Tag Archives: fantasy

REVIEW: Mythological foundations can’t hold up ‘The Nightjar’

Deborah Hewitt’s debut novel 'The Nightjar' imagines “another London, a magical world hidden behind the bustling modern city we know.” This world draws on the folkloric tradition of the “soul-bird” that carries the souls of the dead to the Underworld. But I struggled throughout to connect the book’s real-world setting and characters with the mythological elements that form the foundation of this otherwise entertaining fantasy novel.

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REVIEW: N.K. Jemisin is on track for more awards with ‘The Obelisk Gate’

The fight to assert one's humanity drives the narrative in 'The Obelisk Gate.' It is not merely a political aspiration but a deeply personal one, making the 'Broken Earth' series never feel polemical. N.K. Jemisin’s characters aren’t symbols; they are complex and conflicted human beings who want only to live in peace. But in the Stillness, as in the real world, sometimes you have to fight for peace.

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Magic and science go to war in ‘All the Birds in the Sky’

'All the Birds in the Sky' features compelling characters working through complex problems and emotions. Charlie Jane Anders sometimes struggles to find the right tone, and the novel’s sillier parts feel out of synch with the apocalyptic conclusion. But on the whole, this is a thought-provoking marriage of fantasy and science fiction that sheds light on the real-world problem of environmental degradation.

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