The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso

On May 30, 2018July 5, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Five-Star Books, LGBT+16 Comments

Publisher: Orbit

Australian Publication Date – 24 April 2018

World Publication Date – 19 April 2018

Melissa Caruso follows up her extraordinary debut with another unmissable magical adventure.

On the continent of Eruvia lies the Serene Empire of Raverra. Ruled by the Doge and the Council of Nine, the Empire’s power comes from its mages, the legendary Falcon Army. When a mage comes to power in the lands of Raverra, they are conscripted as a Falcon and bound to a Falconer, a non-mage who can choose to unleash or bind their Falcon’s power with a word.

However, the Serene Empire is not the only great power on Eruvia. To the north lies the mysterious nation of Vaskandar, controlled by a dangerous group of mages known as the Witch Lords. Each Witch Lord is a powerful vivomancer whose magic grants them control over all living beings, such as animals, plants and even humans. After years of peace, several of the Witch Lords desire additional territory and are preparing for war against the Serene Empire. Large forces of soldiers and the Vaskandar’s dreaded chimeras amass on the border while covert attacks are undertaken against the Serene Empire’s most powerful Falcons. But before the Vaskandar can formally declare war, all seventeen Witch Lords must meet in a conclave to agree to a course of action.

Lady Amalia Cornaro is heir to one of the oldest and most powerful families in all of the Serene Empire. Formerly a sheltered academic, her life dramatically changed when she was accidently bonded to the rebellious teenage runway Zaira, a rare and destructive fire warlock and the most powerful mage in the Empire. Despite a turbulent and resentful start to their relationship, Amalia and Zaira have come to a mutual understanding following their adventures in the city of Ardence.

As the tension between the two nations increases, Amalia and Zaira are sent as a military deterrent to the border province of Callamourne, ruled by Amalia’s grandmother. Despite their presence, it quickly becomes apparent that forces are conspiring to bring the war to pass, especially with spies and assassins targeting Amalia and Zaira directly. Determined to maintain the peace, Amalia knows that the only way to prevent the war is to infiltrate Vaskandar and attend the conclave on behalf of the Serene Empire.

Entering Vaskandar is a dangerous proposition. Each Witch Lord has their own territory which they rule absolutely thanks to a mysterious bond to the land that allows them to control all living creatures within their boundaries. In addition, Amalia already has powerful enemies among the Witch Lords. The deadly Lady of Thorns holds a grudge against her entire family, and Amalia and Zaiara have experience with the machinations of the Skinwitch Ruven, whose plot could cause great destruction.

Their only hope to influence the conclave may come from the mysterious Crow Lord, who has taken an interest in Amalia. However, the Crow Lord is playing his own game, and Amalia and Zaira are the perfect pawns.

Melissa Caruso is a relatively new fantasy author whose first book in the Swords and Fire series, The Tethered Mage, was released in late 2017. The Defiant Heir is a direct sequel to this, and is set a few months after.

The Tethered Mage was one of the surprising hits of last year. What started out as an intriguing sounding fantasy novel turned into one of the most exciting and memorable debuts of 2017 and proved near impossible to put down. Caruso maintains this trend of excellent writing in The Defiant Heir, which continues to the provide the same great characters, fantasy adventure, worldbuilding and amazing story writing that made her first book such an irresistible read.

Caruso has chosen to expand her fantasy world in The Defiant Heir by detailing the nation of Vaskandar and focusing on its rulers, the Witch Lords. While Vaskandar was mentioned and one of nation’s vivomancers, Prince Ruven, was a secondary antagonist, this area of her world wasn’t really explored in the first book. For this book, Vaskandar is a major location and the protagonists spend a large portion of the story within its boundaries. As a result, Caruso has produced a significant amount of fascinating lore about this country, especially when it comes to the Witch Lords. The focus on the Witch Lords is particularly interesting as Caruso has developed complex backstories, powers, plots and motivations for many of them, which adds immensely to the story. In addition, despite the fact that they all study the same branch of the magic, each of the Witch Lords has their own speciality and their appearance and abilities are different as a result. This is especially noticeable during the numerous magical duels that occur throughout the book, where these differences allow for a wider variety of magical action. It is also quite fun when the various Witch Lords use their powers to show off with memorable entrances and appearances during the opening scenes of the conclave.

