Fantasy

Excerpt: BOOK OF ATRIX WOLFE by Patricia A. McKillip (Tachyon)

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McKillipPA-BookOfAtrixWolfe_30thNext month, Tachyon Publications are due to release a 30th anniversary special edition of The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip. To celebrate the release (on February 25th) and this milestone, the publisher has provided CR with an excerpt to share. Here’s the synopsis:

This brand new edition celebrates the 30th anniversary of a classic, luminous novel from the World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia A. McKillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld). In McKillip’s stunning cinematic prose, the human world and the realm of faeries dangerously entwine through chaotic magic. Discover the spellbinding legend of generational atonement and redemption between a reluctant mage, a powerful wizard, a struggling heir, fae royalty, and a mysterious scullery maid.

 When the White Wolf descends upon the battlefield, the results are disastrous. His fateful decision to end a war with powerful magic changes the destiny of four kingdoms: warlike Kardeth, resilient Pelucir, idyllic Chaumenard, and the mysterious Elven realm.

Twenty years later, Prince Talis, orphaned heir to Pelucir, is meant to be the savior of the realm. However, the prince is neither interested in ruling nor a particularly skilled mage. Further, he is obsessed with a corrupted spellbook, and he is haunted by visions from the woods.

The legendary mage Atrix Wolfe has forsaken magic and the world of men. But the Queen of the Wood, whose fae lands overlap Pelucir’s bloody battlefield, is calling Wolfe back. Her consort and her daughter have been missing since the siege, and if Wolfe cannot intervene, the Queen will keep a sacrifice for her own.

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Excerpt: THE DEAD HAMLETS by Peter Darbyshire (Poplar Press)

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DarbyshireP-BoC2-DeadHamletsOn January 13th, we shared an excerpt from the first novel in Peter Darbyshire‘s Book of Cross series, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice. Today, we have an excerpt from the follow-up book: The Dead Hamlets. (In a few days, we’ll post an excerpt from the third novel, The Apocalypse Ark.) The three novels are out now, published by Poplar Press. Here’s the synopsis:

The Witches never failed to extract a price somehow.

When Cross stumbles drunkenly into a darkened Berlin theatre that is staging Hamlet, he does not expect to see Morgana le Fay on stage as Queen Gertrude or witness a real murder. But a deadly ghost is haunting the faerie queen’s plays and Morgana expects Cross to solve the mystery or risk his daughter, Amelia, becoming the next victim. With the fate of Amelia in the balance Cross tries to unravel a mystery that takes him to libraries outside of time, into battles alongside an undead Christopher Marlowe and to bargaining with the real Witches of Macbeth. But is the play the thing, or is there something far older haunting Shakespeare’s famous work?

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Excerpt: MONA LISA SACRIFICE by Peter Darbyshire (Poplar Press)

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DarbyshireP-BoC1-MonaLisaSacrificeToday, we have an excerpt from The Mona Lisa Sacrifice by Peter Derbyshire, the first book in the Book of Cross series. The book is out now, published by Poplar Press. Here’s the synopsis:

“Even angels have to make a living these days.”

Cross is a man who has lived thousands of years, though he’d prefer not to have, and who is now hunting angels in a Barcelona filled with tourists, phone cameras and deep mystery.

When an angel promises to deliver Judas, a forgotten god of a forgotten people, to Cross for revenge if he can find the real Mona Lisa, a cascading set of mysteries involving a sisterhood of gorgons, Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Morgana le Fay and renegade angels is set in motion. Everything hangs in the balance. Even the fate of the world.

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Excerpt & Guest Post: MISERERE by Teresa Frohock

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Miserere was my debut novel in 2011, and as such, it had some problems. The prose was too purple, the descriptions too long, and the villains were a bit over the top. Thirteen years and four novels later, I’ve learned a lot about writing fiction, and I’ve grown, not just as an author, but as a person.

Once I reacquired my rights to Miserere, I reread it with more experienced eyes, and rather than just reissue the old book, I used the opportunity to make the story stronger. When Stefan graciously offered me space on his blog to host an excerpt, I thought long and hard about which scenes might have changed the most.

Frankly, each chapter has changed dramatically from the original. I’ve cleaned up the tautology and sharpened the character interactions, especially between Lucian and Catarina. More than ever, they feel like a brother and sister diametrically opposed to one another.

In the end, I chose to begin this excerpt at the beginning for people who have never read Miserere and to reacquaint former readers with the new edition. The first chapter is rather long, so I’ve found a good stopping point and left you there for now.

The story begins in the Sabbatical year 5873. Welcome, my darklings, to Woerld: Continue reading →

Re-view: MISERERE by Teresa Frohock (JABberwocky)

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A superb, mystic fantasy debut

Everything has a price, and those who deal with the devil pay dearly in this enthralling dark fantasy about redemption, sacrifice, and a Hell-bound battle between good and evil.

Exiled exorcist Lucian Negru made a choice that has haunted him for years. He abandoned his lover, Rachael, to Hell to save the damned soul of his sister, Catarina. But Catarina doesn’t want to be saved. Now a prisoner in his reviled sister’s home, Lucian is being used as a tool to help fulfill Catarina’s wicked dreams: unleash the demons of the underworld to wage a war above.

Lucian’s first step in thwarting Catarina’s plan is to make amends with the past. Escaping captivity, he is determined to find Rachael even if it means entering the gates of Hell itself. Only then does he cross paths with a young girl fleeing from her own terrors. With the frightened foundling in tow, Lucian embarks on a journey to right a terrible wrong, to protect the innocent, and to rescue the woman he loves.

But no one escapes Catarina’s wrath. She’s just as driven in her pursuit: to track down her brother wherever it leads. And when she finds him, and she will, she vows to turn his heart to glass, grind it to powder, and crush the souls of everyone he loves.

I read Teresa Frohock’s excellent debut novel, Miserere, back in 2011, and I’ve been a fan of the author’s work ever since. In January 2025, JABberwocky are going to released a revised edition of the novel, so I thought this would be a good time to re-post my original review — with only some typos fixed. (I loved it then, so I imagine the new version will be even better.) Since the original publisher (Nightshade) is no more, this book has become very difficult to track down, so I’m very glad it’s getting another lease of life, and that new readers will have a chance to read it. Continue reading →

Excerpt: CULT OF THE OBSIDIAN MOON by James Lovegrove (Titan Books)

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A little while ago, we shared an excerpt from the first new Conan the Barbarian novel published by Titan Books — City of the Dead by John C. Hocking. Today, we’re sharing another Conan excerpt, this time from the Cimmerian’s next, action-packed adventure: James Lovegrove‘s Cult of the Obsidian Moon. Before we get to the excerpt, here’s the synopsis:

Still mourning Bêlit, Conan attempts to drink away his sorrows. In his tavern-hopping journey he meets and befriends married couple Hunwulf and Gudrun and their son, Bjørn. A decade ago, Hunwulf eloped with Gudrun after killing her betrothed, they live on the run from her tribe, who are desperate for revenge.

Bjørn has the makings of a shaman, while Hunwulf is prone to having strange fits which bring him visions of past and future lives. When a descendant warns Hunwulf of imminent danger, he and his wife ride out to ambush the tribe, leaving Bjørn with Conan, who vows to protect the boy with his life.

Unfortunately, Conan is betrayed by a former accomplice, and Bjørn is kidnapped by the tribe. Conan and Bjørn’s vengeful parents search for the lad. They catch up to the tribe, only to find Bjørn has been taken by murderous bat-winged figures, who fought with talon and sword. The boy, and other “gifted” children have been taken to the Rotlands, a place plagued by a contaminating supernatural force that warps all who go there. To save Bjørn, the trio must go to the heart of the Rotlands, where strange, horrifying fates await at every turn.

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Excerpt: THE DARK KING SWALLOWS THE WORLD by Robert G. Penner (Radiant Press)

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PennerRG-DarkKingSwallowsTheWorldIn October, Radiant Press are due to publish The Dark King Swallows the World, the latest novel by Robert G. Penner, a coming-of-age, historical fiction, and fantasy novel. Today, we have an excerpt to share with our readers. Here’s the synopsis:

While isolated and friendless in World War II Cornwall, Nora, a precocious American adolescent, loses her younger half-brother in a car crash. Overwhelmed by grief, Nora’s mother becomes involved with Olaf Winter, the self-professed necromancer Nora believes is responsible for the accident. Desperate to win back her mother’s love from the nefarious Mr. Winter, Nora embarks on an epic journey and is plunged into a world of faeries, giants, and homunculi. Eventually she reaches the land of the dead where she confronts the dark king who rules that realm, attempts to retrieve her half-brother, and heal her mother’s broken heart.

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Excerpt: TO REIGN IN HELL by Steven Brust (Tor Books)

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BrustS-ToReignInHellUSPB2024Next month, Tor Books is due to release a new Tor Essentials edition of To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust. First published in 1984, the novel is a retelling of Satan’s revolt against Heaven. This new edition, due out on October 15th, features an introduction from Roger Zelazny. The publisher has allowed CR to share the first chapter with our readers. First, here’s the synopsis:

The time is the Beginning. The place is Heaven. The story is the Revolt of the Angels—a war of magic, corruption and intrigue that could destroy the universe.

Heaven is threatened by the reemergence of a cataclysmic event, a wave of energy that can destroy life and result in the loss of many angels. In preparation for this Fourth Wave, the angel Yaweh consults the angel Satan. A plan to build Earth, a new and larger Heaven that would be equipped to withstand the disaster, is constructed. Satan questions the plan because doing so will sacrifice the lives of other angels, much like the Fourth Wave itself threatens to do. Charged with convincing their fellow angels to lay down their lives, Satan has reservations about their right to ask for such a sacrifice. This doubt, and the questioning of ethics, opens the door for a devious figure to manipulate Satan, developing a heavenly war.

This re-examination of Paradise Lost that calls morality and villainy into question through the lens of epic fantasy is a prescient early classic with an enduring legacy and a formative text of the genre.

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Excerpt: WITCH QUEEN OF REDWINTER by Ed McDonald (Tor Books)

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McDonaldE-R3-WitchQueenOfRedwinterUSHCOn November 12th, Tor Books is due to publish WITCH QUEEN OF REDWINTER by Ed McDonald, the third novel in the Redwinter series. To mark the upcoming release, and to whet readers’ appetites for the novel, the publisher has allowed CR to share the first two chapters! Before we get to the excerpt, here’s the synopsis:

Having been saved from execution at the hands of the Draoihn — powerful magic users Raine used to count as allies — Raine finds herself in the Fault, a vast magical wasteland, which is falling apart before her eyes.

Alongside her two closest companions, they are searching for the only person Raine believes can help them get back home: the enigmatic and infuriatingly elusive Queen of Feathers.

But what home are they trying to get back to? Ovitus LacNaithe, power-hungry traitor that he is, has taken control of the Draoihn and is unwittingly doing the bidding of a darker master. He is soon to take control of the Crown of Harranir and plunge the land into unending darkness.

The fate of two worlds hangs in the balance. The stakes have never been higher. It’s going to take Raine’s dark, terrible powers, as well as the unbreakable bond of three friends, to ensure everyone lives to see the dawn.

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Excerpt: YOKE OF STARS by R. B. Lemberg (Tachyon)

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LembergRB-B3-YokeOfStarsA couple of weeks ago, Tachyon Publications published Yoke of Stars by R. B. Lemberg, the third book in the author’s Birdverse series. To mark the occasion, the publisher has provided us with an excerpt to share with CR readers. Here’s the synopsis:

In this newest novella from the queer, mystical Birdverse, an apprentice assassin and an inquisitive linguist share their tales in order to make a fateful decision…

In the School of Assassins, Stone Orphan waits for a first assignment. After their first kill, they will graduate and attain the coveted cloth of bone. But instead of a commission, Stone Orphan gets an inquisitive linguist, Ulín. Ulín has heard the Orphan Star’s song of despair, mirroring her own, and drawing her to the School of Assassins. But Ulín is far more interested in learning Stone Orphan’s language than deciding whom she wishes to kill.

Unable to contain their curiosity, Stone Orphan offers to exchange stories with Ulín to help her decide the fate of three men. By turns, Stone Orphan and Ulín narrate tales of love, suffering, exile, and self-determination, and two hurt souls find hope in each other through the radical act of listening.

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