Reviews :: Book Genre :: Fiction
This archive contains links to all of the Fiction Book Reviews we've written over the years. Yeah, we don't have that many. You see, we like the speculative (made up) stuff too much. But occasionally, a little realism is what hit the spot. If you've come here looking for something in that realm, you're in luck! We just happen to have more than a few suggestions lying around the place waiting for your perusal.
If you're looking for something else, say a book in another genre or maybe just any book that we happened to think was awesome-sauce, browse around the site for a bit and check out our reviews.
Just don't forget to let us know what you thought of a book you've read or if there's a suggestion you have for something we'd like to read! We're always looking for some... well... maybe if you want us to read a mundane fiction book, you can just keep it to yourself. And we say that in the nicest way possible.
My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry
Do you remember, as a young child, that one fantastical story which captured your imagination? Of course you do, because it’s the story that molded your childhood. It’s the story that filled you with a new wonder about the world around you, and of all that was possible. For me it was the story of Robin Hood. It had adventure, dashing heroes, young love, forests to explore, castles, and evil villains. I read many versions of Robin Hood in my youth and have probably watched every movie or TV show made on the subject. It’s stories like these that help us—when we’re children trying to understand the world—to discover our own role in the world.
MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY by Fredrik Backman captures the wonder and joy these kinds of stories have for us. Now, I know MY GRANDMOTHER is strictly a fiction novel, there’s no fantasy, not even any unexplainable events—just so you know, because I don’t want you to read it expecting that. But I’m sure you do remember what it was like to have those fantastical stories of your youth permeate your life and shape the kind of person you want to be. This is the book that will help you re-live those days.
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The Last Kingdom
Bernard Cornwell is one of the master storytellers in historical fiction today. I first learned about Cornwell via his Sharpe series based on his books, which take place during the Napoleonic wars (when the show first came out–this probably dates me). Sean Bean played the title character, and after watching the first episode I was hooked, watched the rest of the series, and then had to go back and read Cornwell’s books. When I learned he was writing a series about the formation of a unified Anglo-Saxon England in the 9th Century, I started with THE LAST KINGDOM and have been keeping current with the series ever since.
So imagine my glee when I learned there is a TV series for these books, too.
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Sold for Endless Rue
Captured as a slave while a child, Laura escapes and finds a new life in the home of a mountain healer and midwife. Clever and industrious, Laura learns her new profession so well that her adoptive mother, Crescia, sends her to Solerno’s famed medical school so she can become a physician and bring her worldly learning back to the midwife’s humble cottage.
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Chasing the Skip
One of the hardest things about being a reviewer is not letting yourself fall into a routine. By that, I mean only reading one type of book, or only reading books you are positive you are going to like. I think it is something most reviewers struggle with when we get sent a pile of novels to read. Hmm, do I choose the Steven Erikson epic… or a novel about fairies in historical London. For me, the choice would seem obvious–Erikson. However, I think it is healthy as a reviewer to read outside your comfort zone. Often times the results are astounding. Reading outside my comfort zone is how I discovered Marie Brennan (fairies in historical London) and Robert Jackson Bennett. It’s how rediscovered that elves can be OK with James Barclay, and that YA can be entertaining.
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The Silent Land
When is a fantasy novel not a fantasy novel? Well, I’d say when it’s this novel, but there might be others that would beg to differ. This one feels more like a literary novel to me. Anyone visiting this site interested in reading a literary novel? I don’t know if there will be, but here I go, nonetheless.
THE SILENT LAND (Amazon) is a Graham Joyce novel, an author with quite a few works already under his feet. It’s a quick, focused read revolving around the relationship of a single couple, Zoe and Jake. Zoe is the main PoV character, though Jake’s thoughts are peppered infrequently throughout the book.
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