en-US Sun, 29 Oct 2023 17:12:30 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 23533039 Ancillary Mercy is the third book in the trilogy that began with Ancillary Justice.

For a moment, things seemed to be under control for Breq, the soldier who used to be a warship. Then a search of Athoek Station's slums turns up someone who shouldn't exist and a messenger from the mysterious Presger empire arrives, as does Breq's old enemy, the divided, heavily armed, and possibly insane Anaander Mianaai—ruler of an empire at war with itself.

Breq could flee with her ship and crew, but that would leave the people of Athoek in terrible danger. Breq has a desperate plan. The odds aren't good, but that's never stopped her before.]]> 328 Ann Leckie Drew 4 4.19 2015
author: Ann Leckie
name: Drew
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/10/29
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]]> 20706284 Seeking atonement for past crimes, Breq takes on a mission as captain of a troublesome new crew of Radchai soldiers.

Breq is a soldier who used to be a warship. Once a weapon of conquest controlling thousands of minds, now she has only a single body and serves the emperor.

With a new ship and a troublesome crew, Breq is ordered to go to the only place in the galaxy she would agree to go: to Athoek Station to protect the family of a lieutenant she once knew - a lieutenant she murdered in cold blood.]]> 359 Ann Leckie 0316246654 Drew 3 4.05 2014
author: Ann Leckie
name: Drew
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2014
rating: 3
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]]> 17333324
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.]]> 386 Ann Leckie Drew 3 3.98 2013
author: Ann Leckie
name: Drew
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2013
rating: 3
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]]> 39395857 Gods meddle in the fates of men, men play with the fates of gods, and a pretender must be cast down from the throne in this breathtaking first fantasy novel from Ann Leckie, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards.

For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven's Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven's watch, the city flourishes.

But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods.

It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo--aide to Mawat, the true Lease--arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven's Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself...and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.]]> 416 Ann Leckie 0356506991 Drew 3 3.89 2019
author: Ann Leckie
name: Drew
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2019
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/10/29
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]]> 38474
Stunning for its emotional intensity and haunting sensuality, this book depicts men and women, blacks and whites, stripped of their masks of gender and race by love and hatred at the most elemental and sublime.]]> 448 James Baldwin 0141186372 Drew 5 4.32 1962
author: James Baldwin
name: Drew
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/27
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This is just an amazing book. Set in New York in the mid-20th century, it really brought home to me what a radical change in American culture happened in the 1960s (which is to say, post-1968 in terms of gender relations and outlook on the world. Despite the fact that it's set in a radically foreign time, this is one of the most painfully real books I've ever read.
]]> 58684322
In a city that lost its magic, an angel falls in a downtown street. His wings are feathered, whole—undeniably magical—the man clearly flew, because he left one hell of a mess when he plummeted into the sidewalk.

But what sent him up? What brought him down? And will the answers help Fetch bring the magic back for good?

Working alongside necromancers, genies, and shadowy secret societies, through the wildest forests and dingiest dive bars, this case will leave its mark on Fetch's body, his soul, and the fate of the world.

Praise for the Fetch Phillips novels:

"Superb... With a lead who would be at home in the pages of a Raymond Chandler or James Ellory novel and a nicely twisty plot, this installment makes a strong case for Arnold's series to enjoy a long run." � Publishers Weekly

"Arnold's universe has everything, including the angst of being human. The perfect story for adult fantasy fans—a tough PI and a murder mystery wrapped around the mysticism of Hogwarts, sprinkled with faerie dust." � Library Journal (starred review)

Fetch Phillips Novels
The Last Smile in Sunder City
Dead Man in a Ditch
One Foot in the Fade]]> 464 Luke Arnold 031666877X Drew 3 4.13
author: Luke Arnold
name: Drew
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 3
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]]> 50998101 The Last Smile in Sunder City.

The name's Fetch Phillips -- what do you need?

Cover a Gnome with a crossbow while he does a dodgy deal? Sure.

Find out who killed Lance Niles, the big-shot businessman who just arrived in town? I'll give it shot.

Help an old-lady Elf track down her husband's murderer? That's right up my alley.

What I don't do, because it's impossible, is search for a way to bring the goddamn magic back.

Rumors got out about what happened with the Professor, so now people keep asking me to fix the world.

But there's no magic in this story. Just dead friends, twisted miracles, and a secret machine made to deliver a single shot of murder.

Welcome back to the streets of Sunder City, a darkly imagined world perfect for readers of Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.]]> 416 Luke Arnold 0316455865 Drew 3 4.08 2020
author: Luke Arnold
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/07/26
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]]> 61885085 "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.

He’s not going to like the answers.]]> 415 Martha Wells 1250826799 Drew 4 3.60 2023
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2023
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/07/23
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]]> 17934530 Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.

The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.]]> 195 Jeff VanderMeer 0374104093 Drew 3 3.79 2014
author: Jeff VanderMeer
name: Drew
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/06/09
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]]> 41910151
Welcome to Sunder City. The magic is gone but the monsters remain.

I'm Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are a few things you should know before you hire me:
1. Sobriety costs extra.
2. My services are confidential.
3. I don't work for humans.

It's nothing personal—I'm human myself. But after what happened, to the magic, it's not the humans who need my help.

Walk the streets of Sunder City and meet Fetch, his magical clients, and a darkly imagined world perfect for readers of Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.]]> 352 Luke Arnold 0356512886 Drew 3 3.70 2020
author: Luke Arnold
name: Drew
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/06/05
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]]> 59397314 In this romantic new fantasy series from author Hannah Whitten, a young woman's secret power to raise the dead plunges her into the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King's royal court.

When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.

Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.

Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.

But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.]]> 466 Hannah F. Whitten 0356518914 Drew 2 3.77 2023
author: Hannah F. Whitten
name: Drew
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2023
rating: 2
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date added: 2023/06/04
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]]> 56860527 The First Daughter is for the Throne
The Second Daughter is for the Wolf...

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red's beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally--though it's one she'd rather never have to speak to again--the rogue king Solmir.

Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods' dark, twisted powers for themselves.]]> 452 Hannah F. Whitten 0356516377 Drew 1 3.79 2022
author: Hannah F. Whitten
name: Drew
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 1
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]]> 53418394 The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose—to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods.

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again.

But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn't learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood—and her world—whole.

The author has provided a list of content warnings here.]]> 437 Hannah F. Whitten 0316592781 Drew 2 3.58 2021
author: Hannah F. Whitten
name: Drew
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2021
rating: 2
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date added: 2023/06/04
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]]> 40671658 The greatest dangers hide the brightest treasures in this bold, planet-hopping science fiction adventure series.

