Reviews and Comments

Thirteen cadets attempt to bond with a dragon or die trying.

A collection of short stories detailing how various riders from the Empyrean series experienced the day they bonded (or not) with their dragons. Not particularly interesting, and there are no stand-out stories. No doubt completionists will need to read this, but it wasn’t very engaging, nor particularly illuminating. Kinda meh tbh.

A company of soldiers on a difficult mission. A priestess held hostage by her position. A man trying to save an empire by eliminating the emperor.

The writing is fine, albeit somewhat overly flowery at times (for my taste), and I didn’t appreciate the fantasy language passages. If they are translated immediately, why not skip that step please? I’m being peevish, I know, but it was annoying every time.

The characters are plentiful, and range from interesting to vapidly dull. Sadly, the author has yet to kill off any of the more tedious ones. Some aspects of the world-building were intriguing, and I liked the clear existence of queer relationships.

All in all, not the particular flavour of grimdark that appeals to me, and I didn’t find this terribly engaging to be honest. I’ll probably try the sequel though.

Learned Edmund, tasked with transporting relics, contemplates leaving his order when he is set upon. An unlikely rescuer comes to his aid.

I obviously wasn’t in the right mood for the second book in the Swordheart trilogy, because I didn’t enjoy it very much. Usually I find Kingfisher’s books delightful, often with pragmatically enchanting characters, but I was left a bit wanting by this one.

While I did quite like the Dervish and Large Francis I didn’t particularly enjoy any of the others characters, old familiar ones aside. I found it hard to stay interested in the story, and am left feeling a bit ambivalent to the book as a whole.

Bardas Loredan, ex fencer-at-law and former commander, puts his exceptional skills to work as a sapper, and suddenly finds himself a hero of the Empire and is thusly rewarded.

Some characters return, some fade away. A lot of battles. Some interesting bits on armour. Slightly bittersweet ending. Bardas continues to suffer at the pen of Parker. Must admit I liked this one less than the previous two, and I’d have liked a somewhat more definitive dénouement. Also realised I definitely prefer Parker’s protagonists when they are both the main character and a very shifty individual.

When the Church of the Invincible Sun needs dirty deeds done Sister Svangerd heeds the call. This time all she needs to do is help her pet priest steal a book. Easy, right?

Second in the Loyal Opposition series, wherein Svangerd and her priest continue her adventures and his travails. Svangerd remains a delightful foil to her long-suffering and constant sidekick. The story is fine, but Parker writing about tech, forgery, creating convoluted personas, etc. is spectacular. I absolutely adore the bits where his protagonist digs in and explains how it all works. It’s utterly believable, and I never tire of it. I just wish there was more. Will happily read the final book.

She is royalty, he is clad in underwear, together they’re taking on the Over City.

Carl and Donut’s escapades continue, now past the “training levels”, the real challenges lie before them. While I still find Donut charming, her catness seems to be waning, what with how caring she appears to be around virtual strangers. I’m still not personally convinced by the LitRPG genre, finding it slightly tedious at times.

Bardas Loredan, fencer-at-law, contemplates retirement completely unaware of the various forces conspiring against him, specifically. Personally, even.

Interesting book with overlapping viewpoints of various characters, some of which who are directly working against one another. Perimadeia, the city where most of the book takes place, has an absolutely fascinating system of law and lawyers.

Lacks the shifty narrator I’ve come to associate with Parker books, but I still found it a very enjoyable read. First in the series, and I’d definitely be finishing the Fencer trilogy.

High Queen of Faerie, yet exiled to the mortal realm, Jude is determined to reclaim what is hers.

I liked this even less than the previous one. The protagonist continues to be annoyingly overwrought, and her decisions continue to be tediously unsurprising. This wasn’t a particularly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, nor was the “romance” in any way interesting or believable. Again, this book is not in any way written for someone like me and that is fine. I just think this genre probably has more captivating and compelling examples to offer.

Something strange is happening at the boarding house run by Miss Lemon’s sister, Poirot decides to find the answers.

Unsatisfying mystery with unnecessary twists, and almost no Poirot, and can probably win the award for most tenuously titled Christie novel. It’s.… not good, rapidly deteriorating into an inane, and tedious mess.

Jude continues her machinations to ensure the future of Faerie.

I enjoyed this less than the first book in the series. I suppose there was more political intrigue, but it all felt a little tedious. The “romance” fizzled completely for me. I suppose it’s to be seen as a slow burn, but they should both cut their losses and move on, seriously. Betrayal, turn-around, comeuppances, it’s all in here, but I’m just not invested enough to actually care very much. Only one book left, so will finish the series.