Readers should also keep an eye out for Caruso’s focus on character development within The Defiant Heir for the two main characters. Amalia’s growth is the most significant, as circumstances force her to become a more savvy and decisive political player, very much like her mother. As a result, she is forced to make a number of tough decisions and struggles to maintain her morality in a harsh world where her options are becoming more and more limited. There is also the growing realisation that her position may not allow her to have the personal life she wants, and this greatly affects her relationship with the dashing Captain Marcello, the main love interest of the first book. This is a well done bit of character development that will draw the reader in emotionally, especially when it comes to Amalia’s most significant decision in the book.

Zaira’s development is more subtle, as she is not the book’s narrator, and is mostly a continuation of the transformation from inverted loner to team player that started in The Tethered Mage. However, it is more realistic to see that this growth is a slow process, and her stubbornness is not automatically fixed in the span of one book. The same could be said about the satisfying but gradual development in the relationship between the main characters.

Melissa Caruso once again shows why she is one of the brightest new stars in the fantasy fiction. The Defiant Heir is an outstanding continuation of her first series that introduces significant and exiting lore to her already intriguing universe while providing significant development to her main characters. If you haven’t already discovered the magic of Caruso’s Swords and Fire series, you are in for a serious treat.

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Pandora’s Boy by Lindsey Davis

On May 30, 2018November 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery23 Comments

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date – 5 April 2018

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Ancient Rome’s premier female detective returns in the latest Flavia Albia mystery from veteran historical crime author Lindsey Davis.

Rome, 89 AD. Flavia Albia, the daughter of the legendary investigator Falco, is now a proficient private investigator and informant in her own right. When the ex-wife of her husband, Tiberius, brings a case of family drama to her, Flavia is tempted to refuse, but when Tiberius disappears she needs a distraction.

The case revolves around a teenaged girl found dead in the prosperous Quirinal Hill district of Rome. The girl, Clodia, was the apparent victim of a poisoned love potion, and her parents and grandparents are blaming each other for her death. What begins as a simple investigation quickly becomes complicated when the witch accused of supplying the potion turns out to be the sister of the city’s biggest crime boss. No-one is talking, and everyone in the Quirinal Hill has a secret.

Flavia is forced to seek the truth from a variety of people, including warring grannies, concerned parents, criminal lawyers, secretive slaves, a lettuce salesman with an interesting religious statue and, worst of all, the overprivileged offspring of Rome’s elite. However, as Flavia’s investigation continues and a friend of hers dies, it soon becomes apparent that a vicious gang war is imminent. Can Flavia solve the crime without getting caught in the crossfire, especially when she has a terrible history with one of the gangs?

Pandora’s Boy is the sixth book in the Flavia Albia series, which acts as a direct sequel series to Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco series. Davis is one of the most prolific authors of historical whodunits and has a particular focus on novels set in ancient Rome. For example, her Marcus Didius Falco series contains 20 books, and she has produced some stand-alone books set in the same period.

Like the previous books in the Flavia Albia series, Pandora’s Boy takes a contemporary look at Roman culture and lifestyles. The inhabitants of Davis’ books act in a very modern way despite their ancient surroundings, and this results in a very humorous interpretation of the ancient Roman characters. Davis also uses this book to parody a specific group in modern society: the millennials. Throughout the story, Flavia is forced to follow, interview and generally endure the victim’s friends, who are the offspring of the city’s rich and powerful. These friends are exceedingly selfish, have sordid love lives and get into all sorts of mischief. In other words, they act in a very similar way to how modern day millennials are often perceived and portrayed. Their appearance is quite jarring in the ancient Roman setting and leads to a lot of the books humour. In all, it is a fun, quirky addition, and an amusing examination of modern society through very ancient eyes.

