The Red Scholar’s Wake – Aliette de Bodard

"'The Red Scholar is dead.'" Xích Si's life as she's known it has come to an end. Captured by pirates, even if the impossible happened and they let her go, she'd be arrested as soon as she got home, tainted by association and ever suspect. Her future can only hold indentured servitude, or death. But …

Rings of Power (season 1)

A thousand years before a certain hobbit stumbled across a certain piece of jewellery, Middle Earth was already a land on the brink of turmoil. Although we begin in relative peace, the Commander of the Northern Armies, aka Galadriel (yes, that one!), is hunting for Sauron, lieutenant of the fallen enemy, Morgoth. Her search takes …

Only Murders in the Building (season 2)

The first series of Only Murders was an unexpected joy, fast becoming a can't-wait-to-binge highlight of my week. Three residents of an impressive, upper-class, old New York apartment building meet during the evacuation following the murder of one of their neighbours. Bonding over a shared love of true crime podcasts, they decide to start their …

Dream of Death City – PJ Nwosu

"She ran." Thora is a dust caste worker, a lowly skivvy, in Investigation House in the capital city of the bloody Red Kingdom. However, she's had a taste of - not freedom exactly, but perhaps a little more autonomy than she's usually given, as part of a long-term investigation (and yay, you can read about …

Werewolf by Night (2022)

It was a dark and stormy night... wait, no, NaNoWriMo doesn't start til tomorrow! 😉 Still, it's a spooky kind of a night when a secret cabal of monster hunters are gathered for the funeral of their former leader, and more importantly, to decide who will take over. No civil ballot here, though: the path …

Storm Front – Jim Butcher

"I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual." I've been meaning to go back and reread the Dresden Files - and get to the newer books for the first time - for an age. But, stack of ARCs to get through, no time for rereads... until muppet me leaves my …

The Immortality Thief – Taran Hunt

"The nothing-place between leaving and arriving during faster-than-light travel isn't really Hell." Mankind has spread to the stars, but not without a few bumps along the way. Fortunately the alien Ministers, cold and immortal, stepped in to rescue humanity - but at the cost of their freedom. Now a rebellion of humanity inhabits one half …

On Spine of Death – Tamara Berry

"Tess knew the exact moment the blood started dripping down her hands." We were first introduced to Tess Harrow, successful thriller writer, in Buried in a Good Book. Escaping a failed marriage, she moved to her late grandfather's cabin in the woods with smart teenage daughter, Gertrude. With things calming a little from the crime spree in …

Poster Girl – Veronica Roth

"When she thinks of the time before, she thinks of the photo shoot." Sonya Kantor will soon be the youngest resident of the Aperture. Once she lived a privileged life of wealth and respectability, a rare second child for a family in favour. Her father worked for the ruling party, the Delegation. When the revolution …

A Pale Box on the Distant Shore – PJ Nwosu

"Honnan Skyin was no stranger to death, but it didn't make burning the bodies any easier." Death City, an island on the outskirts of the Red Kingdom, is facing an outbreak of Black Lung - a deadly disease, usually associated with the elderly and very young, but now a threat to anyone. Soldier Skyin is …