[Review] Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 28 April, 2020

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Genre: Fantasy/Norse Mythology/Arthurian Legend/Action & Adventure/Folk Lore

ISBN: 9780374307097

Edition: Hardcover (available in eBook and audiobook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 9 July, 2020
Warnings: Death

Summary:  

In this gorgeous standalone companion to the critically acclaimed fantasy, The Boneless Mercies, April Tucholke spins a bold and blood-hungry retelling of the King Arthur legend that is perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, Garth Nix, and Laini Taylor.

On the heels of a devastating plague, Torvi’s sister, Morgunn, is stolen from the family farm by Uther, a flame-loving Fremish wolf-priest who leads a pack of ragged, starving girls. Torvi leaves the only home she’s ever known, and joins a shaven-skulled druid and a band of roaming Elsh artists known as the Butcher Bards. They set out on a quest to rescue Torvi’s sister, and find a mythical sword.

On their travels, Torvi and her companions will encounter magical night wilds and mystical Drakes who trade in young men. They will sing rowdy Elshland ballads in a tree-town tavern, and find a mysterious black tower in an Endless Forest. They will fight alongside famous Vorseland archers and barter with Fremish wizards. They will feast with rogue Jade Fell children in a Skal Mountain cave, and seek the help of a Pig Witch. They will face wild, dangerous magic that leads to love, joy, tragedy, and death.

Torvi set out to rescue a sister, but she may find it’s merely the first step toward a life that is grander and more glorious than anything she could have imagined.

See more by April Genevieve Tucholke at her website.

[Review] Old Man's War (Old Man's War #1) by John Scalzi

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series: Old Man's War

Release Date: 15 January, 2007

Publisher: Listening Library/Tor Publishing

Genre: Adult Fiction/Science Fiction

ISBN: 9781524767105

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 9 July, 2019
Warnings: War, medical science fiction, a lot of pointless killing

Summary: John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.

See more by John Scalzi at his Website.