Genre: Fantasy

Review – Guardian, vol 2

Posted July 1, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Guardian, vol 2

Guardian

by Priest

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 341
Series: Guardian #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

THE SLEEPING GOD STIRS

As snow quietly covers Dragon City in the final days of the lunar year, patients writhing in pain flock to the hospital. Baffled doctors call upon Zhao Yunlan and his team for help. As the case unfolds, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan discover that one of the Four Hallowed Artifacts, the Merit Brush, has appeared in the Mortal Realm. In the wrong hands, its power can be transformative.

While each step toward the artifact only pulls the pair deeper into a vortex of mysteries, Zhao Yunlan keeps stumbling upon a name: Kunlun. Who is Kunlun, and what is his connection to the Merit Brush? As Zhao Yunlan closes in on the answer, will he also uncover the truth behind Shen Wei's knowing gaze?

Book two of Priest’s Guardian gives us some major developments, both showing us who Zhao Yunlan really is and how he originally met Shen Wei, and getting into more detail on the bigger plot that’s bringing that to light. I must admit I probably need to skim the details again, but there’s a lot going on and a whole mythology here to figure out, but the way things are getting on is pretty intriguing.

We do get some more glimpses of the lives of the side characters Zhao Yunlan works with, and also of his family — his discussions with his parents about his sexuality and his relationship with Shen Wei are well done.

Aaaand we get some progression on the horrific pining, with Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan moving toward an openly romantic relationship, with lots more pining and chemistry off the charts. I can’t wait to see how they sort themselves out and properly commit to something, with Zhao Yunlan aware of the history between them. I hope they get a really happy ending, given the tragedy that seems to have befallen them in the past. Only one more book for everything to resolve, and I can’t quite see how it can all be wrapped up in that time!

I do still dislike the way Zhao Yunlan (and maybe others) consistently call Daqing “fatty” and stuff like that, though. Sure, he’s a cat yao, not a human, but he’s a speaking character. I know that culturally it can come across differently, but it doesn’t seem to be meant positively here, so that’s worth being aware of.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Daedalus is Dead

Posted June 29, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Daedalus is Dead

Daedalus is Dead

by Seamus Sullivan

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 176
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

A beautiful and nightmarish story of fatherhood and masculinity, told through the intertwined fates of Greek mythic figures Daedelus, Icarus, King Minos, and the Minotaur.

Daedalus of Crete is many things: The greatest architect in the world. The constructor of the Labyrinth that imprisoned the Minotaur. And the grieving father of Icarus—plunged into the sea as father and son flew from the grasp of the tyrannical King Minos.

Given the chance to reunite with Icarus in the Underworld, Daedalus will confront any terror to see him again—whether it be the vengeful spirit of Minos, the cunning Queen Persephone, or even the insatiable ghost of the Minotaur.

But there's one terror he didn't expect. As he encounters the people from his life, Daedalus begins to worry that his identity as a husband and father, mentor and friend was all a lie. And that the truth, stalking him in the labyrinth of his own heart, might be too monstrous for him to bear.

Seamus Sullivan’s Daedalus is Dead is a fun one, which takes its full length to fully deliver the sting in the tail of the retelling (which I suspect is why people who DNFed feel it’s a run-of-the-mill retelling that doesn’t bring anything new to the story). In terms of the bones of the story, it doesn’t subvert the actual events too much: there’s a bull, there’s the wrath of the gods, there’s a monstrous baby and a labyrinth, and Daedalus escapes Minos with his son Icarus by shaping two pairs of wings with wax that softens when Icarus flies too high, leaving him to plummet into the sea.

It’s all told in Daedalus’ voice, addresses to his beloved Icarus, apparently the centre of his world. The love is palpable, an almost-obsession with Icarus and what he was like, what he did, why he died. Daedalus is willing to do anything to reunite with him, and we see him bargain with Persephone and reshape hell as he tries to earn the chance.

But through the story, we slowly get little details that make us stop and re-evaluate the good guy persona Daedalus is presenting to us: the treatment of Asterion, the callousness about the deaths of others, the obsession only with his own safety and that of Icarus. The knowledge that what he’s doing is wrong, and doing it anyway to save his own skin. The affectionate relationship with Ariadne, that gets split open later when we actually meet Ariadne… It becomes clear that we have a deeply unreliable narrator, and the whole thing hinges on a moment in which Ariadne identifies something that heroes have in common, that Daedalus too shares.

I won’t give any more spoilers than that — though it’s hard to talk about it in any detail without the acknowledgement of the unreliable narration, and the moments of fracture where you get to see what Daedalus is really like.

It’s a complex one, because the love for Icarus is clearly real: Daedalus will suffer to get to see him again. But how real? Is it love for Icarus, whoever he might have been and whoever he might become? Or is it love of his own legacy, love of someone he shaped, love of the idea of being a good and loving father?

