Mar 22, 2026 | book review, Book Reviews, fantasy, piranesi, speculative fiction, Spoiler-Free, susanna clarke
There is no way to prepare readers for walking into the dream that is the astounding, infinite labyrinthine halls of Piranesi’s house.
I will do my best, but any reminiscing about Susanna Clarke’s incredible book of fantasy can only prepare you for a deep mystery amidst a magical setting so innovative, realistic, and unnerving, that it will only touch on the surface of Piranesi.
There is a world built quickly around the young man, Piranesi, that seems to be lost in a flooded world, or a universe of worlds, that reside within one isolated coastal house or possibly…a gargantuan museum especially built to expand ever onward.
Piranesi reminds me of being blissfully lost in the suspenseful mystery and immersive world, an enigma, in China Mieville’s The City and the City.
The protagonist, Piranesi, is endearing, meticulous, intelligent, and is an adult with a tenacious thirst for exploration and learning and human conversation.
He is so very lonely and flawed.
There are so few left alive in the house’s seemingly endless maze for him to speak with, after all.
Through his handwritten recordings of discoveries and observations, and his mapping of rooms, corridors, star patterns, and statues – these, he worships like gods – there is a feeling that the more Piranesi grows and the more he finds out, the more his mind may be unraveling.
This is one of, if not, the best unreliable narrator I have ever read, because, you are never quite sure throughout the entirety of Clarke’s book if you can trust 99% of Piranesi’s account, or only 9% of it.
So in a memorable and powerful way, Clarke’s story becomes much more than a radically different fantasy novel, it becomes a thrilling page-turner.
The story is flawless – you could write classes to teach around the execution of this book’s brilliant arc, alone.
The prose in Piranesi is scintillating, visually resplendent, and moving enough to cast a spell on unsuspecting readers.
The characters are full of their own ticks and biases, some benign and some very much not, but all have their own goals and interests.
Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi could not be more original; and I could not give a higher compliment for this masterpiece.
“Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: New Mind-bending Magical Realism” Was Written By R.J. Huneke.
About the Author of Piranesi:
Susanna Clarke’s debut novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was first published in more than 34 countries and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Guardian First Book Award. It won British Book Awards Newcomer of the Year, the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award in 2005. The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a collection of short stories, some set in the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, was published by Bloomsbury in 2006. Piranesi was a New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, and shortlisted for the Costa Novel of the Year Award, the RSL Encore Award and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. [bookshop.org]
Nov 27, 2024 | Alan Moore, book review, Book Reviews, fantasy, sci-fi, science fiction, SFF, Spoiler-Free, The Great When
THE GREAT WHEN: A Long London Novel by Alan Moore is 5-Stars, or more, if you are so inclined, as the first book in the The Long London Quintet series marks the liftoff of a brilliant new nest of allies in the city we know of as Fantasy Fiction.
The use of prose and language in this book are wholly fresh and draw upon a uniquely impactful identity.
The only book I can think of to compare THE GREAT WHEN to, because of that innovative sense of self and ever-intriguing and nuanced dialect, is A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess. But Moore’s work here is a totally different being.
The following is a Spoiler-free Book Review of THE GREAT WHEN by Alan Moore.
It is the voices in this story that give it so much life!
The voice of the narrator is as surefooted as the 18-year-old protagonist Dennis’s is not.
It is the sputtering youth’s tone, just as it is the magician artist’s, or the ever-coughing chain-smoking bookshop owner Coffin Ada’s, or the crime boss Jack Spot’s as he discusses the methodical weighing of life and pain in his steady tones (as he will stop at nothing to attempt to break in to the Great When itself) that permeate the pages with sound and further a world that is so, so real.
If this London is what they call the Smoke, then that place is the Fire… – THE GREAT WHEN.
Hidden so that no one but those brought in by the fantastical backbone universe of The Great When’s London itself can see it, the magic, the terror, the alternate takes on 1949 London that occupy the same space as the normal blokes like Dennis reside in are greasy jewels clinking around in a vast labyrinthine digestive tract that runs that part of the world, known or not.
