Genre: Epic Fantasy

Paranormal dark ambiance, afterlife and lore-heavy epic fantasy framework, and resilient character-driven retribution all meet in Mark Lawrence’s Daughter of Crows, the first entry in the Academy of Kindness series. Featuring multiple timelines, POV, and narrators, Daughter of Crows is an ambitious and atmospheric read that isn’t for the faint of heart or casual readers, but is one that rewards patience and determination much like its elderly main character Rue and the many trials throughout her life. Though marketed as a dark academia adult novel, Daughter of Crows is a book that is truly dark and academy-based in only the simplest terms. There’s been a recent trend of endless academy trials and survival narratives lately across the fantasy genre that often feel repetitive and stale; this book is not one of those. Split across several timelines and narrators, the Academy of Kindness and its mix of training and trials play a major role in this story but is not the only focus. For better or for worse, this book utilizes the lost in the dark approach that drops the reader right in the middle of the story with little hand-holding to find their way. Early chapters are split between the…

A story of survival, power, political strategy, and family, Shen Tao’s The Poet Empress is a stunning epic fantasy book with strong historical Chinese-inspired flavor and culture. While the story is one of power succession and imperial palace politics, this book goes beyond that through its complex familial relationships and important contextual backstories. It isn’t a simple story about a resourceful betrothed navigating court survival but is just as much about the events and pressure that led to the making of a tyrant and how the potential for power can destroy everything. Tense, brutal, beautifully poignant, and NOT a romantasy, this is easily one of my favorite reads so far of the year and one of the most ambitious debut novels most authors would dream to have under their name While featuring a fictional land and dynasty, the Poet Empress tells a sweeping fantasy story that is heavily inspired by Chinese culture and one that could’ve easily taken place in history sans the fantasy and magic. The book incorporates familiar historical elements of male heirs, large groups of female concubines, eunuchs, and a taxation and imperial system much like other well-known established dynasties. While the majority of the book covers…

Steeped in Irish folklore and narratively inspired by Ireland’s oppression by England, Dave Rudden’s Sister Wake is an expansive high fantasy epic full of thematic and cultural content. The start of a planned trilogy, Sister Wake follows three individuals of different backgrounds and affiliations during a period of rising political conflict following the reappearance of monstrous gods causing unpredictable carnage across contested land. Ambitiously written and creatively inspired, Sister Wake is a novel full of big ideas that sometimes feels like it’s struggling with fitting together its individually strong pieces and balancing its complex plot. Usually, I try to avoid directly recapping what a book is about in my reviews but for Sister Wake, this book blurb is particularly vague; even with a 1st edition copy in hand, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. Set on the fictional island of Croí and the neighboring continental peninsula controlled by the Answering, Sister Wake is a high fantasy adventure of colonial rebellion and political conflict. Previously taken over from across the strait, the Answering has ruled over the distant and wild Croí by instituting their hierarchy of leaders, schooling, culture, and hanging all those favoring traditional Croí culture and…

An intense African inspired fantasy story, Marvellous Michael Anson’s Firstborn of the Sun is an impressive and commanding traditionally published debut novel. An imaginative and complex power struggle story of magic and action, this book has an expertly crafted plot that’s twisty, full of turmoil, and honors its cultural influences while also being very accessible and compelling. With confident storytelling and distinctively fresh fantasy elements, Firstborn of the Sun is a well-rounded and excellent start to Anson’s planned epic fantasy trilogy. I will be the first to admit that having zero familiarity with Yuruban culture, I had no idea what to expect from this book having received it as part of Goldsboro’s GSFF subscription. However, I am glad to have been exposed to this book as it’s a really solid one! Set in the fictional Continent and Kingdom of Oru that’s governed by a monarchy and Holy Order, Firstborn of the Sun’s strong African roots and inspirations are one of the book’s biggest highlights. A good number of popular high fantasy books tend to be loosely based around European fantasy material that can often feel stale or uninspired, but this book is distinctively different and conceptually very refreshing. As to…

Devoid of mortals, the world of Lightfall is filled with vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers boxed in by dangerous and mysterious beings called the Grays. Despite the familiar setup that would typically be used for an action-packed fantasy warfare story, Ed Crocker’s debut novel is instead a sprawling and imaginative epic fantasy story focused on the political power struggle and socio-economic dynamics within the city of First Light’s walls. Full of extensive world-building, Lightfall is an ambitiously imagined novel that has all the right ideas to be a slow burn fantasy mystery thriller. Unfortunately, the presentation and execution of its ideas didn’t work for me, and I struggled with the book’s pacing and narrative. Easily the most impressive aspect of Lightfall is Crocker’s detailed and complex world-building and lore that for better or for worse, makes up the bulk of the novel’s content. Apart from the initial discovery of the First Lord’s younger son is dead, the book’s story falls into a period of relative lull. Preceding the last hundred years, Lightfall’s world and history is full of conflict that is written in great detail. Covering various topics including the origin of the three main groups of immortals, the mystery and…