“The Sword of Shannara” by Terry Brooks

How to review “The Sword of Shannara”? How does one even give it a star rating? It bestrides the genre of epic fantasy like a Colossus and yet, in my opinion, is considerably weaker than Brooks’s later work, even as it broke new territory for fantasy and formed the basis for one of the most […]

James Falen’s Translation of “Eugene Onegin”

Having only ever read EO in the original, I admit that I approached this translation with trepidation. I chose it for my Masterworks in Russian Literature class because I’d heard it was the best of the available translations; having only read excerpts of others I can’t judge completely, but this translation is certainly masterful on […]

“A Brutal Chill in August” by Alan M. Clark

If you’re looking for a book filled with the gruesome details of Jack the Ripper’s murders, or dwelling with loving length on the psychology of a serial killer, this book is not for you. Jack himself is, rightfully, relegated to just a few lines. Instead, this is a book chronicling something much more meaningful and […]

TMLI Receives Honorable Mention for Epic Fantasy in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Awards!

The headline says it all, really. If you scroll down the list, you can find the announcement here.

“Delphian” by Tim Rees

I used to really love British thrillers, and so it was fun to return to a genre I hadn’t read in a while. “Delphian” hits many hallmarks of the genre, but is also a thriller with a bit of a difference, which made it even more interesting for me. The main character, Vincent, is an […]

“A Rose for Sergei” by K. Kidd

This is not at all the sort of book I would normally read, but as a Russianist I was fascinated by the premise. It’s the true-life account of the author’s relationship with Soviet defector and ex-KGB agent Sergei Kourdakov, one of the more unusual figures in the Cold War. The book is billed as reading […]

The Midnight Land: Part One is Free Today!

Today (August 7) TMLI is free on Kindle (and of course it’s always free on KU)! Get it here.

Featured Author–JJ Sherwood and the “Steps of Power” series

Hi All! I’m very excited to welcome fantasy author JJ Sherwood, whom I’m featuring here today. JJ has recently released the second book in her “Steps of Power” series, an epic fantasy series chockablock full of intrigue, adventure, and action. If there’s nothing you like better than Elven intrigue and handsome Elven warriors, you need […]

“A Secret to the Grave” by Jane Blythe

A serial killer/detective mystery with a very engaging hook. I love detective novels but I’m not a huge fan of the serial killer sub-genre, which tends to be too gory and scary for me. This book did dwell a little too much for my taste on the victims’ suffering, and there were a few minor […]

“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” by JK Rowling and Jack Thorne

4/4.5 stars. I had very mixed feelings about how to review this. I’m a huge HP fan, and so reading this was of course super-exciting for me, and I did really enjoy it. At the same time, it was clear to me that reading a play script is not the same as reading one of […]