Book reviews Archives - Page 24 of 27

10Jul 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

I'm a huge fan of fantasy and I've become quite the fan of Asian-inspired fantasy recently. Jade City and Jade War are great examples of this and The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is probably the other big mainstream title that people think of in this genre. It's received a lot of hype and deservedly so, I think. (more…)

08Jul 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Book reviews, Sci-Fi

If you’ve read my The Way of Kings review, you already know I’m a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson. He has a hugely approachable way of writing often quite complex things and makes everybody understand his deep worlds very well. Skyward is the first in a relatively new series for Sanderson (it came out in 2018) and is arguably his most science-fiction book to date. And. It. Is. Brilliant. (more…)

07Jul 2021 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Book Review: The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

The Family Upstairs was my first read of July and is my first Lisa Jewell book. I’d seen that Lisa Jewell has a good reputation for writing really good thrillers with Then She Was Gone another of her successes so was excited to read The Family Upstairs and see what all the hype was about. I'm pleased to say she’s done a good job with this novel. (more…)

06Jul 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Book reviews, Sci-Fi

Do I really need to introduce Jurassic Park as a premise? If you haven’t seen the film - firstly sort yourself out - secondly, you’ve very likely at least heard of it. If you haven’t: Dinosaurs are brought back to life via science and they attempt to open a theme park with the Dinos as attractions but it all goes terribly wrong. Cue madness. (more…)

03Jul 2021 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Book Review: Jade War by Fonda Lee

Book reviews, Fantasy

After reviewing Jade City, I gave myself a short break before jumping into Jade War mostly due to having such a very long TBR, I also didn’t want to suffer from burnout in this world as I absolutely fell in love with it in the first book. Safe to say I loved Jade War too. (more…)

02Jul 2021 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Book Review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Book reviews, Historical Fiction

I’ll be honest - I didn’t get Hamnet for the first half of the novel. I didn’t make the link and I felt like nothing was really worth happening. But then it clicked: I’m not here for plot twists or high-intense action moments, I’m here for the building story and the absolutely stunning writing. Hamnet is a must-read if you’re a fan of reading. (more…)

01Jul 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Book reviews, Fantasy

If you’re a fan of fantasy, you’ve likely heard of The Name of the Wind. Either because you’ve read it and you’ve got your views on it or because you’ve heard about the author and how we’re still awaiting the third book after the sequel came out 10 years ago now. Either way, The Name of the Wind is a book I felt I had to give my views on. (more…)

29Jun 2021 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

Book Review: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Book reviews, Sci-Fi

We’re many years in the future when humanity has conquered space travel. We now live in a society where on your 75th birthday you can enlist to become part of a program to support humanity’s efforts in space. This program sees you become an elite army to both defend and conquer planets on behalf of humanity. Old Man's War is a fascinating concept and is delivered in a very satisfying way. (more…)

28Jun 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

Book reviews, Fantasy

Epic fantasy is a genre that often features whole new realised worlds, creative creatures not in our own world, and, more often than not, a big journey. Lord of the Rings arguably shot this genre into the mainstream. Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World and subsequent series fleshed out the genre and realised its potential. (more…)

26Jun 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Alienist by Caleb Carr

Book reviews

The Alienist by Caleb Carr is set in the year 1896 in New York when the city is hit by a very disturbing murder that soon turns into a string of murders that sets off the search for one of the city's very first serial killers. It is the duty of Laszlo Kreizler, John Moore and their team to solve these murders before things get out of hand. (more…)

Category: Book reviews