I have mixed feelings for School for Psychics and even now, after sitting on this review for a little while, I’m not entirely sure how I feel.  On the one hand it was undoubtedly a fairly quick read, it held my attention, I never suffered from ‘not wanting to pick it back up syndrome’ but on the other hand it’s quite possibly a trope too far.  In fairness to the author and the book I think my reading has suffered a little in the past ...

No Comments Lynn Williams Read More

I’m going to start this review with a little story of my own.  About six and a half/seven years ago I picked up a book called Prince of Thorns.  This book was different than anything I’d read before in fantasy terms.  I absolutely loved it and pretty much devoured the series in short order.  The main protagonist, Jorg, is not for everyone.  The Broken Empire series is awash with blood and Jorg, although he will grow on you if you give hi...

No Comments Lynn Williams Read More

Sometimes I find it difficult to write a review for a book that I loved wholeheartedly, mainly because of all the emotions I’m feeling and it’s as if every single one of them is vying to burst forth from me all at the same time. The Poppy War is one of those books. There’s so much I want to say about it, like why it’s so awesome, why it spoke so strongly to me, and why you should drop everything and read it at once. Really, I just loved t...

No Comments Stephenie Sheung Read More

Having read the first two books in Weeke’s Rogues of the Republic series I was intrigued when I saw Feeder with it’s ‘sci fi’ feel.  I’m enjoying the fantasy series by this author (although I need to read No.3 and complete the series – I have completion issues!) and similarly to his fantasy works this book has a fun feel.  I enjoyed this.  I would say it’s probably aimed at a YA audience although to be honest it has a comic b...

No Comments Lynn Williams Read More

A Veil of Spears continues the fantastical excitement I’ve grown to expect from this series, starting immediately from where With Blood Upon the Sand left off. If ever there was an under read, under recommended series, I really think this is it. It has so much to offer and is so well written, I am always surprised I don’t hear it discussed more. Reading this book just reinforced that. The Moonless Host has taken a huge hit, but inst...

No Comments Lisa Taylor Read More

I have to say from the outset that I had fun reading The Sisters Mederos.  This is a fantasy of manners with two sisters, raised with privilege, whose family loses everything, and who, using their wits and determination seek to reinstate their family’s good name and fortune. There’s not too much to go into in relation to the plot.  The Mederos family was one of the most influential and wealthy merchant houses in Port Saint Frey until the fl...

No Comments Lynn Williams Read More

Glimpse is my second book by Jonathan Maberry, and I felt like I was taking a little bit of a chance because several years ago my attempt to read his book Patient Zero did not go so well. However, the premise simply sounded too good, and in the end I’m glad I overcame my hesitation to give this one a try because I really enjoyed it. In addition to being a blend of horror and the paranormal, this chilling story also has an element of otherworldl...

No Comments Stephenie Sheung Read More

Unbury Carol is a wonderful story that takes you into the mind of Carol, a woman with a condition that causes her to have episodes where she appears to be dead. She goes into a coma like state, her breathing slows to the point of being almost undetectable. From the outside, she seems dead, but she remains fully aware of her surroundings. She can hear and remember conversations that are held around her, but she can’t respond. It’s a li...

No Comments Lisa Taylor Read More

When Stephanie Burgis contacted me to propose I read and review this collection of short stories from various authors, I was quite intrigued: I had enjoyed both her two historical fantasy novels (Masks and Shadows and Congress of Secrets) and her novella Snowspelled, with its alternate version of Regency England where magic is as common as teapots, so that I was fairly certain I would appreciate these short works centered on the shared theme of a...

The Bitter Twins is the second instalment of Jen Williams’ Winnowing Flame Trilogy and is an excellent second in series that demonstrates William’s ability to create a richly woven world, full of history and religion and characters that are a delight to read and fall in love with. Before reviewing The Bitter Twins I would point out that it is necessary to read the Ninth Rain first.  The story picks up immediately after the conclusion...

