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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…

A sweeping love story across time, Alix Harrow’s the Everlasting is a wildly ambitious fantasy story about freedom of choice, the making of legends, and ever-changing nature and distortion of history by written records. Utilizing time-travel concepts applied to the high fantasy genre, the resulting book is a masterfully crafted reworking of how a knight’s origin story literally affects a nation’s future. Featuring a complex plot, nuanced themes, outstanding character work presented through an elegant prose, the Everlasting is an impressive story that is unlike any other fantasy romance book out there. While Lady knights are having a bit of a moment this year, this book is much more complex than its scholar x knight premise would suggest. Set thousands of years apart, the Everlasting tells the story of an anxious and dispirited historian Owen Mallory who is sent to chronicle the legend of the famed historical icon Sir Una Everlasting. The loyal beast of a knight to the first Queen, with her famed adventures and conquests in the name of the cross, it is her ultimate demise that cements her figure as the martyr and inspiration for all of Dominion. Or so how history has told it. Enraptured and…

A heist set for a mysterious magical book, a power struggle between state and church, a tense reunion between ex-partners, and legendary beings trapped and abandoned by the God of Thieves, Ruth Frances Long’s The Book of Gold has a lot of interesting concepts to say the least. The start of the Feral Gods trilogy, this book has a lot of narrative content fitted into a sub three-hundred-and-fifty-page book that is part fantasy, part 16th century historical fiction adventure. Though the story has a variety of plotlines that lay the groundwork for the series to expand on, at its core it’s a tense and strained second-chance romance between individuals standing on different sides of the law and state, all in pursuit of otherworldly power. Action and relationship oriented, the Book of Gold is a competently crafted book that despite a sense of mismanaged focus, is still a fun and light entertaining fantasy read. At first glance, the Book of Gold appears to be a simplistic rogue x knight trope applied to a fantasy heist storyline. The book has all the elements one would expect such as an unorthodox assembled ragtag heist team, economic disparity between the nobility and the common…

Magical everyday objects scattered across the world, a secret society that meets in the basement of a bookstore, and dangerous individuals more than willing to kill for them, the Society of Unknowable Objects is an urban fantasy story full of great elements and ideas. Similar to Gareth Brown’s debut novel the Book of Doors, this novel has a premise that feels like a throwback to classic children’s fantasy books appropriately aged up for adult readers looking for a fun and straightforward magic adventure. Brown’s second book, from the get-go the Society of Unknowable Objects has a familiar feel that recaptures the fun of many popular YA fantasy books of the early 2000s. Revolving around a group of four adults who collectively make up the Society of Unknowable Objects, these individuals possess knowledge of special everyday items that grant their holder a variety of magical powers. But with strong magical powers comes the unwanted attention of those looking to use them for their own benefit, hence why the Society was formed to keep these objects out of less desirable hands. An interesting mix of cross-country hidden treasure hunting, mysterious intrigue, and fantasy action, the novel has strong mass appeal thanks to…