Holly Grimdragon profile

Place of birth: In a galaxy far, far away...

Holly Grimdragon's 16 reviews

A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie (The Age of Madness)

‘War? It’s a fight so big almost no one comes out of it well’First of all, this is not fantasy as we know it. In fact, this is barely fantasy at all. Undoubtedly epic, with more than a hint of magic, this is a high fantasy world with a low fantasy feel. It's a sign of the times- even the big hitters are pursing influ...

9.8/10

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Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

“Words can be whispered bullet-quick when no one’s looking, and words don’t leave blood or bruises behind. Words disappear without a trace. That’s what makes them so powerful. That’s what makes them so important.That’s what makes them hurt so much.”Seanan McGuire’s stories are like th...

9.8/10

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Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade (The Shroud of Prophecy)

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a small-town boy from a remote village learns that he is the Chosen One, destined to fulfill The Prophecy and save the world from encroaching evil. Sound familiar? Fans of classic epic fantasy from authors Robert Jordan, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, and even J.K. Rowling have spun their own versions o...

8.3/10

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The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter (The Burning)

The Rage of Dragons is an African-inspired revenge fantasy novel. This is worthy of attention in and of itself, simply because fantasy is dominated by white male authors who write about white male characters.  Admittedly I enjoy reading such books, though it’s refreshing to see more diverse books appearing in the fantasy genr...

9.2/10

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Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes (The Grave of Empires)

"And I felt like I was choking on my own blood again. I felt like I was drowning on dry land. I felt like I wanted to tear my throat out so I could breathe again. I felt like I wanted to take out my gun and start shooting until things made sense."Well, fuck. If this isn't my jam, I don't know what is!Sal the Cacop...

9.5/10

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The Rosewater Insurrection by Tade Thompson

Rosewater, the first book in the Wormwood trilogy, was a top favorite for me last year. I loved it so damned much! This delicious blend of aliens, science fiction, cyberpunk, Afropunk, aliens, future noir, diversity.. did I mention there were ALIENS?!In my r...

9.0/10

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Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds

"It had taken one shot. The sound of it had echoed back off the buildings. Crows had lifted from a copse of trees nearby, wheeling and cawing in the sky before settling back down, as if killing was only a minor disturbance in their daily routine."Permafrost is my introduction to ...

8.8/10

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In Shadows We Fall by Devin Madson (The Vengeance Trilogy)

"My knife failed to glint dramatically in the light, but it did not fail to pierce the soft skin of the man's neck. His throat offered resistance like aged meat, but I had no time for finesse. I ripped the blade through it, spraying blood. His eyes opened. He wheezed. Bubbled. Failed. Crimson spille...

7.7/10

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The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

"Imagine you just escaped the zombie apocalypse and watched all your friends being eaten alive. Now I'm asking you which fabric softener smells nicer."Do you like Black Mirror? Well, buckle the hell up, because this novella is essentially a shortened episode. It's Black Mirror on speed.I was rivet...

8.6/10

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The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky

"There are few sounds at night on the frozen sea besides the roar of the wind. No plants to rustle, no waves to crash upon the shore, no birds to caw. The white owl flies on hushed wings. The white fox walks with silent tread. Even Inuit move as softly as spirits, the snow too hard to yield and crunch beneath our boots...

8.8/10

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The Winter Road by Adrian Selby

The Winter Road is one of the strongest standalone fantasy novels I have ever read. It has all the depth of a fully fleshed out series in just one volume and it really does pack a hefty punch. I’m impressed with everything Selby has done here, and I shall certainly be reading anything else he may write in the future.The cleverest de...

9.3/10

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Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor)

"The sound of a battle can be described as a roar, and sometimes it truly is. When a thousand warriors charge, a roar precedes them and swallows up all other noise. But in between charge and counter-charge there is the screaming of those too wounded to hold their peace and not yet close enough to crossing the Path that they fall silent. The...

9.6/10

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Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher)

Much like The Last Wish before, Sword of Destiny is a collection of short stories following a talented witcher called Geralt of Rivia. Although you can start the series with Blood of Elves which is where the full-length novels commence, I can't recommend enough that even though a handful of these short stories are hit-and-miss, that they wil...

7.8/10

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Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft (The Books of Babel)

I received an advance reader copy of Arm of the Sphinx in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Josiah Bancroft and Orbit Books. Bancroft's second outing in The Books of Babel series was originally self-published in 2015 and has recently been re-released through Orbit. Following on from Senlin Ascends, Thomas...

9.0/10

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The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher)

"Only Evil and Greater Evil exist and beyond them, in the shadows, lurks True Evil. True Evil, Geralt, is something you can barely imagine, even if you believe nothing can still surprise you. And sometimes True Evil seizes you by the throat and demands that you choose between it and another, slightly lesser, Evil.”The ...

9.0/10

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Blood Of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher)

Blood of Elves is chronologically the 3rd entry within The Witcher saga. Whereas previously all the short stories followed Geralt of Rivia working on certain monster assassination assignments, within Blood of Elves he is one of 3 or 4 main characters that we share the minds of. For the novels, you can start here but I wouldn't recommend it. ...

8.3/10

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