The crew of the legendary Capricious may have gone legitimate, but they're still on the run.

With devastatingly powerful enemies in pursuit and family and friends under attack planetside, Nilah and Boots struggle to piece together rumors of an ancient technology that could lead to victory.

Ensnared by the legend of Origin, humanity's birthplace, and a long-dead form of magic, the Capricious takes off on a journey to find the first colony ship...and magic that could bring down gods.]]> 487 Alex White 0316412147 Drew 2 4.21 2020
author: Alex White
name: Drew
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 2
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date added: 2023/06/04
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]]> 39723966 The greatest dangers hide the brightest treasures in this bold, planet-hopping science fiction adventure series.The crew of the legendary Capricious are rich enough to retire in comfort for the rest of their days, but none of it matters if the galaxy is still in danger. Nilah and Boots, the ship's newest crew-members hear the word of a mysterious cult that may have links back to an ancient and all-powerful magic. To find it, hot-headed Nilah will have to go undercover and find the source of their power without revealing her true identity. Meanwhile, Boots is forced to confront the one person she'd hoped never to see her old, turn-coat treasure-hunting partner.]]> 544 Alex White 0316412090 Drew 3 4.08 2018
author: Alex White
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2018
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/06/04
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]]> 35520564
Nilah Brio is the top driver in the Pan Galactic Racing Federation and the darling of the racing world–until she witnesses the murder of a fellow racer. Framed for the murder and on the hunt to clear her name, Nilah only has one lead: the killer also hunts a woman named Boots.

On the wrong side of the law, the two women board a smuggler’s ship that will take them on a quest for fame, for riches, and for justice.]]> 480 Alex White Drew 3 3.73 2018
author: Alex White
name: Drew
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2018
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/06/04
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]]> 55905023 Kevin Hearne returns to the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles in book two of a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

There’s only one Al MacBharrais: Though other Scotsmen may have dramatic mustaches and a taste for fancy cocktails, Al also has a unique talent. He’s a master of ink and sigil magic. In his gifted hands, paper and pen can work wondrous spells.

But Al isn’t quite alone: He is part of a global network of sigil agents who use their powers to protect the world from mischievous gods and strange monsters. So when a fellow agent disappears under sinister circumstances in Australia, Al leaves behind the cozy pubs and cafes of Glasgow and travels to the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria to solve the mystery.

The trail to his colleague begins to pile up with bodies at alarming speed, so Al is grateful his friends have come to help—especially Nadia, his accountant who moonlights as a pit fighter. Together with a whisky-loving hobgoblin known as Buck Foi and the ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan, along with his dogs, Oberon and Starbuck, Al and Nadia will face down the wildest wonders Australia—and the supernatural world—can throw at them, and confront a legendary monster not seen in centuries.]]> 304 Kevin Hearne 1984821288 Drew 3 4.11 2021
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Drew
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/05/29
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]]> 49183690
But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective � while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.]]> 336 Kevin Hearne 1984821253 Drew 4 4.08 2020
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/05/29
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]]> 60399181 Four-time Hugo Award-winning andĚýNew York TimesĚýbestselling author N.K. Jemisin craftsĚýa glorious taleĚýof identity,Ěýresistance, magic andĚýmyth.

AllĚýis not well in the city that never sleeps.ĚýEven thoughĚýthe avatars of New York CityĚýhaveĚýtemporarily managed to stop the Woman in White from invading—and destroying the entire universe in the process—the mysterious capital "E" Enemy has more subtle powers at her disposal. A new candidate for mayor wielding the populist rhetoric ofĚýgentrification, xenophobia, and "law and order"Ěýmay have what it takes to change the very nature of New York itself and take it down from the inside.Ěý

In order to defeat him, and the Enemy who holds his purse strings,Ěýthe avatars will have to join together with the other Great Cities of the world in order to bring her down for good and protect their world from complete destruction.

N.K. Jemisin’s Great Cities Duology, which began withĚýThe City We BecameĚýand concludes withĚýThe World We Make, is a masterpiece of speculative fiction from one of the most importantĚýwriters of her generation.
]]> 357 N.K. Jemisin 035651269X Drew 3 4.05 2022
author: N.K. Jemisin
name: Drew
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/18
date added: 2023/03/18
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I really loved “The City We Became.� I was not as excited about the sequel. It ultimately felt like bits of story shaped around the idea with a lot of exposition and deus ex machina rather than the story unfolding and revealing the idea organically. I thought the idea was compelling, and I’ll look forward to Jemisin’s next book, but this felt half realized.
]]> 56914971
Returning to Guthrie, Oklahoma, Adam Binder once again finds himself in the path of deadly magic when a dark druid begins to prey on members of Adam’s family. It all seems linked to the death of Adam’s father many years ago—a man who may have somehow survived as a warlock.

Watched by the police, separated from the man who may be the love of his life, compelled to seek the truth about his connection to the druid, Adam learns more about his family and its troubled history than he ever bargained for, and finally comes face to face with the warlock he has vowed to stop.

Meanwhile, beyond the Veil of the mortal world, Argent the Queen of Swords and Vic Martinez undertake a dangerous journey to a secret meeting of the Council of Races . . . where the sea elves are calling for the destruction of humanity.]]> 285 David R. Slayton 1094067970 Drew 3 4.11 2021
author: David R. Slayton
name: Drew
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/01/06
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]]> 53255694 Guthrie was a good place to be from, but it wasn’t a great place to live, not when you were like Adam, in all the ways Adam was like Adam.

Adam Binder hasn’t spoken to his brother in years, not since Bobby had him committed to a psych ward for hearing voices. When a murderous spirit possesses Bobby’s wife and disrupts the perfect life he’s built away from Oklahoma, he’s forced to ask for his little brother’s help. Adam is happy to escape the trailer park and get the chance to say I told you so, but he arrives in Denver to find the local magicians dead.

It isn’t long before Adam is the spirit’s next target. To survive the confrontation, he’ll have to risk bargaining with powers he’d rather avoid, including his first love, the elf who broke his heart.

The Binder brothers don’t realize that they’re unwitting pawns in a game played by immortals. Death herself wants the spirit’s head, and she’s willing to destroy their family to reap it.]]> 320 David R. Slayton 1094067962 Drew 4 3.87 2020
author: David R. Slayton
name: Drew
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/01/06
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]]> 58919034
It has been three years since he woke from a magical coma caused by the catastrophic collapse of his empire, and he can barely acknowledge his own day-to-day existence, let alone what he needs from someone else.

