• Blog Tours

    Blog Tour: The Fountains of Silence – Ruta Sepetys

    March 15, 2021 /

    Today I’m excited to start of a very special blog tour for The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. While I adored the book – set in Spain in the 1950s and looking at life under Franco through the eyes of a young American photojournalist – this won’t be a review post. I got to attend a fantastic event with Ruta, and talk to her about retelling history. You can find The Fountains of Silence on Goodreads here, and copies are available from Bookshop here (affiliate link). Massive thanks to Penguin and Nina Douglas for sending me a copy of the book and having me as part of the blog tour!

    SUMMARY: Madrid, 1957. Daniel, young, wealthy and unsure of his place in the world, views the city through the lens of his camera. Ana, a hotel maid whose family is suffering under the fascist dictatorship of General Franco. Lives and hearts collide as they unite to uncover the hidden darkness within the city. A darkness that could engulf them all . . . (from Penguin)

    Ruta is one of the most beloved historical fiction writers out there. She won the Carnegie Medal in 2017, is published in 60 countries and even has a postage stamp with her face in Lithuania. She is again longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for The Fountains of Silence. The story is very much set in a crossover space, and can be read both as a YA novel and an adult one. Ruta believes that history helps human understanding, giving people a reason for things being the way they are. In her opinion, history helps compassion, and silence breeds misunderstanding. If history is not talked about, every person can create their own version of events.

    But why write about the Franco regime? Ruta is Lithuanian-American, and her first novels had been about exploring her family history and identity, so Spanish history isn’t a very obvious choice for her. When she was touring Spain for her first book, Between Shades of Grey, she did a number of school visits. And those teens, readers of her debut novel, asked her whether she might take her expertise of writing historical novels and apply them to their own history. Because young Spanish people don’t know about their past. After Franco’s death in 1975, Spanish policy culminated in the Pact of Forgetting, which meant that the atrocities of the civil war and the ensuing regime were not discussed. The past was not reckoned with, not taught, and not talked about.

    Her immediate reaction, as someone who is not connected to Spain at all, was that it was not her place to write this story. But the idea never left her, and once she found the right lens – that of a young American, raised by a Spanish mother, but with no knowledge of life in Spain – she decided to write the story after all. While her earlier novels had a family connection, based in Lithuania and Eastern Europe, allowing her to write them from the inside out, this one required a different approach. She wrote The Fountains of Silence from the outside in. Using an outside observer, she consciously chose to write an unreliable narrator, a tourist. This allowed her to tell the story from someone passing judgement over what he sees, and highlight that as a tourist, one only sees part of the story. And personally, I think this is a large part of what made The Fountains of Silence resonate so much with me. Seeing the struggle of someone trying to make sense of what he sees, of trying to figure out the full story from his perspective, but utterly failing to.

    Ruta really is a huge history nerd at heart (or, a history hoe, as we call ourselves in my circle of friends). She collected a variety of items from the period, such as a travel brochure handed out on flights from the US to Spain in the 1950s. She has the original key to the room in the hotel Daniel stays at. She also found pieces of the guarda civil uniform of the period. All this helps her to create an immersive experience for her readers. In the book itself, she included bits of historical documents accompanying the story. And that is one of the things I loved most about the book: while reading this historical novel, telling a story and using history to illustrate it, these documents allowed me to get even more of a sense of the world. Ruta used these sources to show to the reader where the story came from. Because The Fountains of Silence is a book that is ultimately about the history in it, and not the explicit story.

    By writing about a period that is not that far in the past, Ruta was able to refer to oral history. To talk to witnesses who lived through the Franco regime. One of the anecdotes she told us was that once she started publicly talking about the book she was writing, people approached her to tell her their stories. One of these was an old man, who had grown up in a boys’ home, and later become a bellboy at the Hilton Castellana, where the story is set. The stories he told her directly influenced the book, and readers can see him in the character Buttons, one of the most lovable in the story.

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  • Reviews

    Inscape – Louise Carey

    March 11, 2021 /

    I have been on a bit of a mystery/thriller binge recently, so I was very excited when this science fiction thriller arrived on my doorstep. It is just as addictive as the blurb made it sound and I’m looking forward to continuing the story!

