James Nicoll Reviews

The Watermark by Sam Mills (February 2025)

A quirky, literary love story like no other, one that veers wildly from contemporary Britain to Soviet Russia to a bizarre but recognizable future, from one of the UK’s hottest young novelists…Rachel and Jaime: their story isn’t simple. It might not even be their story. 

Augustus Fate, a once-lauded novelist and now renowned recluse, is struggling with his latest creation. But when Jaime and Rachel stumble into his remote cottage, he spies opportunity, imprisoning them inside his novel-in-progress. Now, the fledgling couple must try to find their way back home through a labyrinthine network of novels. 

And as they move from Victorian Oxford to a utopian Manchester, a harsh Russian winter to an AI-dominated near-future, so too does the narrative of their relationship change time and again. 

Together, they must figure out if this relationship of so many presents can have any future at all. 

The Watermark is a heart-stopping exploration of the narratives we cling to in the course of a life, and the tendency of the world to unravel them. Kaleidoscopic and wildly imaginative, it asks: how can we truly be ourselves, when Fate is pulling the strings? 

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It seems like it was just yesterday that it was February and yet somehow it’s March! Time again to promote the James Nicoll Patreon, as well as the other options open to people who wish to support James Nicoll Reviews.

Do you want ongoing say in what I review? Join my Patreon here.

Do you immediate gratification¹? Commission a review!

Do you languish under the burden of excess wealth? Spontaneous donations may be accomplished via my Paypal.

Bales of hundred-dollar bills delivered in the dark of night are also acceptable. Contact me for my mailing address.

1: Immediate gratification in the sense that it will be deferred by the time it takes me to wedge the requested review into my schedule. 

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February 2025

21 works reviewed. 11 by women (52%), 9 by men (43%), 0 by non-binary authors (0%), 1 by authors whose gender is unknown (5%), and 8 by POC (38%).

2025 to Date

44 works reviewed. 23 by women (52%), 19 by men (43%), 1 by non-binary authors (2%), 1 by authors whose gender is unknown (2%), and 18 by POC (41%).

Grand Total to Date

2835 works reviewed. 1578 by women (56%), 1187 by men (42%), 45 by non-binary authors (2%), 25 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 895.25 by POC (31%).

Genre Count, Books Reviewed January 2025

21 books reviewed. 11 fantasies (52%), 0 non-fiction (0%), 9 science fiction (43%), 1 mainstream (5%), and 0 mysteries (0%), of which 9 were series books (43%).

Genre Count, Books Reviewed, 2025 TD

44 books reviewed. 17 fantasies (39%), 2 non-fiction (5%), 20 science fiction (45%), 3 mainstream (7%), and 2 mysteries (5%), of which 21 were series books (48%).

Genre Count, Books Received February 2025

Netgalley instituted changes that basically make them useless to me, so the flood of new books is going to be closed off. Alas. I don’t know if this section even makes sense any more.

12 books received, 6.5 fantasy (54%), 1 horror (8%), 0 mainstream (0%), 0 mystery (0%), 2 non-fiction (17%), 1 roleplaying game-related (8%), 1.5 science fiction (13%), of which 2 were series (17%), 10 non-series (83%), and 0 hard to classify (0%).

Genre Count, Books Received 2025 TD

52 books received, 31.5 fantasy (61%), 3 horror (6%), 1 mainstream (2%), 1 mystery (2%), 3 non-fiction (6%), 6 roleplaying game-related (12%), 6.5 science fiction (13%), of which 22 were series (42%), 25 non-series (48%), and 5 hard to classify (10%).

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New Edge Sword & Sorcery: Issue #0 edited by Oliver Brackenbury (September 2022) 

Issue 0 of New Edge Sword & Sorcery

Six stories and seven non-fiction pieces, paired with B&W illustrations.

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Why Won’t You Love Me? by Boop (February 2025)

Senpai will be yours… no matter what.

In this chaotic micro tabletop game, you play as a yandere, who will stop at nothing to make senpai notice you. Whether they like it or not, you will spend your lives happily ever after together. Even if that means you need to do things you wouldn’t usually do.

Whether through sweet whispers, carefully planned ​“accidents,” or eliminating the competition, your love story is one of passion, deception, and just a little bit of murder.

Set up the perfect confession – The cherry blossoms will swirl around you both as you hand over your love letter. Approach Senpai at the Fireworks Festival with a sneaky kiss… The day is yours to seize!

Sabotage your rivals - Stop those Senpai’s other admirers who are unworthy of their love. You might have to improvise on the spot — but if there’s food here, there’s a kitchen, and where there’s a kitchen, there’s knives!

Win over Senpai — By any means possible. If that means its only you and them left in this world, so be it. Just, try to avoid (or defeat) law enforcement and others that get in your way

With a very simple ruleset requiring only a d10, ​“Why won’t you love me!?” lets you and your friends roleplay the classic trope all the way to its dramatic conclusion.

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Well, that sure was a month. Nevertheless, James Nicoll Reviews preservers! How can you help? Well, if you’re an author, writing books and games for me to review is greatly appreciated. I am always happy when people read my reviews. If you wish to offer monetary support, there are several options:

Do you want ongoing say in what I review? Join my Patreon here.

Is immediate gratification your jam? Commission a review!

Do you languish under the burden of excess wealth? Spontaneous donations may be accomplished via my Paypal.

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A Rebel’s History of Mars by Nadia Afifi (June 2025)

Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer member’s striking new book of time travel and biological science fiction is a thrilling ride.

Kezza, an aerialist in the Martian circus, can never return to Earth – but she can assassinate the man she blames for her grim life on the red planet. Her murderous plans take an unexpected turn, however, when she uncovers a sinister secret. A thousand years into the future, Azad lives a safe but controlled life on the beautiful desert planet of Nabatea. His world is upended when he joins a crew of space-traveling historians seeking to learn the true reason that their ancestors left Mars. Separated by time and space, Kezza and Azad’s stories collide in the Martian desert. 

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January 2025

23 works reviewed. 12 by women (52%), 10 by men (43%), 1 by non-binary authors (4%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (5%), and 10 by POC (43%).

2025 to Date

23 works reviewed. 12 by women (52%), 10 by men (43%), 1 by non-binary authors (4%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (5%), and 10 by POC (43%).

Grand Total to Date

2814 works reviewed. 1567 by women (56%), 1178 by men (42%), 45 by non-binary authors (2%), 24 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 887.25 by POC (31%).

Genre Count, Books Reviewed January 2025

6 fantasies (26%, 2 non-fiction (9%), 11 science fiction (48%), 2 mainstream (9%), and 2 mysteries (9%)of which 12 were series books (52%).

Genre Count, Books Reviewed, 2025 TD

6 fantasies (26%, 2 non-fiction (9%), 11 science fiction (48%), 2 mainstream (9%), and 2 mysteries (9%)of which 12 were series books (52%).

Genre Count, Books Received January 2025

40 books received, 25 fantasy (61%), 3 horror (7%), 1 mainstream (2%), 1 mystery (2%), 1 non-fiction (2%), 5 roleplaying game-related (12%), 4 science fiction (10%), of which 20 were series (49%), 15 non-series (37%), and 5 hard to classify (12%).

Genre Count, Books Received 2025 TD

40 books received, 25 fantasy (61%), 3 horror (7%), 1 mainstream (2%), 1 mystery (2%), 1 non-fiction (2%), 5 roleplaying game-related (12%), 4 science fiction (10%), of which 20 were series (49%), 15 non-series (37%), and 5 hard to classify (12%).

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The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J.R. Dawson (July 2025)

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World is a powerful and poignant contemporary Queer fantasy perfect for fans of Hadestown and Under the Whispering Door

At the edge of Chicago, nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan, there is a waystation for the dead. Every night, the newly-departed travel through the city to the Station, guided by its lighthouse. There, they reckon with their lives, before stepping aboard a boat to go beyond.

Nera has spent decades watching her father — the ferryman of the dead — sail across the lake, each night just like the last.

But tonight, something is wrong.

The Station’s lighthouse has started to flicker out. The terrifying, ghostly Haunts have multiplied in the city. And now a person — a living person — has found her way onto the boat.

Her name is Charlie. She followed a song. And she is searching for someone she lost. 

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The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah (April 2025)

A merchant and a prince trapped in the crumbling realm of jinn must figure out how to save one world to return to their own in The Ashfire King, the second book in the Sandsea Trilogy, perfect for fans of The City of Brass and The Bone Shard Daughter.

Neither here nor there, but long ago…

After fleeing a patricidal prince, legendary merchant Loulie al-Nazari and banished prince Mazen bin Malik find themselves in the realm of jinn. But instead of sanctuary, they find a world on the cusp of collapse.

The jinn cities, long sheltered beneath the Sandsea by the magic of its kings, are sinking. Amid the turmoil, political alliances are forming, and rebellion is on the rise. When Loulie assists a dissenter — one of her bodyguard’s old comrades — she puts herself in the center of a centuries-old war.

Trapped in a world that isn’t her own and wielding magic that belongs to a fallen king, Loulie must decide: Will she carry on someone else’s legacy or carve out her own? 

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