A Wizard’s Forge by A.M. Justice

This is a dystopian fantasy.   A world settled from space with the bulk of the population having no memory of coming from elsewhere.   A small group of record keepers remembers their travels.  Victoria is a record keeper she ends up as a slave and her treatment as a slave impact the rest of her life.

This story focuses on Victoria/Kara rebuilding her identity after having it shattered due to psychosexual conditioning.  That theme runs through the book.   

The book ended abruptly.   I think some sort of closure with the potential to go to the next book would be better.   Cliff hangers are fine but this ending left me cold. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Cover Reveal! OWN voices debut author Ava Reid/THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— 

inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—

follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and 

a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form 

an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant. 

·         @ harpervoyagerus and @avasreid

·         Book details: THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN by Ava Reid (Voyager hardcover; on-sale June 8, 2021)

·         To pre-order:https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-wolf-and-the-woodsman-ava-reid?variant=32269080100898 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ava Reid was born in Manhattan and raised right across the Hudson River in Hoboken, but currently lives in Palo Alto, where the weather is too sunny and the people are too friendly. She has a degree in political science from Barnard College, focusing on religion and ethnonationalism. The Wolf and the Woodsman is her debut novel.

#Wolfandthewoodsman

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Sacred Ground by Mercedes Lackey

This is a bit different than Lackey’s normal fare.  Although I’m not sure there is anything normal about her fare considering it is fantasy.   This story takes place in Oklahoma in a reasonably current time frame.   Jennifer Talldeer is a Native American and a Medicine Woman.   She is also a private investigator to pay the bills.   An unscrupulous real estate developer is hurting both his family and her fellow Native Americans.   She must stop him.

Having Jennifer living with her grandfather adds an interesting twist to the story.    The interplay between him and his granddaughter is one of the highlights of the book.    There are Native American spirits both good and bad as well as graves, bombs, and murder in the book.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk

Exceptional

I guess I’d call this a fantasy romance.   Before you say, “I NEVER read romances”, I’d reconsider.   This is a powerful book about women fulfilling their destinies.   Romance and magic are just the trappings for a real statement about women’s rights.

First, I am prone to liking a strong female protagonist and Beatrice is certainly strong.  Second, people’s rights are important.   Look around you at the 2020 revelations that equal rights still are NOT equal.   Polk makes such compelling arguments about equal rights; it is hard to believe that they are still so elusive today.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it as a reminder of the need to see every individual’s right for self-determination.   

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Prison of Souls by Mercedes Lackey and Mark Shepherd

Alaire, a pupil, and Naitachal, the teacher, become reluctant ambassadors to Suinomen, the repressive neighbor state.   Naitachal is a Dark Elf and a Bard.   He has renounced his Necromancer roots for singing in the light.   Alaire is the 8^th and utterly redundant son of the king of Althea.  Together they must discover the reason for their neighbor’s threatened war.

The interplay between teacher and pupil is entertaining.   The plot is not obvious but nearly so.   The root of the problem likes in Naitachal’s past but the duo is completely unaware of that fact.

The tale is part of the Bard’s Tale saga.

I enjoyed it and recommend it. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Honored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist and William R. Forstchen

This is part of a series, Legends of the Riftwar.   The Tsurani are metal-poor and the interplanetary rift that allows them to travel to the land  Midkemia puts them in conflict with the Midekemia residents.   Hartraft’s Marauders are behind the lines shock troops whose goal is to demoralize the Tsurani raiders.   A running battle with a troop of Tsurani is interrupted by a third force that is the antithesis to them both.

Asayaga of the Tsurani and Dennis Hartraft are forced to discover their similarities despite their adversarial relationship.   They are surrounded by comrades who drive home both their differences and those similarities.   The moredhel or dark elves provide a counterpoint to the honor Asayaga and Dennis share.

The story has good characterizations and shows both the strengths and foibles of men who are forced by circumstances to be enemies.   The toll of hatred is clearly shown and how it can destroy the best of intentions.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Dinosaur Beach by Keith Laumer

This book was published n 1972.   It reads dated because it is dated. 
  That does not mean it shouldn’t be read.   The current issues regarding AI were being explored by Laumer in 1972.  That is the beauty of SciFi.   So many books I read in the 65 plus years I have been reading it are now classics and no longer fiction.  In this case, the plot is focused on time travel but the accouterments allude to machine intelligence, the Turing effect, and AI.  

I enjoyed the book despite some of the very convoluted time theories.

                                                     

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned