Reviews :: Book Genre :: Fantasy :: Page 27

THE GRACE OF KINGS (Amazon) by Ken Liu was a pure pleasure to read. Dubbed the “Wuxia GAME OF THRONES” by Wesley Chu, this debut novel is a grand adventure that speaks of Liu’s considerable talent. It’s the type of novel capable of bridging the gap between “pulp” and “literature,” a story that is equal parts fun and cerebral. THE GRACE OF KINGS is an early contender for best fantasy of 2015 and when awards season rolls around again I anticipate it garnering plenty of nominations.

For those unaware of Wuxia, it is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Some notable examples of the tradition include films such as CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Amazon) and HERO (Amazon), and games such as Bioware’s JADE EMPIRE (Amazon), which is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. I suspect/hope that THE GRACE OF KINGS will further raise awareness of the genre.

Here’s Amazon’s synopsis: Two men rebel together against tyranny—and then become rivals—in this first sweeping book of an epic fantasy series from Ken Liu, recipient of Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.

Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet, in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shape-shifting gods. Once the emperor has been overthrown, however, they each find themselves the leader of separate factions—two sides with very different ideas about how the world should be run and the meaning of justice.

Fans of intrigue, intimate plots, and action will find a new series to embrace in the Dandelion Dynasty.
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This book is a gem.

No, seriously, I mean it. Don’t be rolling your eyes at me. Although… I must admit that if I were to leave this review at that, and not elaborate at all, then I’d very much expect you to roll your eyes, blow me a raspberry, and click on to the next review. How many times have you read a comment like that about a book and been like, “What the freak does that even mean?” So don’t worry. This book is so worth talking about. In fact, I’m getting kinda giddy just thinking about it all.
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I like surprises. At least, I like some kinds of surprises. Those like finding twenty bucks in an old pair of pants, or running into a long-lost high school friend while on vacation. There are some surprises though that I don’t particularly care for. Say, the sharp end of a tack poking up through my chair *after* hearing my pants rip open. Or that I’ve run out of gas ten minutes after passing the last gas station for fifty miles. So, I suppose it’s surprises I like that… er… I like. 🙂 Go figure. And after having read the first book in this series, I was considerably less than happy at what I found in this second and final book of the series. An unpleasant surprise to be sure.
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Rutejìmo is labeled among his clan as a useless teenager, and is considered lazy, temperamental, and cowardly. He’s jealous of the much-admired Chimípu, who seems to be able to do anything–she’s more athletic, clever, and better liked. And he wants to be like his brother, Desòchu, who is a warrior and protects the clan; no one believes Rutejìmo is capable of such a thing.

But Rutejìmo gets his chance to prove the naysayers wrong when he, Chimípu, and three other boys are taken into the desert as part of their rite of passage into adulthood. He knows that when he becomes a true member of the Shimusògo clan he will inherit the clan magic that allows him to run faster than a horse and use sunlight as a weapon. The adults, including Desòchu, take the youth into the desert to begin their rite… and leave them to fend for themselves by disappearing during the first night. Rutejìmo can’t believe Desòchu would abandon him. While Chimípu tries to find help, Rutejìmo is left with the three other boys, one is Pidòhu who is even weaker than he is, and the other two who are well-known bullies. And everything goes wrong.

So begins Rutejìmo’s rite of passage.
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I received a review copy of THE UNREMEMBERED: Author’s Definitive Edition (Amazon), in advance of the second novel in the series, TRIAL OF INTENTIONS. It’s an epic fantasy from Peter Orullian, and the plot follows Tahn as he travels with his allies, family, and friends to learn how to stand and defeat an evil from ancient times.

I had never read the original printing, so I was excited to dig in to this book.
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More than a decade after the events of COPPERHEAD (EBR Review), Jane and Edward’s daughter Dorie has graduated from school and is ready to strike out on her own and find work. She figures her experience studying mythical beasts in the field coupled with her college degree will make her the perfect candidate to work for the Queen’s Lab.

Unfortunately, all her interviewers see is a beautiful young woman.
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THE THIEF WHO PULLED ON TROUBLE’S BRAIDS (Amazon), by Michael McClung, is what Mark Lawrence’s Great Self-published Fantasy Author Blog-off is all about. This is the third book I read of the batch I was assigned. I saved it for last because I found the cover appealing, the title enticing, and the synopsis intriguing. The overall package is professional and marketable and because of that it stands out amongst the competition.

THE THIEF WHO PULLED ON TROUBLE’S BRAIDS is a little more than 200 pages long but it’s a satisfying sword & sorcery adventure that will appeal to fans of Ari Marmell, David Dalglish, Douglas Hulick, Brent Weeks, and Kelly McCullough.

Here’s the synopsis: Amra Thetys lives by two simple rules—take care of business, and never let it get personal. Thieves don’t last long in Lucernis otherwise. But when a fellow rogue and good friend is butchered on the street in a deal gone wrong, she turns her back on burglary and goes after something more precious than treasure: Revenge. Revenge, however, might be hard to come by. A nightmare assortment of enemies, including an immortal assassin and a mad sorcerer, believe Amra is in possession of The Blade That Whispers Hate—the legendary, powerful artifact her friend was murdered for—and they’ll do anything to take it from her. Trouble is, Amra hasn’t got the least clue where the Blade might be. She needs to find the Blade, and soon, or she’ll be joining her colleague in a cold grave instead of avenging his death. Time is running out for the small, scarred thief.
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So we apparently never reviewed this novel. Oops! With the paperback edition of MONSTER HUNTER NEMESIS recently being released, I looked back over our reviews and discovered the absence. So, yeah. Here we are.

If you’ve paid attention to this site, you already know that MONSTER HUNTER NEMESIS (Amazon) was one of EBR’s top novels for 2014. For me personally, NEMESIS is my favorite Monster Hunter novel. Why? Because Agent Franks is the main character.

When Franks was introduced in MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL (EBR Review), he became an immediate favorite of mine, and a huge portion of Larry Correia’s readership. As book by book went by, we got more pieces of info and came to realize Franks wasn’t exactly human. But we still didn’t have all the answers.

Well now we do. And the answers made for one of the most entertaining reads of 2014.
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Sometimes it’s easy to get into the rhythm of reviewing and forget that there’s more going on in conjunction with the books I cycle through. Read, ponder, review, repeat — the mantra of the book reviewer. Occasionally though I like to shake things up and go looking for more, be it details about the author, story inspiration, sequels, interviews, bonus dealings — stuff like that. I happened to do a little homework on this one because for some reason or another the curiosity bug bit me once I’d read it. After very little time, I came across an article about this particular book that made me hesitate and think on my opinions. The article I found talked about a movie deal, and it had a name attached to it: Ridley Scott.
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Evon is a recent graduate of magic school, and his high marks earned him a prestigious job at a big-name magic cooperative where he creates new spells that earn the business money. Despite the prestige, he can’t help but feel like his life isn’t headed in the direction that would truly make him happy. Until one day his friend Piercy, who works for the government, brings him a riddle that begs to be solved: a mysterious pattern of burned-out houses around the country Dalanine.

They go off in search of what they believe is a new, powerful fire spell that could change the course of the war that threatens the border of their country–also knowing the consequences if they don’t find it.
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