Book #285 of 2020: Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro Although the narrative loses a little focus and momentum in its back half, for the most part this is a strikingly original post-apocalyptic fantasy, rich in #ownvoices Latinx cultural details and queer representation and distinctive in structure as one long chapterless text addressed …
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Book #284 of 2020: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix This urban fantasy reads like a quirkier Neverwhere, and its worldbuilding isn’t really distinctive enough to merit all the heavy infodumps in the first half of the novel. I know from works like Sabriel that author Garth Nix can introduce a setting more …
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Book #283 of 2020: Soulswift by Megan Bannen Too many little things bug me about this standalone fantasy novel for me to rate it highly, but I think it will find a receptive audience among the YA star-crossed-lovers crowd. The arc of two sworn enemies gradually growing more tender towards one another is well-wrought, and …
Book #282 of 2020: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive #3.5) This novella was released shortly before the fourth proper Stormlight volume, initially as a Kickstarter exclusive, and I have to admit that I didn’t have great hopes for it despite generally enjoying author Brandon Sanderson’s works. I know plenty of folks will skip …
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Book #280 of 2020: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (Legendborn #1) A wicked smart fantasy from debut author Tracy Deonn, as much about the experience of a black girl entering college (or any other traditionally white and patriarchal space) as it is about the demon-hunting order of Arthurian knights she ends up joining there. The plot …
Book #279 of 2020: Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny (The Chronicles of Amber #3) I appreciate that this third Amber volume makes time to revisit a few open questions from the first novel, and it’s as fun as ever to see the squabbling family of reality-hopping sorcerers and their swashbuckling antics. On the …
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Book #277 of 2020: The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Ascendance #4) I was intrigued by the news that author Jennifer A. Nielsen would be returning to the world of her middle-grade fantasy Ascendance trilogy, but this next volume never quite manages to justify itself, especially given the backstory retcon twist midway through. The …
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Book #276 of 2020: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Between Earth and Sky #1) An outstanding fantasy series debut, telling an interesting and distinctive story in a diverse world inspired by pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations. (Cacao as currency! I love it.) There’s a lot packed into this initial volume, from priestly power struggles to high-seas sorcery …
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Book #275 of 2020: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow I like the concept of a historical fantasy novel where the women’s suffrage movement is accompanied by a resurgent interest in witchcraft, and how author Alix E. Harrow uses that framework to offer some incisive feminist commentary on marginalized voices preserving knowledge …
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Book #271 of 2020: Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia #4) Although perhaps not as enchanting as the original Narnia story, this first sequel (in writing / publication order) does much more to flesh out the worldbuilding, providing a sense of history, geography, and culture to the setting that had been …
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