Book #123 of 2019: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier For the most part, this is a really lovely look at a young chimney sweep in Victorian London and her friendship with a magical soot creature who comes to life and becomes her protector. It captures the feeling of …
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Book #122 of 2019: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson Brandon Sanderson’s debut novel is full of the rich worldbuilding, intricate magical systems, and ballroom intrigue that have now made him a household name within the fantasy genre. Although there are some cracks that show on a reread and mark this as a first book — like …
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Book #121 of 2019: Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier (Wildwood #1) The middle of this story picks up somewhat, but I feel like the beginning and end are both pretty typical fairy tale exercises, and the one major twist is easy to spot from a mile away. I also just think I want way more …
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Book #120 of 2019: Seventh Decimate by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Great God’s War #1) Stephen R. Donaldson has long been one of my favorite authors, so I’m disappointed to confirm that this 22nd published novel is possibly his weakest yet. The early worldbuilding is sparse to the point of feeling allegorical, and the tone …
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Book #112 of 2019: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal (Glamourist Histories #1) This Regency drawing-room pastiche has an interestingly low-key magical element, but the characters and plot leave a lot to be desired. The whole novel is full of wide-eyed speculation over who likes who — which is silly because both …
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Book #111 of 2019: Nightingale’s Lament by Simon R. Green (Nightside #3) I’ve been enjoying this pulp paperback series far less on a reread than I did when it was my first introduction to the urban fantasy genre back in high school. The main plot has yet to really kick off beyond vague portentous rumblings, …
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Book #110 of 2019: Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man #3) On balance, this final volume in Robin Hobb’s The Tawny Man trilogy probably has too much falling action after the major plot stakes are resolved. And it’s odd that the Piebald threat which loomed so heavily over the previous books is mostly …
Book #108: Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey This debut novel from author Sarah Gailey goes far on its concept of a non-magical detective investigating a murder at a school for young mages, but the worldbuilding is nothing special — more The Magicians than Harry Potter — and the procedural elements could have been a …
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Book #105 of 2019: The Gameshouse by Claire North This book collects three novellas from author Claire North, previously published independently in 2015. Together they tell of a secret society who play wide-ranging games of skill and chance for fantastical stakes of extended life, memory theft, and more. North utilizes an omniscient first-person plural perspective …
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Book #100 of 2019: Golden Fool by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man #2) This second Tawny Man novel is as slow-paced as the rest of author Robin Hobb’s wider Elderlings saga, but it benefits tremendously by situating its hero back at his old home of Buckkeep with a variety of interesting people to bounce off …
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