The core of the book is the death of a young woman and its investigation by the main character. This is a well-done mystery that takes many twists and turns to keep the attention of the reader. Flavia’s investigation is done through interviews, trickery, observations and undercover work, and, like many other parts of the book, is infused with Davis’ trademark humour. The investigation is wrapped up in a final scene that is a throwback to classic murder mystery dénouements. All the interested parties are gathered together in one place and the investigator reveals their conclusions, eventually leading to their solution to the crime. Davis provides a perfect parody of this, infused with her own unique touch. As a result, there are several jokes about this well-used literary device, including discussions around the necessary prep work and tricks to keep the gathered parties’ concentration of the speaker that will greatly amuse many murder mystery buffs.

One of the more diverting and memorable aspects of the Flavia Albia series is Davis’ tendency to include big action sequences that devolve into near absurdity and provide some of the best laughs in the entire book. For example, in Davis’ previous book, The Third Nero, the climactic scene was a battle in the heart of Rome that featured, among other things, a war elephant, Parthian cataphracts and one of the most improbable chase sequences in all of fiction. While nothing will quite top this, Davis has striven to include one such scene in Pandora’s Boy, featuring an interrupted séance, an all-out brawl between legionnaires and Vigiles at a collapsing temple, all of which serves as a backdrop to a fight between two warring grannies. This is an extremely entertaining scene and definitely a highlight to watch out for.

Another notable feature of the books in the Falco universe is the deeper examination of the Roman criminal justice system. The investigators in these books often deal with the Vigiles and the Aediles, the ancient Roman equivalent of the police and magistrates, many of whom turn into key characters. This is a unique feature, as most Roman historical fiction books neglect to focus on these institutions, only mentioning them if in the context of political gain. Pandora’s Boy includes a detailed look at the Vigiles who patrol the Quirinal Hill district and their investigation into the death and other serious crimes. Loaded up with a suitable modern twist, the inclusion of these characters is an intriguing addition that highlights an often-neglected side of ancient Roman life.

Pandora’s Boy is a wonderful addition to one of the best ancient crime series currently on the market. Davis once again creates a fantastic murder mystery and infuses it with outrageous humour and a modernistic take on ancient Roman life. This is an exceedingly fun and deeply absorbing novel that will appeal to a very wide audience of readers.

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King of Ashes by Raymond E. Feist

On May 30, 2018August 29, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Five-Star Books21 Comments

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Australian Publication Date – 5 April 2018

World Publication Date – 8 May 2018

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For over 30 years, one of the most reliable cornerstones of fantasy fiction has been the books of Raymond E. Feist. Starting with the 1982 fantasy classic, Magician, Feist has produced 30 books, all set in the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan, as part of his long running Riftwar Cycle. King of Ashes is the first book Feist has written since he ended the Riftwar Cycle in 2013. It is also the start of The Firemane Saga, a new series which is set in a completely different universe to the Riftwar Cycle and introduces the reader to an exciting new story.

The continent of Garn was once home to five kingdoms, the greatest of which was the Kingdom of Ithrace. Ruled by the red-haired Firemanes, Ithrace was known for its culture and creativity. However, following a great betrayal, Ithrace was destroyed and its king executed. In order to avoid any retribution, the power-hungry King of Sandura ordered the deaths of every member of the Ithrace royal family, and not even their legendary affinity for fire could save them.

Now, 17 years later, war is returning to Garn. Ancient pacts of peace are failing, and the four kingdoms are out of balance. As the kingdoms and the independent baronies prepare for a new conflict, rumours of a hidden heir to Ithrace’s throne begin to surface.

In the previously peaceful Covenant Lands, Declan, a young and talented blacksmith, is forced to flee slavers raiding his village. Carrying the rare knowledge of crafting the legendary jewel-steel, Declan flees to the Barony of Marquensas, where he hopes to create a new life for himself.

Meanwhile, in the feared and hidden island nation of Coaltachin, three youths, Donte, Hava and Hatu, are being trained in the way of the Quelli Nascosti assassins, learning how to spy, steal and kill. All three of the young agents are eager to explore the world outside of their island home, but they quickly find themselves under attack. The mysterious group of assailants seem to have been trained in a similar way to the assassins of Coaltachin. Whoever these attackers are, they are unafraid of the young assassins and have a particular interest in capturing Hatu, an orphan with red hair and a fiery temper. As events transpire, these young people find themselves in the heart of events that will transform Garn forever.

