Year: 2015

Fantasy review: ‘The Death of Dulgath’ by Michael J Sullivan

Fantasy review: ‘The Death of Dulgath’ by Michael J Sullivan

Yippee! A new Royce and Hadrian story! I was lucky enough to get this before the official release by contributing to the Kickstarter campaign. For fans of the boys, this is the third story in the Riyria Chronicles series, which was written after the Riyria Revelations trilogy, but precedes it in the story’s timeline. It’s possible to read either first, but personally I think it makes more sense to read the trilogy first, and then move on to the prequels. The plot is straightforward: the new Countess of Dulgath has been the subject of several assassination attempts. Royce and Hadrian are called in as consultants to advise her courtiers on likely methods of future attempts and suggest ways to circumvent them. And you don’t have to be as cynical as Royce to smell a rat, and suspect that they haven’t been summoned to the far end of the continent just […]

Posted November 8, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy review: ‘Dragon’s Bride’ by H L Burke

Fantasy review: ‘Dragon’s Bride’ by H L Burke

It’s always a sad moment, reaching the end of a series and waving farewell to favourite characters. Will the author produce a final triumphant flourish, or will it fall a bit flat? Will obstacles be swept aside too easily, or will everything make perfect sense? Fortunately, the author got pretty much everything right in this. Ewan and Shannon’s story was tied up in a very satisfactory way, bad guys got their comeuppance, good guys got their reward and even the time travel worked out very neatly. Let’s start with Ewan and Shannon. I was always very pleased that Ewan embraced his dragon-ness, and Shannon was cool with it, too, even as they both had good reasons for wanting him to be human again. It seemed likely to me that the end of the story would have to be bittersweet, with one or both of them having to make a sacrifice. […]

Posted November 7, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy review: ‘City of Mages’ by Kyra Halland

Fantasy review: ‘City of Mages’ by Kyra Halland

This is the fifth, and penultimate, part of the Daughter of the Wildings series of western fantasies, and this is the moment I’ve been looking forward to from the start. Finally, we get to leave the Wildings behind temporarily and visit Granadaia, the home of rogue mage Silas, and the place where mages are the wealthy aristocrats, and those without magic (Plains) are not much more than slaves. At the end of the fourth book, To The Gap, Silas had been shot and captured by mage hunters, to be taken back to Granadaia. It’s all down to his wife Lainie, Wildings-born and a mage with both Granadaian and Wildings abilities, to ride to the rescue. Although I missed Silas, it was wonderful to watch Lainie rise to the occasion and work out ways to find her man and then rescue him, almost single-handed. The opening of the book feels a […]

Posted November 6, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

One day only! 60 science fiction and fantasy books FREE!

One day only! 60 science fiction and fantasy books FREE!

UPDATE: The promotion is officially over, but many of these books are still free, so it’s worth checking out. Just be sure that the book you want is still free before downloading. Yes, folks, for today only (Tuesday 3rd November) you can download up to 60 scifi and fantasy novels completely FREE, all either the first in a series or standalone. One of my favourite authors, Australian Glenda Larke, has made The Aware free for the occasion, book 1 of the Isles of Glory. I loved her Stormlords Trilogy and the standalone Havenstar, so I’m looking forward to reading this one, which was shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards. Here’s the blurb: “A halfbreed’s search for a mysterious slave woman leads her to a lawless land of dark dunmagic and an evil that poses a threat to all the Isles of Glory.” There are lots of other great reads available, from […]


All the news: a new book, a new cover and some special prices

All the news: a new book, a new cover and some special prices

Autumn colours You lucky people down under are heading into spring, but here in the northern hemisphere our non-event of a summer has finally stopped tormenting us and we’re into autumn. Scotland is glorious at this time of year, with the heather in full bloom, the bracken a warm, golden brown, and the trees wearing their finest reds and yellows and oranges. I spent last weekend at Braemar, in the Cairngorm Mountains, enjoying a break before the winter weather sets in. Husband was looking up ancestors and where they might have lived. This one has a view to die for, but it would be bleak in winter. I prefer my cosy modern house! Well, this one might be cosy too if it had a roof… Book news 1: The Fire Mages’ Daughter has a release date! Pre-order at just $0.99. I know many of you have been wanting to know […]


