Tag: 10 Rating

Kate’s Review: “Holly”

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Book: “Holly” by Stephen King

Publishing Info: Scribner, September 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

Review: It’s finally time for another Stephen King book!! He is and has been my favorite author, ever since I was in middle school, and I am so happy that not only has he continued to write and thrive, but that he’s expanded his stories and genres beyond horror. “Holly” is his newest, and I held off on it for a bit because I wanted to savor it. And once I dropped in, eager to read a new book about Holly Gibney, I had pretty high hopes. And not only were they met, they were exceeded.

I know that Holly Gibney is a bit of a polarizing figure amongst Stephen King fans. King has always had a tendency to have a favorite characters or settings that he likes to bring from story to story, whether it’s Randall Flagg or Castle Rock or Shawshank Prison or Danny Torrence, and Holly is that character right now. And I happen to love it, because I really, really love her as a fellow anxiety prone neurodivergent woman. I love seeing how much she has grown as a character since her debut in “Mr. Mercedes”, and how she has come into her own while still having the challenges that come with being who she is (this book takes place during the Delta wave of the COVID pandemic and man oh man was I like ‘yep, that’s exactly how I was during this time’ whenever she was stressing about groups, masks, and hygiene as she investigates). King places her front and center in this nearly five hundred page book, and she shines like a star as far as I’m concerned. She brings me so much joy through her complexity and quirkiness and tenacity. But King also fleshes out his supporting characters really well, whether it’s returning favorites like Jerome and Barbara Robinson, or new characters like the deeply, deeply sinister Roddy and Emily Harris, whose depravity and cruelty is hidden by a veneer of intelligence and seeming fragility due to their ages. I felt like I knew everything about them by the end of the book, and it chilled me to the very bone.

Which segues perfectly into the horror/thriller elements of this book. King slowly unfolds the grotesque and absolutely horrifying secrets that Roddy and Emily Harris are holding through flashbacks in time to their various victims, and while he doesn’t hold his cards to the vest too long in terms of what they are doing (I won’t spoil it), he still builds upon it in a way that makes for a slow and grueling revelation that really, really disturbed me. Holly Gibney has faced some really nefarious antagonists in her time as a character, but these two really took the cake. And that’s a steep order given that past villains Holly has dealt with include Brady Hartsfield and The Outsider. It is a really good device being able to see Holly slowly but surely piece together the disappearance of Bonnie Dahl and the tangled web and nasty turns that come with it, as a potential body count seemingly grows and she circles the most unexpected of criminals. Sure, I knew what was going on, but seeing Holly (and to extent Barbara and Jerome) play their parts in figuring it out was so enjoyable.

I also thought that King used the time and place of the Delta Wave of 2021 to a chilling and effective degree, as Holly’s mother has just died of COVID after refusing the vaccine which has sent Holly into mourning, and post January 6th anxieties are also still at play. I know some people got up in arms about how overtly political “Holly” seems to be, but I thought that King gave a really good explanation in his author’s notes as to why he felt like he wanted to go in this direction. It also helped contextualize how DIFFICULT everything was at this time, and how it could absolutely hinder this kind of investigation (and how dangerous people will hide their dangerous nature until they feel emboldened). It worked really well for me.

I loved “Holly”. It manages to balance absolutely horrifying beats with genuinely hopeful and endearing ones. It’s top tier King as far as I’m concerned.

Rating 10: I adored this book. It sent chills down my spine, really got under my skin, and also filled me with a certain joy.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Holly” is included on the Goodreads lists “Books That Gave Me Nightmares”, and “Horror 2023”.

Kate’s Review: “The Reformatory”

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Book: “The Reformatory” by Tananarive Due

Publishing Info: Gallery/Saga Press, October 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A gripping, page-turning novel set in Jim Crow Florida that follows Robert Stephens Jr. as he’s sent to a segregated reform school that is a chamber of terrors where he sees the horrors of racism and injustice, for the living, and the dead.

Gracetown, Florida
June 1950

Twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, a reformatory, for kicking the son of the largest landowner in town in defense of his older sister, Gloria. So begins Robbie’s journey further into the terrors of the Jim Crow South and the very real horror of the school they call The Reformatory.

Robbie has a talent for seeing ghosts, or haints. But what was once a comfort to him after the loss of his mother has become a window to the truth of what happens at the reformatory. Boys forced to work to remediate their so-called crimes have gone missing, but the haints Robbie sees hint at worse things. Through his friends Redbone and Blue, Robbie is learning not just the rules but how to survive. Meanwhile, Gloria is rallying every family member and connection in Florida to find a way to get Robbie out before it’s too late.

The Reformatory is a haunting work of historical fiction written as only American Book Award–winning author Tananarive Due could, by piecing together the life of the relative her family never spoke of and bringing his tragedy and those of so many others at the infamous Dozier School for Boys to the light in this riveting novel.

Review: After reading a few short stories by horror icon Tananarive Due in 2023, I told myself that I needed to finally pick up one of her novels. I don’t know why I haven’t, as she has always been on my radar. But for whatever reason it just never happened. When her newest novel “The Reformatory” came out, I bought myself a copy on my solo trip to Duluth. It took me a bit to get to it, as I had a stack of books to attend to and whenever I have a book that I have purchased I usually end up letting it sit a bit because of no deadline to read it. But then I did sit down and start reading. And my God. I was completely blown away by what I was reading. I was such a fool for waiting so long to pick it up. I was such a fool for waiting to pick up a book by Due. Because “The Reformatory” is magnificent.

