James Nicoll Reviews

Metal From Heaven by August Clarke (October 2024)

For fans of The Princess Bride and Gideon the Ninth: a bloody lesbian revenge tale and political fantasy set in a glittering world transformed by industrial change – and simmering class warfare. 

Ichorite is progress. More durable and malleable than steel, ichorite is the lifeblood of a dawning industrial revolution. Yann I. Chauncey owns the sole means of manufacturing this valuable metal, but his workers, who risk their health and safety daily, are on strike. They demand Chauncey research the hallucinatory illness befalling them, a condition they call ​“being lustertouched.” Marney Honeycutt, a lustertouched child worker, stands proud at the picket line with her best friend and family. That’s when Chauncey sends in the guns. 

Only Marney survives the massacre. She vows bloody vengeance. 

A decade later, Marney is the nation’s most notorious highwayman, and Chauncey’s daughter seeks an opportune marriage. Marney’s rage and the ghosts of her past will drive her to masquerade as an aristocrat, outmaneuver powerful suitors, and win the heart of his daughter, so Marney can finally corner Chauncey and satisfy her need for revenge. But war ferments in the north, and deeper grudges are surfacing… 

H. A. Clarke’s adult fantasy debut, writing as August Clarke, Metal from Heaven is a punk-rock murder ballad tackling labor issues and radical empowerment against the relentless grind of capitalism. 

Elevation by Michael Larrimore (June 2019)

Explore the Unknown 

Elevation was a proud organisation of brave explorers, seeking new worlds and alien species.

Now, 40 years later, its founder has been lost in space. Funds dwindle, outdated equipment falls apart and Elevation’s few remaining starships barely work.

But a small team of die-hard explorers refuse to give up. The search for new aliens ready to join the galactic community is much too important to leave to shady corporations and criminals.

Elevation is a campaign and setting book for M‑SPACE. It contains three scenarios and a detailed subsector with descriptions of worlds, locations, technologies and powers.

Witch Queen of Redwinter by Ed McDonald (November 2024)

Having been saved from execution at the hands of the Draoihn — powerful magic users Raine used to count as allies — Raine finds herself in the Fault, a vast magical wasteland, which is falling apart before her eyes.

Alongside her two closest companions, they are searching for the only person Raine believes can help them get back home: the enigmatic and infuriatingly elusive Queen of Feathers.

But what home are they trying to get back to? Ovitus LacNaithe, power-hungry traitor that he is, has taken control of the Draoihn and is unwittingly doing the bidding of a darker master. He is soon to take control of the Crown of Harranir and plunge the land into unending darkness.

The fate of two worlds hangs in the balance. The stakes have never been higher. It’s going to take Raine’s dark, terrible powers, as well as the unbreakable bond of three friends, to ensure everyone lives to see the dawn.

The epic conclusion to Ed McDonald’s Redwinter Chronicles, Witch Queen of Redwinter brings together breathtaking magic, unflinching fellowship and the gruesome spectacle of war in the most thrilling of fantasy adventures.

The First King by Shameez Patel Papathanasiou (July 2024)

The conclusion to South African born, debut author’s stunning series, with touches of Suzanne Collins which fans of V.E. Schwab or Leigh Bardugo will love. 

Lucas returns to the Selene realm only to find its been set alight. The king has declared war and is searching for them, especially his prized Healer who has escaped with his traitorous son. 

But Cassia and Lochlan are still trapped in Vineas and Lucas has no way of getting to them. Armed with something as easily changed as a vision of the future, Lucas has to place his faith in the people around him and call out the uncontrollable First magic lurking inside him. 

He will be the one to kill the king. He will end this. Now. 

When the Night Falls by Glenn Rolfe (June 2024)

Rocky Zukas lives with the ghosts of what happens when you fall in love with a monster. Lucky to be alive, Rocky roams his beachside hometown living on autopilot, waiting for life to start again. 

November Riley has never been far from the boy that stole her heart. She watches from the shadows, knowing she can never make things right between them, but never giving up on the chance they could try one more time. 

A new documentary is bringing Gabriel Riley, the Beach Night Killer, back to national consciousness. The dead serial killer has a trio of new fans that are ready to make Old Orchard Beach, Maine their home for the end of the summer season. When the new strangers in town discover Rocky’s relationship to the past of one of their own, he becomes their number one target. Can November protect him, or will these other vampires prove too strong? When the night falls, blood will spill, and death will reign. 

The Zanzibar Cat by Joanna Russ (September 1984)

Anything can happen in Zanzibar. If you travel there, prepare for the unexpected. There you’ll meet a society of women who do not need men; a lovely but heartless vampire; a female adventurer named Amelie. You’ll meet romance and intrigue … and danger. You will not return the same.