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Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful ‘drafter’ alive in a world where color is magic and power. His role is to keep the magic balanced or else the world will erupt into chaos. Unfortunately most of the problems he has to deal with are the result of the False Prism War against his brother sixteen years ago.

If you’re familiar with his hugely popular THE NIGHT ANGEL TRILOGY (Amazon), Brent Weeks‘ storytelling continues consistently, albeit with more polish. The first book in his new Lightbringer Series, THE BLACK PRISM (Amazon), Weeks builds an exciting world, plunging into the story right from the get-go.
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Sometimes it is difficult to review a novel. In fact, this isn’t even the original review we had written for TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT (Amazon). There are so many variables that come into play that we have to take an accounting of, that we wonder where we should even begin. ToM, obviously, is one of these types of novels. There is the matter of the book itself; the story, the characters and the progression in the novel have to be considered. But then so does the rest of the series in one as large as The Wheel of Time. And to be objective when you all know we like our fantasy in the non-Jordan fashion. Yeah. It’s all sorts of difficult to put a review of this type of novel together in a way that makes sense to you lovely readers.
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Carrie Vaughn‘s urban fantasy series about werewolf Kitty Norville who hosts a paranormal call-in radio show adds #8 to list with KITTY GOES TO WAR (Amazon) — there are two more slated to finish the series. Vaughn’s series is the kind where you can read each book as a standalone, but they’re that much more layered if you’ve read the others. The same applies to WAR, you can enjoy the story on its own.
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Morg is not dead. Rafe is in trouble. Asher is sick. Danthe has given up. Lur is dying. By the end of THE PRODIGAL MAGE (EBR Review) everything has gone wrong and it looks pretty bleak.

The only one left to save them is mousy Dennie, the young woman too timid to do anything. Or is she? She’s spent the last months caring for her comatose father and taking over the household responsibilities of her deteriorating mother–and she’s the only one who believes that Rafe is still alive, and that he needs help only she can provide. Dennie is not the girl she used to be before her world changed, and she’s beginning to realize her new role in it.
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Mercedes Thompson, car mechanic and shape-shifter, leads a complicated and exciting life. Considering the vampires, werewolves, and fae that surround her, whether friend or enemy, there’s usually something dangerous involved. But the great thing about Mercy is that her friends can always count on her when there’s trouble.

Only this time, in SILVER BORNE (Amazon), it’s Mercy who needs help.
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After reading a ridiculous number of novels, we’ve managed to glean a few morsels of wisdom. The key to reading and enjoying novels of different genres and sub-genres is to know what to expect. With Epic Fantasy you prepare for large novels, and slow-paced sections punctuated by sprawling battles. With Mystery/Thrillers, you expect contrived dialogue, and a mandatory twist. Hard SF? You have a dictionary handy for those unavoidable moments where the author makes you feel completely dumb. When it comes to Heroic Fantasy/Sword & Sorcery, however, you need to be prepared for something completely different.
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THE SWORD OF THE DAWN (Amazon) is the third of four novellas by Michael Moorcock in his Hawkmoon collection. The four of these: THE JEWEL IN THE SKULL (Amazon), THE MAD GOD’S AMULET (Amazon), and yet to come finale, THE RUNESTAFF (Amazon) are getting singular reprints by Tor and from what I’ve read here are just some good, old-fashioned, fantasy adventure.
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When a job goes fatally wrong for their mother, teenage Eliss and her younger half-brother Alder find themselves orphaned and marooned on the barge Bird of the River. The crew takes pity and lets them stay on and the pair hope to have finally found a ‘home’ that welcomes them. They’ve lived a rough and itinerant life as a result of their irresponsible mother: Alder is half Yendari, and Eliss has had to make up the difference when their mother was wasted from smoking yellow weed.
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There are very few female Urban Fantasy authors who are able to draw in male readers as Kat Richardson is able to. You see, she writes more like a guy than her female counterparts. For us, this is a good thing. Because we are guys. LABYRINTH (Amazon) marks the fifth entry into Richardson’s Urban Fantasy series following the adventures of Harper Blaine.
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By now all you readers have probably figured you have us all figured out. You know what books we will like before you even read the review. More importantly, you know what books we will hate. We aren’t going to argue much. We wear our taste in novels openly, and to be honest we have a good idea of whether a novel will be awesome/yucky before we even read it.
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