Category Archives: Fantasy

Dan Simmons – Song of Kali (1985) Review

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

8/10 Set in the Indian city Kolkata, which used to be named Calcutta but the book was written before the name change in 2001 so the name Calcutta is used throughout, and anyway the Kolkata of this book isn’t really … Continue reading →

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Mark Leyner – The Sugar Frosted Nutsack (2012) Review

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

9/10 This book is nuts and I won’t sugarcoat it for you. Don’t let the obviously perfect and attractive title fool you: this is a totally bonkers, post-modern wankfest to the nth degree. But it is also science-fantasy about gods … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fantasy, Mainstream | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

C.L. Moore – Jirel of Joiry (1969) Review

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

8/10 Robert E. Howard made such a splash with his sword-and-sorcery writing. As his Conan stories began to appear in the Weird Tales pulp magazine, so many writers felt compelled to either write homages to the stories or write something … Continue reading →

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Josiah Bancroft – The Fall of Babel (2021) Review

Posted on July 17, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

5.5/10 After the excellent and emotionally gripping third book, The Hod King (2019), Josiah Bancroft is now ready to present his conclusion to the entire Books of Babel series. The Hod King felt like a middle book done right, with … Continue reading →

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Steven Erikson – The Crippled God (2011) Review

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

9/10 After 1.5 years of reading and 3.3 million words, The Crippled God (2011) ends the Malazan Book of the Fallen. Erikson writes this finale in his own subversive, Eriksonian way, in which he uses the tropes of epic fantasy, … Continue reading →

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Michael Moorcock – Elric of Melniboné: The Elric Saga, Vol. 1 (review)

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

Comprising: Elric of Melniboné (1972) The Fortress of the Pearl (1989) The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976) The Weird of the White Wolf (1977) 7.5/10  – A rather exhaustive, rambly review: Michael Moorcock’s Elric stories are recognised as … Continue reading →

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Michael Swanwick – The Iron Dragon’s Mother (2019) Review

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

9/10 Swanwick produced us another sparkling, prickly novel. Finalist for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, but nobody read it. Professional acclaim from peer authors isn’t the problem for Swanwick and he has an impressive list of awards … Continue reading →

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Steven Erikson – Dust of Dreams (2009) Review

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

7.5/10 I was so blown away by Toll the Hounds (2008) that it is hard to grasp that there is still more storytelling to follow. But Toll the Hounds was only the penultimate chapter of this giant tale. Yes yes, … Continue reading →

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Review: Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), by A.A. Milne

Posted on February 27, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

I was actually a bit confused at the start of this book. I thought it would be just the adventures of Pooh Bear, but the narrator thing in Winnie-the-Pooh is a complex situation. Which proves that I am still no … Continue reading →

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Steven Erikson – Toll the Hounds (2008) Review

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Jeroen Admiraal

9.5/10 Slight spoilers for Memories of Ice. Never before has Erikson been this dreamy, this moody, in the Malazan Book of the Fallen. In this 8th book in the series, he is playful, but also adds an oppressive weight to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , | 22 Comments