publishers Weekly: Where The Longest Night stood out by demonstrating that consent is sexy, this smashing sequel shows that respectful communication is downright scorching. Opportunities abound for miscommunication and high drama between Michelle Cole, who’s planning to turn an English house into a B and B, and Ray Powell, the battle-fatigued military contractor who shows up at what used to be his grandmother’s home and is startled to meet its new owner. The tension and the stakes are artfully developed, and the characters handle their conflict head-on rather than with melodramatic assumptions. Ray can be rough and intimidating, but his manner toward Michelle is respectful and patient as affection builds between them and their relationship blossoms. Though each character is haunted by sorrows and traumas, they both grow, change, and adapt as whole people, and the story is better for not being limited to surface personality traits. This sweet contemporary will appeal to romance fans who like their heroes powerful and smitten and their heroines capable and genuine.
Oct 222014
Publishers Weekly: This satisfying feminist tale set in an underexplored corner of Lake’s lush, mythical Green universe (Green, etc.) but entirely accessible to new readers features an empathetic middle-aged, middle-class protagonist managing the roles of businesswoman, mother and grandmother, fugitive, and unwilling savior with realism and grace. Clothing merchant Sian Kattë is assaulted by the charismatic rogue priest of the Butchered God, an encounter that grants her the unwanted power to heal by touch. Sian and her new abilities are misunderstood by her husband, lover, and daughter. She is hunted by the Mishrah-Khote physician-priests, who believe only men can be healers and accuse her of fraud, and manipulated by politically-minded relatives who insist that she stay away from both the public and her distant cousin’s dying son. Undaunted, Sian pursues her divine mission and encounters unexpected help from a woman in disguise; together they turn the second half of the book into a celebration of female friendship and
cooperation. Page (Eastlick and other Stories) has done a phenomenal job of completing Lake’s work after his death, honoring his contributions and vision while giving the novel an emotionally authentic, coherent voice.
Oct 102014
Publishers Weekly: Bedford mixes romance and intrigue in this promising debut, which opens the Psi-Tech space opera series. Like other psi-techs, long-range telepath Cara Carlinni has a brain implant that enhances her powers. It also leaves her indentured to Alphacorp, the company that paid for the implant. On the run with data that links her ruthless former boss and lover, Ari van Blaiden, to a deadly pirate attack on a colony world, Cara convinces navigator Reska “Ben” Benjamin to add her to his team of psi-tech troubleshooters. They’ve been contracted to help the fundamentalist back-to-basics Ecolibrians establish a colony on the planet Olyanda, but it won’t be easy. Hardcore Ecolibrians hate psi-techs and punish “fraternization” brutally. Worse yet, Ben discovers mineral deposits on Olyanda that make the planet a target for pirates—just like a previous colony-building job whose failure still haunts him. Bedford builds a taut story around the dangers of a new world, the Ecolibrians’ distrust, and treachery from Ari and Ben’s home office. Readers who crave high adventure and tense plots will enjoy this voyage into the future.
Sep 292014
RT Book Reviews: This posthumously published collection of Lake’s short stories, spanning decades, was planned and put together by Lake himself. At first I was worried that I’d be unable to disconnect the emotion of Lake’s personal story with the impartiality required of reviewing, but Lake’s fantastic writing and worldbuilding made that worry irrelevant. This collection is well worth the time and investment; even the weakest story stands out. Readers will find themselves justifying the read of one more story before bed and discover they are awake well into the wee hours of the night. None of the stories are less than well-written and Lake’s voice is strongest in the stories where he ties in military roughness with his impressive imagination.
Sep 252014
Library Journal: Solid psychology and a wealth of helpful knowledge and rapier wit fill these pages. Highly recommended. The main problem with etiquette books is that the people who need them don’t read them. Alkon, who writes the award-winning syndicated column “Ask Amy,” not only tells readers what good manners are but also provides useful suggestions for politely calling offenders’ attention to their rudeness. And she does this in a ferociously funny style–it’s worth a read for the laughs alone. There is nothing here of the proper arrangement of table settings, nor of how to address a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury; rather Alkon deals with modern problems in interpersonal relationships, such as how civilized people should act when standing in lines, on airplanes, online and elsewhere. In addition, she offers very dependable, sensible, caring advice to those whose friends or family are coping with terminal illness.
Sep 192014
Washington Post: Robert Jackson Bennett’s City of Stairs is a delightful urban fantasy that travels through a city full of Escher-like staircases and alternate realities.
To read the Washington Post‘s full review of City of Stairs, go here.
Sep 172014
Starburst Magazine: (9/10) The world of The Incorruptibles is a distinctive fantasy/western hybrid, and much as in the work of David Gemmell, the nationalities portrayed are analogous to past cultures given a fantasy twist. In this case, it’s as if the Roman Empire has never fallen and has continued to dominate the world to the present, an equivalent of the late 19th century. So fused are the genres, it also wouldn’t feel amiss to see The Dark Tower’s Roland Deschain riding across the hillside.
To read Starburst’s full review of The Incorruptibles, go here.
Sep 152014
Library Journal: This hot, heady title excels in both porn and plot. Recommended for those seeking a solid BDSM-tinged M/M romance with plenty of backstory. Embittered, overworked Michael Sebastian tries to escape the grip of his sinking engineering company for just a week, fleeing to the gay-friendly town of Curacao. He finds himself still living in his head, overthinking and woefully unattached until he meets Sam, a mysterious well-dressed stranger who ends up needing just the punishment Michael has been desperate to give (and then some). Continue reading »
Sep 122014
NPR: Bennett is plainly a writer in love with the world he has built — and with good cause. It’s a great world, original and unique, with a scent and a texture, a sense of deep, bloody history, and a naturally-blended magic living in the stones.