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With this novel, Melissa Caruso solidifies herself as one of my favorite authors. The Obsidian Tower is a masterpiece of character driven fantasy. Set in the same world—but in a different time period than—her Swords and Fire series, this story contains all the things we’ve come to love about Caruso’s writing. There are tense political machinations and negotiations. There is witty dialog. There’s magic! And, of course, a touch a romance. Couple all of this with a diverse cast of characters and you have a recipe for a magnificent fantasy novel.

It is difficult to know where to begin praising The Obsidian Tower. The story is set in Vaskandar, the erstwhile enemy of the Raverran Empire (her Swords and Fire series dealt with a different time period in the world from the Raverran perspective). The world building that Caruso does continues to be incredibly deep. But she communicates it with a light touch. The novel never lowers itself to info dumps or paragraphs of exposition. One part of the world building that continues to stand out above the rest is the political side of the world. Vaskandar is made up of a number of independent nations, each ruled by a Witch Lord. Witch Lords are incredibly powerful mages who have a connection to every living thing in their domain. This means that Ryx, our main character, who is trying to negotiate a settlement between one Witch Lord and the Raverran Empire, must do so while navigating not only the enmity between the two sides, but various other factions within her grandmothers domain as well as other Witch Lords. This alone would make for an entertaining read, but the situation is further complicated by Ryx’s charge as Warden of Gloamingard castle, wherein resides a sealed tower that hides a dark secret. Somehow Caruso keeps the reveals coming throughout the novel and each of the political factions feels important and like they are given their due in the story. The novel never feels bloated, however. I think what truly makes all of this work are the superb characters. Ryx is broken, but in ways that she has learned to accept and cope with in beautiful ways and she continues to learn about herself throughout the novel. Every single side character is beautifully written and feels real. Too often side characters can feel like exactly that, but in Caruso’s novel they feel like actual people with their own stories. There is also wonderful diversity amongst the cast, particularly as it regards sexuality, gender identity, and gender expression. These characters each play an integral role in a plot that is excellently paced and grips you from the very beginning.

There is almost nothing I disliked about this novel. I tend to like harder magic systems, and in this world Caruso has crafted a softer magic system. But I barely even noticed, to be frank, because everything else about the story works so well. I can heartily recommend this novel even to folks who might normally prefer harder magic systems.

I was enthralled from the first page. Caruso's unique and captivating mixture of excellent characters you instantly root for, mysterious and powerful magic, and deep world building were all in evidence from the opening moments of the story. The Obsidian Trilogy is excellently written. Read it.

9.5/10

4.75/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing

The Ranger of Marzanna was a highly anticipated read for me. The back-of-the-book blurb, referencing ancient sects of warriors, siblings on opposite sides of a conflict, and powerful sorcerers, is basically everything that could get me excited. Couple this with a Russia-inspired setting, and it has all the ingredients for a book that I’m highly likely to enjoy. Unfortunately, in the end, those elements didn’t come together for me.

Even in a novel that didn’t end up working for me in the end, there are often elements that I did enjoy and that—for others—might make all the difference. For The Ranger of Marzanna those elements that I enjoyed are headlined by the world building. Not only is the world building interesting, and inspired by a real world setting that doesn’t get as much attention in fantasy as it might, but the prose and descriptions are used wonderful effect. This is a wintery, cold world—though there are scenes where that isn’t the case, and Skovron’s descriptions made me feel cold as I read, or warm alternatively. This part of the story was extremely well done. I also thoroughly enjoyed the magic. While it is primarily an elemental based magic system, there were interesting twists and costs to the magic and I appreciated those touches. For me, the magic system hung together well and I wouldn’t have minded even more of it.

As for what didn’t work for me, that list is a bit longer and also more integral to the book. To begin, the characters—especially the two main characters—ended up being entirely unlikeable for me. For some readers this won’t be an issue, but when I’m reading I feel like I need at least someone I connect with in some way. Even if I don’t agree with their actions, I need to understand and empathize with them at some level. These characters were not only unlikeable to me, but I never really understood their motivations. This frustrated me to no end as I was reading. Sonya was perhaps a bit more understandable than Sebastian. But she had an added complication of feeling like an incredible, perhaps almost super human warrior in some scenes and then in others normal, even bordering on ineffectual. I could not discern any reason for the difference beyond perhaps plot expedience. For me, characters are one of the most important aspects of any story, and not understanding their motivations, not liking them, and finding one inconsistently powerful resulted in a disappointing reading experience. Added to that, many of the side characters felt almost completely forgettable to me. The plot, while interesting, suffered from the lack of clear character motivations. It made it hard for me to care what was really going on. There were also times when the dialog felt stilted, or perhaps overly formal. At other times it included too much explanation to the point where it felt unnatural.

The Ranger of Marzanna had a lot of potential. For me, it didn’t live up to it. However, others may find that their mileage varies. Interesting world building and cool magic wasn’t enough to make up for the significant flaws in this one.

4.5/10

2.25/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing

Emily Skrutskie’s Bonds of Brass is a fast-paced YA space opera with plenty to love. We’re introduced to two fighter-pilots-in-training one of whom turns out to be the heir to the throne of an evil space empire. It’s one part coming of age story, one part military sci-fi, and one part YA romance. It’s easy to love the two main characters, and the story pulls you along making it difficult to put the book down.