Enter Cliopher sayo Mdang, unassuming Fifth Degree Secretary of the Imperial Bureaucratic Service, and to everyone's surprise the apocalypse ... ends.

This novella is set on Zunidh in the universe of the Nine Worlds. It is best read after The Hands of the Emperor.]]> 110 Victoria Goddard 1988908442 Drew 3 4.27 2021
author: Victoria Goddard
name: Drew
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/01/06
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]]> 24152470 33 Victoria Goddard Drew 3 4.13 2014
author: Victoria Goddard
name: Drew
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/01/06
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]]> 56392665
He is possibly the last person you would expect to find breaking into the tomb of the first Emperor of Astandalas. He could, after all, have entered it legitimately.

But Artorin Damara has a great secret, which he has kept hidden since before he ascended to the throne, and part of it is that he knows perfectly well how to set about on an adventure.

Another part of it is that his true name is not actually the one that everyone knows him by...]]> 380 Victoria Goddard Drew 3 4.39 2020
author: Victoria Goddard
name: Drew
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/01/06
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]]> 61127243
Pali Avramapul may not have gone under her own name since the dissolution of the Red Company, but she is no myth, and has certainly not faded. She fights folly and injustice as fiercely as ever—although, as a respected scholar of history at one of the Circle Schools of Alinor, she now tends to use her tongue and pen more than her sword.

She still keeps the sword sharp, of course. You never know when adventure will come calling.

She expects her sabbatical to be a decorous, respectable sort of adventure, the kind with which she can regale her colleagues in the Senior Common Room upon her return.

She’s not very upset when she finds one or two of her old friends and it turns out the adventure is much more likely to involve a plot to kidnap the Last Emperor of Astandalas.

There’s respectable, after all, and then there’s respectable.]]> 403 Victoria Goddard 1988908558 Drew 3 4.33 2022
author: Victoria Goddard
name: Drew
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2022
rating: 3
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date added: 2023/01/06
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]]> 43525897 A timely word can stop one.
A simple act of friendship can change the course of history.

Cliopher Mdang is the personal secretary of the Last Emperor of Astandalas, the Lord of Rising Stars, the Lord Magus of Zunidh, the Sun-on-Earth, the god.
He has spent more time with the Emperor of Astandalas than any other person.
He has never once touched his lord.
He has never called him by name.
He has never initiated a conversation.

One day Cliopher invites the Sun-on-Earth home to the proverbially remote Vangavaye-ve for a holiday.

The mere invitation could have seen Cliopher executed for blasphemy.
The acceptance upends the world.]]> 969 Victoria Goddard 1988908159 Drew 3 4.43 2019
author: Victoria Goddard
name: Drew
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2022/11/16
date added: 2022/11/16
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]]> 367336 400 Martha Wells 0380788152 Drew 3 3.88 2000
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2022/11/16
date added: 2022/11/16
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]]> 55858638 New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

The one thing you never talk about while you're in the Scholomance is what you'll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it's all we dream about, the hideously slim chance we'll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I'm out, we're all out--and I didn't even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother's prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn't kill enclavers, I saved them. Me, and Orion, and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: we saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves of the world.

Ha, only joking! Actually it's gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war on the horizon. And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously got out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.]]> 407 Naomi Novik 0593158369 Drew 5 4.08 2022
author: Naomi Novik
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/11/02
date added: 2022/11/12
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I really enjoyed this. The first two in the series were good but felt cramped and limited by the horrible circumstances in the Scholomance. I found El’s self-awareness and growth in this one really satisfying, and I thought it was a really neat introduction to the world outside the Scholomance.
]]> 33099586 The Red Threads of Fortune is one of a pair of unique, standalone introductions to JY Yang's Tensorate Series, which Kate Elliott calls "effortlessly fascinating." For more of the story you can read its twin novella The Black Tides of Heaven, available now.

Fallen prophet, master of the elements, and daughter of the supreme Protector, Sanao Mokoya has abandoned the life that once bound her. Once her visions shaped the lives of citizens across the land, but no matter what tragedy Mokoya foresaw, she could never reshape the future. Broken by the loss of her young daughter, she now hunts deadly, sky-obscuring naga in the harsh outer reaches of the kingdom with packs of dinosaurs at her side, far from everything she used to love.

On the trail of a massive naga that threatens the rebellious mining city of Bataanar, Mokoya meets the mysterious and alluring Rider. But all is not as it seems: the beast they both hunt harbors a secret that could ignite war throughout the Protectorate. As she is drawn into a conspiracy of magic and betrayal, Mokoya must come to terms with her extraordinary and dangerous gifts, or risk losing the little she has left to hold dear.]]> 213 Neon Yang 0765395398 Drew 3 3.84 2017
author: Neon Yang
name: Drew
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/03
date added: 2022/08/03
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]]> 45047384
Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.]]> 394 T.J. Klune Drew 3 4.37 2020
author: T.J. Klune
name: Drew
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2022/07/30
date added: 2022/07/30
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]]> 33099588 The Black Tides of Heaven is one of a pair of standalone introductions to Neon Yang's Tensorate Series. For more of the story you can read its twin novella The Red Threads of Fortune

Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What's more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother's Protectorate.

A rebellion is growing. The Machinists discover new levers to move the world every day, while the Tensors fight to put them down and preserve the power of the state. Unwilling to continue to play a pawn in his mother's twisted schemes, Akeha leaves the Tensorate behind and falls in with the rebels. But every step Akeha takes towards the Machinists is a step away from his sister Mokoya. Can Akeha find peace without shattering the bond he shares with his twin sister?]]> 236 Neon Yang 076539541X Drew 3 3.70 2017
author: Neon Yang
name: Drew
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2017
rating: 3
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date added: 2022/07/22
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]]> 29635542 43 P. Djèlí Clark 0765389444 Drew 3 3.96 2016
author: P. Djèlí Clark
name: Drew
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/07/22
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]]> 10079321
Accompanied by his oldest friend, Julia, Quentin sets off—only to somehow wind up back in the real world and not in Fillory, as they’d hoped. As they struggle to find their way back to their lost kingdom, they rely on Julia’s illicitly learned sorcery to fight a sinister threat in a world unlike the fantasy novels of their youth.]]> 432 Lev Grossman 043402080X Drew 4 3.91 2011
author: Lev Grossman
name: Drew
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/06/26
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]]> 52190991 Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong.

In Any Way the Wind Blows, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha have to decide how to move forward.

For Simon, that means deciding whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages -- and if he doesn't, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she's smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn't sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough.

Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet.

This book is a finale. It tells secrets and answers questions and lays ghosts to rest.

Carry On was conceived as a book about Chosen One stories; Any Way the Wind Blows is an ending about endings. About catharsis and closure, and how we choose to move on from the traumas and triumphs that try to define us.]]> 579 Rainbow Rowell 1250254337 Drew 5 4.11 2021
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Drew
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/06/26
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]]> 52381770
It worries about the fragile human crew who've grown to trust it, but only where no one can see.

It tells itself that they're only a professional obligation, but when they're captured and an old friend from the past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.

Drastic action it is, then.

]]> 350 Martha Wells 1250229863 Drew 5 4.44 2020
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/06/26
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]]> 32768522
That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right.

Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here � it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.

Carry On - The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you'd expect from a Rainbow Rowell story - but far, far more monsters.]]> 522 Rainbow Rowell 1250135028 Drew 5 4.17 2015
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Drew
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2015
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/06/26
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]]> 52504334 Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe for his fantasy novel debut, A Master of Djinn

Cairo, 1912: Though Fatma el-Sha’arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she’s certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer.

So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage.

Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city -or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems…]]> 438 P. Djèlí Clark 1250267676 Drew 3 4.01 2021
author: P. Djèlí Clark
name: Drew
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2022/06/26
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]]> 18735220
Nine Goblins is a novella of low...very low...fantasy.]]> 147 T. Kingfisher 1310505764 Drew 3 4.18 2013
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/06/22
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]]> 56179377
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.

On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.]]> 243 T. Kingfisher 1250244048 Drew 4 4.07 2022
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2022
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/06/22
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]]> 58724898 In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel to The Witness For The Dead...

Celehar’s life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city—the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse.

At once touching and shattering, Celehar’s witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.]]> 245 Katherine Addison 1250813891 Drew 3 4.27 2022
author: Katherine Addison
name: Drew
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 3
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date added: 2022/06/22
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]]> 53217284
For fans of Georgette Heyer or Julia Quinn's Bridgerton, who'd like to welcome magic into their lives...

Young baronet Robin Blyth thought he was taking up a minor governmental post. However, he's actually been appointed parliamentary liaison to a secret magical society. If it weren’t for this administrative error, he’d never have discovered the incredible magic underlying his world.

Cursed by mysterious attackers and plagued by visions, Robin becomes determined to drag answers from his missing predecessor � but he’ll need the help of Edwin Courcey, his hostile magical-society counterpart. Unwillingly thrown together, Robin and Edwin will discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles.]]> 377 Freya Marske 1250788897 Drew 4
This was interesting worldbuilding and I truly hope that the other books will measure up.]]> 3.94 2021
author: Freya Marske
name: Drew
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/04/02
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I was very amused to see this described as “Red, white and royal blue� crossed with “Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, because this book was much better than either of those. Having lived in Texas, the liberal Texas political fantasy of RWRB annoyed the crap out of me (and Boyfriend Material is a much better British gay romance for American readers if that’s your thing), and Strange and Norrell was 80% of a good novel that fell apart completely at the end.

This was interesting worldbuilding and I truly hope that the other books will measure up.
]]> 56033969
A short story published in Wired magazine as part of a series "The Future of Work" on December 17, 2018.]]> 2 Martha Wells Drew 0 to-read 4.07 2018
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> 55559887 A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education, the start of Naomi Novik’s groundbreaking crossover series.

At the Scholomance, El, Orion, and the other students are faced with their final year—and the looming specter of graduation, a deadly ritual that leaves few students alive in its wake. El is determined that her chosen group will survive, but it is a prospect that is looking harder by the day as the savagery of the school ramps up. Until El realizes that sometimes winning the game means throwing out all the rules . . .]]> 388 Naomi Novik 0593128869 Drew 4 4.20 2021
author: Naomi Novik
name: Drew
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/12/10
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]]> 59109627
Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the web of the mysterious killer, it's Galen's job to protect Piper from the traps that await them.

He's just not sure if he can protect Piper from the most dangerous threat of all…]]> 300 T. Kingfisher Drew 3 4.14 2021
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/11/23
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]]> 57119466
When their paths cross at the point of a sword, Istvhan and Clara will be pitched headlong into each other’s quests, facing off against enemies both living and dead. But Clara has a secret that could jeopardize the growing trust between them, a secret that will lead them to the gladiatorial pits of a corrupt city, and beyond...]]> 445 T. Kingfisher Drew 3 4.20 2021
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/11/23
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]]> 56637945 A fascinating, darkly funny comeback story of learning to live with a broken mind after a near-fatal traumatic brain injury--from the acclaimed author of The Hike.

Drew Magary, fan-favorite Defector and former Deadspin columnist, is known for his acerbic takes and his surprisingly nuanced chronicling of his own life. But in The Night the Lights Went Out, he finds himself far out of his depths. On the night of the 2018 Deadspin Awards, he suffered a mysterious fall that caused him to smash his head so hard on a cement floor that he cracked his skull in three places and suffered a catastrophic brain hemorrhage. For two weeks, he remained in a coma. The world was gone to him, and him to it.

In his long recovery from his injury, including understanding what his family and friends went through as he lay there dying, coming to terms with his now permanent disabilities, and trying to find some lesson in this cosmic accident, he leaned on the one sure thing that he knows and that didn't leave him--his writing.

Drew takes a deep dive into what it meant to be a bystander to his own death and figuring out who this new Drew is: a Drew that doesn't walk as well, doesn't taste or smell or see or hear as well, and a Drew that is often failing as a husband and a father as he bounces between grumpiness, irritability, and existential fury. But what's a good comeback story without heartbreak? Eager to get back what he lost, Drew experiences an awakening of a whole other kind in this incredibly funny, medically illuminating, and heartfelt memoir.]]> 288 Drew Magary 0593232712 Drew 3 3.93 2021
author: Drew Magary
name: Drew
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/11/11
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]]> 44767458
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.]]> 658 Frank Herbert 059309932X Drew 3 4.33 1965
author: Frank Herbert
name: Drew
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1965
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/10/26
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I know this is a book you’re supposed to either love or hate, but I� didn’t. I enjoyed the ecology emphasis, and it is fascinating that a book written in such a different time period mostly doesn’t feel dated, which I think is a confirmation that it’s a classic, like it or not. But the criticism about the clunky dialogue etc is also on point. I do think it’s possible that the foreshadowing with Princess Irulan’s intros and excessive exposition might actually be a way of reflecting Paul’s awareness of the future and the past in the structure of the novel? It might not be that smoothly done but still I don’t think it comes from nowhere.
]]> 14069
Now China has discovered that its rare gift, intended for Napoleon, has fallen into British hands–and an angry Chinese delegation vows to reclaim the remarkable beast. But Laurence refuses to cooperate. Facing the gallows for his defiance, Laurence has no choice but to accompany Temeraire back to the Far East–a long voyage fraught with peril, intrigue, and the untold terrors of the deep. Yet once the pair reaches the court of the Chinese emperor, even more shocking discoveries and darker dangers await.]]> 398 Naomi Novik 0345481291 Drew 3 3.89 2006
author: Naomi Novik
name: Drew
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/10/21
shelves:
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]]> 28876 356 Naomi Novik 0345481283 Drew 3 4.06 2006
author: Naomi Novik
name: Drew
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/10/21
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]]> 50548197
A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) � until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate� or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.]]> 320 Naomi Novik 0593128486 Drew 3 3.93 2020
author: Naomi Novik
name: Drew
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/09/22
shelves:
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]]> 36307674
The wolves are circling and a young king will face his greatest challenge in the explosive finale of the instant #1 New York Times-bestselling King of Scars Duology.