Mystery review: ‘Landfall’ by Dawn Lee McKenna

Mystery review: ‘Landfall’ by Dawn Lee McKenna

Another dramatic story in the Forgotten Coast series. This time there’s a hurricane on the horizon, and the Florida coastline is vulnerable. I’m going to be honest, I’m not usually a big fan of the kind of high-octane thrill-ride expected of this kind of premise. It tends to be too frenetic for my taste. I like to have time to smell the roses along the way, so to speak, which is probably why my preferred genre is epic fantasy. I needn’t have worried, though. Yes, there’s a lot of dramatic action, and the hurricane is no small part of that, but the author’s main focus has alway been firmly fixed on the characters and their wonderful interactions. So in the midst of all the drama, there’s also time for the characters to find out about each other, and for the reader to find out more about them, too. These are […]

Posted October 16, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy review: ‘The Fuller’s Apprentice’ by Angela Holder

Fantasy review: ‘The Fuller’s Apprentice’ by Angela Holder

I absolutely loved the author’s previous book, ‘White Blood’, so naturally I couldn’t resist this one. Unlike the previous one, it’s the first part of a trilogy, but there are similarities, too, in particular, an interesting magic system, closely allied to the religion of the country. Wizards can only use magic in association with an animal familiar, and only in certain limited ways: for healing, for making legal judgements by examining actual events of the past, and to move things (or prevent them moving). These are interesting restrictions, and, as with all fantasy, part of the enjoyment is seeing the multitude of different ways even a limited application of magic can be used. The two main characters are Josiah, the titular fuller’s apprentice, a young man of reckless impulsiveness, and the rather serious journeyman wizard, Elkan. The two meet when Josiah is amusing himself by running backwards and forwards through […]

Posted September 29, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 1 Comment

New release! ‘The Magic Mines of Asharim’

New release! ‘The Magic Mines of Asharim’

Yes, The Magic Mines of Asharim is out, the fourth book in the Brightmoon Annals. Once again, it’s a stand-alone book, with a new set of characters and a new part of the world to explore, this time the northern end of the Plains of Kallanash, where the two great rivers from the Sky Mountains and the Crested Mountains make their way to the sea. Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered! I hope the book arrived safely in your Kindle or device, and that you enjoy the read. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, it’s still at a special introductory price of just $0.99 (or equivalent) for the next week or so. For those who have Kindle Unlimited or Prime, you can download and read absolutely FREE. The paperback is already available, priced at $12.99 (or equivalent), and if you buy the paperback, you can download the ebook […]


Fiction Review: ‘The Sense of an Ending’ by Julian Barnes

Fiction Review: ‘The Sense of an Ending’ by Julian Barnes

My book group makes me nervous. Very often the choice of book is something I just can’t get through, despite being well written (Wolf Hall), or it’s something I would have enjoyed a few years ago but find boring now (The Mayor of Casterbridge), or I find it completely unbelievable (The Neon Rain), or I think it’s pretentious nonsense (most of them). In return, I inflict dragons and gender-bending aliens on them, so I suppose it evens out in the end. But occasionally, it’s an unreservedly enjoyable read, as here. This is probably not a book I would have picked up voluntarily (in my experience, anything within hailing distance of the Man Booker prizes is to be avoided at all costs), but I found it a pleasant, easy read. Tony is an elderly man looking back to his youth and certain events there, and he seems a nice enough, if […]

Posted September 25, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 1 Comment

Fantasy review: ‘White Blood’ by Angela Holder

Fantasy review: ‘White Blood’ by Angela Holder

I loved this book. Completely adored it, from the first moment we meet Maryn, curled up in bed beside her husband, feeding their new baby, through the tragedies and challenges that follow, right to the end. I loved Maryn, and loved, too, reading about one of the great unsung heroines of past times, the wet nurse. It’s a fascinating profession, one that takes a lowly born woman and plonks her down right in the midst of a great and powerful family. And it’s perfect for fantasy, as here, because Maryn ends up as wet nurse to the newest heir to the kingdom, baby Barilan. The pace is slow initially, and the world-building isn’t anything out of the ordinary, although the magic system, based on blood use, is clever. The physicality of it means that magic can be felt, like a buzzing in the bones, as well as being seen through […]

Posted September 21, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments