As both Hell and paradise realms cast acquisitive glances towards the Library, Claire and Brevity desperately seek to persuade the other Librarians of their peril. But can they find a way to free the stories from the threat of the afterlives forever – and what will be the cost?
4 stars
You Let Me In is not the only tale Cassandra Tipp has ever told, but it will be her last. As her final act before disappearing into the wildwood, she invites her heirs to see her life through her eyes before they decide whether they want to inherit her legacy, finally knowing what that truly means…
A young scholar explores and documents the House, an endless palace of vestibules, halls and statues lapped by ceaseless tides. As he tries to makes sense of his world, he finds himself increasingly driven to keep secrets from the Other. Does his only friend – the only other living person in the House – really have Piranesi’s best interests at heart?
When the House’s most prized courtesan is murdered, nobody says a word. When she rises from the dead to seek revenge, her friends must decide whether to stay silent or to secure their own safety by betraying her to the House. How do you decide what’s best when all your choices have been taken away?
Britain is in the grip of a global pandemic, but an older – and equally dire – threat is awakening up on the Wiltshire chalk. With only uncertain allies and limited resources at his disposal, Dan must unravel secrets from a time even the dryads can’t remember…
When Jess returns to Malaysia with her parents, she thinks she needs to figure out a job and how to finally tell them she’s in love with another girl. Instead, she’s hearing a voice in her head that wants her to confront a Forbes list business tycoon. Life is about to get even more complicated…
A year after the sack of Sleighthulme, Joron is riddled with disease and dismay. As the Black Pirate, he is dreaded throughout the Hundred Isles, but he is no closer to finding Meas. How far will he go for his shipwife – and will she forgive what he has done in her name?
The Mugenese have been shattered by the Phoenix’s terrible power, but Rin still hungers to destroy Nikan’s treacherous Empress. Before she can defeat her enemies, Rin must face her demons – and learn to control the god within…
The Near Earth Orbital Guard handle search and rescue in space, a vital if underfunded mission delivered by small, tight crews determined to save lives. When rookie lieutenant Max Carmichael is unexpectedly assigned to the best Neo-G crew in the service, she has a lot to prove – to her new team, to her estranged family, but mostly to herself.
A year after saving the wakewyrm, the resistance port of Safeharbour is raided by the Bern; more arakeesians are sighted, putting the Hundred Isles back on a war footing; and the toxic cargo of a merchant ship suggests the Thirteenbern has even darker plots afoot. The battle for peace teeters on a knife-edge – and there’s a mutiny brewing aboard the Tide Child...
In Vaskandar, everything boils down to power. As a Witchlord’s mage-marked granddaughter, Ryx is undeniably powerful. But her magic is flawed: it kills everything she touches. When she accidentally kills a visiting dignitary, she gives an ambitious neighbour a pretext for war… which is about to be the least of her worries.
Pursued off Milu by GrayCris and their agents, Murderbot realises that its actions may have put Dr Mensah in jeopardy – and it can’t just leave its humans in peril, can it? It’s time to put a stop to the nefarious corporation once and for all, however big the risks.
Full of enthusiasm and conveniently between books, I dived into the pile of novellas I had stacked up for All Systems Read a day early. I kicked off my weekend of SFnal novellas with Sweet Harmony by Claire North, shortlisted for this year’s Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards.
60-some years after the mysterious Hyvönen Anomaly was first spotted, it looms on Earth’s doorstep. Some worship it; others fear it; only a select few have any idea what it’s capable of. Tomas Hyvönen’s crew have just 4 years left to figure out how to deal with the enigma before it envelops the planet – unless it consumes them first…
The God-King of Narida has no heir. His sister can assassinate his rivals, but she is powerless to silence prophecies of a reborn God. Across the ocean, a deathless warrior is uniting the fierce Tjakorshi clans. The Brown Eagle clan has fled to Narida to make peace with townsfolk they have raided for generations – but how long can peace last?
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