    Many thanks to Will O’Mullane and Gollancz for sending me a review copy, all opinions are my own as usual.

    STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

    RELEASE DATE: 21/01/21

    SUMMARY: Tanta has trained all her young life for this. Her very first mission is a code red: to take her team into the unaffiliated zone just outside InTech’s borders and retrieve a stolen hard drive. It should have been quick and simple, but a surprise attack kills two of her colleagues and Tanta barely makes it home alive.

    Determined to prove herself and partnered with a colleague whose past is a mystery even to himself, Tanta’s investigation uncovers a sinister conspiracy that makes her question her own loyalties and the motives of everyone she used to trust. (from Gollancz)

    OPINIONS: This is a well-written and gripping thriller, drawing you into the world of Inscape from the first page. I am usually much more of a fantasy reader than a science fiction one, but this hit the sweet spot for my current obsession with fast-paced mysteries. The story starts with Tanta’s mission going very very wrong – but instead of being reprimanded, she ends up promoted. Tanta is a wonderful main character, flawed, young and inexperienced, but determined and ambitious. Half the time I wanted to hug her, the rest of the time punch her. But most importantly, I was never ambivalent towards her.

    There is a sapphic relationship woven throughout the story. But Inscape isn’t a romantic book or one that focuses on a romantic subplot. It is merely there. This is a thriller first and foremost, with a strong focus on the resolution of the mystery. Cole, the second main character, doesn’t remember much. He is smart, but he has a massive gap in his memories. Together with Tanta, he sets out to figure out why his memory was wiped, who they are, and what is going on around them.

    The story addresses themes of belonging, human programming and surveillance. It is a great escapist book, and if you’re looking to leave this messed up world for a few hours, it’s a good choice to pick up Inscape. Add it on Goodreads here, and order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

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  • Reviews

    A History of What Comes Next – Sylvain Neuvel

    March 6, 2021 /

    This book surprised me in all the best ways. I got the audiobook off NetGalley (massive thanks to PRH Audio!) and I raced through it in like three days. And I was working for most of those days, so you can imagine how obsessive I was about listening! This is a supernatural alternative history of the Space Race and it hit all my sweet spots.

    STAR RATING: 4.5/5 ✶

    RELEASE DATE: 04/03/21

    SUMMARY: Germany, 1945.

    Mia, a nineteen-year-old girl, is sent by the OSS to find Wernher von Braun: Germany’s – and the world’s – foremost rocket scientist. Her mission: stop the Russians getting hold of him.

    But von Braun is suspicious. And so he should be.

    For Mia is no ordinary girl. She only looks human. And helping the Allies win the Second World War is just one part of her plan . . .

    Because there’s an even darker conflict on Earth. A secret struggle thousands of years old. One that has taken generations of Mia’s people.

    But can the firing of rockets finally bring about its end?

    Can Mia, as the last of her kind, bring the stars down to earth?

    And if she succeeds, what will happen to us?     (from Penguin Michael Joseph)

    OPINIONS: Ok, so this is SO GOOD and you need to get your hands on this. It is an alternative history of the Space Race in the 20th century intertwined with the story of the Kibsu, a sort of anomaly where generations of mothers and daughters appear like clones and possess superior brains for science. We meet them at the point where they’re the 99 – the 99th generation, with Sarah as the mother and Mia the daughter. At the start of the story, Mia is nineteen, and on a mission to extract Wernher von Braun for the Americans at the end of World War 2. The story continues until Mia has her own daughter and they become the 100.

    One of my favourite aspects of this was the extensive historical notes at the end of the book, explaining about the sources, further reading and historical figures. Can you tell that I’m a nerd? I also really enjoyed the interludes of earlier generations of the Kibsu, visiting eras such as the Dutch witch trials or the medieval Rus’. A History of What Comes Next is meticulously researched, and in addition to being a wonderful novel and story of its own, teaches the reader much about cultural history.

    I loved Mia from the start – she is a young woman, headstrong and determined to find her own path. The narration adds to that, portraying her as she is, with nuance and detail – it sounds as if it’s Mia directly speaking to the reader. The interplay of text and delivery is astounding and adds to the enjoyment of the story. The book is narrated by 5 or 6 different narrators, giving each point of view a distinct character.

