Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho | Ace, 2015

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho is the author’s first full-length novel. Set in an alternate Regency-era Britain where the Society of Unnatural Philosophers as the official, government-sanctioned body in charge of shepherded English Magic and English Wizards. Due to the unfortunate death of his former mentor the emancipated slave Zacharias Wythe has become Sorcerer Royal. Zacharias’ unwillingness to speak about the nature of his mentor’s death combined with the color of skin make him a fast target of many of his fellow ambitious sorcerers. Meanwhile, Prunella Gentlewoman is a brash young woman who works for a special school for women with magical gifts; a school where young women learn to suppress their magical gifts in order to be proper ladies. Orphaned at young age Prunella is not very scrupulous when it comes to using her own abilities and the chance discovery of some of her father’s personal effects changes the course of her life.

End Time by Keith Korman

End Time by Keith Korman | Tor, 2015

End Time isn’t Keith Korman’s first novel but it appears to be his first solo novel written in quite some time. As a fan of the apocalyptic genre I was definitely intrigued by the title alone. The publisher’s description of the novel reads like a fascinating mashup of science run amok and a rising tide of supernatural occurrences. I found this to be an interesting combination and one that we don’t see too often. Unfortunately I found End Time’s combination of supernatural horror and weird science a bit too hap hazard.

Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen | July 2014

Erika Johansen’s debut novel, Queen of the Tearling, is a sure-handed and accomplished start to a new series. The novel opens as a cadre of Queen’s Guards arrive at a humble little cabin in the woods to retrieve Kelsea Raleigh. The young heir to Tearling throne was smuggled away as a baby and raised in secret. With the Regent’s (her uncle) assassins closing Kelsea must face what may be the shortest reign any monarch has seen. On her journey to New London she meets an enigmatic bandit known only as the Fetch and begins her true education in regards to the devil’s bargain her mother made after the invasion from Mort burned its way to the walls of the palace. Once in New London Kelsea moves to right the wrongs of her mother’s reign while doing her best to stay alive long enough to usher in true change.