Feist delivers a fantastic and absorbing read that once again illustrates why he is one of the preeminent writers of fantasy fiction in the world today. His latest book is a classic fantasy tale set within another unique and memorable universe and is one of the most thrilling and addictive releases so far this year.

King of Ashes is the first book in a brand new trilogy that has definite potential to expand out into another long-running series. As a result, Feist presented this book as a set up for the rest of the series, rather than a stand-alone book. Substantial time was spent establishing the characters, world and overall story, and introducing elements to be further explored in future instalments of the series. While some questions are answered towards the end of the book, a number of mysteries still remain. King of Ashes proved very hard to put down—an impressive feat, considering it was 545 pages long in the hardcover edition.

Feist has done a lot of work building up this new fantasy location, producing some amazing settings and locations. The characters venture to large cities, small towns, fortified keeps, grasslands, forests and various islands. There are also several scenes set on the ocean, which allow for some intricate sequences involving ships and naval combat. It also appears that, despite how far many of the characters travel, they have only just brushed the surface of the continent mapped out in the front of the book. This area of land appears to be less than half of the entire continent of Garn, which indicates wider adventures in future books. There were also some brief mentions of other continents existing on this new world, which may be a possible indication of plans to expand this series past its initial trilogy.

While Feist introduces a number of new kingdoms and peoples throughout his story, many readers will really enjoy his inclusion of the Quelli Nascosti assassins on the island nation of Coaltachin. In the story, the nation of Coaltachin, also known as the Invisible Nation, is ruled by the Quelli Nascosti assassins, who work throughout the continent as assassins, spies and informants. Feist spends a significant amount of time focusing on this group of assassins, displaying various aspects of their society, operations, influence throughout Garn and varied training techniques. As a result, they are the most fleshed-out group of characters within King of Ashes and are a definite highlight of the book. Readers will really enjoy the significant focus Feist puts on this group, as this results in a number of high-intensity scenes with covert activities and exciting action.

Feist tells most of the story through three prominent characters, Declan, Hava and Hatu. All three of these characters have fascinating and unique accounts to follow, although all of them could be considered to be coming-of-age stories. Hava and Hatu are both members of the Quelli Nascosti, and it is through their eyes that we see most of the secretive nation and their actions. Hatu is involved in action throughout the continent, encountering mysterious foes and discovering his hidden destiny, while Hava’s story focuses on more specialised training and a secret side mission. Declan’s story is a classic fantasy story of a young man trying to find his way in life while overcoming destructive elements. There are some more classic fight scenes in this storyline, and some very detailed descriptions of blacksmithing. Each of these storylines is extremely enjoyable to read and provides different insights into this exhilarating new fantasy universe.

King of Ashes is the latest book from fantasy legend Raymond E. Feist and represents an outstanding start to a fantastic new series. Featuring multiple coming-of-age stories, this is a pure fantasy tale set within an intriguing and detailed new universe. This is mandatory reading for fans of Feist’s previous work and comes highly recommended for all fans of the fantasy genre. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.

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The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

On May 30, 2018August 23, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction10 Comments

Publisher: Raven Books

Publication Date – 8 February 2018

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A classic and complex murder mystery in an English manor combines with ingenious elements from fantastic genres to create one of the best new releases of 2018. Reading like the outrageous combination of Groundhog Day, Inception, Downton Abby and Sherlock Holmes written by Agatha Christie, The Seven Deaths of Eveyln Hardcastle is the triumph debut from outstanding new author Stuart Turton.

In a turn-of-the-century country manor, Blackheath, a group of distinguished family guests have gathered for the first time since a terrible incident many years ago. Before the end of the weekend’s masquerade, a terrible crime will be committed. A young woman will be killed, and no one will realise that her death was the result of murder.

