Author Archives: Ramona Llull

A question that recurs while reading this book is, to what end complexity? It feels quite clear that Ada Palmer loves this world, loves to play with the ideas, and to embody the world, with all the rules that she has set up, with absolute authenticity. And yes, there is the question of legibility. OnContinue reading “Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer”

The Atlas Six starts out strong–a kind of Umbrella Academy meets Mysterious Benedict Society meets Gossip Girls meets Harry Potter meets The Magicians meets X-Men First Class meets… you get the idea… mash-up–with promising powers/gifts/magics and characters. There is the requisite unknown benefactor inducting new classes of young adult magicians into a mysterious society, whereContinue reading “The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake”

“The Maleficent Seven” is a kind of A. Lee Martinez / Larry Correia type popcorn dark fantasy novel. Based on the title, it’s intended as a play on the Magnificent Seven, bad guys who are enlisted against their will to do good against unsurmountable odds. The structure of “getting the gang back together” is theContinue reading “The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston“

Kate Griffin is a nom de plume for Catherine Webb, also known as Claire North, whose The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was a fun read that was part of the contemporary many lives/multiverse subgenre that emerged in the early/mid-2010’s, along with Shining Girls, John Dies At the End, and a few others, andContinue reading “A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin”

The premise of a locked room mystery is that the environment is confined, the facts delimited. The pleasure is in the solving by the reader, given the permutations. On that basis alone, the self-described science fiction locked room mystery Far From the Light of Heaven breaks its compact with the reader. It’s a compelling premise,Continue reading “Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson”

Ordinary Monsters read a little like a non-cancelled Joss Whedon-style pop yarn in art guise. From far away, it reads like Neil Gaiman in his Stardust / Neverwhere style – darkly romantic, gothic, a little bit of Albion-love, at times I caught feelings of Susanne Clarke. But it lacks the resonance and authenticity of theContinue reading “Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro”

Christopher Buehlman O.R.S. Kinch, lovable rogue, gets sent on a mission – How much did you like it overall? quite a lot! so many little details What did you like most? the fighting scenes, likeable character, the nature of the gods What did you not like about it? the love affair seemed a little tooContinue reading “The Black-Tongued Thief”

Janny Wurts O.R.S. Follow the resourceful, indefatigable protagonist Korendir as he goes from captive on a slave ship to the titular Master of Whitestorm. Accompanied by his sidekick and foil, the smith Haldeth, Korendir takes on and overcomes a series of impossible, near-suicidal requests made by denizens in his world. A kind of Spartacus-meets-Perseus (ofContinue reading “Master of Whitestorm”

Carrie Vaughn O.R.S. Addie, our protagonist, is asked by the tech mogul who built a technologically enabled D&D themepark, to go after her ex, who is technological brains behind the effort. D&D meets Jurassic Park by way of Westworld, mixed with a little Barsoom Project. Told through first person perspective. How much did you likeContinue reading “Questland”

David Yoon O.R.S. Max, disillusioned Silicon Valley coder, and his coder friends, Shane and Akiko, try to take down the techno-industrial complex with the help of a rogue internet mogul and learn the unintended consequences of revolution, a la Fight Club. Kind of a mash-up of Cory Doctorow’s pick-your-EFF-favourite and The Circle meets Douglas CouplandContinue reading “Version Zero”