Category Archives: Reviews

The Patriot List – David Guymer

Part of the Marvel: Untold range from Aconyte Books, David Guymer’s The Patriot List turns the tables on the usual Marvel norms and tells a tale of villains pretending to be heroes, featuring the Dark Avengers under the leadership of the brilliant but troubled Norman Osborn. In the wake of a Skrull invasion and the failure of SHIELD, Osborn is now in control of a new team of Avengers, which sees – unbeknown to the general public – hand-picked (and, unsurprisingly, difficult to manage) super-villains masquerading as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Despite the incredible power he wields, Osborn isn’t exactly the most stable of characters, and when a list detailing potential replacements for his faux-Avengers is stolen from under his nose, his response is somewhat less than subtle.

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Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – via Grimdark Magazine

Ever since first reading Gideon the Ninth back in 2019 I’ve been hooked on Tamsyn Muir’s The Locked Tomb stories, so I was thrilled to be able to review the third novel in the series – Nona the Ninth – for the fine folks over at Grimdark Magazine. That review is now live, and you can find it here; do check it out! Rather than post the same review here on Track of Words, I’ll use this space to add a few more thoughts about Nona in general, and my experience of reading it (including the preparations I made in advance). So, if you just want to get straight to the review then by all means head over to the GdM site and check that out! If not, read on…and I’ll link out to the review again at the end.

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Against All Gods – Miles Cameron

Miles Cameron’s brilliantly-titled Against All Gods kicks off his Age of Bronze cycle, a new historical fantasy series set (as the name suggests) in a Bronze Age-inspired world populated by mortals, monsters and bickering, manipulative gods. Enkul-Anu, God of the Storm, rules over both gods and mortals through power and fear, but a thousand years after conquering heaven his grip on the pantheon is starting to slip. When one of the younger gods kills the wrong mortal, bungling Enkul-Anu’s orders, events are set into motion that will threaten the gods’ control of the world and its people. Brought together by circumstance and the meddling of higher powers, and disillusioned by the uncaring gods, an unlikely group of mortals set out to take a stand, aware that they’re being manipulated but determined to find room for their own choices.

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QUICK REVIEW: Daemonologie: A Question Asked of Darkness – John French

Currently only available within the ‘Mega Edition’ boxed set of Ahriman: Eternal, as its own beautifully bound little book, John French’s short story Daemonologie: A Question Asked of Darkness is a typically dark and richly detailed addition to the ongoing Ahriman series. Told from the bitter, brutally honest perspective of the daemonologist Ctesias, it represents a written record of the rituals he undertook – at Ahriman’s request – in order to learn more about the doom bearing down on the Thousand Sons, consuming the Rubricae and remaking the living sorcerers. In his attempt to draw knowledge from the warp, Ctesias calls upon his skills as a summoner, binding and questioning daemons…and worse.

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QUICK REVIEW: As Yet Unsent – Tamsyn Muir

A small but intriguing part of the Locked Tomb Series, Tamsyn Muir’s short story As Yet Unsent is available to read for free on the Tor.com website. [SPOILER WARNING: read Harrow the Ninth before reading this review or the short story in question] Fitting in roughly between Harrow the Ninth and Nona the Ninth, it’s written from the perspective of Second House necromancer Judith Deuteros and takes the form of excerpts from a report she wrote while in captivity at the hands of Blood of Eden. As she slowly, begrudgingly recovers from the injuries she sustained at Canaan House, Captain Deuteros documents her observations of her captors, what they seem to want from her and what this means for her continued existence, as well as the changing behaviour and attitude of the other Canaan House survivors – Camilla Hect and Coronabeth Tridentarius.

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Aera: The Return of the Ancient Gods – Markus Heitz

Markus Heitz’s epic AERA: The Return of the Ancient Gods was originally serialised across ten novellas, first published in German and then translated into English by Emily Gunning and Charlie Homewood, and it’s now available in a single 800+ page omnibus courtesy of Jo Fletcher Books. A strangely compelling mix of Europe-centric urban fantasy, mystery and mythological adventure, it’s set in an alternative world in which the old gods returned to Earth in 2012, and subsequently set about reclaiming their worshippers and setting themselves up in positions of power (more than a few turning to business to take full advantage of the modern world). Into this mix steps Malleus Bourreau, Interpol agent and avowed atheist, who refuses to believe in the gods and is determined to find out who or what they really are. Given the circumstances, and the potential for god versus god rivalry, this leads to some interesting conflicts of opinion.

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Black Cat: Discord – Cath Lauria

Cath Lauria’s second contribution to Aconyte Books’ range of Marvel: Heroines novels (after the excellent Elsa Bloodstone: Bequest), Black Cat: Discord offers a fun perspective on Marvel’s wild world of heroes and villains, from someone who straddles both communities. Thief extraordinaire Felicia Hardy, aka the Black Cat, normally looks out solely for number one, but when teenager Casey asks for (well…more like demands) help to find her missing father – the ex-criminal Firestrike, now turned state witness – there’s something about the case that piques Felicia’s interest. While she’s out searching for the missing Firestrike however, seemingly the entire hero and villain population of New York is searching for a magical, wish-granting golden apple, and she finds her services in considerable demand.

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Equinox – David Towsey

Hidden witches, gruesome magic and uniquely complex sibling relationships abound in David Towsey’s dark, intriguing fantasy novel Equinox, out now from Head of Zeus. In a world in which each body houses two people – one who lives during the day, and one during the night – Special Inspector Christophor Morden shares his body with his day brother, but not his profession; while Christophor is a witch hunter, Alexsander is a musician. When Christophor is dispatched by the King himself to a small, distant town to seek out and stop a dangerous witch, Alexsander tries to make the most of his new surroundings, but he soon finds his own experiences coming into conflict with his night-brother’s work. As Christophor’s investigation drags on, what they find in Drekenford puts more strain on their brotherly cooperation than ever before.

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[IN BRIEF] A Psalm for the Wild-Built – Becky Chambers

A novella is often the perfect length for a story which really digs into a single, fairly self-contained idea, and that’s exactly what Becky Chambers’ A Psalm for the Wild-Built (her first Monk and Robot book) does. It’s the tale of Sibling Dex, a tea monk with a tendency for crises of purpose, who finds themself gradually coming to terms with their own thoughts and needs in the most unlikely of company. On an impromptu journey into the wilderness, Dex is stunned to come across Mosscap, a robot in search of answers to the question of what humans need. In the generations since robots suddenly and unexpectedly achieved consciousness and subsequently left mankind’s cities in favour of the wilderness, no human has even seen a robot, never mind talked to one…until now. And suffice to say, Dex does not feel overly prepared for the experience.

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Under Fortunate Stars – Ren Hutchings

Ren Hutchings’ debut novel Under Fortunate Stars, out now from Solaris, is a characterful and thought-provoking space opera featuring accidental time travel, unwilling heroes and space-based corporate bureaucracy. On board the cargo hauler Jonah, roguish Jereth and cynical Leeg are trying to stay away from the war with the Felen engulfing Union space when they find themselves trapped in a strange deep-space rift. Caught in the same rift is the Gallion, a ZeyCorp research vessel transporting an alien ambassador. When the two ships meet, confusion abounds as the Gallion crew claim to be from a time far in the Jonah’s future. Not only that, but history buff Uma, Director of Engineering onboard the Gallion, recognises the Jonah as the ship that carried the ‘Fortunate Five’ and played a crucial part in ending the war with the Felen…even if its crew doesn’t quite match up to what the history books say.

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