Inserted into the middle of all this chaos is Aiden Charles, who awakens with no memory of who he really is. Aiden thinks at first that he is a cowardly doctor with amnesia until a man wearing a plague mask reveals that nothing is as it seems. Aiden is an outsider, inhabiting and controlling the body of the doctor through unknown means. The plague doctor reveals that Aiden has been trapped within the manor and is being forced to repeatedly relive the same day again and again, awakening each morning in a different host and living the entire day in their body.

There is only one way Aiden can earn his freedom: solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, the estranged daughter of the manor’s owners. If Aiden can solve the murder by the end of his eighth day, he will be able to leave. If he fails to solve the murder his memory will be erased and the cycle will start again.

Using the abilities and connections of his eight very different hosts, Aiden must navigate the halls of Blackheath and the various guests who have arrived for the party. However, Blackheath has a dark history of murder and betrayal that still casts a shadow to this day. Every one of its inhabitants has a secret, and many of the guests would willingly kill to protect theirs.

Aiden is also forced to overcome several unnatural problems associated with his circumstances. While the bodies he inhabits all hold the means to solving the crime, he is forced to balance the varied personalities of his hosts, each of which causes him to act or think in a very different way. The longer he remains trapped in Blackheath, the more powerful the personalities are.

It also soon becomes apparent that Aiden is not as alone as he thought. Two other people like him have also been trapped in Blackheath, but only one of them can solve the murder and earn their freedom. One of his competitors appears to be trying to help him, but Aiden may not be able to trust the mysterious Anna, even though her name is the only thing from his past life that he can remember. The third competitor has taken on the persona of a murderous footman and has no qualms about killing all of Aiden’s hosts to remove him from the competition. Can Aiden solve an unsolvable crime before all his hosts are killed, or will he be trapped forever within Blackheath?

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a fantastic read that features a unique and imaginative combination of genres. The basis of the story is a complicated murder mystery placed within the setting of a British manor house. However, there is a certain and mysterious fantastic element that makes the narrator relive the day over and over again within a new host. The murder mystery, the manor house setting and the time travelling body swapping, combine together perfectly into a tremendously addictive narrative.

At the heart of the story is an intense and compelling mystery that quickly becomes the main draw for the reader. Solving the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle requires the protagonist to discover and expose every single secret and lie within the manor. The sheer amount of details and enigmas that Turton has included with the book are so immense that it takes nearly eight different perspectives of the same sequence of events to get them all together. Even then, the reader will be amazed by every single twist and turn that it takes to get to the final reveals. The time travel and body switching elements of the plot cleverly tie in and enhance the book’s mystery elements. These elements allow the reader to see multiple versions of the same event, provide a wide variety of different perspectives on the clues, and pull together different testimonies from the same characters as they are questioned by the various hosts.

In addition to enhancing the murder mystery elements, the time travel and body switching aspects of the novel also help to increase the pacing and suspense throughout the book. The transition between the main character’s various hosts is not as linear as it first appears. Not only does the narrator switch to his next host once a day is over, he can also switch back to a previous host when he one of his hosts is knocked out, falls asleep or is killed. This allows the reader to flip through these hosts when a lot of action is occurring, especially when the narrator’s various hosts are targeted in quick succession. Additional suspense is also introduced due to many of the incidents within the story being out of sync with the narrator. Various events have been put into place by either future hosts of the narrator or by characters from different points of the book’s timeline. As a result, the reader has no idea why some events are happening, especially at the start of the book, and it is cool when the various causes of these events are revealed throughout the later parts of the book.

An appealing part of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is the eight unique hosts for the main character to possess. Each of these hosts has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is intriguing watching the main character try and work out what they are. They also have their own distinctive personalities that affect the main character in different and subtle ways. The hosts also have their own way of dealing with people or situations, and this affects how the main character reacts and goes about his investigation. It is intriguing to see how he changes from host to host. In addition, there is no certainty about who the main character’s future hosts are going to be. While there are hints, the reader doesn’t know until the narrator wakes up in the body, so the reader can’t help but examine the other characters with whom the narrator interacts in case they are a future host. There are also some interesting scenes in which the narrator attempts to find and interact with a future version of himself. Turton’s use of multiple hosts for his narrator is an important and distinctive part of this book that cleverly adds additional mystery to the narrative while also providing suspense and a changing array of personalities and challenges for the protagonist.

