Pile by the Bed reviews The Only Way Out is Up by Django Wexler a progression fantasy set in a hierarchical city where magic-powered robots fight each other in tournaments.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Dragon Has Some Complaints by John Wiswell, a cosy fantasy about an injured three-headed dragon who is taken in and trained to help a beleaugered city fight a war.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Doubles by Jacob K Gallagher an action-packed thriller set in regional Australia in a version of our world influenced by magic.
Pile by the Bed reviews Gentle Things a heady mix of genres – a dark reimagining of 18th Century London with a speculative edge that deals with the documented practice of using human body parts to create medicines.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Knight Watch by Thomas D Lee the second book in his loosely connected series which draws on the premise that the Knights of the Round Table can return when Britain is in peril. This book is set in World War 2 and is a “weird, enjoyable, Nazi-punching romp”.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett the third book in his excellent Shadows of the Leviathan series featuring investigators Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Unicorn Hunters by KAtherine Arden historical fantasy that reminagines the life of Anne of Brittany only with unicorns and fae beings.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Tinder Box by MR Carey a more complex and satisfying reimagining of a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.
Pile by the Bed reviews Heaven’s Graveyard by Grace Cutris, a follow up to her fantasy novel Idolfire but set in a future time when the events in that novel are considered to be mythology and children’s stories.
Pile by the Bed reviews First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston a delightful fantasy novel about a group of rogue engineers who want to use a combination of science and magic to reach the Moon – the home of the gods.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe a debut fantasy novel that explores the relationship of magic and language from the perspective of a Hawaiian magic user.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Rabbit Test and Other Stories by Samantha Mills, a collection of diverse speculative fiction short stories anchored around the multi-award winning title story.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Palaces of the Crow by Ray Naylet the story of a group of children taking refuge in a Lithuanian forest during World War II and their relationship with the crows there.
Pile by the bed reviews The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean a hsitorical urban fantasy set in Hong Kong in the 1970s and drawing on Asian history and mythological traditions.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty the second book to feature ageing pirate Amina Al-Sirafi on another dangerously magical quest.
Pile by the Bed reviews No Man’s Land by Richard Morgan, a dark fantasy set post World War I in a world that is being threatened by violent forest creatures.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Faithful Dark by Cate Baume a dark fantasy that explores a world in turmoil through the eyes of two complex characters. This is the first of the “Brilliant Soul” duology.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Sister Wake by Dave Rudden the first book ion a grimdark fantasy series that draws heavily on Irish history and culture.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Misheard World by Aliya Whitely a book that starts as a fairly traditional fnatasy novel but twists into something very different.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Pretenders to the Throne of God, the fourth book in Adrian Tchaikocsky’s always thought provoking and enjoyable Tyrant Philosophers fantasy series.
