TOP PICKS – June 2023
Welcome to this month’s Top Picks!
Every month, we’re going to share with you our favourite reads of the month. We’ve rounded up our contributors and asked them each to recommend just one favourite read of the month. Somehow, we’ve reached the end of yet another month!
A big thank you to Nils for coming up with this feature, and our contributors for taking part!
Beth: Talonsister by Jen Williams
I’ve had a really strong reading month! I read my first David Wragg novel, The Hunters (review), and absolutely loved it, can’t wait to read more of his work! I returned to Stacey McEwan’s Glacian Trilogy in her second novel Chasm and was relieved to catch up with the gang once more. I’m currently reading a gay AF Goblin Market love letter called A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey and the magic is a lot of fun.
But hands down my best read of the month, and of the year so far, was Jen Williams’ Talonsister. I love Jen’s writing and storytelling regardless of what genre she’s treating us to, but it was an absolute joy to be back in a fantasy world of Jen’s making. This one had bickering griffins, Herne-like forest guardians, genetically-modified memory-wiped Imperial soldiers, jackdaw companions, politicking warrior queens and princesses… I bloody loved it. Every last minute of it. It’s not out till September and I already want more of it. You can expect me to talk about this a lot more this year.
Review to come next week for Women in SFF | Pre-order here
Nils: Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
I had a few really fantastic reads this month and all of them were by new-to-me authors. Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (review) was outstanding with its unique prosaic style and its exploration of transformations, but I finished it two days into June, so it doesn’t feel I like I’ve read it this month. Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long (review) was a wonderfully entertaining nautical fantasy which has fantastic original worldbuilding.
Yet my favourite pick would have to be the book I just finished, Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong – I delighted in how darkly twisted it was. Set in the dystopian twin cities of San-Er, a yearly game sees contestants, many of which have the ability to jump into other bodies, fight to the death until only one victor remains. The winner will then receive riches beyond their imagination from the King. For Princess Calla this is an opportunity to kill her uncle, King Kasa, for Anton this is an opportunity to save his dying lover and for August this is an opportunity to seize the throne for himself. There’s bloodshed, drama and many twisty moments and I was fully engrossed from beginning to end. Immortal Longings is out next month.
Julia: Hills of Heather and Bone by KE Andrews
I’m judging self published books for the SPFBO (Self Published Fantasy Blog Off) again this year, and one of the books in the fantasy faction batch did not look like my cup of tea. I started it without high hopes, but just a few chapters in, I was absolutely hooked!
It’s a mix of cosy and dark and manages a great balance between funny and touching.
The main character is a sort of necromancer who suffers from bad arthritis, married to a geeky healer who’s shorter than her. Instead of romance drama, these two are simply a matter of fact couple, who face a world which is dangerous for those with death magic.
I loved the tone and voice, and adored the characters, including a very feisty pet chicken!
Theo: The Crew by Sadir S Samir
I’ve had just a couple of fantasy books in my reading this month. They had fuller individual reviews on the Hive, and they make an interesting pair since both of them bring some comedic light relief to complement the inventive escapism of fantasy. I guess with the world the way it is, there is more need than ever for our escapism to also make us laugh.
The first of the pair was Mark Lawrence’s The New World (review), a novella length follow up to the trilogy that brought us the cowardly Jalan Kendeth and the heroic Snorri. It has the Lawrencian hallmarks of smooth flowing prose, a twisting plot and the compellingly craven first person voice of Jal. The second was Sadir S Samir’s debut The Crew (an entry in this year’s SPFBO) which makes for an interesting head to head of SPFBO entrant and SPFBO organiser.
The Crew is anarchically good fun. Lawrence – as a confirmed pantser – could be surprised as much as the reader by what happens between the top and the bottom of a page. However, Samir throws in even more randomness, with his easily distracted protagonist Vacade and the utterly unpredictable powers bestowed by various adversaries’ use of the magical ‘God dust.’ It’s a tough call between the two of them, but I know and love Jalan’s escapades, where Vacade is like no protagonist I’ve ever seen before so – narrowly – my pick of the month is The Crew.
Scarlett: Gods of the Wyrdwood by RJ Barker
June’s reading felt long and short at the same time. It seemed as though I was reading each book for forever since they were mainly chonkers with a few non-fantasy ones that I slipped in to neutralize my thoughts. I ended up with a total of 10 books read as of today and the four main novels up for favorite read this month for me were Witch King by Martha Wells, The Will of the Many by James Islington, The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan and Gods of the Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker.
The latter was my first Barker novel, though I have several of his other ones on my shelf, and it made my top pick this month closely followed by The Tyranny of Faith. Barker’s way with the natural world in this forest setting checked all the boxes for me. I loved the main character and the short chapters of an elusive distant voice keeping everything very mysterious. The creatures were wonderfully imagined and the story revolved around journeys, righting wrongs and the underdog hero no one wanted or knew they needed. Definitely recommend it!
Dorian: Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I’ve now finished Shards of Earth and Eyes of the Void, the first two volumes of the Final Architecture trilogy by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Absolutely mind-blowing space opera, which does not surprise me, given how much I’ve adored everything else I’ve read of his. I could find all sorts of things to gush about, but (and again, this probably won’t shock Tchaikovsky fans) the best aspect is his variety of wonderful alien species. He’s got hive-minds of cyborg cockroaches piloting little robots; he’s got technologically-ascendant giant bivalves on hover-boards; he’s got merchant-crabs festooned with video screens, nigh-unstoppable symbionts of man and lobster, and of course the moon-sized planet-re-shapers, the Architects themselves. I’m only about 20% into the last book, Lords of Uncreation, but I’m pretty much ready to add this series to Banks’s Culture novels and Corey’s Expanse on my short list of favorite SF.
What was your favourite read of the month? Share with us in the comments!