    I cannot recommend this book enough. If you are fascinated by space at all or love science fiction, you have to make sure to give this a shot. You can add it on Goodreads here, get the audiobook from Audible here and order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

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  • Blog Tours

    Blog Tour: Sleep Tight – C.S. Green

    March 4, 2021 /

    I haven’t done a blog tour in a while, but this month I’ll be featuring quite a few! Starting out is Sleep Tight by C.S. Green, published by HarperCollins. This is the first in a new mystery series starring DC Rose Gifford, and is being published today! Many thanks to Jen Harlow and HarperCollins for having me, and do check out the posts from my fellow tour hosts!

    STAR RATING: 3.5/5 ✶

    RELEASE DATE: 04/03/21

    SUMMARY: Even in your dreams you’re not safe. The nightmare is only just beginning…

    When DC Rose Gifford is called to investigate the death of a young woman suffocated in her bed, she can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to the crime than meets the eye.

    It looks like a straightforward crime scene – but the police can’t find the killer. Enter DS Moony – an eccentric older detective who runs UCIT, a secret department of the Met set up to solve supernatural crimes. Moony wants Rose to help her out – but Rose doesn’t believe in any of that.

    Does she?

    As the killer prepares to strike again, Rose must pick a side – before a second woman dies. (from HarperCollins)

    OPINIONS: This is an intriguing thriller, a story in which it is not clear whether the events are due to supernatural causes or not. In some ways, it reminds me a bit of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London, with its dedicated department for unusual crimes. But that is where the similarities end. Rose Gifford is a young policewoman, raised by her grandmother, who worked as a medium. Much of the story revolves around her childhood trauma and her struggles to let go of her past and people in it.

    This is not a super fast-moving book, but rather one that calmly takes it’s mystery and logically approaches it step-by-step. I liked that it did not fall into sensationalist tropes like many crime novels, but rather used it’s case to show issues in the characters lives. This is as much Rose’s story as it is that of the victims of the initial crime. While the basic set up doesn’t make the story stand out, its execution is well done, and I am curious to pick up a follow-up.

    Given more airspace, I think the DC Rose Gifford series can develop into a strong brand and tell some great stories. However, my main gripe with the novel is that it doesn’t evaluate the role of the police critically at all. All of the cops are “good guys”, and there is no indication that the police force needs a nuanced take after the events of the past few years.

    If you are intrigued, add Sleep Tight to Goodreads here, and order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

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  • Hype!

    March Hype Post!

    February 28, 2021 /

    This one is a bit late this month, but hey, it’s still February so it counts! There are tons of books that are being released in the next few weeks (also have a look at the books for March in my 2021 overview!)

    One book that’s on that list nevertheless deserves mention here: The Second Bell by Gabriela Houston will be released by Angry Robot on the 9th of March. I got to read this early, and I absolutely loved it. It is a story of belonging, wrapped up in a Slavic-inspired fairytale. See my review on Grimdark Magazine! In terms of books that I’ve already reviewed on here, I’d like to point out Skyward Inn by Aliya Whitely, out from Rebellion on the 16th (review here) – I liked this so much that you can find a quote from my review in the finished copy. I also loved One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky, a funky novella about timetravel featuring a pet dinosaur (review here). This is from Rebellion too and out on the 2nd.

    The Unbroken by C.L. Clark is out on the 23rd of March from Orbit. This is the story of a soldier and a princess, both fighting for the good of the people they each care about. It’s messy, both Touraine (the soldier) and Luca (the princess) are idiots but I love them. I’m two thirds of the way through, and I’m hoping to finish this over the next few days. The story also addresses colonialism and the day to day impact it has on society. It is set in a pseudo-North African setting, and Luca represents the colonial force. So far, this is a great book, though not an easy one. Also, please admire the amazing Tommy Arnold cover art! Order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

    The Councillor by E.J. Beaton will be out on the 2nd from DAW. This wasn’t on my radar for the longest time, but I’ve had quite a few people rave about it. It’s a Machiavellian fantasy, with lots of scheming, plotting and politics. So just my cup of tea. Funnily enough, this too features a royal Luca, although this time a prince. It also features a scholar MC and is set in a queer-norm world, so it sounds wonderful. Get a copy of this via Blackwell’s here.

    Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes is also out on the 2nd, from Tor.com. The copy for this says that it ‘crosses borders and genres with stories of fierce women at the margins of society burning their way toward the center.’ It is a collection of stories around women forging their paths against society’s expectations. And as we all know that I’m an angry, rebellious feminist, this sounds like the best thing ever. Pre-order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

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  • Something Special

    Subjective Kind of Chaos Awards 2021

    February 27, 2021 /

    This is a bit of a special post. I’m very very excited to be part of the judging team for the Subjective Kind of Chaos Awards for 2021. These are blogger awards, focused on speculative fiction. This is the fourth year running – see this announcement of 2020’s winners here. This year’s judging team is consisting of Anna (@Imyril/There is always room for one more), Adri (@adrijjy/Nerds of a Feather), Arina (@voyagerarina/The Bookwyrm’s Guide to the Galaxy), Jonny (@SFFjonbob/Parsecs & Parchment), Kris (@hammard_1987/Cloaked Creators), L.A. (Aquavenatus), Lisa (@deargeekplace/Dear Geek Place), Womble (@runalongwomble/Runalongtheshelves), Noria (@noriathereader/Chronicles of Noria), Sean (@DowieSean/Nerds of a Feather) and Sun (@suncani1). They’re all wonderful people and bloggers, and I highly recommend you check them all out!

    But now, WE HAVE NOMINEES. This is not a false alert, we have actually decided on a fantastic roster of nominees for our various categories. As I am a glutton for punishment, I’ll be judging in all of them except for Sci-Fi. But luckily I have a while to read/reread all of these wonderful books. If there’s a link, it means I have reviewed the book before, and you can click to read it!

    BEST FANTASY

    BEST SCIENCE FICTION

    BEST BLURRED BOUNDARIES

    BEST DEBUT

    BEST NOVELLA

    BEST SERIES

    BEST SHORT FICTION

    • “Tiger Lawyer Gets It Right” by Sarah Gailey (from the Escape Pod anthology)
    • “Convergence in Chorus Architecture” by Dare Segun Falowo (from the Dominion anthology)
    • “In Kind” by Kayla Whaley (from the Vampires Never Get Old anthology)
    • “Volumes” by Laura Duerr (Cast of Wonders, online here)
    • “You Perfect, Broken Thing” by C.L. Clark (Uncanny Magazine, online here)
    • “Yellow and the Perception of Reality” by Maureen McHugh (Tor.com, online here)
    • “Juice Like Wounds” by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com, online here)

    And that’s all of them. Lots of reading to do, and I hope you’ll check out some of our choices!

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  • Reviews

    The Mask of Mirrors – M. A. Carrick

    February 21, 2021 /

    So, give me fancy dress fantasy and morally grey protagonists, and I’m a happy gal. But sadly The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick felt a lot like painting-by-numbers and did not manage to get me invested. A lot of my friends really love it though, so do have a look if you think it might be for you – I just recommend a sample first!

    Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions are my own as always.

    STAR RATING: 3/5 ✶

    RELEASE DATE: 21/01/21

    SUMMARY: Fortune favors the bold. Magic favors the liars.

    Ren is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadezra with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house, securing her fortune and her sister’s future.

    But the deeper she is drawn into the aristocratic world of House Traementis, the more she realizes her masquerade is just one of many. And as corrupt nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the City of Dreams, the poisonous feuds of its wealthy and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled…with Ren at their heart. (from Orbit)

    OPINIONS: I’m going to preface this by saying that two thirds of my friends have REALLY loved this (such as Sara, whose review on the Fantasy Inn is here) and the remaining third have pointed out similar issues to the ones I had with the book. So I really recommend you check out a sample and have a look yourself if you’re tempted!

    Mask of Mirrors has everything that I like about a book. There’s stunning imaginery, fancy dresses, morally corrupt characters and no clear side of right or wrong. But nothing about it felt particularly new or innovative. For me personally, this was a fun read, but I kept craving more. While I enjoyed it, it did not pull me in on an emotional level, which I want books to do these days. It’s hard to find a systematic fault with the book, I think it just wasn’t the book for me.