And if that description is too abstract for you, know that this tale starts with a book and its mysterious danger.
The book that does not exist in London or anywhere in Dennis’s world, but he mistakenly buys it for the bookstore he works at and is instructed to – before dire things befall him (and his very skin) – return it to another place that does not exist: The Great When.
I love biblio-mysteries that involve rare volumes, tomes of frightening implications, as is the case here.
The names, Ironfoot is so much fun, the speech, you will feel this London in your bones, my son, the stretching shadows that cover an otherwise thriving shop’s tables and chairs in burlap sacks in The Great When’s overlayed version continue to taunt your mind’s sense of reality and reason.
I have read nothing like Alan Moore’s THE GREAT WHEN, and I cannot wait for the next part of the series.
“THE GREAT WHEN: A Long London Novel by Alan Moore is 5-Stars” Was Written By R.J. Huneke.
Aug 12, 2024 | book review, Book Reviews, fine press, Mickey7, Phantasia Press, sci-fi, science fiction, SFF, Signed Limited, small press, Spoiler-Free
Mickey7 by Edward Ashton: historic Phantasia Press relaunch, as the first fine press dedicated entirely to Sci-Fi-Fantasy returns in the 21st Century with a resounding BOOM and a limited edition classic.
Science-fiction is often fun, but it is rarely so fun as to keep you laughing and clenching your stomach muscles as Mickey7 tries not to die.
Mickey is the only Expendable, a disposable employee that uses a synthetic copy of his body, on the entire human colonization mission to terraform the ice world Niflheim – and yes, there are giant bug-like alien neighbors that have not been thoroughly researched just yet.
Ashton brings a stark amount of humanity – wit and wry humor – to the character Mickey.
And that sense of the human quality is vital, because Mickey7 learns that his seven-time downloaded memories can inhabit not just one Expendable body at a time, but two.
Does he have two souls now? Or no soul? Or is he just a carbon copy of a soul, loosely downloaded and distributed on a barren rock of a planet?
I am reminded of two great authors when reading this novel: Robert Heinlein, especially Starship Troopers, and Joe Haldeman.
“Apparently three hours of training lectures aren’t enough to overcome a billion years of ingrained instinct for self-preservation.” ― Edward Ashton, Mickey7
If you like your sci-fi cooked well done with marbled laughs and a side of action and suspense, then Mickey7 will be very appetizing on the plate atop your tbr.
And if you want to hold the very embodiment of science fiction in your hands, then look no further than the Phantasia Press signed and numbered limited edition.
Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, illustrated by Barclay Shaw from Phantasia Press.
Deep space colonization, interstellar ships, and then . . . shimmering on the never-before-seen distant horizon of an alien world is . . . a bright silvery-white, preternatural book.
From out of the legends of the twentieth century and the epic limited editions featuring the likes of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Stephen King, Phantasia Press stands tall as a jet black monolith and returns to us, readers, of the 21st Century earth!
The numbered limited edition of Mickey7 glitters and glints in light as the hot foil stamping and Metallium paper look and feel astounding in the hand.
Pictures do not do this book justice.
Every facet of the Phantasia Press Mickey7 highlights an extraordinary attention to detail that truly captures the soul of the story.
From the scintillating binding and slipcase, to the hexagon textured end-sheets, the previous iterations of Mickey6 and Mickey5 on the cover, and the great illustrations of Barclay Shaw, this book is an epic offering from the one and only Phantasia Press.
And there are a few copies left for sale at, of course, $177.77 USD here.
“Mickey7 by Edward Ashton: Historic Phantasia Press Relaunch” Was Written By R.J. Huneke.
May 9, 2024 | Babel, book review, Book Reviews, fantasy, R.F. Kuang, SFF, speculative fiction, Spoiler-Free
Babel By R.F. Kuang: a revolutionary historical fantasy epic that examines the influence of cogent language and its romantic secrets, bitter deceptions, and intoxicating effects that mark the meek and the brash, the power-hungry and the marytrs.