The horror themes in this story are already top tier for me. I love ghosts in general, but I LOVED how Due brought in the folklore of Haints from the low country and the deep South of the United States (it’s been awhile since I’ve been to Savannah, Georgia, but one of the things that really stands out for me is how you see so many specific blue doors in a shade called Haint Blue, as it was thought to ward off Haints). Due really knows how to create terrifying moments in her pacing and descriptions, and with the tormented ghosts of dead children, who died at the hands of a racist and violent institution, being present and haunting said institution, it makes for a perfect metaphor as well as a great ghostly tale. It’s scary and nerve wracking and the high tension moments with the Haints were top tier horror. There were also the less focused on but certainly implied supernatural gifts of Robbie’s sister Gloria. While Robbie can see ghosts and communicate with them at least to a small degree, Gloria has her own talent of being able to get a sense of someone’s future if she is able to touch them or be near them. I am a complete sucker for both of these tropes, and I loved that Robbie and Gloria have different skills that they don’t necessarily want, but have to contend with.

But, unsurprisingly, it’s the realistic horrors of the Jim Crow South that really pack a wallop in “The Reformatory”, as both Robbie and Gloria are having to maneuver their way as Black people (children at that) through a deeply racist and violent society that has targets on their backs, not only because of their skin color, but because of their family name (as their father is on the run for a crime he didn’t commit that he was accused of because of his outspokenness). For Robbie, he is in what is essentially a prison as a child, for the audacious crime of kicking a white teenager who was harassing Gloria. Dozier School for Boys is run by a violent and sadistic warden, with dead children haunting the place that only Robbie can see. The brutal realities of the violent punishments are displayed in full, as Due basically tells the reader that they mustn’t look away from these real horrors that were committed about Black children, whether it’s torture, sexual assault, or murder. Dozier is a relentless prison that Robbie is barely surviving within, and seeing him and other detainees try to survive is enraging and devastating.

On the flip side is Gloria, who is determined to get Robbie out, and is trying to work through the justice system by reaching out to the NAACP, as well as well meaning (but at their heart ignorant) white people who may have the power to help, but have their own reservations. I thought that the dichotomy that Due showed between Robbie living in an overtly racist dangerous situation, and Gloria whose relentless pursuit for justice is putting her in just as much danger, while also displaying the everyday racism and dangers to Black people during this time and in this place. I also really appreciated how she not only took inspiration from her own family history, and also had in story versions of actual historical people, whether it was a reference to Thurgood Marshall or an actual interaction with Harry T. Moore. It’s so well done and so incredibly harrowing, and it’s an important reminder that even if Haints and psychic abilities aren’t real, the violent oppression against Black people at this time (and present times) was, and cannot and should not be washed away or forgotten.

“The Reformatory” is my first 10 Rating of 2024, and it has set an incredibly high bar for any and all books for the rest of the year. It’s phenomenal in every way. I never should have waited so long to read Tananarive Due. Expect more works by her this year, because I’m going to make up for lost time.

Rating 10: An astounding and horrifying horror novel whose darkest moments are less supernatural and more based in fact, “The Reformatory” is a knockout. Absolutely incredible.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Reformatory” is included on the Goodreads list “Popsugar 2024 #40 – A Horror Book Written by a BIPOC Author”, and “ATY 2024: Chilling Atmosphere”.

Serena’s Review: “Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands”

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Book: “Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands” by Heather Fawcett

Publishing Info: Del Rey, January 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publishers!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.
 
Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.
 
Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.
 
And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.
 
But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

Review: Here we are in a new year starting off with one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 right off the bat! And with a highly anticipated book always comes a bunch of nerves. What if the first book was a one-off?? What if the story takes a turn in a direction that I won’t like? What if I was slightly delirious when I read the first book and it was all in my head?? (Well, less so on that last one, as the first book was well received by pretty much everyone!). But, gentle reader, I am here to assuage your fears: not only did I enjoy this book as much as the first one, I think I liked it even more!

Now, given how much I liked the first one, that’s a pretty big claim to make. But I think it’s pretty easy to back up by simply going through what I liked in the first book and how well this book built upon and expanded on those original concepts. First of all with the world-building and fairy elements. While the first book follows Emily’s experiences out in the field, this book not only does the same (this time seeing her and Wendell off to the Austrian Alps) but we also get a brief look into her life as a professor on campus. The story only briefly stays in this location, but through these insights into her life as professor, we meet other important side characters, such as another professor who is a more senior member of the faculty, and a student assistant who bewilders Emily constantly. I really enjoyed these academic elements of the story. Yes, of course, the fairy stuff is the most exciting, but you can’t have academic fantasy without the “academic” stuff as well, and I was pleased to see this book lean into this aspect of the story.

Speaking of side characters, Emily and Wendell are not the only two off on the expedition to the Alps. The aforementioned professor and student tag along as well. Through this book and the first, it becomes clear that while Emily is a great character on her own, she’s at her best when bouncing off of other characters. Wendell is the main focal point, but I think that these other two characters also allowed Emily’s character to grow and expand as well. We see her struggle to connect to a colleague who approaches their shared work in a very different manner, forcing her to reflect on her own choices, recognizing which are strengths worth fighting for and which could do with a second glance. I also enjoyed watching her interaction with the young woman, Ariadne, her student. These interactions are as hilarious as you’d expect, especially in the light of the fact that it’s obvious that Emily herself probably presented many similar challenges to her own mentor.

I also really enjoyed the fairy elements. I remember mentioning in my review of the first book that I enjoyed how vicious the members of Fae were, something that you don’t always see. Here, we get even more of the same, from some truly frightening new creatures to a much larger exploration of some of the realms of Fae itself. There were moments where this book very much walked right up to the line of horror, which is such an odd thing to say about a book that also falls solidly within the “cozy fantasy” subgenre. Yes, bloodthirsty foxes with baby faces are “cozy!” You heard it here first.

The larger exploration of Fae also touches on another area of improvement in this book (again, this is all “improving” from a very high starting point to begin with.) Due to the nature of the first story, Emily ends up as a fairly passive character in the final section of that book. It works for that story and I didn’t have an problems with it there. But I was incredibly happy to see this book swap Emily and Wendell’s roles in this story, with Emily spending the majority of the book fighting to break a curse brought down upon Wendell. And in pursuit of this, she must enter Fae without him, putting to test all of her skills as a scholar and adventurer. There is so much great stuff in this final third of the book, but obviously I can’t get into much of it without falling into spoiler-y territory. It’s all action-packed, tense, and highlights just how awesome of a character Emily is! She’s smart, brave, and, of course, unintentionally hilarious!

And, lastly, the romance! Obviously, I loved everything we got from Emily and Wendell in the first book, but we get even more here. I was mildly curious how the book would manage the change in their relationship, but they and their interactions with each other are, at the same time, exactly as before and, of course, much further along in their relationship with one another. Each is still bewildered by the other, and their bumbling around within their own emotions is just as cute as you could imagine. There were several moments that were incredibly sweet, and I enjoyed Emily’s internal exploration of what it means to love and trust another in this way. This is just the sort of romance that I love to see in my fantasy stories.

I was so happy with this book! It really met every expectation I had built up in my head and exceeded my wildest dreams in many ways. High praise, but in this case, well earned.

Rating 10: Take the high that was reading the first book and somehow expand it a million times over! Absolutely brilliant in every way!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Fantasy Romance Releases January 2024 and Historical Romantic Fantasy

Serena’s Review: “Starling House”

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Book: “Starling House” by Alix E. Harrow

Publishing Info: Tor, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Review: This was a book I was always going to read. The cover is right up my alley, of course. But the description of the story with its references to gothic houses and brooding men was also ticking all of the right boxes. On top of all of that, this is the same author who wrote “The Ten Thousand Doors of January,” a book I absolutely adored. Now, all of that said, I was a bit concerned going in due to the fact that this is a contemporary fantasy novel set in our modern world. For whatever reason, I’m very picky about this subgenre of fantasy. But it’s also just a tall task to write a compelling story that introduces magical elements into a world that in every other way is the same as our own. One or the other often is lacking in believability, either the magic or the description of our current society, leading to a disjointed weave where neither element really works with the other. But, frankly, this book served as a relief and reassurance: there ARE contemporary fantasy novels out there that work for me!

There was so much to love about this book, but I think I have to start with the voice of the main character. Yes, the book is broken up between two POVs, but it is not an even split, with Opal narrating the majority of the book. I won’t go off again on my main rants about the success of failure of multi-POV books, but I will note that Harrow takes advantage of an approach that I think vastly helps in this endeavor, and one that is often overlooked by authors. Opal, the primary narrator, tells her story in first person, while Arthur’s chapters are told from third person. Such a simple solution, but one that makes them easily distinguishable from one another without falling into the common trap of writing two voices that sound nearly identical. Third person storytelling is also the dominant form of storytelling across genres for a reason in that it allows a greater lens of commentary and description of events and scenes. So using this method, we are centered in Opal’s very distinctive voice, but through Arthur’s chapters, we are given a wider view of the greater circumstances.

But let’s get back to Opal. First person is a hard writing style to tackle, and one that I feel few authors truly master, often feeling that many books would be elevated form the mundane to the more exceptional had a simple change of tense been employed. But Harrow proves here how successful first person storytelling can be when done right. Opal’s voice is fierce, unique, and so clearly her own from the very start that the reader will immediately feel as if they know the exact type of person narrating the story before many details are even revealed. What’s more, Opal’s narration is clearly that of a somewhat unreliable narrator, which I think is the only honest way to truly do first person narration. When a character can only evaluate people and events from the perspective of their own world-view, their understanding colored by their own insecurities and past experiences, OF COURSE their narration is unreliable! Such is Opal’s story, an honest, and at time heart breaking, look at the harsh realities of poverty and small town life, but one that is also told from the perspective a young woman who has fought every day to make a life for herself and her brother. Opal isn’t a perfect person, but her story is one of self-acceptance, and learning the true nature of trust and family. It’s bracing at times, but ultimately beautiful.

Arthur’s story also covers some deep themes, such as duty, responsibility, choice, and, similar to Opal, family and grief. Of course, tied between them is a lovely slow-burn romance of the exact variety that I prefer. Firstly, their relationship is secondary to the overall story. And secondly, it develops in a natural manner full of small, every day moments and delayed realizations. Beyond these two, the house itself played a very unexpected role. I definitely went into the book expecting a certain type of haunted house story, and while some of this held true, I was also surprised and very pleased with the nuance brought to the house itself. In many ways, it served as an important third character all on its own.

I also loved the setting and overall story. The pacing was steady and gripping from the very start, never once lulling or letting the reader free from its captivating grip. Pieces to the larger mystery are slowly unspooled, all while greater and greater tension brews in the looming conflict between the house, its caretakers, and those who exist beyond it. Every time I felt like I had a good grasp on exactly where this story was going, it would abruptly swerve into an entirely different lane. The end, especially, took a turn I wasn’t expecting at all, but ended up really enjoying.

Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s stayed with me every since I finished it, and it’s definitely been one of those “ruiner” reads where I’ve struggled picking up my next few books because my mind keeps drifting back to this one. This is the sort of book that I think will appeal to a wide range of readers. It is fantasy, of course, but it also has elements of horror and historical fiction. Beyond this, it delves deeply into themes of power, privilege, and rage, topics that I think will interest many readers. And, of course, any fans of Harrow’s work previously should definitely check this one out.

Rating 10: Haunting in the true sense of the word, this book will stick with you long after you’ve finished the last page.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Starling House” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Hansel and Gretel Stories

Serena’s Review: “Thornhedge”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Thornhedge” by T. Kingfisher

Publishing Info: Tor, August 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.

Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?

But nothing with fairies is ever simple.

Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…

Review: This is a story of great sadness and loss. Tragedy. Disappointment. No, no, not this book which, like all of Kingfisher’s novels that I’ve read so far, perfectly balances sweetness and sadness. No, this is the story of how out of all the authors attending ALA this past June, the one I was most excited to meet was T. Kingfisher. I even brought along my hardback copy of “Nettle and Bone” to get it signed. And then, the day that she was scheduled for a signing, I found out that she had to cancel. Tearing of garments, I tell you! But at least I did manage to get a hardcover copy of “A House with Good Bones.” Anyways, enough about all of that and on to the review!

So, shocking no one, I loved this book! The last two that I’ve read by Kingfisher definitely fell closer to the horror genre than to fantasy (hence why both previous reviews were buddy reads with Kate!). But my love affair with this author started with “Nettle and Bone” which has a definite fairytale vibe to it. So I was super excited when I saw that she was returning to fairytale fantasies with this one. What’s more, it’s a twisted fairytale where the focus is not on the princess sleeping in the tower, but on the “evil fairy” who cast her into that cursed sleep.

I always love it when authors take a well-known story and twist it like this, and Kingfisher is a master at her craft. Not only does she tackle “Sleeping Beauty,” but the story also contains references to changeling folklore and “The Frog Prince.” These stories are all woven together so expertly that, while familiar, the entire story feels fresh and new. What’s more, per the author’s usual, while the story is sweet and heartfelt, there are also moments of true terror and suspense. Honestly, more so than I was expecting! Once you start getting into some of the history that Toadling has lived through and realize the true stakes of the situation…oof!

I also really liked the exploration of love, especially familial love. Toadling’s life obviously took a major turn when she was stolen away as a baby by the Fae. But instead of living a cursed life, she finds a new family in water beings that others would look at and call monsters. I loved the sweet, honest depiction of how these ties form and how they defy any attempts at definitions or limitations. Beyond that, we also get an interesting look into the limits and depths of parental love with regard to the cursed princess. I don’t want to go into many spoilers, but for such a short book, I think Kingfisher really honed in on the darker side of parenting, and the way certain strengths in a parent can, at times, become weaknesses.

Toadling herself is also an incredibly sympathetic and likable character. So much of her life is chosen for her, and yet, at every turn, she’s constantly trying to do her best, even when she is asked to do things that are quite difficult and unfair burdens to be placed on her shoulders. Much of this story is her slowly taking back control of her own choices and what life she wants to lead. There is also an incredibly sweet romance sprinkled throughout.

I loved everything about this book. For such a short story, it really did manage to pull on nearly every emotion. I was laughing, I was crying, I was genuinely horrified by some of the imagery. Fans of Kingfisher will adore this, and if you’re not a fan of her already, boy, do I have a gift for you!

Rating 10: Kingfisher tackles the sometimes trite “beauty is on the inside” concept and puts together a work of art that proves that who we are is what we choose to fight for.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Thornhedge” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2023.

Kate’s Review: “Delicate Condition”


This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Delicate Condition” by Danielle Valentine

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, August 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received and ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Anna Alcott is desperate to be pregnant. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. And even when she finally manages to get pregnant, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone’s playing a twisted game with her.

When the increasingly cryptic threats drive her out of her Brooklyn brownstone and into hiding in the cold, gray ghost town that is the Hamptons in the depths of winter, Anna is almost at the end of her rope.

Then her doctor tells her she’s had a miscarriage—except Anna’s convinced she’s still pregnant, despite everything the grave-faced men around her claim. Could it be that her mind is playing tricks on her? Or is something more sinister at play? As her symptoms become ever more horrifying and the sense of danger ever more present, Anna can’t help but wonder what exactly she’s carrying inside of her…and why no one will listen when she says something is horribly, painfully wrong.

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Perhaps you have noticed, readers, that we are getting a fair amount of horror books centered around pregnancy and motherhood as of late. Which shouldn’t come as a shock to any well versed and in touch horror reader, given that horror trends tend to like to tap into social anxieties that are going on at the time. And seeing as reproductive rights have been getting struck down and attacked in the United States ever since Roe v Wade fell, it’s just par for the course, anxiety wise. “Delicate Condition” by Danielle Valentine is the newest entry to this sub genre, and it already has a bit of hype going in because it is going to be the inspiration for the new “American Horror Story” season coming out later this year. With all these things swirling around in my mind, I dove into this book, eager to see the directions it went. And I really, really loved it.

