Santa Womble - Walking in a Fantasy Wonderland
Ho Ho Ho!
The last of the Christmas Treats is traditionally the longest of the lists and so lets take a walk through Fantasy’s offerings for 2023.
Now She Is Witch by Kirsty Logan — Runalong The Shelves - A lovely weird dreamlike tale of revenge, mothers and witchcraft. A gorgeous read to sink yourself into.
Barrow of Winter by H M Long — Runalong The Shelves - Moving into epic fanatsy we have HM Long’s thrilling third entry into their series of magic and gods to be wary of!
The Tangled Lands by Glenda Larke — Runalong The Shelves - an unusual epic tale of alternate worlds, curses and rebellious children that works very well
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao — Runalong The Shelves - This story is really interesting with a cast fantasy world using Chinese mythology and a fine central set of characters to root for too.
The Jaguar Path by Anna Stephens — Runalong The Shelves - a really impressive second entry into an inventive series based around central american cultures yet very much its own creation.
The Keep Within by JL Worrad — Runalong The Shelves - at the creative weird, dark and bloody end of fantasy sits this enthralling tale.
A Woman of the Sword by Anna Smith Spark — Runalong The Shelves - A gripping tale of fantasy life from a soldier’s perspective. It also explores the pains and joys of motherhood to create a truly memorable tale including Spark’s high standards of lyrcial writing.
Verona in Autumn by Tom Lloyd — Runalong The Shelves - Fantasy is not always about magic and monsters. In this intriguing tale its the what if…of Romeo and Juliet surviving and coming back home as adults. It works very smartly and uses the history of the period to smart effect.
The Valkyrie by Kate Heartfield — Runalong The Shelves - A very impressive historical fantasy that also tells us the saga of Brynhild an exiled Valkyrie. Gorgeous character work and a really interesting use of European history to tell a great story.
Grave Danger by Alice James — Runalong The Shelves and Grave Suspicions by Alice James — Runalong The Shelves - one of the most refreshing, funny and yet smart series I’m reading at the moment that hides under the lightness some serious exploration of relationships and its getting stronger with each book.
The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan — Runalong The Shelves - A tale that holds a dark refection to our standard epic fantasy and has some smart ideas on familiar templates t create something darker and very compelling.
On The Nature of Magic by Marian Womack — Runalong The Shelves - We return to an alternate version of the dawn of twentieth century, spiritualism, cults, private detectives and this time the beginning of the movie industry. Unusual, dark and sumptuous.
Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman — Runalong The Shelves - a start of a delightfully subversive take on the Scarlet Pimpernel but with vampire and capitalists in its sights. I’m very interested to see how this series develops.
Broken Light by Joanne Harris — Runalong The Shelves - A magnificent smart look at life in the UK for women in the 21st century. Powerful, heart-warming and tragic in equal measures its a great novel.
Perilous Times by Thomas D Lee — Runalong The Shelves - A very impressive debut that mixes Arthurian legends with the near future destruction of climate change and yet keeps its humanity - I’m very interested in what this author does next.
The Cleaving by Juliet E McKenna — Runalong The Shelves - Staying with an Arthurian theme this tale explores the women of the legends and the more problematic aspects of the orgiinal tales. McKenna is as always a skilled storyteller and this really works well.
Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker — Runalong The Shelves - Barker is always great at delivering unique worlds and unusual settings and this tale of a world filled with a wonderfully large forest and its amazing wildlife is enticing and looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez — Runalong The Shelves - this comes to the UK next year. Its one of the best novels I’ve read. It does amazing things with fantasy concepts and the power of stories.
The Mystery At Dunvegan Castle by T L Huchu — Runalong The Shelves - another entry into this fascinating series of a near future ruined UK but one where magic is real. Great characters and this one opens up the wider story arc to compelling effect.
House of Odysseus by Claire North — Runalong The Shelves - The second of these tales exploring the Greek myths and their legacy turns to Helen of Troy and has a great villain to hate too. I await the final entry with hunger!
A Sword of Bronze and Ashes by Anna Smith Spark — Runalong The Shelves - One of the most interesting and hypnotic fantasy books this year. Ancient heroes, powerful dark forces and absolutely gorgeous use of language. A tale of depth and its rather brilliant and fresh.
Talonsister by Jen Williams — Runalong The Shelves - an inventive start to a new duology playing with ancient myths and history with monsters, magical forests and the best griffins. Another lovely returj to fantasy.
The Words of Kings and Prophets by Shauna Lawless — Runalong The Shelves - Lawless delivers in spades a worthy sequel in this tale mixing Irish myth and history but this has a great theme of how culture shapes us in ways we tend not to think. Can’t wait to see the final book and Lawless is a writer to watch.
Dark Woods, Deep Water by Jelena Dunato — Runalong The Shelves - A very very fine fanatsy novel that plays with folklore and time to create a very unsuual tale of a long planned revenge. Great characters and an author to watch out for.
The Fall Is All There Is by C M Caplan — Runalong The Shelves - weird and refreshingly ambitious an unusual start to a new series that takes chances.
An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka — Runalong The Shelves - This book was some pulsive that my usual hatred of complex magical systems was forgotten. I liked the exploring of class and how it still limits us even today especially with a gig economy.
The Green Man's Quarry by Juliet E McKenna — Runalong The Shelves - This entry into the excellent Green man series is also a great place for new readers to sample one of the most interesting UK fantasy series with a unique take on myths.
Twisted Branches by Rachel Knightley — Runalong The Shelves - This is technically more linked short stories but its brilliantly daring playing with time, characters, settings and while the fantasy is subtle and unexpected it is a delight to read.
Sealed With A Hiss by Eule Grey — Runalong The Shelves - Funny and sweet with a narrator voice to just enjoy this was a delight to read and wears its heart on its sleeve.
The Darkness Before Them by Matthew Ward — Runalong The Shelves - Ward starts a new fantasy series with this very inventive tale of ancient cities, gods , magics and rebellions but ambiguous as to whether that changes anything. Very promising!
Winter Harvest by Ioanna Papadopoulou — Runalong The Shelves - This is an excellent novel that delivers a remarkable and refreshing look at Demeter and the wider Greek Gods. A wonderful read.
Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta — Runalong The Shelves - This is ambitious, weird, smart and truly inventive fantasy and so worth reading to enjoy what fantasy can deliver when it tries