Babel By R.F. Kuang may be the best book I read this year.
If you are a fan of language or translation or history or great characters being challenged beyond your wildest prescient thoughts, then you must read this must-read, this phenomenal tale by R.F. Kuang.
As with many great stories – especially in the SFF-speculative fiction realm – the character’s path needs to resonate deeply, and Kuang’s protagonist Robin Swift does this while being utterly captivating.
The name he chooses after being dragged from his home in Canton and near-forcibly adopted by an English professor is one stemming from a love of literature that he identifies with, Robin Swift.
The following book review of R.F. Kuang’s Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is SPOILER-FREE.
Robin Swift’s journey is so real, it hurts.
His awe at his first foray into an English bookstore, or an Oxford library, is moving and relatable.
You swell with joy, with Robin, as he delights in the exotic tastes of desserts from bakeries for the first time, just as you will feel the shock of betrayal least looked for when it lashes out at him.
Betrayal is a theme in Babel.
“Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.”
Language and story metaphorically and literally make magic in Babel.
Words reside at the center of civilization but also at the panopticon, whether for use in aiding humanity, or in enslaving it.
Seeing the black, white, and gray areas in Babel proves difficult for those involved in the tower, the school of translation at Oxford, of Babel, for the spell of comfort, happiness, fulfillment, and friendship casts a certain amount of myopia that runs deeper than the magical silver bars the translators create and maintain.
The history in Babel is, itself, a mythology by which Kuang makes the reader climb and dive off a cliff and deeply submerge into the early 19th Century as the riotous age of colonialism is at a zenith, and at the same time depict Oxford University – and the college life that Robin embarks on – which is outwardly fun, but filled with racism, misogyny, and final exams that can cause the students to bleed out.
Make no mistake, Babel will tear at your heart, gouge deeply, and continue to stay with you, long after you finish reading.
Babel is a masterpiece of fantasy literature that reaches depths similar in scope and artistry to the most deeply moving and impactful symphonies, works of literature, epic poems, and fine art.
Babel is a masterpiece of fantasy literature.
“Babel By R.F. Kuang: A Revolutionary Historical Fantasy Epic” Was Written By R.J. Huneke.
Jun 2, 2023 | Amal El-Mohtar, book review, Book Reviews, fantasy, Max Gladstone, queer, sci-fi, science fiction, speculative fiction, Spoiler-Free, THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone SOARS!
The Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards Winner for best novella, THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR represents some of the very best in innovative speculative fiction.
I read this book in a few days and was enamored with it!
The following is a SPOILER-FREE book review of THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone.
The main characters Red and Blue are agents in a time war described best as traversing amongst myriad threats of history and tangled braids of the future.
Red and Blue are women, if not wholly humanoid, well that is for the reader to decide, and are from a distant future.
They are the best at what they do: marking threads, timelines, for destruction and/or control.
The fallout of their actions directly improves or harms entire cords of histories.
Upon becoming aware of one another’s opposition, Red and Blue begin a taunting, spiritual, revealing, and ultimately romantic correspondence through some extremely well-hidden and well-experienced letters (eating and reveling in Sumac seeds for one, savoring a scintillating pot of tea for another).
The prose from both authors is deeply poetic and philosophical, and is layered in quips, in new tech from the future, in new interpretations of past figures and events.
Red and Blue are deeply insightful people, and they challenge each other to grow even as they get to know one another via the letters.
To create this book, Max Gladstone wrote all of Red and Amal El-Mohtar wrote all of Blue’s chapters.
And so a brilliant use of unique personality naturally illuminates each character.
At first Red and Blue seem like they might snare one another.
Later, Red and Blue seem to have betrayed the time war itself.
The result is that each layer of the book unfolds and is more suspenseful, more delicate, more painful, and more invigorating than the last section.
El-Mohtar and Gladstone’s THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR is one of those pivotal works of sci-fi-fantasy, a classic that needs to be reread again and again to be fully realized.
“This is How You Lose the Time War By Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone SOARS!” Was Written By R.J. Huneke.