Representing a masterful combination of crime fiction and otherworldly attributes, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is pure enthrallment that is guaranteed to transfix all eyes to its pages. As one of the best releases of 2018, I cannot recommend this book enough.

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Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

On May 30, 2018August 29, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Horror, LGBT+, Science Fiction17 Comments

Publisher: Orbit

Publication Date – 14 November 2017

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From one of the brightest stars in horror and science fiction, comes a heart pounding and imaginative story about terrifying creatures in the deep.

Mermaids have always been the stuff of legends, whether they feature in sailors’ cautionary tales or children’s stories. Seven years ago, when Imagine Entertainment sent a mockumentary team out to the Mariana Trench about the Atargatis they found just how real mermaids were, but with no survivors and only unbelievable leaked video footage to tell their story, the incident is either considered a tragic accident at sea or derided as a hoax.

Now, Imagine Entertainment are planning a second expedition to the Mariana Trench to find incontrovertible proof of mermaids and show the world what happened to the crew of the Atargatis. Larger and better prepared, the second expedition sets out onboard the giant pleasure cruiser Melusine, hosting state-of-art research facilities and filled with the leading experts in a range of marine sciences.

Also onboard are Victoria Stewart, whose beloved sister died upon the Atargatis, and the world’s leading expert on mermaids, Dr Jillian Toth, who is still haunted by her decision not to accompany the original expedition.

Arriving at the Mariana Trench, it doesn’t take long for the mermaids to appear. But these mermaids are not the stuff of children’s stories. They are real, they are dangerous and they are very, very hungry.

Grant has impressive science fiction and horror credentials, including her zombie thriller series Newsflesh and her ‘science-gone-wrong’ inspired Parasitology series. Drowning in the Deep is another outstanding story of horror from Grant and is a worthy sequel to her exciting 2015 novella, Rolling in the Deep.

By far one of the best things about Drowning in the Deep is how Grant turns mermaids, long associated with fairy tales and Disney movies, into credible monsters for her book. Using a combination of suspenseful and descriptive writing, bestowing the creatures with several creepy abilities and loading the book with a range of scientific explanations to make them as plausible as possible, Grant has succeeded in creating scary mermaids.

An interesting feature of the book is the manner in which Grant introduces the mermaids to the story. Rather than taking the traditional path and gradually revealing the monsters over the course of the first half of the book, Grant discloses the mermaids in all their gory glory within the first few pages of the book. All the characters know what they will be up against well in advance; the thrills come in discovering whether that is enough to ensure their survival.

Grant also takes time to introduce all the key characters and explain their backgrounds and motivations. This adds to the story and creates a range of characters whose fates readers will be deeply concerned for. In addition, she makes good use of multiple viewpoints to tell the story. Chapters are presented from the perspectives of each of the main characters, some of the minor characters, the mermaids themselves and even a pod of dolphins. This results in an intricate tapestry of a story and allows for a wide variety of scenes and a deeper understanding of the mystery and horror that is the mermaid.

Grant adds several fun additions to the front of each chapter, such as biography extracts, descriptions of videos, blog posts, articles from a cryptozoology periodical and a number of sections of a lecture from one of the characters, Dr Toth. This is a great way to add a lot of additional background without disturbing the flow and suspense of the overall story. Grant also includes quotes from the characters at the front of the chapters. These quotes help set the tone for the overall book and for the individual chapters. An example of this can be seen in a quote set up at the beginning of the book: “Did you really think we were the apex predators of the world?” Attributed to the story’s mermaid expert, Dr Toth, this is a great way to draw in the reader’s initial interest while at the same time setting a tone of dread as the ship full of overconfident scientists drifts closer to the trench.

Overall, Into the Drowning Deep is an enthralling read and one of the standout books so far in 2018. It is guaranteed to make you think twice about swimming in the ocean.