No Comments Lynn Williams Read More

Upcoming Releases: November 20 – 26, 2016
Upcoming Releases / November 19, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          URBAN FANTASY           SCIENCE FICTION   FANTASY       URBAN FANTASY     SCIENCE F...

GIVEAWAY: The City by Stella Gemmell
Reviews / November 18, 2016

Early next month, The Immortal Throne by Stella Gemmell is releasing (Dec. 6, 2016). If you missed her first book,  The City, it is exciting and fun to read;  a great good versus evil story with lots of grit and a city that takes center stage to the point where it almost feels like another character. I am definitely looking forward to The Immortal Throne, and encourage those that haven’t read her first yet to give it a try. ...

Review: The Promise of the Child by Tom Toner
Reviews / November 16, 2016

Most novels come with expectations, but when I began reading The Promise of the Child by Tom Toner I had none, expect maybe wondering who the child was going to be and why it had been promised. This is a debut novel by Toner and set in the far future, but when the opening quotes come from Byron and Wilde and the prologue begins in 1319 Prague, my curiosity was piqued. The plot, as it sprawls over 500 pages, is complex and shouldn’t be...

Review: The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
Reviews / November 15, 2016

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi may be short, but the concept behind it opens the door for a much larger story. Imagine a world where death is not necessarily final, all depending on how you die. If you die due to illness, natural cause or an accident, then death is the end. However, if you happen to die by the hand of another, if you were murdered, then you will wake up, alive and well, in your bed. At least 99% of the time. So, consider...

Review: The Gates of Hell by Michael Livingston
Reviews / November 14, 2016

As the second volume in a historical fantasy series about Ancient Rome, The Gates of Hell can be viewed as the “next chapter” of the events following the Final War of the Roman Republic. Approximately five years have passed since Alexandria fell. Marc Antony and Cleopatra are dead. Their daughter Selene has been taken into their conqueror’s household, becoming one of Augustus Caesar’s adopted children. But for all that, she know...

Upcoming Releases: November 13 – 19, 2016
Upcoming Releases / November 12, 2016

Here’s a rundown of the books we think you should look out for in coming in the week. See any that you are really looking forward to? Find any you had not heard of yet? Know of books we missed? We know we don’t have everything and would love to hear what you feel we may have overlooked.   FANTASY          SCIENCE FICTION   FANTASY   SCIENCE FICTION           FANTASY         SCIENCE F...

Guest Post: Doing the Dark Pop Apocalyptic Genre Hop by Christopher Hinz
Guest Post / November 11, 2016

Today we are excited to welcome Christopher Hinz to The Speculative Herald!      His latest book, Binary Storm is published by Angry Robot and is out now. A streetwise computer wiz, his politically savvy girlfriend and a tormented supersoldier form an uneasy alliance to stop assassins existing simultaneously in two bodies from threatening the world with apocalypse. The standalone novel serves as a prequel to the more distan...

Review: Feedback by Mira Grant
Reviews / November 10, 2016

I picked up Feedback completely fresh to the Newsflesh series. So fresh, I didn’t even realize it was a series and started reading completely innocent of Mira Grant’s universe of bloggers fighting for life, liberty and the American way against a backdrop of the zombie apocalypse. The minimal zombie action in the beginning was a bit surprising, but I did not lose interest before the biting and moaning got underway, and now I understa...

Review: Dominion by Peter McLean
Reviews / November 9, 2016

Dominion is the second in the Burned Man series by Peter Blake.  The story picks up not long after Drake (the first in series) left off and the action is fairly intense from the get go. I thought Dominion was a solid instalment in the series, the characters have been fleshed out and added to and the dark side of London is explored further.  Be warned, if you haven’t read the first in series there may be spoilers contained below....

Review: After Atlas by Emma Newman
Reviews / November 8, 2016

I enjoyed Planetfall last year, which I read during Sci-Fi Month 2015, but I was stunned by how much more I loved After Atlas, a “companion” novel which takes place in the same world but follows different characters and has a completely different story line. After Atlas references some events and characters from the first book, but you certainly don’t have to read it first in order to enjoy this one. In fact, if you haven’t read...