A Shrewdness of Swindlers — DeAnna Knippling

A Shrewdness of Swindlers -- DeAnna KnipplingDeAnna sent me an ARC to have a read and comment on, with the caveat that she still had some polishing to do.   So yes, there were a few things that still needed some work with the copy i received, but all in all, it was a very enjoyable read.   And then, having sent my notes to Deanna, she then sent me an updated version back with my little moans all sorted out.

What i liked most-est about this book is that instead of the the usual bunch of short stories thrown randomly into a collection, DeAnna has taken time to tie all these stories together with a frame story.   Each short is given its own character to tell it in a magical, story contest in a downstairs backroom of a speakeasy: which just happens to be organised by one of the Fae who we’re told really like to collect human stories.

But one of the story tellers is murdered just before the contest with the suspect most probably being one of the tellers at the table, which makes things more interesting.

Best of all, it’s a good collection of characters and a good collection of stories for you to enjoy, with a prize at the end for the best story.

DeAnna’s Page

#vampires #scifi #fantasy #deannaknippling

No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished — Rachel Aaron

No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished -- Rachel AaronYeah . . .

. . . one more of these huge books is read, only two more to go.   My goodreads book reading tally is going to look a bit sad after this series: i was a few books ahead of my 70 book per year schedule when i started this series, i am now 6 books behind schedule and soon to be more when i finish the series.   But, ho hum, i think it’s very worth it.

This book picked up a bit with a few extra elements being thrown into the mix: various spirits, mages and other things besides, and i’m thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.

So yeah, keep on reading the earlier books when you feel they drag on a little as it’s all pays off well in the end.

And now it’s straight into A Dragon of a Different Color, which is the penultimate tome of dragonistic adventures.

Rachel’s Page

#fantasy #rachelaaron

Shapers of Worlds — Anthology

Shapers of Worlds -- Anthology

Vision Quest — Edward Willett – 2020
Call to Arms — Tanya Huff – 2020
The Tale of the Wicked — John Scalzi – 2009
The Farships Fall to Nowhere — John C. Wright – 2020
Evanescence — L.E. Modesitt,Jr. – 2020
Peel — Julie E. Czerneda – 2004
The Knack of Flying – 2020Shelley Adina
Ghost Colours — Derek Kunsken – 2015
One Million Lira — Thoraiya Dyer – 2014
Pod Dreams of Tuckertown – 2007 — Gareth L. Powell
In Silent Streams, Where Once the Summer Shone – 2020 — Seanan McGuire/a>
Welcome to the Legion of Six — Fonda Lee – 2019
Good Intentions — Christopher Ruocchio – 2020
“Shhhh…” – 1988 — David Brin
The Greatest of These Is Hope — D.J. Butler – 2020
A Thing of Beauty — Dr. Charles E. Gannon – 2011
Home Is Where the Heart Is — David Weber – 2020
Tricentennial – 1977 — Joe Haldeman

#fantasy #steampunk #scifi #shelleyadina #garethlpowell #seananmcguire #davidbrin #joehaldeman