    There has been a lot of vaguely Venetian-set fantasy, and to be honest, none of it has really hit my sweet spot. The setting of Mask of Mirrors and its concept is wonderful and deep, the characters are interesting. I particularly liked Tess and found Vargo very charming despite being a fantasy-cop. But I guessed the big twist quite a bit before it was released, which took away the magic for me. I struggled with the fact that Ren doesn’t figure out someone else’s secret identity due to their voice – she is a con artist, she is by definition perceptive, and this just broke immersion for me. But again, I think this is a ME thing and not a BOOK thing. I’m definitely curious to pick up the second one in the series and see how the story continues.

    Add Mask of Mirrors to Goodreads here, and order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

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  • Reviews

    Ruthless Women – Melanie Blake

    February 19, 2021 /

    Today is my stop on the Midas PR Blog Tour for Melanie Blake’s Ruthless Women. This came out yesterday from Head of Zeus and according to the marketing copy it is “a glamorous revenge-filled thriller”. This of course made me curious and I was looking forward to delving into a fun and compelling story about the various women at the set of a soap opera. But while I always try to write positive reviews for blog tours, Ruthless Women sadly falls into some unforgivable traps – I am truly sorry to have to write a negative review.

    You can find the book on Goodreads here, and on Waterstones here.

    Thank you to Midas PR and Head of Zeus for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

    SUMMARY: On a beautiful private island off the coast of the UK, the cast and crew of glamorous TV show Falcon Bay are at breaking point.

    Ratings are falling, and their new boss is inventing ever more dramatic – and impossible – storylines to get Falcon Bay back into the number 1 slot.

    Director Farrah, lead actress Catherine and producer Amanda are the passionate, ambitious women holding the show together. With so much at stake, they will stop at nothing to stay in the jobs they love and on the island they call home.

    Can these women team up to bring down their rivals? Or will scandal, betrayal and ambition tear them apart? (from Head of Zeus)

    OPINIONS: So the first 75-80% of Ruthless Women are pretty decent. It is just what it says on the tin, fluffy, overly dramatic soap opera actors and producers and their petty problems with each other, relationships and the show. It is entertaining, if nothing special to write about. But around the eighty-percent mark of the book (and this will include potential spoilers), it all goes to hell. One of the women gets outed for being trans. And not only has she previously been introduced as a sort of villain, but her transness is used as a weapon against her. It is a punchline and blackmail material. And while that alone already had me in a rage while reading, the fact that she gets killed in the most ridiculous way at the end of the book and it is considered ‘just punishment’ by the remaining ruthless women in the book made it infinitely worse. This is 2021, and the queer community has been fighting for representation and recognition for DECADES at this point, and the ‘kill your gays’ trope has been well and truly called out. There is no reason to introduce a trans character only to twist their transness against them and then kill them shortly after. Especially in this case, where there simply needs to be some kind of secret to use against the woman in question, there are so many easier and less hurtful ways to plot the story. Have a damn lovechild or fake identity or something without hurting one of the most marginalised communities. And considering the current climate in the UK and the struggle against TERFs (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists), having a supposedly feminist book treat its only trans character in such a way is certainly a choice. There is enough shit in the world that we don’t need to pile more on to trans people (or any other marginalised group). I cannot possibly recommend this book considering the harm that it does, which supersedes any merit it might have.

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  • Reviews

    Whisper Down The Lane – Clay McLeod Chapman

    February 13, 2021 /

    So I read this a couple of weeks ago, but have been horrible at getting around to writing a review – looks like having a grown-up job in books affects my thinking about books outside of work!

    But yes, Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman. This is an adult horror novel about the power of rumours, set in a dual timeline between Richard as a teacher and his childhood, when he was still called Sean. It is disconcerting and addictive, and I definitely recommend it if it sounds like your cup of tea!

    Many thanks to Jamie-Lee Nardone and Stephen Haskins at Black Crow PR and Quirk Books for sending me an ARC. All opinions are my own.

    STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

    RELEASE DATE: 06/04/21

    SUMMARY: Richard doesn’t have a past. For him, there is only the present: a new marriage to Tamara, a first chance at fatherhood to her son Elijah, and a quiet but pleasant life as an art teacher at Elijah’s elementary school in Danvers, Virginia. Then the body of a rabbit, ritualistically murdered, appears on the school grounds with a birthday card for Richard tucked beneath it. Richard doesn’t have a birthday—but Sean does . . .

    Sean is a five-year-old boy who has just moved to Greenfield, Virginia, with his mother. Like most mothers of the 1980s, she’s worried about bills, childcare, putting food on the table . . . and an encroaching threat to American life that can take the face of anyone: a politician, a friendly neighbor, or even a teacher. When Sean’s school sends a letter to the parents revealing that Sean’s favorite teacher is under investigation, a white lie from Sean lights a fire that engulfs the entire nation—and Sean and his mother are left holding the match.

    Now, thirty years later, someone is here to remind Richard that they remember what Sean did. And though Sean doesn’t exist anymore, someone needs to pay the price for his lies. (from Quirk Books)

    OPINIONS: This is an incredibly addictive psychological horror novel. Whisper Down the Lane uses the dual timeline to tell the story of what happened thirty years ago, while mirroring it in present day. The person at the heart of both storylines is the same, in one as a boy accusing his teacher of abuse, and in the other as a teacher being accused of similar things. It is disconcerting and uncomfortable at times – which for me is important in a horror novel.

    What I found most terrifying is the depiction of the child storyline, where you can see how adults projecting their fears affects Sean, and how things escalate because he is trying to tell them what they want to hear. This idea of rumours spreading and lives being ruined is something that is really scary to me. Social opinion really does ruin lives, and usually due to things that aren’t true, while the people who actually do despicable things end up scot-free.

    But then, the actions of Sean, the five-year-old start haunting Richard, adult teacher. The parallel stories mesh together really well, and the ending is very satisfying. It is unexpected and well done – I was worried that it would be something weird or unrealistic, so I was very pleasantly surprised. Added to that is that there is no clear-cut evil in the story. It shows all the perspectives and how someone acting in the way they believe is right and best and being thorougly misguided.

    If you think this might be up your alley, add it on Goodreads here, or pre-order a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

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  • Minis

    Mini reviews!

    January 29, 2021 /

    As I’ve been working a ton, I’m once again behind with writing reviews. So I decided to do another round of mini reviews – have a read and see if there’s something that appeals to you!

    I was extremely excited for The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox (Michael Joseph, February 2021). But sadly, the execution of the concept was just not for me. The story centres Taryn, a self-absorbed woman who has issues dealing with her sister’s murder. She hires a hitman to take out her killer and ends up being pulled into a supernatural threat. I found the characters superficial, and I was bored by the writing. As this promised to be a book about books, something that I usually adore, I was very frustrated throughout reading it, and would not recommend it. If you are interested, you can get a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

    The Four Profound Weaves (Tachyon, 2020) by R.M. Lemberg is a wonderful novella set in the author’s acclaimed Birdverse. It has the air of a fairytale, with trans and queer characters at its centre. The story drew me in and made me cry multiple times as characters were able to just live their realities. The eponymous four profound weaves are magical ways in which the characters in this world are able to weave things (and themselves) from nature. But to vanquish an evil ruler, they have to learn how to weave from death… I really liked this novella, and I highly recommend it if you like lyrical, magical stories. Get a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

    The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell (Bantam, 2021) reads a bit like a Terry Pratchett book transposed into a present-day setting. I loved the concept, but the execution did not work for me. The humour was too crude and there were a lot of discriminatory jokes. I feel like the setting of a newspaper focusing on the weird and supernatural could have offered itself to far better stories, but the characters frustrated me to no end and I couldn’t get over some of the comments that were made. Added to that was that the plot just tried to do everything, rather than focus on one direction and do it properly. I don’t recommend this one, but if you want to check it out yourself, you can get a copy from Bookshop here (affiliate link)

    The City of a Thousand Faces by Walker Dryden (Orion, 2020) is based on the world created in the podcast Tumanbay. There are a lot of elements to recommend this story, but ultimately they did not come together in a satisfying way. I really enjoyed the setting, and some of the characters were really interesting. Still, I felt like the writing and the plot was too all over the place to hold my attention. While events happened, it did not feel like the individual characters were headed anywhere. The story happened to them, rather than the POV characters moving it forward. You can get a copy of this one from Bookshop here (affiliate link).

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