Review - The Door on the Sea by Caskey Russell

 

I had a pleasant feeling reading this book and later I found out the reason, which was that it had been written initially by a father for his young sons to enjoy. Besides that context (which reminded me also of The Hobbit), The Door on the Sea is an engaging story with a nautical adventure. It is set in a world inspired by native Alaskan legends, and its main character goes on a journey which will test every one of his personal strengths but let him also grow.

The world of the book is roughly based on traditional indigenous Alaskan culture but extrapolated: there are books, complicated sailing vessels, schools, and a sophisticated network of connected islands. Elan is a young man who struggles with his place in the village of Naasteidi, one of the many islands settled by the Aani people. In their culture, he is part of the Longhouse of Service and Trade, something seen as lesser than that of the warriors: the Longhouse of War and Diplomacy. He and a group of companions are swept up in a quest to find a magical artifact, a "dzanti", which may be the key to resisting an invasion by an otherworldly race of monsters, the Koosh.

With these companions Elan sets off on a specially built canoe, Waka, He admires the older war leader, Caraiden, who acts like a wise mentor and is unfailingly loyal and sticks to his oath to follow Elan. This is despite Caraiden's past guilt that it is revealed he still suffers from, over a past mistake that led to the death of one of Elan's family. Ch'et is a easy-going younger character and Elan is given the chance to win his friendship. 

The character of Kwa, a female warrior unwillingly assigned to the party, is set up in opposition to Elan. She is rigid follower of tradition, and narrow-mindedly ruthless as a consequence of seeing things always in "black and white". Whereas Elan questions traditions and feels the urge to unravel them: he has an aversion to killing and the commonly-held idea that there should be only a single leader with a voice. 

This is a story where there can be supernatural relations between people and animal kind, and the characters of Hoonsa, a " brother" to bears, and Chetdyl, a sentient wolf, reflect that connection.  But is the talking Raven who steals nearly every scene he features in. Raven is frequently mischievous, lazy, crude, funny and insulting, but under all this he conceals a deeper hidden knowledge and secret nature.

During the course of events, Elan and his companions encounter friendly Aani villagers,  but also many other hostile strangers. The hostile Yahooni, defeated invaders who have lied and covered up their own recent history, are a blinkered and closed-off threat. There are chases at sea, exploration, mishaps, survival and menaces faced down (like giant mosquitoes!). Elan overcomes his mistakes and grows as a person: he can perceive that nearly all others can become lost in their greed for the power of the dzanti, and he also gains an understanding of other peoples and the concept of "they".

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on book two in this series.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

(Thanks to Solaris Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.) 

Review - The Art of Legend by Wesley Chu

 

The third installment of the War Arts Saga by Wesley Chu is another entertaining yarn with hypnotic martial arts action, sinister intrigue and amusing bits. Again the conflict focuses on the struggles between the settled, 'land-chained' empire of the Zhuun versus the Katuia of the Grass Sea, who are nomads with surprisingly advanced steampunk / silkpunk vehicles and weaponry. 

This time I really appreciated the character development of the four or so main protagonists, who have come a long way over the course of the series. Things begin with Qisami the former Shadowkill assassin, who has been sentenced to a harsh, remote prison colony. There the inmates must try to mine a precious ore. Qisami becomes a reluctant helper to a group of prisoners who have been concealing and caring for infants born in the colony. She eventually leads a rebellion, and makes an important deal with a group of exiled Katuia. Qisami takes part in an unexpected personal journey where she loses most of her darker tendencies, immature attitudes and former distractability. Until ltimately, she finds true friends among the Katuia. 

Sali the Viperstrike war artist master of the Nezra Katuia clan has finally been cured of her "soul rot" curse. But she must deal with new responsibility in the training of two new apprentices. She also must venture to seek risky new allies among the Sunjawa people led by their slippery leaders, the Yazgurs. Further, Sali must deal with capture and tempting offers made by the spirit shamans. She also faces real differences with the new incarnated Khan, the ruthless Visan. Sali must overcome all her past conditioning to find the ethical path forward for her people.

Ling Taishi, master of the Windwhisper style of war arts, and her disciple Jian have been living with friends in Vauzan, an area ruled by the Shulan Court. She has been taking advantage of the hospitality offered by Lee Mori, a former lover and abbot of the Tiandi temple. Taishi finds herself in conflict with others over the fate of Jian, who is the all-important Prophesied Hero of the Tiandi religion among the Zhuun. Lord Oban wants to manipulate Jian into being a stage-managed hero for the Vauzan to resist the invasion. Then later, it is the Tiandi priesthood and Duchess Sunri who try to gain control over Jian. Taishi must realise that she cannot always protect Jian and her struggle with others and with herself is to let Jian go, no matter the danger.

The final section of the book, with Sunri and her legions of the Caobiu invading the grand Tiandi temple is strongest, most engaging part of the story. Sunri plans to take it over in order to become Empress of the Zhuun, but she in turn must deal with threats by new Eternal Khan and the war pods of the Katuia. The epic battle with the Khan is definitely a page-turner. But it is the personal revelations and sacrifices in the story that once more trump the fighting action. The climactic resolution comes with startling news about the true nature Pei, the Divine Oracle of the Tiandi. It is a satifying ending. As a bonus, we even receive some bonus "journals" after the main story closes.

 

 Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

 

(Thanks to Del Rey / Random House Worlds / Inklore and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.) 

Review - To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose

 

I enjoyed this second book in Moniquill Blackgoose's fantasy series about indigenous dragon riders, set within a surrounding conqueror people's culture. This is definitely one of the deepest YA fiction books you'll find this year, and it doesn't shy away from putting strident political and philosophical words into the mouths of its young characters.

Once more, Anequs, the native dragon rider starts off in her home island of Naquipaug. From there she is caught up in the increasingly invasive political disruption that encroaches from the mainland. This affects her people and relationship with love interest, Theod, as they face unfair treatment and restrictions when they try to meet to discuss or confront the issues. 

The new year at the dragon riders' academy is easier on Anequs this time, although she constantly encounters repression, patronising dismissal and the assumed superiority of others that can only come from ignorance and unfamiliarity of her background. Anequs faces difficulties with two other main characters that have a love focus, with her wealthy friend, Marta, and with male students we are introduced to who have formed an (initially ridiculous) secret society of students.

While there is rather a lot of description of the humdrum activities around the school and at times the students get very into lengthy philosophical arguments, this actually turned oddly into a strength of the book for me. In our current age of media sound bites and brief tweets, the long, sustained focus on the students' relationships and their passionately held ideas is something refreshing. There is also a lot of lore being delivered to the reader, but it walks a fine line between info-dumping and dowsing you in intricate world-building and does it well. This time round I also appreciated the author's confident grasp at representing late 19th century English manners and dialogue.

My favourite characters included Herr Gerdasson, the provocative follower of Enki who visits  the school, whose ideas motivate the students to question everything. And Sadsong, the foreign indigenous dragon rider character, whose no-nonsense attitude and bank of knowledge helps Anequs further learn about her cultural heritage with her own people's dragons.

In the second third of the book, the action picks up. The political upheavals become more real and students at the academy face a very present and immediate threat. This final climax is jolting and will leave you wanting to get hold of the next book some time soon.

 

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

 

(Thanks to Del Rey / Random House Worlds / Inklore and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.) 

Review - The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson

 

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (Eternal Path trilogy #1)

 

What a pleasant surprise this was book was! This is definitely a front-runner for best fantasy book of 2025 for me: it's a 700+ epic full of intrigue, well-defined characters, mystery and solid world-building.

In an empire with a long history, a Festival of succession is being held on an isolated island to decide who will be the next ruler. Among the contenders for the throne is Neema, an introverted scholar; Cain, an unpredictable joker and spy, and possible assassin; and Ruko, an single-minded and ambitious warrior. Each of these is a follower of one of the Eight, powerful spirits / gods in the form of beasts. Society is also divided into factions of those who follow each of the divine beasts, and each of these groups also have their own defined-culture, temples and hierarchy.

The empire has a history of being dominated by aristocratic families ('venerants') and the associated elitism, nepotism and corruption that goes with it. Not long before the start of the story, there had been an attempted coup by Andren Valit. His is a character that is central to later events, and his ruthless, self-centred and arrogant attempt to overthrow the Emperor, Bersun, has had far-reaching effects. Then later, Andren's son, Ruko, makes an apalling choice to fatally exile his own sister in order to further his own desire to pursue the throne.

We follow Neema, the 'Raven scholar' of the title, from her poor origins and struggles to accomplish herself, to eventual success. She has been promoted because of her abilities to a position at the court, but is unpopular, looked down upon, envied, and often merely just used for her talents and taken for granted. She has been in and out of an unconventional and volatile relationship with Cain for a long time: Cain's service to the Fox sect has meant Neema has found his nature hard to learn and understand. Meanwhile, Ruko has long suppressed most of his emotions and guilt over his sister's death, in a determined effort with the Tiger faction to take the throne.

Early in the book there is a murder mystery that must be solved, which will keep most readers guessing. And the animal companions we meet, especially the ravens, are endearing and often comical. These creatures, like the chameleon, sometimes seem curious despite seeming like mere pets...especially when it's discovered some of them can possess people...

What I loved most about this were the unexpected touches in the story. There are surprising plot happenings, small hints that characters may not be as they appear, revelations, and most of the all, wonderful touches of humour. Even when we hear through Neema's melancholy, wry memories of her sad, pitiable upbringing in the Raven temple, there are often amusing lines that lift up the storytelling. This is despite the casual cruelty and indifference she faces from the privileged others in her life. And in the succession Festival, we gradually find out the Trials may be rigged, the contests even pre-decided, and behind the scenes one gets the impression there are manipulations going on by people with hidden agendas. 

The narration itself often contains quotations from imaginary manuscripts, footnotes and flashbacks to moments from the past. There is a deceptively complex structure to this novel, but I never found it confusing or inaccessible. Even when the ravens themselves take over the telling of the story!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette for an ARC of this book.

