Category: Fantasy

George R.R. Martin's second book in the Song of Ice and Fire series, A Clash of Kings, is a very successful follow-up to the huge hit with me that was A Game of Thrones. It continues the politics, and the stories, it introduces new characters and sets us up for future books to come. But is it completely flawless? Please note that this article contains affiliate links, this means that if you choose to purchase products via any of the links below then I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. A Clash of Kings picks up quite soon after A Game of Thrones so if you've not yet read my review of that,…

The third and final book in the His Dark Material trilogy by Philip Pullman is the climactic The Amber Spyglass. It aims to round up everything from the previous two books - settle scores, unify worlds, fix problems and prevent evil. The question is - does it do enough to feel like the end to one of the most popular trilogies in fiction? The Amber Spyglass brings us once again back to the lives of Lyra and Will. Will has the Subtle Knife that can cut through into worlds and Lyra is said to be the chosen one who will change the fate of the worlds. How will this all end up then? The Amber Spyglass plot - 3/5 I'll be honest, the first half of The Amber Spyglass felt…

Fire and Blood is a Game of Thrones prequel. Though it isn't a book about a set of characters with lots of speech and a simple overarching plot, instead it tells the story of the hundred years leading up to Game of Thrones. It covers many kings, queens, families, wars, betrayals and stories. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of any of the products. Fire and Blood starts off just prior to Aegon's Conquest which upon his coronation resets the year date to 0 AC. Essentially Aegon reunited the seven kingdoms, starting the…

John Gwynne is quickly becoming one of the biggest names in fantasy with his recent release of The Hunger of the Gods. Malice is where it all started - his debut fantasy novel of over 600 pages. It's an epic in every sense and it is absolutely brilliant. Please note that this article contains affiliate links - this means if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Malice by John Gwynne, as I stated above, was Gwynne's very first novel back in 2012. Since then he's been smashing out a book almost every year since then creating quite the portfolio of some of…

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson is one of those fantasy books that if you end up searching "fantasy series you must read" will appear nearly every single time. It's the start of one of the most complex and sprawling book series ever created with currently ten books of more than 7,300 pages. Please note that this article contains affiliate links, this means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. Gardens of the Moon is the first book in a series that tells us many tales about the epic history of the Malazan Empire. This book focuses on an array…

You'll know by now that I'm a big fantasy fan and as I work my way through some of the bigger names, I keep seeing the name "Robin Hobb" springing up with the Farseer Trilogy being her first entry into the genre. Therefore, when it won a poll on my Twitter and was sitting on my bookshelf, I thought it a good time to go ahead and give it a read. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products via the links provided below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Assassin's Apprentice is all about Fitz and his rise from an abandoned orphan…

The Shadow of the Gods was brought to my attention a while back when I initially began to watch a review of it on YouTube and then stopped as I didn't want to have the plot spoiled. I then saw a Twitter thread of best active fantasy authors and Joh Gwynne was on there so with this and the fact The Shadow of the Gods came on offer meant it all came together nicely. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links provided below, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you which goes towards funding the blog. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. The Shadow of…