The Demon King. As Fjerda's massive army prepares to invade, Nikolai Lantsov will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm—and even the monster within—to win this fight. But a dark threat looms that cannot be defeated by a young king's gift for the impossible.

The Stormwitch. Zoya Nazyalensky has lost too much to war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected, and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embrace her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost.

The Queen of Mourning. Deep undercover, Nina Zenik risks discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside its capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart.

King. General. Spy. Together they must find a way to forge a future in the darkness. Or watch a nation fall.]]> 592 Leigh Bardugo 1510109188 Drew 4 4.34 2021
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Drew
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/09/22
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]]> 40864002 ASIN B08H831J18 moved to the more recent edition

Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.

Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?]]> 151 Becky Chambers Drew 4 4.25 2021
author: Becky Chambers
name: Drew
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/08/12
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]]> 43190272
Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does.

Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.

Carrying all the trademarks of her other beloved works, including brilliant writing, fantastic world-building and exceptional, diverse characters, Becky's first audiobook outside of the Wayfarers series is sure to capture the imagination of listeners all over the world.]]> 153 Becky Chambers 0062936018 Drew 3 4.19 2019
author: Becky Chambers
name: Drew
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/08/12
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]]> 50209317
At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through.

When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes—are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.]]> 336 Becky Chambers 0062936050 Drew 4 4.38 2021
author: Becky Chambers
name: Drew
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/08/12
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]]> 52378874 This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings under a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.]]> 448 Katherine Addison 0765387395 Drew 4 3.70 2020
author: Katherine Addison
name: Drew
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/08/12
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]]> 41302953 Katherine Addison returns to the glittering world she created for her beloved novel, 'The Goblin Emperor', in this stand-alone sequel.

When the young half-goblin emperor Maia sought to learn who had killed his father and half-brothers, he turned to an obscure resident of his Court, a Prelate of Ulis and a Witness for the Dead. Thara Celehar found the truth, though it did him no good to discover it. He lost his place as a retainer of his cousin the former Empress, and made far too many enemies among the many factions vying for power in the new Court. The favor of the Emperor is a dangerous coin.

Now Celehar lives in the city of Amalo, far from the Court though not exactly in exile. He has not escaped from politics, but his position gives him the ability to serve the common people of the city, which is his preference. He lives modestly, but his decency and fundamental honesty will not permit him to live quietly. As a Witness for the Dead, he can, sometimes, speak to the recently dead: see the last thing they saw, know the last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. it is his duty to use that ability to resolve disputes, to ascertain the intent of the dead, to find the killers of the murdered.

Celehar's skills now lead him out of the quiet and into a morass of treachery, murder, and injustice. No matter his own background with the imperial house, Celehar will stand with the commoners, and possibly find a light in the darkness.]]> 240 Katherine Addison 0765387441 Drew 4 4.11 2021
author: Katherine Addison
name: Drew
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/08/12
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]]> 17910048 A lush tale of deadly court intrigue and a modern classic of fantasy by Locus award winner and Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award finalist Katherine Addison

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three half brothers in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend . . . and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne–or his life.]]> 446 Katherine Addison 076532699X Drew 3 4.04 2014
author: Katherine Addison
name: Drew
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2014
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/07/21
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]]> 53205854 No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

Again!]]> 168 Martha Wells 1250765374 Drew 3 4.25 2021
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/07/07
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]]> 55855546
It is the summer of 2013 and Abigail Kamara has been left to her own devices. This might, by those who know her, be considered a mistake. While her cousin, police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, is off in the sticks chasing unicorns Abigail is chasing her own mystery. Teenagers around Hampstead Heath have been going missing but before the police can get fully engaged the teens return home � unharmed but vague about where they’ve been.

Aided only by her new friend Simon, her knowledge that magic is real and a posse of talking foxes that think they’re spies, Abigail must venture into the wilds of Hampstead to discover who is luring the teenagers and more importantly � why?

Limited: 2500 signed numbered hardcover copies

Lettered: 26 signed leatherbound copies, housed in a custom traycase]]> 232 Ben Aaronovitch Drew 3 4.14 2021
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: Drew
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/04/02
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]]> 45154547 WINNER OF THE 2022 HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
Now a USA Today bestseller!
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2021
Amazon's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021
Bookpage's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021
Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ Choice Awards Nominee for Best Science Fiction Book of 2021

A Desolation Called Peace is the spectacular space opera sequel to Arkady Martine's genre-reinventing, Hugo Award-winning debut, A Memory Called Empire.

An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options.

In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders, the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass—still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire—face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity.

Their failure will guarantee millions of deaths in an endless war. Their success might prevent Teixcalaan’s destruction—and allow the empire to continue its rapacious expansion.

Or it might create something far stranger . . .
]]> 496 Arkady Martine 125018648X Drew 3 4.31 2021
author: Arkady Martine
name: Drew
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2021
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/03/26
shelves:
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I really appreciated the pace and complicated twists and turns of Empire. I found Peace less compelling. I was not as interested in the characters that were introduced this time around, and the action got a little bogged down with following multiple threads. As with the first, some new, interesting ideas about consciousness and memory. And beautiful language.
]]> 38352077
What could possibly go wrong?

