James Nicoll Reviews

Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater

A housemaid needs some magical help when she falls for a high-society gentleman in this captivating historical fantasy full of wit, charm, and heart-fluttering romance. Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr. Benedict Ashbrooke. There’s only one problem: Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help her win Mr. Ashbrooke’s heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favorite jacket.Effie has heard rumors about what happens to those who accept magical bargains. But life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now she has one hundred days — and ten thousand stitches — to make Mr. Ashbrooke fall in love and propose…if Lord Blackthorn doesn’t wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie’s greatest obstacle might well be Lord Blackthorn’s overwhelmingly good intentions. 

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This month sees the addition an entirely new, very boring exciting statistic, for which see below the cut. 

May 2022

22 works reviewed. 13 by women (59%), 8 by men (36%), 1 by a non-binary author (5%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 8 by POC (36%)

Year to Date

107 works reviewed. 60.5 by women (57% ), 42.5 by men (40%), 4 by a non-binary author (4%), 0 by authors whose genders are unknown (0%), and 39 by POC (36%).

Grand Total to Date

2115 works reviewed. 1184.5 by women (56%), 882.5 by men (42%), 30 by non-binary authors (1%), 18 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 613.75 by POC (29%).

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The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness. 

Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. 

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to ​“A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born. 

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most — Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares — each other? 

Set in a world full of magic and demigods, donuts and small-town drama, this enchantingly quirky, utterly unique fantasy is perfect for readers of The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Invisible Library. 

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A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance! 

Maud Blyth has always longed for adventure. She expected plenty of it when she volunteered to serve as an old lady’s companion on an ocean liner, in order to help her beloved older brother unravel a magical conspiracy that began generations ago. 

What she didn’t expect was for the old lady in question to turn up dead on the first day of the voyage. Now she has to deal with a dead body, a disrespectful parrot, and the lovely, dangerously outrageous Violet Debenham, who’s also returning home to England. Violet is everything that Maud has been trained to distrust yet can’t help but desire: a magician, an actress, and a magnet for scandal. 

Surrounded by the open sea and a ship full of suspects, Maud and Violet must first drop the masks that they’ve both learned to wear before they can unmask a murderer and somehow get their hands on a magical object worth killing for — without ending up dead in the water themselves. 

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The Dream-Chosen by Celu Amberstone

Humans and aliens struggle to survive on a planet surface foreign to them both, which still suffers the aftermath of a past disaster. Dunnagh is responsible for his people, wanting to bring his soldiers and civilians to safety. The Khutani work to preserve not only their own people, but the races of this planet Timorna where they dwell. It takes all the Khutani mind powers, and those of Dunnagh, to bring them together for symbiosis.

The Dream-Chosen is the first book in the series Tales of the Kashallans, by celebrated author Celu Amberstone. Drawing on her Indigenous and Celtic heritage, Amberstone writes powerful fiction subtly different from the usual science fiction or fantasy adventures. For fans of the ​‘Hundred Worlds’ approach used in Star Trek and in Golden Age magazines, there are diverse settings and cultures along the journey taken by these human and alien characters.

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Ymir by Rich Larson

A gripping, far-future retelling of Beowulf from an award-winning author, perfect for fans of Richard K. Morgan. Yorick never wanted to see his homeworld again. Thirty years later, he finds himself sent back to the icy mining colony as a company man — and he can’t leave this frozen rock in the dust until he neutralizes the threat. A vicious, long-forgotten machine has newly thawed from the ice, and it seems to have a mind of its own. But as Yorick plumbs the depths of of the mines and his own past, he finds a tangled conspiracy that’s much more than he bargained for — and its source is closer to home than he ever could have guessed. 

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Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

“Whimsical, witty, and brimming over with charm” (India Holton), Olivia Atwater’s delightful debut will transport you to a magical version of Regency England, where the only thing more meddlesome than a fairy is a marriage-minded mother! 

It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul. 

Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment — an unfortunate condition that leaves her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season — but when Elias Wilder, the strange, handsome, and utterly ill-mannered Lord Sorcier, discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into peculiar and dangerous faerie affairs.

If her reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all high society, then she and her family may yet reclaim their normal place in the world. But the longer Dora spends with Elias, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love even with only half a soul. 

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April 2022

21 works reviewed. 11.5 by women (55%), 7.5 by men (36%), 2 by a non-binary author (10%), 0 by authors whose genders are unknown (0%), and 7 by POC (33%).

Year to Date

85 works reviewed. 47.5 by women (56% ), 34.5 by men (41%), 3 by a non-binary author (4%), 0 by authors whose genders are unknown (0%), and 31 by POC (36%).

Grand Total to Date

2093 works reviewed. 1171.5 by women (56%), 874.5 by men (42%), 29 by non-binary authors (1%), 18 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), 605.75 by POC (29%).

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Leech by Hiron Ennes

‘A wonderful new entry to Gothic science fiction, impeccably clever and atmospheric. Think Wuthering Heights … with worms!’ – Tamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth‘Highly recommended. I’ll be reading anything Hiron Ennes writes from now on’ – Tade Thompson, author of RosewaterIn an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died. The Interprovincial Medical Institute sends out a replacement. But when the new physician investigates the cause of death, which appears to be suicide, there’s a mystery to solve. It seems the good doctor was hosting a parasite. Yet this should have been impossible, as the man was already possessed. For hundreds of years, the Institute has grown by taking root in young minds and shaping them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine.The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species. Now it seems they have competition. For in the baron’s icebound castle, already a pit of secrets and lies, the parasite is spreading … These two enemies will make war within the battlefield of the body. Whichever wins, humanity will lose again.Leech by Hiron Ennes is an atmospheric Gothic triumph, perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer and Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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As previously established over on tor dot com, I have in my possession all twelve volumes in the Third Ace Specials series. Editor Terry Carr selected an interesting unifying theme for his twelve selection. Each one was its author’s debut at novel length. How keen was Carr’s insight? How well have the books aged? Did the authors enjoy the lengthy careers inclusion in the series suggested might result? To find the answer to those questions, join me as I reread and review nearly all¹ of the Specials.

1: The singular exception being Howard Waldrop’s Them Bones, which I reviewed almost eight years ago,

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