“Delicate Condition” has gotten a lot of comparisons to “Rosemary’s Baby”, one of the earliest pregnancy horror tales that really captured the mainstream consciousness, but it tweaks and twists it into something far more powerful. There are so many themes that Valentine addresses when it comes to pregnancy, reproduction, motherhood, and misogyny that on paper it would seem like too much to have to juggle. But it is all done so well. We have Anna, an actress in her late thirties whose career has just had a massive windfall right when she is trying to start a family with her husband Dex, and who has been unable to get pregnant thus far and has started IVF treatments. Already we have so much to work with. For one, we have the woman who wants to have a career and is proud of it but now wants to have a family as well, and feels torn between two desires that seem to compete with each other. We also have the frustrations and heartbreak of infertility that has no explanation, and pregnancy loss, and the stresses and trauma around that. We ALSO have the themes of how the medical field can feel somewhat dismissive and callous when it comes to Anna and her infertility (with notes and acknowledgements that it is even worse for BIPOC women and non gender conforming people), and then her actual pregnancy struggles (more on that in a bit), with her doctors being condescending at times and at other times straight up rude or hostile. On top of all of THAT, Anna is also possibly contending with a stalker, and as that starts to ramp up and even seemingly focus on her pregnancy, her fear is written off as stress or paranoia or hormones by most everyone around her. It captures the real life horrors of the way that people treat and view women, be they pregnant or trying to become pregnant or already mothers, and it made my blood boil.

And then there are the more, shall we say, supernatural horrors of Anna’s pregnancy in this story. Early in her pregnancy Anna seems to have a miscarriage, but as time goes on something is still growing inside of her. Her doctors are unwilling to believe that this is anything outside of a hysterical pregnancy at first, but as time goes on she is clearly pregnant, though her symptoms go from run of the mill to extreme nightmare fuel. I loved how Valentine tackled this, as all of the things that Anna experiences, like hair loss, and skin issues, and pain, these are all things that do actually happen to pregnant women, just to the nth degree. And as these things happen, once again they are dismissed as just normal things an she is basically told to take a Tylenol and drink some water. Even as someone is clearly following her. Even as she is having visions of talons trying to cut through her body. It’s exaggerated, but again, boy does it reflect the actual horrors of pregnancy. I was especially sympathetic to all of the ‘just take Tylenol and rest’ bits, given that early in my own pregnancy (which was generally pretty uncomplicated and easy) I had such bad cramping that I called the generic nurses line and was just told to take a Tylenol and drink more water. I ended up fainting from the pain. It all turned out fine, but in that moment being told to just drink more water and take a painkiller that did NOTHING was stressful and confusing. So as I was reading all of these things that are depicted as a body horror tale, knowing FULL WELL that a lot of it is really something that pregnant people deal with, even if it’s to a less degree, I was just super, super impressed.

And finally, there is also the way that Valentine brings together a broader story of other women throughout the centuries who are dealing with a similar thing that Anna is dealing with. We get cut scenes and vignettes of women who are pregnant, or have just given birth, or are trying to become pregnant, who are having the same weird encounters, visions, experiences, and horrors that Anna is encountering. It’s all pretty vague and mysterious, but it is done in a way that when Valentine does eventually weave it all together, it fits so well that I just blew my mind. I’m not going to spoil anything here because I just loved the execution and I loved the ultimate reveal as to what exactly is happening. What I will say is while “Rosemary’s Baby” is an obvious comparison that people will know, there is so much more going on, and not everything is as obvious as it seems.

I really loved “Delicate Condition”. It’s another great pregnancy and motherhood related horror tale that cuts to the bone.

Rating 10: A feminist reimagining of “Rosemary’s Baby” themes with a lot of bones to pick with those who discount the experiences of pregnant people, “Delicate Condition” is a perfect read to reflect the horrors of pregnancy, and the culture that touts it as uncomplicated while ignoring its darkness.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Delicate Condition” is new and isn’t included on any Goodreads lists of of now. But if you liked “Graveyard of Lost Children” or “Rosemary’s Baby” this would probably be a good book for you.

Kate’s Review: “Night’s Edge”

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Book: “Night’s Edge” by Liz Kerin

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, June 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Liz Kerin’s Night’s Edge is a sun-drenched novel about the darkest secrets we hide and how monstrous we can be to the ones we love most.

Having a mom like Izzy meant Mia had to grow up fast. No extracurriculars, no inviting friends over, and definitely no dating. The most important Tell no one of Izzy’s hunger – the kind only blood can satisfy.

But Mia is in her twenties now and longs for a life of her own. One where she doesn’t have to worry about anyone discovering their terrible secret, or breathing down her neck. When Mia meets rebellious musician Jade she dares to hope she’s found a way to leave her home – and her mom – behind.

It just might be Mia’s only chance of getting out alive.

Review: Thank you to Tor Nightfire and Wunderkind PR for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Vampires hold near and dear places in my horror heart, though I am very picky about the way these stories are told. I’m glad that we are kind of past the ‘vampires as super romantic supernatural lovers’ stories from the early 2000s, just as I am always glad to see creators mine within the numerous metaphors you can take from this specific horror tale. So I was very interested when “Night’s Edge” by Liz Kerin ended up in my mailbox for a few reasons. The first is that Tor Nightfire is pretty damn reliable when it comes to horror fiction, so any title they have is sure entertain. The second is that the description is very much a mother/daughter tale, with darker “Rapunzel”-esque implications. And the third is that any unique take on vampires is going to catch my attention. Boy, was did this book live up to my interest and expectations. “Night’s Edge” is fantastic, scary, and heartbreaking.

First off, the vampire (known as Saras) world building is superb in this book. Kerin takes some of the bare bones of vampire mythos (blood thirst, vulnerability to the sun and various elements) and sends them through the lens of a modern disease that has changed and terrified modern real world societies. We get a fabulous background of the Sara epidemic in a very easy to follow and engaging info drop through the eyes of Mia, a young woman whose mother Izzy has been infected and turned into a being that relies on blood to survive, and we get some good explanations as to how a society would have to adapt to dealing with Saras, usually in ways that would isolate them away and are potentially punitive (ie scanned for it before being able to enter a building, or being sent away to facilities that are secretive and perhaps more like prisons). It makes it so that you can absolutely understand why a person like Izzy, who is a single mom with a child who depends on her, would want to hide her condition, and how hiding it makes her life and Mia’s life that much more difficult, stressful, and dangerous, especially as Mia gets older and starts to come into her own. We get the vampire goods with this approach, but we also get to see it within the context of modern society that is trying to grapple with it, and that has led to more problems as more and more Saras start to become angry, isolated, and feral due to their inability to properly feed and keep themselves under control. Think “True Blood” if the fake blood supplement never came to be.

And it’s really the mother daughter dynamic between Izzy and Mia that brings out all the complicated and heart wrenching feelings in “Night’s Edge”. Izzy was changed into a Sara by a crappy boyfriend named Devon, whose poisonous influence on her could be due to his Sara nature where he’s trying to survive and has turned hardened and cynical… or it could be that he’s just another shithead dude who mistreats the women in his life (I feel like it’s probably the latter). And even after they leave Devon behind (though these shitty guys just won’t stay away, will they?), her being a Sara has transformed and damaged her relationship with Mia because Mia has to give up so much to keep Izzy safe, and Izzy doesn’t seem very grateful. She has to keep other people at arm’s length lest they find out at rat them out. She can’t live a normal life on her own due to the reliance her mother has on her. And, most grotesque of all, she has to give Izzy blood from her body every night to keep her from going fully feral. The codependency is there, but the emotional abuse is apparent as well. I love how I completely feel awful for Izzy because she had no say in this. BUT, at the same time, Kerin makes no excuses for the way she manipulates her daughter to keep herself safe and comfortable without thinking about the sacrifices, like LITERAL BLOODLETTING, her child is making for her. It’s so complex and so upsetting and you root for Mia so much, especially as she starts to want more for herself when she meets the charismatic musician Jade, but also has no idea how to function without her mom. It just killed me as I was reading it, especially since I am a mother with a daughter and this kind of thing just cuts to the bone a little more these days.

AND THERE IS GOING TO BE A SEQUEL! Which is good, because this ends on a note that was a sucker punch, but also opens up the door for more. And I can’t wait to see where Kerin takes the next phase of this story, because “Night’s Edge” is phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. READ THIS BOOK!

Review 10: A visceral, scary, and devastating story about vampires, toxic relationships, codependency, and mothers and daughters that hit me right in the feelings over and over again.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Night’s Edge” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward To in 2023”.

Serena’s Review: “Witch King”

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Book: “Witch King” by Martha Wells

Publishing Info: Tor, May 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: “I didn’t know you were a… demon.”
“You idiot. I’m the demon.”
Kai’s having a long day in Martha Wells’ Witch King….

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.

Review: While I’m not up-to-date with Martha Well’s current, very popular “Murderbot” series, I am a big fan of her in general. I read all of her “Books of Raksura” series a decade or so ago, for example. As with many SFF authors, it can become quite intimating to start up on a long-running series, regardless of how much one likes the author in general. So when I saw that she was releasing a stand-alone fantasy novel, I jumped on the opportunity to get back to reading her work. Let’s dive in!

After awakening from his own murder, Kai is fairly disturbed. As a demon, changing bodies is not pleasant, but it is manageable. What’s more worrying is the loss of time and the changing political movements of the world at large. With generations of lives making up his own long life-span, Kai is dependent on the few allies he has who have also experienced both his past and his present. But now they, too, are missing, and Kai is desperate not only to find them but to uphold a promise made long ago.

Brandon Sanderson is indisputably the current master of fantasy world-building. But I think what is not acknowledged is Martha Wells’ dynasty as a master of original character work. Not only are all of her characters enfolded in complex, layered arcs in each of their books, but she also has a real skill at writing non-human protagonists that, none the less, reflect very human challenges, joys, and sorrows but through very unique angles. The “Murderbot” series is an obvious example, but the series I read about a decade ago also featured an entire world “peopled” by alien creatures without a humanoid in sight (that I remember at least). And here, in this book, Wells is back at it, presenting us not only with Kai, a demon, but with an entire society built up around various peoples, many humanoid but not quite human either.

But, of course, Kai is our main character. And while some of the typical lore around demons is touched on, it is clear early on that Kai is not the sort of demon we are familiar with. Instead, his kind have formed a symbiotic pact with a group of human people where both societies benefit from the intermingling of their kind. But, through a series of flashbacks seen throughout the book, a powerful and ruthless new group of magic users began a marching conquest of the known world that resulted in the decimation not only of demon kind but also of the many peoples who make up this world.

The use of these flashbacks was incredibly effective, though I will say they highlight another crucial aspect of Wells’ writing style. She’s definitely of those high fantasy authors who creates incredibly complex and nuanced worlds and just plops her readers down right in the middle of the action. You basically have to be comfortably not understanding everything you’re currently reading on the page. Instead, the joy is found in trusting that understanding will come, and it will come in a very specifically constructed and directed manner laid out by the author. In this book, as the story is about a being who has lived for generations, these flashbacks do a lot of work to really set up the stakes of the current situation. Not only the history behind the current political upheaval, but also the relationships Kai has formed with his small band of allies, all of whom we slowly meet throughout the story.

The writing and plotting is also incredibly tight. There were moments when I was laughing out loud at the dialogue and Kai’s distinctly unhuman manner of looking at the world. But then there would be heart-wrenching scenes that perfectly highlighted that while not all of these characters are human, they still experience the same sense of love and betrayal, hope and despair. The pace was steady and even throughout the story, and I enjoyed the themes of found family, trust, and the struggle of individual cultures and peoples when facing a powerful enemy. Overall, I can’t recommend this book enough to SFF readers. It’s definitely not an “entry level” story, but if you’re a fantasy fan who enjoys slowly building an understanding of a world and story, than this is the perfect book for you!

Rating 10: A sprawling world and history to explore alongside the best grumpy, snark demon I can imagine!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Witch King” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Books of 2023

Kate’s Review: “Graveyard of Lost Children”

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Book: “Graveyard of Lost Children” by Katrina Monroe

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, May 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Once she has her grip on you, she’ll never let you go.

At four months old, Olivia Dahl was almost murdered. Driven by haunting visions, her mother became obsessed with the idea that Olivia was a changeling, and that the only way to get her real baby back was to make a trade with the “dead women” living at the bottom of the well. Now Olivia is ready to give birth to a daughter of her own…and for the first time, she hears the women whispering.

Everyone tells Olivia she should be happy. She should be glowing, but the birth of her daughter only fills Olivia with dread. As Olivia’s body starts giving out, slowly deteriorating as the baby eats and eats and eats, she begins to fear that the baby isn’t her daughter at all and, despite her best efforts, history is repeating itself.

Soon images of a black-haired woman plague Olivia’s nightmares, drawing her back to the well that almost claimed her life―tying mother and daughter together in a desperate cycle of fear and violence that must be broken if Olivia has any hope of saving her child…or herself.

Baby Teeth meets The Invited in a haunting story of the sometimes-fragile connection between a woman’s sense of self and what it means to be a “good” mother.

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

The second night in the hospital after my daughter was born, I have a stark memory of calling the nurse in the middle of the night because the kid just wouldn’t stop crying. I wasn’t having any luck with breastfeeding so we were relying on formula to be brought to the room, and they were taking their sweet time while my daughter was in hysterics. Eventually they showed up with formula, and then after she was fed and still screaming they swaddled her up nice and tight, and put on a lullaby, and she was quiet again. Both my husband and myself burst into tears, and this was our WHAT HAVE WE FUCKING DONE? moment of early parenthood. Luckily, it basically only went up from there, as we had an awesome support system in place from our family, friends, and various supportive and affirming medical professionals (never mind that four months later COVID hit and the world shut down, at least it waited until after the fourth trimester was over!). I was having flashbacks to this one vividly awful night as I was reading “Graveyard of Lost Children” by Katrina Monroe, a horror story so evocative and unrelenting and in some ways SO REAL that it overtook me and really, really unnerved me while also breaking my heart. Sure, there are definitely supernatural elements in this book. But it’s also about the horrors of early motherhood and postpartum depression/anxiety/psychosis, which are all too real horrors.

The narrative is told through two different perspectives. The first is that of Olivia, a brand new mother to a baby named Flora, whose own family history involved her teen mother Shannon trying to kill her at four months by throwing her down a well. While Olivia had no contact with Shannon and has found herself in a loving marriage to her wife Kris, Flora’s birth kickstarts a lot of fears and anxieties. The second is the first person perspective of Shannon herself, and follows her pregnancy and the months leading up to Olivia’s attempted murder. Throughout these timelines both women are seeing and hearing visions of a Black Haired Woman, which leads them to self loathing, paranoia, and delusions about their respective babies. I loved seeing both perspectives, and felt like I got to know both women very, very well as their stories went on, so by the time the two storylines were coming together they melded well and I fully believed how they were shaking out. The slow burn of suspense involving the Black Haired Woman, starting with whispers and intuition and evolving into something more visceral and terrifying, was so well done and so effective that it can stand with any of the ghost story titans while being a well done metaphor for postpartum mental illness. There are so many moments that freaked me out, and so many reveals that genuinely surprised me, and Monroe really knows how to create not only a very unsettling ghost/supernatural being, but also how to create very real human characters who have edges, baggage, and many complex sides to them. Every beat hits effectively and perfectly.

But it’s the little things that turn into big things and the cultural and misogynistic things that really set me on edge as I read this book. We see the new mother experiences of Olivia and Shannon as the story goes on, and see the ways that they are chipped away at and torn to shreds even when it ISN’T the Black Haired Woman doing the damage. For Olivia, it’s the constant comparison between her experience and the experiences of other new mothers, as the transition for her is difficult and exhausting when it seems seamless and easy for others. Or it’s the fact that her wife Kris is loving and tries to be supportive, but still has to prioritize work due to a crappy family leave policy and is gone a lot and just doesn’t GET it. Or it’s that breastfeeding for Olivia is awful and painful, but the narrative is ‘breast is best’ makes her feel like a failure and pushes her to push through the pain, even when it’s too much. Or it’s medical professionals who are dismissive and flippant when she raises concerns. And seeing Shannon’s experience as a teen mother in a conservative household in the 1980s, which has her met with outright hostility from her community and even her own mother, and sees the way that OTHER young unwed mothers were treated when she is made to work in a home for unwed mothers, well….. It really shows that this whole idea of ‘motherhood is a blessing’ can be absolute poison to struggling women who aren’t experiencing it as the miracle it is supposed to be. Or, even worse, are punished for it because they did it outside of an acceptable circumstance. The Black Haired Woman is definitely a villainess in this story, but the other villain is the unsupportive culture our society has towards mothers, and how mothers are supposed to just grin and bear it because the baby is more important. And that’s only compounded further if a mother has mental health issues to boot (Andrea Yates comes to mind). The Black Haired Woman is a metaphor for PPD/PPA/PPP, but she thrives in environments that Olivia and Shannon had to live within. And that is what really got to me.