In the sequel to CLOCKWORK BOYS, Slate, Brenner, Caliban and Learned Edmund have arrived in Anuket City, the source of the mysterious Clockwork Boys. But the secrets they're keeping could well destroy them, before the city even gets the chance...]]> 370 T. Kingfisher Drew 3 4.21 2018
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2018
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/03/23
shelves:
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]]> 36618062
If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way! At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.]]> 230 T. Kingfisher Drew 3 4.15 2017
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/03/23
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]]> 54369251
But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries…]]> 306 T. Kingfisher 1614505241 Drew 3 4.02 2020
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2020
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/03/23
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]]> 42392201 Meet Lydia Crow...

Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London.

When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.

Soon, Lydia is neck-deep in problems: her new flatmate is a homicidal ghost, the intriguing, but forbidden, DCI Fleet is acting in a distinctly unprofessional manner, and tensions between the old magical families are rising.

The Crows used to rule the roost and rumours claim they are still the strongest.
The Silvers have a facility for lying and they run the finest law firm in London.
The Pearl family were costermongers and everybody knows that a Pearlie can sell feathers to a bird.
The Fox family... Well. The less said about the Fox family the better.

For seventy-five years, a truce between the four families has held strong, but could the disappearance of Maddie Crow be the thing to break it?

The Night Raven is the first book in Crow Investigations, an exciting new paranormal mystery series from bestselling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter.]]> 246 Sarah Painter Drew 2 3.79 2018
author: Sarah Painter
name: Drew
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2021/02/12
shelves:
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]]> 28963596
A strange, sly retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s "Snow Queen," by T. Kingfisher, author of "Bryony and Roses" and "The Seventh Bride."]]> 226 T. Kingfisher Drew 4 4.22 2016
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 50702014 Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year�

Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind�

From the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of Swordheart and The Twisted Ones comes a saga of murder, magic, and love on the far side of despair.]]> 366 T. Kingfisher Drew 4 4.08 2020
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 25566132
But when Bryony is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge in an abandoned manor, she stumbles into a house full of dark enchantments. Is the Beast that lives there her captor, or a fellow prisoner? Is the house her enemy or her ally? And why are roses blooming out of season in the courtyard?

Armed only with gardening shears and her wits, Bryony must untangle the secrets of the house before she—or the Beast—are swallowed by them.
]]> 224 T. Kingfisher Drew 3 4.07 2015
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 52369824
He only knew three spells, and one of them was to control his allergy to armadillo dander. His attempts to summon elementals resulted in nosebleeds, and there is nothing more embarrassing than having your elemental leave the circle to get you a tissue, pat you comfortingly, and then disappear in a puff of magic. The armadillo had about wet himself laughing.

He was a very minor mage.

Unfortunately, he was all they had.]]> 176 T. Kingfisher Drew 4 4.19 2019
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 42747739 426 T. Kingfisher 1614504636 Drew 4 4.06 2018
author: T. Kingfisher
name: Drew
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/02/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 50740363
To protect his friends, Mage Alex Verus has had to change--and embrace his dark side. But the life mage Anne has changed too, and made a bond with a dangerous power. She's going after everyone she's got a grudge against--and it's a long list.

In the meantime, Alex has to deal with his arch-enemy, Levistus. The Council's death squads are hunting Alex as well as Anne, and the only way for Alex to stop them is to end his long war with Levistus and the Council, by whatever means necessary. It will take everything Alex has to stay a step ahead of the Council and stop Anne from letting the world burn.]]> 312 Benedict Jacka 0356511146 Drew 2 4.34 2020
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2021/01/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 44017627
Simon Snow did everything he was supposed to do. He beat the villain. He won the war. He even fell in love. Now comes the good part, right? Now comes the happily ever after�

So why can’t Simon Snow get off the couch?

What he needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. He just needs to see himself in a new light�

That’s how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West.

They find trouble, of course. (Dragons, vampires, skunk-headed things with shotguns.) And they get lost. They get so lost, they start to wonder whether they ever knew where they were headed in the first place�

With Wayward Son, Rainbow Rowell has written a book for everyone who ever wondered what happened to the Chosen One after he saved the day. And a book for everyone who was ever more curious about the second kiss than the first. It’s another helping of sour cherry scones with an absolutely decadent amount of butter.

Come on, Simon Snow. Your hero’s journey might be over � but your life has just begun.]]> 356 Rainbow Rowell 1250146070 Drew 4 3.89 2019
author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Drew
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/01/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 22544764 “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.�

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows�everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.]]> 438 Naomi Novik 0804179034 Drew 3 4.02 2015
author: Naomi Novik
name: Drew
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/01/12
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review:

]]> 36896898 Spinning Silver draws readers deeper into a glittering realm of fantasy, where the boundary between wonder and terror is thinner than a breath, and safety can be stolen as quickly as a kiss.

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar.

But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love.

Channeling the vibrant heart of myth and fairy tale, Spinning Silver weaves a multilayered, magical tapestry that readers will want to return to again and again.]]> 465 Naomi Novik Drew 4 4.20 2018
author: Naomi Novik
name: Drew
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/01/12
shelves:
review:
I would like to give this book 3 1/2 stars. it was a really imaginative retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, and it pulled in a bunch of other stories in an interesting way. It had a really great series of morals and lessons, and I really enjoyed the way that she managed to tie it all together. However, because she had so many threads, there was a long stretch in the middle where it felt like things moved pretty slowly.
]]> 49928905
Even the Wild Man of Greenhollow can’t ignore a summons from his mother, when that mother is the indomitable Adela Silver, practical folklorist. Henry Silver does not relish what he’ll find in the grimy seaside town of Rothport, where once the ancient wood extended before it was drowned beneath the sea—a missing girl, a monster on the loose, or, worst of all, Tobias Finch, who loves him.]]> 176 Emily Tesh 125075660X Drew 4 3.94 2020
author: Emily Tesh
name: Drew
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/12/29
shelves:
review:

]]> 43459657
When Greenhollow Hall acquires a handsome, intensely curious new owner in Henry Silver, everything changes. Old secrets better left buried are dug up, and Tobias is forced to reckon with his troubled past—both the green magic of the woods, and the dark things that rest in its heart.]]> 112 Emily Tesh 1250229790 Drew 4 3.98 2019
author: Emily Tesh
name: Drew
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/12/29
shelves:
review:

]]> 321357
But now Nicholas's murderous mission is being interrupted by a series of eerie, unexplainable, even fatal events. Someone with tremendous magical powers is opposing him. Children vanish, corpses assume the visage of real people, mortal spells are cast, and traces of necromantic power that hasn't been used for centuries are found. And when a spiritualist unwittingly leads Nicholas to a decrepit mansion, the monstrous nature of his peril finally emerges in harrowing detail. Nicholas and his compatriots must destroy an ancient and awesome evil. Even the help of Ile-Rien's greatest sorcerer may not be enough, for Nicholas faces a woefully mismatched battle--and unthinkable horrors await the loser.]]> 544 Martha Wells 0380788144 Drew 4 4.03 1998
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/12/17
shelves:
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]]> 367334 320 Martha Wells 0615135714 Drew 4 3.81 1993
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/12/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 52166786 The final chapter in the Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.

Daevabad has fallen.

After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people.

But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara’s dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.

Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad’s deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. While Nahri finds peace in the old rhythms and familiar comforts of her human home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior are at the mercy of a new tyrant. Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains. Seeking support in his mother’s homeland, he discovers that his connection to the marid goes far deeper than expected and threatens not only his relationship with Nahri, but his very faith.

As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved . . . and take a stand for those they once hurt.]]> 766 S.A. Chakraborty 0062678167 Drew 4 4.48 2020
author: S.A. Chakraborty
name: Drew
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/11/13
shelves:
review:
The first two of this series I thought were fine. I really enjoyed this one. Some mysterious things alluded to in earlier stories were explained, satisfyingly. The plot held together and had some interesting twists. I’ll look forward to more of the author’s books.
]]> 34219880 In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled � taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.

Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.

Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage.

War looms on the horizon. A single spark could turn their city into a pyre.

The Tethered Mage is the first novel in a spellbinding new fantasy series.]]> 438 Melissa Caruso 0316466875 Drew 2 3.76 2017
author: Melissa Caruso
name: Drew
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2020/11/13
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]]> 39988431 Return to Daevabad in the spellbinding sequel to THE CITY OF BRASS.

Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.

Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of the battle that saw Dara slain at Prince Ali’s hand, Nahri must forge a new path for herself, without the protection of the guardian who stole her heart or the counsel of the prince she considered a friend. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she’s been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her familyand one misstep will doom her tribe.

Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid, the unpredictable water spirits, have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.

And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad's towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It’s a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city’s gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.]]> 625 S.A. Chakraborty 0008239444 Drew 3 4.37 2019
author: S.A. Chakraborty
name: Drew
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/11/04
shelves:
review:

]]> 21479290
Peter Grant is back as are Nightingale et al. at the Folly and the various river gods, ghosts and spirits who attach themselves to England's last wizard and the Met's reluctant investigator of all things supernatural.]]> 387 Ben Aaronovitch 0575132558 Drew 5 4.18 2016
author: Ben Aaronovitch
name: Drew
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/09/18
shelves:
review:
After kind of a slow and somewhat painful start (the first in the series is kind of grotesque, and the second doesn’t fit very well with the others), I love the Rivers of London books. Mostly because the world that they create - a complicated, multicultural London full of real people - is so appealing, and Peter seems to build a beautiful community around himself by being dependable and well meaning and just assuming that people would like to be a part of it. There is a scene is this book that is just the epitome of that welcome... it’s just a throwaway moment where the creepy, not-human housekeeper who never speaks and might have almost killed Peter once has made sandwiches for a stakeout, and she’s carefully made a halal one with an “H� marked on it for the Muslim officer. Yes to this world, and yes to these books.
]]> 13642
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.]]> 183 Ursula K. Le Guin Drew 2 4.02 1968
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Drew
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1968
rating: 2
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date added: 2020/09/18
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review:
I bounced off this book when I was a freshman in high school, and I didn’t much enjoy it now in middle age, although I managed to make it all the way through this time. Even though the author says some interesting and even profound things, she _says_ them, rather than let the story show them. I guess I couldn’t get past what felt like a very old fashioned heroic story style, even if the content was a change. Apparently an omniscient narrator is not for me.
]]> 367335 Where once great galleons roamed the sea,
sand ships now traverse the Great Waste,
and a glittering chain of city-states
dots the desert that has no end...

And the greatest city of them all is Charisat: Imperial seat and wonder of wonders, a great monolithic structure towering over the desert. Charisat, a phantasmagorical place where silken courtesans and beggars weave lies side by side, where any man’s dreams can be fulfilled at the whisper of a genie, and where the tier that you live on determines how high up the food (or more importantly, water) chain you are. It is the goal of every schemer, treasure hunter, and madman intent on finding his heart’s content � a place that dazzles the senses, makes the most somber mind dizzy with its scents and sights � and where no one knows friend from foe when it comes to the desperate fight for dwindling resources.

And where a beautiful woman and a handsome thief will try to unravel the mysteries of an age-old technology to stop a fanatical cult before they unleash an evil that will topple Charisat.

And destroy all the water in the world.

]]> 442 Martha Wells 0812567080 Drew 3 3.91 1995
author: Martha Wells
name: Drew
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/16
shelves:
review:
I would like to give this 3.5 stars. I enjoy Martha Wells’s writing and voice, and this is an interesting dystopia. The pieces don’t fit together as perfectly as in some of her other books. I couldn’t help but mentally compare this to the Murderbot series, mostly because the viewpoint character’s profound suspicion of everybody reminded me of Murderbot. This book suffers in that comparison.
]]> 32718027
But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for...]]> 532 S.A. Chakraborty 0062678108 Drew 3 4.12 2017
author: S.A. Chakraborty
name: Drew
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/14
date added: 2020/09/14
shelves:
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]]> 43670629 For Mage Alex Verus, everything is on the line in the tenth urban fantasy novel from the national bestselling author of Marked.

Once Alex Verus was a diviner trying to live quietly under the radar. Now he's a member of the Light Council who's found success, friends...and love. But it's come with a price--the Council is investigating him, and if they find out the truth, he'll lose everything.

Meanwhile, Alex's old master, Richard Drakh, is waging a war against the Council, and he's preparing a move that will bring Alex and the life mage, Anne, under his control. Caught between Richard and the Council, Alex's time is running out. To protect those he cares for, Alex will have to become something different. Something darker...]]> 296 Benedict Jacka 0440000580 Drew 3 4.37 2019
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
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]]> 36068567 Mage Alex Verus is hanging on by a thread in the ninth urban fantasy novel from the national bestselling author of Burned.

When Mage Alex Verus ends up with a position on the Light Council, no one is happy, least of all him. But Alex is starting to realize that if he wants to protect his friends, he'll need to become a power player himself. His first order of business is to track down dangerous magical items unleashed into the world by Dark Mages.