 

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

   

Review - A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett

Cover - A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

March finds me taking part in the online "March Mavericks" readathon. The first book I've read is the fantasy murder-mystery, A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett.

This second story of inspectors Ana and Din doesn't disappoint. The setting moves to a jungle-forested kingdom, Yarrow, as the intrepid duo become mired in an investigation involving murder and intrigue in a harsh, decadent autocratic culture in a state of decline and denial. There are plot developments involving the all-important extraction of materials from leviathan bodies encapsulated in a bio-shroud, involving vast wealth and vitally central to the Empire's survival.  
 
Once more the characters are well-portrayed, especially the leaders of factions in the Yarrow court and the mysterious group of Apoths. We get to see some light and amusing experiences involving Din, and surprising revelations about the nature of the formidable Ana herself. And the clues, mysteries and unveilings of secrets are bound to keep readers, like I was, engaged till the last minute.  
 
This time round there perhaps was a big of a saggy second third of the story, and some of the vivid atmosphere may have been less than in the first book. But on the plus side, the earlier philosophizing of the characters has been pleasingly trimmed and the cracking dialogue is probably even sharper.

Thanks to Netgalley and DelRey for an ARC of this book.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review - Mushroom Blues by Adrian M Gibson

 The start of February 2025 finds me doing fairly with indie fantasy reading - I've now finished one semi-finalist and four finalist books in the SPFBO competition.

Mushroom Blues by Adrian M Gibson is an interesting finalist entry in the SPFBO X competition. It is told from the viewpoint of a detective, Henrietta Hoffman, employed by the Neo Kinoko Police Department in her increasingly personal mission to uncover the mystery behind the cases of some murdered children. The children are "fungals", humanoids with mushroom-like characteristics and her whole investigation is within the context of a recent bitter of war of conquest by the human Coprinians over the fungal-like Hoppinese.  We get a strong picture of the devastating effects of colonisation and poverty suffered by the fungals over the course of the novel. The setting has strong cyberpunk influences and its strange developments within the city environments, based on fungal blooms, take some getting used to.

Henrietta is carrying a large amount of emotional baggage from her past as she persists with the case, also finding herself saddled unwillingly with a fungal colleague, Koji. She must overcome her own history of alcoholism and guilt, cultural  brainwashing and ignorance of the fungal people she is investigating.

I found the first three-quarters of the book fairly slow, and the occasional self-flagellation by the main character off-putting. But the descriptions, characters and world-building were quality and this kept me reading. Ridgeway, Hoffman's superior, was a surprisingly well-drawn and engaging boss; while Koji's character steals the show over the most of the book, as we experience more and more revelations of his own past, hidden abilities and the dark surprises within his family. I also enjoyed the numerous common Hoppinese figures that the detectives encounter along the way, and Hoffman's startlingly psychedelic bicycle ride. The last quarter of the book is where the main action occurs and I was happily strung along for most of it.

I did find myself questioning how a character subjected to torture and the sawing through of her arm was able to carry a child shortly afterwards. And it is a very minor thing, but in a fantasy world that seems analogous to north America of the 1980s or 90s, with cars and cassette tapes, where was (the tech and cultural giant) television? But overall, this was an often dark, worthy book with a lot of lucid writing and good use of standard detective thriller story elements.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review - Gates of Hope by JE Hannaford

 

This is my first review of the SPFBO X competition finalists books. Gates of Hope by JE Hannaford is an engaging story with more than a dash of the fantasy epic about it. There is a deceptively large amount of world-building behind it within the land of Caldera. It is dominated by craters after an event called The Rending, in which people dwell in areas named semiclaves. Their world is bound up with the ancient history of the Aulirean Gates, and conflict with the race called awldrin, which sealed the gates closed. And beyond their settled areas, the Edgelands and threats like the dangerous flying xotryl creatures are encroaching 

It follows the viewpoints of three main characters. Darin is a young man who finds himself apprenticed as a So'Dal, an organisation of magical healers whose abilities centre around the use of special plants. However, he finds himself also bonded to a moonhound, enchanted beasts with the power to communicate telepathically and walk through dreams. And when Darin then finds himself involved with a hidden, elite group of men, his adventures truly begin. 

Suriin is also a young apprentice So'Dal on the same world. She must deal with the fate of her father who was unfortunately poisoned while on a journey. Suriin's impetuous nature and good intentions affect a difficult choice she must make. Lastly, the third POV character, Elissa, is from a separate world, Tebein, which has been harshly oppressed by the sinister race of the awldrin. Her decision to leave her harsh home community of DragonsBreath to join another society, based on harmony and understanding, has tragic but also, ultimately hopeful consequences. 

I found the magic system of Gates of Hope unusual, based as it is around music, dreams, plants, wefts and...whistles?! The story and characters are engaging, and the moments of youthful elation we experience with Suriin and Darin were some of the most enjoyable for me. But I also thought it could have done better with some more driving plot force and momentum. There were some sections that seemed a bit indulgently cosy, and rather a lot of time is spent on the characters' own inner thoughts and musings. Anyway, it's a promising start to a series.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