“Graveyard of Lost Children” is outstanding and gut wrenching horror. I absolutely loved it, even as it tore my heart out of my chest. DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS BOOK. Get it, even if the topics are hard to handle.

Rating 10: Searing, devastating, harrowing and scary as hell. “Graveyard of Lost Children” is magnificent.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Graveyard of Lost Children” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2023”.

Year of Sanderson: “Mistborn: The Final Empire”

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“Year of Sanderson” is an on-going, monthly series that will post on the last Friday of each month in which I will cover various Brandon Sanderson-related things. This will largely be comprised of book reviews (some from his back catalog and some from the books being released this year), as well as assorted other topics like reviews of the items in the swag boxes that will be coming out as part of Sanderson’s Kickstarted campaign. Frankly, we’ll just have to see what we get from this series, very much like the Kickstarter itself!

Book: “Mistborn: The Final Empire” by Brandon Sanderson

Publishing Info: Tor Fantasy, 2006

Where Did I Get this Book: own it!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Review: While “Elantris” was the first book that Sanderson published, he really took off with the release of his “Mistborn” trilogy. One funny note now looking back, when the books were first released, this first book was very prominently labeled “Mistborn” as its title. I can’t remember if the subtitle “The Final Empire” was even on the cover? But in later years, the trilogy itself is labeled the “Mistborn” trilogy and this first book has been re-released with various covers and “The Final Empire” made more prominent. Indeed, Goodreads lists “The Final Empire” as the title outright, which I always find immediately confusing until I do a double-take. Anyways, on with the review!

Vin, a young woman who has grown up on the streets, has no expectations from life. Indeed, if she must expect something, it’s that everyone is using one another and will betray you for the barest scrap of advantage. So when she is approached by Kel, a man with powerful abilities, a gang of misfits, and a dream of revolution, she is wary to the say the least. But Kel has abilities that haven’t been seen in this world for years, so much so that he has hopes of challenging the tyrannical Lord Ruler himself. As Vin begins to trust Kel’s vision of the future, she discovers that she, too, is much more powerful than she had every imagined.

This book is the worst! Ha, no! I’m just very aware that I’m writing a review for a book that is almost twenty years old and is massively popular within the fantasy genre. Many reviews have come before mine, and there’s probably nothing original under the sun to be said of this book, so if anyone is looking for a novel take from me, you’re probably going to be disappointed. Instead, I’m here to parrot the same old lines that fantasy fans have been saying for years now: this book is an astonishing work of fantasy craftmanship on its own and an almost unbelievable precursor for the books that would follow, not only in this trilogy but in the larger Cosmere universe itself. It’s honestly kind of astonishing. Not only does this book stand on its own, but reading it now, after years and multitudes of additional books have been added to this universe, there’s no evidence of it buckling under that weight or feeling like a lesser entity that was still an author growing into what he was to become. No, this book feels fully realized and polished on its own.

It’s also just a super fun story. For one thing, all of the characters are so incredibly likable. This, perhaps, does make it feel the most like a relic of the past, but I think that says something more negative about our current fantasy climate than anything else. Nowadays, so many fantasy books that come out are clearly suffering from the “G.R.R. Martin” effect: they must be overbearingly grim and all characters must be tormented, brooding, and generally pessimistic. Somehow it’s come to be thought that any fantasy novel that is optimistic or features characters who laugh and can enjoy life at all must mean that the world is “unbelievable” and “unrealistic.” What does that even mean?? Looking around at the actual “real world,” I’d say any person trying to recreate it using only paint brushes loaded with the most grim parts of the human experience are failing pretty badly at depicting “reality.”

All of this to say, Sanderson highlights how you can write epic fantasies that can have stakes, can have grim, dark aspects, but can also have characters who are fun to read about, who experience joy and wonder at the fantastical parts of their lives, who are generally people that one enjoys reading about. Kel and Vin are incredible characters. Vin, in particular, is probably one of my all-time favorite fantasy leading ladies. Her journey throughout this trilogy is impressive, and in this book, she highlights how the whole “mentor trains newbie in the ways of magic” storyline can still feel fresh and new.

Beyond the characters, this story also highlights Sanderson’s skills at action. It’s well-known that he creates incredible magic systems, but I don’t think that alone would stand-out as much as it does if it wasn’t for how he leverages those magic systems into incredible action sequences. Reading descriptions of how Kel and Vin use their ability to “burn” metals to fling themselves through the air and whip weapons to and fro across a room is simply breathtaking.

Honestly, how this hasn’t already been adapted into a TV show is beyond me. This book has all the elements of a stand-out hit: a large cast of interesting characters, fast-paced action, political maneuvering, disguises, romance, tragedy! It’s all there. I know the entire “Cosmere” universe has had its rights sold, but still, where’s the active development already?? Honestly, I could probably rave about this book all day long, but at a certain point it would simply boil down to me just saying “wow” over and over again. Reading this again, it’s no wonder that Sanderson went on to be the fantasy powerhouse that he now is. It was all there right from the beginning, and “Mistborn” is the perfect example of fantasy at its best.

Rating 10: Perhaps the rare example of how a book that was once fantastic on its own has grown to represent the true might of its author from the very beginning.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Mistborn: The Final Empire” is on these Goodreads lists: Most Interesting Magic System and Best “Strong Female” Fantasy Novels.