James Nicoll Reviews

Fall of the Iron Gods by Olivia Chadha (April 2024)

The compelling conclusion to the Colorado Book Award winning Rise of the Red Hand, perfect for fans of Marie Lu and Zoe Hana Mikuta’s Gearbreakers. The sequel to Rise of the Red Hand, a searing portrayal of the future of climate change in South Asia. After inflicting a devastating blow on the autocratic provincial government, Ashiva, Synch, and their remaining allies must infiltrate the planetary government before it can exterminate the Red Hand and everything they stand for. Despite hard-won victories, the revolutionary forces known as the Red Hand are more endangered than ever: the Planetary Alliance Commission — the PAC — has branded them public enemy number one, ramping up their efforts to eliminate the Red Hand’s remaining members even as the pandemic rages on. In order to protect the progress they have made, the team must adopt new tactics. Ashiva, armed with a new bionic upgrade, leads a team back into the fray on a dangerous mission across a toxic wasteland wracked by storms. Synch sets out to fortify their hidden Himalayan stronghold, but his presence may hurt their cause more than the Red Hand knows. And Taru, determined to prove herself, punches deep into the heart of governmental research facilities in a desperate gamble to bring down the regime from the inside. Greedy and unyielding, the PAC is all too willing to sacrifice the people of a province to achieve their optimal results, leaving Ashiva, Synch, and Taru to save their homeland from a government claiming to act for the greater planetary good. 

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Lyorn by Steven Brust (April 2024)

All The World’s A Happy Stage. Until the knives come out… Lyorn is the next adventure in Steven Brust’s bestselling Vlad Taltos series

Another Opening…Another Cataclysm?

Vlad Taltos is on the run. Again. This time from one of the most powerful forces in his world, the Left Hand, who are intent on ending his very lucrative career. Permanently. 

He finds a hidey-hole in a theatre where the players are putting on a show that was banned centuries ago…and is trying to be shut down by the House that once literally killed to keep it from being played. 

Vlad will take on a number of roles to save his own skin. And the skins of those he loves. 

And along the way, he might find a part that was tailor-made for him. 

One that he might not want…but was always his destiny. 

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Seven Against Tomorrow: Tales of the Fantastic edited by Stephen Kotowych (November 2023)

Award-winning author Stephen Kotowych has been hailed as one of speculative fiction’s ​“talented up-and-comers” by Publisher’s Weekly, and the author of ​“gloriously wild ideas” by Locus.

Now, in SEVEN AGAINST TOMORROW, he brings together a collection of seven new and previously published short-stories, heralding his arrival as one of the most exciting new voices in SF.

From a symphony played on the rings of Saturn to a love that defies the very bonds of time; from a young girl’s destiny driven by a magic sword to a young boy’s confrontation with the robots who raised him — here are stories of wonder and awe, imagination and humanity, that will transport you from the edge of the cosmos to the intimacy of the human heart.

SEVEN AGAINST TOMORROW includes an introduction by the author, illustrations, and behind-the-scenes commentary on the origin of each story.

Now featuring a bonus 8^th story! ​“Under the Shield”: a novelette of love and murder set against the backdrop of a world torn apart by cold war and terror, all driven by the inventions of Nikola Tesla! 

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November saw another 22 reviews posted. Of particular interest, 21 November’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirteenth Annual Collection was the 2500^th review posted to James Nicoll Reviews. Added to the 5071 reviews produced for Bookspan, Romantic Times, and Publishers Weekly, and adding in the eight posted since them, that gets me to a career total of 7579 reviews. It just goes to show what can be accomplished with a small effort carried out each day forever. 

Also of note, at least to me: books featuring representative democracies are very nearly tied with books featuring oligarchies. I am eager to see which one wins. While I can deliberately select what books to read, I can only select books authors have written. It’s very exciting, he said gesturing at Excel sheets. 

As ever, James Nicoll Reviews owes its ongoing existence to commissions and generous patrons. Details on commissioning reviews are here. If you would like to support my Patreon, please go here. If you have a sudden desire to just send money, my Paypal is here. 

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November 2023

22 works reviewed. 12 by women (55%), 9 by men (41%), 1 by a non-binary author (5%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 9 by POC (41%).

2023 to Date

239 works reviewed. 132 by women (51%), 98 by men (41%), 6 by a 
non-binary author (3%), 3 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 95 by POC (38%).

Grand Total to Date

2507 works reviewed. 1399 by women (56%), 1047 by men (42%), 40 by non-binary authors (2%), 21 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 762.75 by POC (30%).

Government Types November 2023

Total 22, Not Applicable 3 (14%), Unclear 1 (5%), Anarchy 1 (5%), Pure democracy 2 (9%), Representative democracy 9 (46%), Oligarchy 6 (27%), Autocracy 0 (0%).

Government Type 2023 TD

Total 239, Not Applicable 35 (15%), Unclear 12 (5%), Anarchy 4 (2%), Pure democracy 4 (2%), Representative democracy 85 (36%), Oligarchy 92 (38%), Autocracy 7 (3%).

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Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan (February 2024)

Welcome to Tiankawi — shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that’s how it first appears. But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on top: peering down from shining towers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk — sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas — who live in the polluted waters below. For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to help her downtrodden people. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn’t hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when Nami, a know-it-all water dragon — fathomfolk royalty — is exiled to the city. When extremists sabotage the annual boat race, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Both Nami and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth it, or, if Tiankawi should be left to drown. 

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The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2022) edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Eugen Bacon, and Milton Davis (December 2023)

This is the follow up to the highly acclaimed 2021 anthology described as containing ​“some of the most exciting voices, old and new, from Africa and the diaspora, published in the 2020 year.”

The first won the World Fantasy Award for best anthology and was met with widespread critical acclaim from across the world, with the science fiction trade magazine, Locus, calling it a ​“must read.”

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, who created the first anthology now joins forces with Eugen Bacon, a 2022 World Fantasy Award finalist and Milton Davis, an award-winning Black Speculative fiction writer and editor to introduce readers to an ever more diverse set of writers associated with Africa.

Timely and relevant to today’s world, the set of stories in this book will astonish, shock and amaze the reader while introducing them to a whole new world. 

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The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark (April 2024)

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats. 

Nor do they have tails. 

But they are most assuredly dead. 

Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins. 

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins — resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories — have only three unbreakable vows. 

First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade. 

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark. 

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A final death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget. 

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(Another piece that was declined by tor dot com)

As previously established, SFF (science fiction and fantasy) has long been a studiously apolitical genre. No finer example of this can be found than in a minor kerfuffle over US involvement in Vietnam. Rather than embarrass itself by expressing opinions on matters far beyond their station, the SFF community prudently kept opinions to themselves, their closest friends, and the entire readership of the June 1968 Galaxy Magazine.

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Twilight: 2000 The Black Madonna by Frank Frey and Chris Keeling (October 2023)

The Free League remake of the classic GDW post-holocaust adventure. 

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