There are plenty of things worth praising in Skrutskie’s novel. The pacing, in particular, was excellent. There were just enough moments to catch your breath for the fast-paced action to feel natural. From the first moments of the novel it’s obvious that Skrutskie isn’t waiting around. We’re thrown into the action, but just as quickly we’re introduced to the two main characters—best friends and roommates—through the action. Those two characters are easy to love and we instantly care about them, their concerns, and what is going to happen to them. All this happens by about the tenth page, which is an impressive feat. In the midst of that, Skrutskie also manages to introduce a good deal of world building and relevant history. All of it feels natural. Another thing I loved about this one is how violence is not seen as a panacea. Too often in science fiction and fantasy, violence is large perpetrated without consequence. In Bonds of Brass, the characters have to deal with the violence they commit, even violence committed in self-defense, and the way that said violence affects them psychologically. There are also themes of friendship, love, and divided loyalties that are weaved seamlessly throughout the story. I loved every moment of it, and the climax is suitably tense and thrilling. Fast-paced, character-driven, military science fiction with a strong coming-of-age element and characters you love and ache for isn’t available on every bookstore shelf. It's a very emotional book. By the end your emotions are raw. Friendship and loyalty play a pivotal role, but so does legacy and birthright, and the importance of the past in shaping the future. It’s a wonderful story, and I'm looking forward to the next book.

There isn’t much that I have to criticize in this one. It is written in present tense, and I am not a fan of that writing style. I know for some folks it works fine. For me, reading a present tense narrative almost always jars me out of the story at some point. The exceptions to this are few and far between. In this case, there were moments when I was jarred out of the story by the present tense narrative. But it happened less than I might have expected, and I noticed it less as the story went on. I also would have liked to have seen a little more fleshing out of the technology. This isn’t hard scifi, and it doesn’t need to be, but a little more explanation for how technology works, faster-than-light travel, that kind of thing, would have been something I enjoyed. Obviously, that’s the sort of thing that’s very specific to reader preferences.

Bonds of Brass grabs you, makes you love it, and then leaves you aching for more. It’s a wonderful young adult tale. Sure to appeal to fans of Star Wars: Rogue One, folks looking for a YA science fiction tale, and those yearning for a M/M YA romance. The entire book feels real and authentic at every turn, and it doesn’t shy away from grappling with important themes. A wonderful start to a new trilogy. I can’t wait to see where the story takes us!

9.0/10

4.5/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing

The sequel to 2018’s Skyward does not disappoint. Starsight brings back everything I loved about the first book, adds in a veritable menagerie of alien species, and ratchets up the tension as we watch Spensa navigate new challenges and see her grow as a result. Starsight is wonderful character-driven sci-fi with plenty of pulse-pounding action and political intrigue. There is a lot crammed into this book, but the word that best describes it might be comparatively simple: fun.

Starsight begins several months after Skyward left off, and we quickly become reacquainted with Spensa, M-Bot, and the rest of the crew. But it doesn’t take long until Spensa is off on new, tension-filled adventures. There’s so much that I enjoyed in this one that it’s hard to pick out specific elements to talk about. Spensa’s character arc is wonderful, and we get to see her coming out of her shell more. If Spensa in the first novel was a warrior, Spensa in this one is learning to be a diplomat, a spy, and—in some ways—a human being. The way her journey is a foil for the way alien species perceive humanity and the accuracies and inaccuracies of that perception is very well done. One of my favorite characters in this series is M-bot, Spensa’s sentient starfighter. I’m a sucker for the snarky, sentient spaceship trope and M-bot delivers on that front. I’m pretty sure there are some HK-47 Easter eggs that Brandon has dropped in there for us, and I love it. M-bot also has some intriguing character development in this novel, but unlike Spensa’s, we’re very much left waiting for the third book to see the resolution of that arc. Sanderson has managed to write a science fiction novel that still has a magic system, and I love him for it. The cytonics and their abilities are fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more in the future. Make no mistake, though, there are plenty of reveals in this book. In true Sanderson fashion the reveals come fast and furious in the final third of the book as things rush to their conclusion. The fact that said conclusion involves the science fiction version of hanging off a cliff doesn’t lessen it’s impact or the reader’s satisfaction in any way. For those who enjoy space-going, character-driven science fiction with telepathic elements and plenty of space tactics, this is one for you. I need more like it!

Normally this is where I’d share the weaknesses I found in the novel. In this case, those weaknesses largely take the form of things I missed. Because of the direction the story goes, we see much less of Spensa flight group from Skyward. That’s fine, and we are introduced to a number of new and interesting characters, but I missed the old group a great deal. I hope we’ll see more of them in the final book. I also felt like one small revelation that takes place near the end of the novel back on Spensa’s world could have had more impact with a little more explanation or another viewpoint from one of those characters. It’s nothing glaring or showstopping, and it might just be me wanting to see more of the old gang.

Starsight is wonderful science fiction. Sure to appeal to Sanderson fans and those looking for unique and unusual space tales, it’s one I’ll be recommending often.

9.0/10

4.5/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing