Galley clearly knows what he is doing, and was able to wave together a story about life and death, revenge and greed, justice and blind fate. Chasing Graves is a dark, compelling entry into a trilogy. The characters and the world is complex and well-built, the story intriguing enough to make you want more. Even if I’m still waiting for that feeling of being completely impressed. So, Mr Galley when is the next book coming out again?
Tales of Kingshold is a collection of novelettes, short stories, letters and notes about events that happened before, after and during the election in Kingshold. We meet old and new characters, some of them likely to appear in later books. In my review I will focus on the novelettes and short stories, but let me note that I foud Jyuth’s thoughts on magic pretty interesting and it was a good addition, explaining how the magic in this world works.
This has a closed room horror feel at times, like Aliens or the Thing meets the old west. And there’s a nice nod to King’s Dark Tower series.
With it’s old west feel and campy horror movie vibe, The Demons Within is a hugely fun entry into this series.
Danse Macabre is the perfect read for a cold, foggy autumn/winter afternoon which you spend curled up with a hot drink to chase away the chill of the weather and the story both. Blue and her journey will keep you glued to the pages, clench your heart and leave you utterly broken. It’s not hard to imagine a world so cold and cruel as the one Blue lived in after all.
There is something charming about The Prince of Cats despite its flaws, and the fact that it’s not a heartwarming story. It’s about revenge, freedom, relationships, keeping your enemies closer than friends. It has a sort of Arabian Nights vibe about it, especially the shepherd’s story. I recommend to check this book out if you need a different setting, like to read about a thief, who is far from being perfect, or invulnerable.
The Seventeenth issue of Grimdark Magazine (GDM) features a nice selection of authors with stories or various articles. It features short stories from Devin Madson, Amanda J. Spedding and Brian Staveley, two interviews with Sebastian de Castell and Jen Williams, two book reviews about City of Kings by Rob J. Hayes and Chasing Graves by Ben Galley, plus an article from Anna Stephens which makes this magazine a complete and highly enjoyable brief read. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself adding a few more books to your to-be-read mountain. Oops.
This book is a rough diamond which needs some polishing, but man, you can see it shine anyway. The Endless Ocean is a tale of a great adventure to fantastical worlds, pirates, ancient creatures. Sinbad’s adventures meets legends of the ancient era, giving birth to an epic fantasy worth your time.
This book has everything you might wish for: a dark tale, gritty scenes, a crazy road trip, monsters, relatable characters and metal. We Sold Our Souls is the perfect bland of prose, characters, the darker side of the world and so many great quotes that I had to restrain myself to use them all.
The Great Hearts is an interesting debut dark fantasy book, which needs a bit of polishing, but otherwise has some nice qualities: it’s a coming of age story with intriguing characters, gritty scenes and a great potential. It’s far for being perfect, but I’m interested what will come out of this series.
Phipps obviously has fun writing this series and these characters, and if I put aside my misjudges, it’s quite entertaining. But I can’t decide if I should take this book seriously (does it takes itself seriously?) or should I just look at it as some popcorn fun. Even so, An American Weredeer in Michigan improved compared to I Was a Teenage Weredeer. I could lean back, read, and just enjoy myself while giggling at some of Jane’s or the Merlin Gun’s comments.