A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab | Tor Books, 2015

My first experience with author V. E. Schwab was through her middle grade/young adult novel, The Archived (which she published as Victoria Schwab) a novel that is a bit darker and subtler than one would expect given its target audience. I later listened to the excellent Vicious on audiobook and its genre-bending take on a superpowers that examine some familiar comic book tropes in new and intriguing ways. Both novels set a high bar for what I, as a reader, except from Schwab. A Darker Shade of Magic, is the most traditional of Schwab’s novels that I’ve read but with enough of her own subtle touches that it easily keeps pace with her previous work while also managing to be one of the most entertaining fantasy novels I’ve read in recent years.

Chains of the Heretic by Jeff Salyards

Chains of the Heretic by Jeff Salyards | Night Shade, 2016

Jeff Saylards Bloodsounder’s Arc comes to a close in Chains of the Heretic an entertaining and exciting final entry in series that hearkens back to Sword and Sorcery stories of yesterday. The action in Chains of the Heretics picks up mere moments after the previous book so if you haven’t read any novels in this series watch out for spoilers. Betrayed and on the run Captain Killcoin, Arki, and the soldiers of Jackal Tower must resort to desperate measures in order to make a rendezvous with emperor-in-exile Thumaar. Unfortunately, with the Emperor Cynead’s forces hot on their heels getting away alive isn’t going to be easy. Dire straits lead to dangerous decisions and Captain Killcoin and his Syldoon soldiers have to face a variety of threats, both expected and unexpected, over the course of their journey.