But when the Council decides they need his help in negotiating with the perpetrators, Alex will have to use all his cunning and magic to strike a deal--and stop the rising tension between the Council, the Dark Mages, and the adept community from turning into a bloodbath.]]> 354 Benedict Jacka 0356507211 Drew 3 4.22 2018
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
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]]> 29865319 Mage Alex Verus is caught between a rock and a hard place in the eighth urban fantasy novel from the national bestselling author of Burned.

Right now I wasn’t seeing Richard as the teacher out of my nightmares, he was just another Dark mage, and I looked into the future to see what would happen if I turned that knife on him instead...

Alex Verus is still haunted by his time apprenticed to Richard Drakh. He's been free of him for many years, but now the only way to keep his friends from being harmed is to again work for Richard and his deadly ally. Even worse, he’s forced to bring the Light mage Anne into this servitude as well.

After weeks of being hunted and finally cornered into what he thought was his last stand, Alex never thought his life would be spared—and never anticipated at what price. This time, the diviner can see no way out...]]> 336 Benedict Jacka 1101988533 Drew 3 4.29 2017
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
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]]> 23236743 Mage Alex Verus is back in the seventh in the “gorgeously realized�* urban fantasy series from the national bestselling author of Veiled.

I’m used to people wanting me dead. But, this time, I’m not the only one on the hit list—and time is running out...

Diviner Alex Verus finally made one too many enemies on the Council of Mages, and now one of them is angry enough to have him executed. Fighting for his life is nothing new, but this kill order also calls for the death of Alex’s dependents—and there’s no way that he’ll let Luna, Anne, and Vari take the heat.

With only a week before he’s history, Alex will have to figure out how to disassociate himself from his friends, scrounge up allies on the Council, and hopefully keep his head attached to his body.

But saving himself is going to bring him into direct opposition with his former master and the Dark mages surrounding him. And, this time, escaping with his life might mean losing his soul...]]> 326 Benedict Jacka 0425275760 Drew 2 4.27 2016
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
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]]> 23236738 National bestselling author Benedict Jacka returns to the world of Alex Verus...

I thought I’d escaped my past. But my old master is back and making a new play for power. And he’s not the only one targeting me�

Diviner Alex Verus and the Council that governs the magical community have never gotten along. But with his former teacher back in Britain, Alex is in desperate need of allies, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get them—even if it means accepting a job with the Keepers, enforcing magical law.

Alex forms an uneasy alliance with his new partner, Caldera, but his attempt at legitimacy quickly turns lethal when a mission puts him in possession of an item that factions both inside and outside of the Council would kill to get their hands on.

Once again caught in the middle of a deadly conflict, Alex will need all his abilities to figure out who his friends are—especially when enemies are hiding on all sides…]]> 296 Benedict Jacka 0698165071 Drew 3 4.18 2015
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
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]]> 18599601 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B00HP4HC2S

Alex Verus is a diviner who can see probable futures - a talent that's gotten him and his friends out of many a tough scrape. But what happens when someone doesn't want Alex's help?

Alex's friend, the life mage Anne, distanced herself from him when she found out about his past as a Dark apprentice. Now she's in serious trouble, but wants nothing to do with him. Alex has to start wondering if Anne's problem is really with him - or if there's a secret she's trying to hide.

On top of that, rumours are swirling around London that Alex's former master may be back in town. Alex has no idea what his agenda may be, or who it involves . . .]]> 336 Benedict Jacka Drew 3 4.19 2014
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 16072988
Alex Verus is a diviner who can see probable futures—a talent that’s gotten him out of many a tough scrape. But this time, he may be in over his head. Alex was once apprenticed to a Dark mage, and in his service he did a lot of things he isn’t proud of.

As rumors swirl that his old master is coming back, Alex comes face to face with his misdeeds in the form of a young adept whose only goal is to get revenge. Alex has changed his life for the better, but he’s afraid of what his friends—including his apprentice, Luna—will think of his past. But if they’re going to put themselves at risk, they need to know exactly what kind of man they’re fighting for...]]> 294 Benedict Jacka 0425264920 Drew 3 4.22 2013
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
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]]> 13542616 313 Benedict Jacka 1937007723 Drew 3 4.12 2012
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
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]]> 13274082 Benedict Jacka's acclaimed Alex Verus series continues with Cursed.

Since his second sight made him infamous for defeating powerful dark mages, Alex has been keeping his head down. But now he'sĚýdiscovered the resurgence of a forbidden ritual. Someone is harvesting the life-force of magical creatures—destroying them in the process. And draining humans is next on the agenda. Hired to investigate, AlexĚýrealizes thatĚýnot everyone on the Council wants him delving any deeper. Struggling to distinguish ally from enemy, he finds himself the target of those who would risk their own sanity for power...]]> 293 Benedict Jacka 1937007596 Drew 3 4.08 2012
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
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]]> 11737387
Alex is part of a world hidden in plain sight, running a magic shop in London that caters to clientele who can do much more than pull rabbits out of hats. And while Alex’s own powers aren’t as showy as some mages, he does have the advantage of foreseeing the possible future—allowing him to pull off operations that have a million to one chance of success.
Ěý
But when Alex is approached by multiple factions seeking his skills to crack open a relic from a long-ago mage war, he knows that whatever’s inside must be beyond powerful. And thanks to his abilities, Alex can predict that by taking the job, his odds of survival are about to go from slim to none....]]> 295 Benedict Jacka 1937007294 Drew 3 3.90 2012
author: Benedict Jacka
name: Drew
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2020/09/08
shelves:
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]]> 113436 An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780375826696 can be found here.

One boy...
One dragon...
A world of adventure.

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.]]> 503 Christopher Paolini 0375826696 Drew 1 3.96 2002
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Drew
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2002
rating: 1
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date added: 2020/08/28
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]]> 19161852
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.]]> 468 N.K. Jemisin Drew 4 4.29 2015
author: N.K. Jemisin
name: Drew
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/06/27
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]]> 34019110 Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. Alex Stern is back and the Ivy League is going straight to hell.

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex� Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies� most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.]]> 484 Leigh Bardugo 1250313112 Drew 0 to-read 4.20 2023
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Drew
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/06/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40378051 464 Helen Lowe Drew 0 to-read 4.00
author: Helen Lowe
name: Drew
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 22055262
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.]]> 400 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376458 Drew 4 4.04 2015
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Drew
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2020/05/01
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]]> 37794149
Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.]]> 448 Arkady Martine 1529001587 Drew 4 4.08 2019
author: Arkady Martine
name: Drew
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2020/05/01
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review:
I really enjoyed this. Intrigue and intricate cultural ideas. Suspenseful and a fun read I don’t have the energy to go back and make sure it all makes sense in retrospect but the world building was interesting and fun.
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