We don’t get answers, as such. We’re left guessing. And that, spun carefully out through the whole novella until the whole of the problem is clear only in the closing pages, is why this is a good retelling.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Clean Sweep

Posted June 23, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 10 Comments

Review – Clean Sweep

Clean Sweep

by Ilona Andrews

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 228
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #1
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night...Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

I read Ilona Andrews’ Clean Sweep previously at some point, but honestly I could barely remember the plot… though I’d meant to follow up and read the others in the series. It’s not my favourite of Andrews’ work, but then, I didn’t know how much I’d love the Kate Daniels series just from the first book, so I want to read the ones I already own, at least, and see if it properly gets its hooks in.

For now, I’m kinda… irritated, more than anything, by the male posturing by both potential love interests, and the fact that there’s a love triangle. Neither of the potential male leads have particularly impressed me at this point, with the way they both behave to Dina (though she could stand to be a touch less reckless if she’s really planning to protect her inn alone and without allies).

That said, the innkeepers are a fun concept, and a few interesting potential plot threads and/or backgrounds for world-building are introduced. It’s a bit of a kitchen sink sort of world with apparent magic alongside sci-fi elements, and some of the stuff that Dina alludes to could definitely use some expansion to flesh things out — which I’m assuming happens in later books.

Enjoyable, overall, but I’m not 100% on board yet.

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

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Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 8

Posted June 21, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 8

Solo Leveling

by Chugong

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels
Pages: 272
Series: Solo Leveling (light novel) #8
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

"MAY YOUR COURAGE SAVE YOUR WORLD." The Monarch of Destruction and the armies of Chaos have descended upon Earth, leaving nothing but death and carnage in their wake. The fate of humanity lies in the hands of the newly crowned Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo Sung. Who will be the final victor when the dust settles on this timeless feud?

And more importantly, will there be anything left of the world to save?

The eighth and final volume of Chugong’s Solo Leveling is a bit of a mix. It contains the last few chapters of the main story, then a bunch of more or less inconsequential side stories (with just a few that seem really important, and some that are just comic, or filling in some gaps), then finally an epilogue that does feel significant.

It leads to the volume feeling very piecemeal and disorganised. Perhaps the side stories should’ve been after the epilogue, which would’ve helped… or split into a separate volume, and previous volumes each been expanded by a chapter or so to fit all the main story into seven volumes. It feels a bit sad to end with such a meh volume, because the main story itself isn’t bad at all, it’s just overshadowed by what feels like filler.

Some of the side stories are fun (like ones that show the POV of Jinwoo’s minions), and the ending is epic and a little sad. I think I’m over it now and don’t need to read more; I kinda wish it’d been self-contained and not been obvious setup for another series. It was fun while it lasted, though!

Rating: 3/5 (“liked it”)

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Review – Lady-Bird

Posted June 21, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Lady-Bird

Lady-Bird

by Fabrice Sapolsky, Dawn J. Starr

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels
Pages: 120
Rating: one-star
Synopsis:

Two young women, Vega and Mina, living 100 years apart share the same strange abilities. They hold the genetic key to saving the world from all known viruses and diseases, but they've been captured and taken advantage of by people more interested by power and money than anything else. In 1909, Vega is trapped. Forced to be a warrior when all she wants is love. In the present, Mina has escaped. Helped by Tamara, a former astronaut and her scientist friend Marques, she has a chance to use her amazing abilities and spread her wings to learn the truth about her origins.

I didn’t really get into Fabrice Sapolsky and Dawn J. Starr’s Lady-Bird. I don’t know the original story that it is partly based on, partly a homage too, which doesn’t help (though I don’t think it’s a commonly known one either), and I didn’t really like the art very much.

The story jerks around a bit, and it just… isn’t very clear how things come together, or what people’s motivations are. It doesn’t help that it does appear to be a volume one, rather than a full story, which… wasn’t clear from the cover/listing on Comics Plus. It doesn’t get very far, which isn’t so surprising in light of that, but is pretty unsatisfying.

Not one for me, overall. It did make me kinda curious about the original it’s based on/referencing, though.

Rating: 1/5 (“didn’t like it”)

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Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 7

Posted June 16, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 7

Solo Leveling

by Chugong

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels
Pages: 288
Series: Solo Leveling (light novel) #7
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

The murders of several distinguished S-rank hunters rock the world, and Jinwoo knows it's only a matter of time before the perpetrators strike again. The declaration of war comes earlier than expected, however, in the form of a colossal gate looming in the skies above Seoul. With the Hunter's Association of Korea struggling to adjust to its new normal and the Monarchs picking off the top hunters one by one, will Jinwoo be able to keep everyone safe from the biggest disaster mankind has ever faced?

Volume seven of Chugong’s Solo Leveling light novel is a little bit uneven. The plot is really accelerating at this point, with Jinwoo ready to fight all comers, Monarchs or Rulers, and the mystery about Jinwoo’s father being resolved as well… but the pacing doesn’t work amazingly, with an interlude in the middle of pitched battle while Jinwoo essentially watches a flashback of what happened to the original Shadow Monarch.

I don’t know how I’d prefer that section to be done — maybe the flashback was necessary! But it feels a bit rushed, like the author has to suddenly cram in all the info we need to make the upcoming conflict make sense. Obviously an extended flashback with Jinwoo just watching wouldn’t be super enjoyable, but… maybe we should’ve seen stuff from Ashborn’s point of view again?

All the same, the final chapters of the book ratchet things back up again, with Jinwoo’s minions appearing, and then the beginning of the end — perhaps for the whole world. It genuinely feels high stakes, and I think does it better than the manhwa for my tastes. I felt a bit choked up when Jinwoo asks what his future will be. Knowing how the story ends makes that more poignant, of course.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Seasons of Glass and Iron

Posted June 11, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Review – Seasons of Glass and Iron

Seasons of Glass & Iron

by Amal El-Mohtar

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories
Pages: 196
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

With confidence and style, El-Mohtar guides us through exquisitely told and sharply observed tales about life as it is, was, and could be. Like miscellany from other worlds, these stories are told in letters, diary entries, reference materials, folktales, and lyrical prose.

Full of Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Hugo Award-winning and nominated stories, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories includes "Seasons of Glass and Iron," "The Green Book," "Madeleine," "The Lonely Sea in the Sky," "And Their Lips Rang with the Sun," "The Truth About Owls," "A Hollow Play," "Anabasis," "To Follow the Waves," "John Hollowback and the Witch," "Florilegia, or, Some Lies About Flowers," "Pockets," and more.

Seasons of Glass & Iron is a collection from various different times in Amal El-Mohtar’s writing career, and it’s surprising that they all fit pretty well together in light of that. Of course you don’t expect short stories to all be about the same thing, anyway, so that helps — but sometimes in collections like this that come from different times/were written for different purposes, you can really feel the disjointedness. That isn’t the case here.

I do enjoy El-Mohtar’s writing style, which helps, and knew I wanted to read this from a preview in the advance copy of The River Has Roots; it was nice to settle in and read the full collection, and there were several stories I really liked; ‘John Hollowback and the Witch’ is a fun one, and ‘Their Lips Rang With The Sun’. I was also interested in the story based on the Welsh story of Blodeuwedd, and would’ve loved some commentary on that and what provoked it, why Blodeuwedd felt like the right mythical source to use, etc.

I admit some of the other stories interested me less (like the one about pockets, since it didn’t quite feel like it really went anywhere?) and I wasn’t thaaat interested in the poems (at least in this context; it feels weird swapping between forms like that, for me!) — but overall, a good collection and one I enjoyed.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 6

Posted June 4, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Solo Leveling (light novel), vol 6

Solo Leveling

by Chugong

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novels
Pages: 272
Series: Solo Leveling (light novel) #6
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Having witnessed the staggering power of the Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo can't wait to level up and reach those heights, and what better way to do so than to mobilize his army of soldiers against an S-rank dungeon's worth of giants? Saving a country abandoned by the rest of the world has its benefits—international renown, the expansion of his guild, an invitation to the most prestigious hunter conference in the world—but perhaps the most unexpected bonus is a run-in with another Monarch who brings not-so-welcome tidings. If he's to be believed, a war is coming that not even Jinwoo is strong enough to stop…

Volume six of Chugong’s Solo Leveling features Jinho’s father’s illness, the kidnap of Jinho, the revelation that Jinwoo’s father (or something that looks like him) is running around doing something thus-far inscrutable, and the fate of Gunhee Go, so it’s a hard hitter as far as Jinwoo’s development goes. It ties up some loose ends with Dongsoo Hwang, and starts to introduce the endgame here.

That means it’s possibly one of my favourite volumes so far, and I think a lot of this was more affecting in this format than it was in the manhwa, somehow. The way that Jinwoo’s incredibly high perception stat makes him more susceptible to Jinho’s feelings as well is an interesting touch, and that scene between them was really cute. (Though, c’mon, Jinwoo! Let him hug you! You’re bros now.)

Jinwoo’s biggest challenges are approaching, and I honestly can’t wait to dig in. I feel like the pacing is a bit different than the manhwa — same sequence of events, but with slightly different weights, I guess? — and is ratcheting up a bit slower, but it’s definitely ramping up.

Oh, and Jinwoo’s fight against Thomas Andre hits a bit differently I find — in the manhwa it felt more like he might be a match for Jinwoo, and here it isn’t even close.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Killing of a Chestnut Tree

Posted June 2, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 10 Comments

Review – The Killing of a Chestnut Tree

The Killing of a Chestnut Tree

by Oliver K. Langmead

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Pages: 176
Series: Havelock Harper Mysteries #1
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Be gay, solve crimes! The Killing of a Chestnut Tree introduces Havelock Harper, an all-new queer gentleman detective in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes, with a cozy, fantastical mystery.

Everyone in England knows Havelock Harper, the celebrated consulting detective, from the cases published in the papers. If any of them read his secret files, they would discover a very different man. His most fantastical cases must never reach the public eye, and nor must the love he shares with his stalwart companion, the formidable Major Sebastian Wright.

The Duke of Farleigh has been killed, and Havelock Harper summoned to the secluded Farleigh Forest to solve his murder. When he and Sebastian arrive, they discover a greater mystery. The trees of Farleigh have begun to speak, writing words into their leaves and bark. The victim is one of those trees: an ancient chestnut, cruelly chopped down.

Why has the forest begun to speak? Why would anyone cut down the Duke? And how can Farleigh’s gentle, quiet paradise survive this crime?

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was instantly interested in Oliver K. Langmead’s The Killing of a Chestnut Tree from the description — a queer Sherlock Holmes pastiche in a fantasy world — so when I saw it come up for request I clicked instantly, and promptly settled down to read it at the first opportunity. I enjoyed the setting a lot: I think there’s a lot of worldbuilding still to come, because it’s not totally clear how much magic is normal/known in this world, what kinds of magic there are, etc… but since it’s a series, there’s plenty of time for that.

This first installment takes Havelock and Sebastian to Farleigh, a place with mysteries largely hidden from the outside world, in order to investigate the death of the Duke. Things naturally aren’t quite what they seem, starting with the nature of the death, and the two of them settle into Farleigh a little bit as they investigate the crime. We see them in the wake of an earlier case that’s just alluded to, a little unsure of where they stand with each other and missing the intimacy they used to have; it’s an established relationship, but also one which has to re-establish over the course of the story, which is a nice way in on understanding them as a couple.

Their story is wrapped in a frame story: Sebastian is writing out their cases (just as the Sherlock Holmes stories are written by Watson), but this one is being sent only to a young man who happened to consult Havelock for help with a certain mystery. These interludes are in second person, since they constitute Sebastian addressing the man in question, and they have their own small mystery (and part in the story). I wasn’t sure what the link was at first, so it was a nice “ahh” moment when I realised what Sebastian was doing.

The solution felt appropriately Holmesian — drawing together some disparate facts to present the full truth, leaving others stunned, but with enough there for the reader to make guesses of their own, and follow the solution given. I admit I hadn’t quite figured everything out, but I’m not sure I really tried: especially with fantasy mysteries (where I’m not always sure I know enough about the world to have a fair shot at the solution)Ă©, I often sit back and let it wash over me, rather than actively try to puzzle out whodunnit.

Definitely looking forward to more of this series!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Fourth Island

Posted May 26, 2026 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Review – The Fourth Island

The Fourth Island

by Sarah Tolmie

Genres: Fantasy
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

Huddled in the sea off the coast of Ireland is a fourth Aran Island, a secret island peopled by the lost, findable only in moments of despair. Whether drowned at sea, trampled by Cromwell's soldiers, or exiled for clinging to the dead, no outsiders reach the island without giving in to dark emotion.

Time and again, The Fourth Island weaves a hypnotic pattern with its prose, presaging doom before walking back through the sweet and sour moments of lives not yet lost. It beautifully melds the certainty of loss with the joys of living, drawing readers under like the tide.

Belatedly posting a review of a book I wrote a while ago and somehow never posted!

The Fourth Island is a fascinating book which is clearly frustrating for a lot of people who want a story that goes from A to B to C, and comes to a solid conclusion. For me, it read like the author started with the idea of the Aran sweater whose pattern nobody recognised, and then explored from there — how could such a thing come to be? And what does that mean?

In the end, if you want a solid answer — this thing happened for that reason — then it’s somewhat unsatisfying. It’s not clear how each character who ends up on the Fourth Island gets there, why they’re chosen and not others. In part it reads like it’s questioning that: why are some people saved and not others? That is how our world works, and we always crave to know why and see a higher purpose in it, but here Tolmie makes it small: why would people be chosen to come to this tiny island when lost? And does that have a weight on the world, a cost?

It’s not a traditional fantasy story, for sure; I guess you could say it’s magic realism. There’s some beautiful writing in it, and I was totally absorbed in the mystery of it, without needing it to also give me the answers.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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