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Geek Girl Authority
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Book Review: A FAR BETTER THING
Thank you to Tor Books for sending me a copy of A Far Better Thing in exchange for an honest review. Stolen by the fairies as a child, Sydney Carton was forced into servitude in the Faerie Realm while a changeling, Charles Darnay, took his place. Now returned to London, Sydney seeks revenge on both the fae and his double. But as he navigates magic, deception, and revolution in London and Paris, his quest for justice leads to a devastating choice beneath the guillotine's blade. A Far Better Thing Book Review RELATED: Book Review: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil H.G. Parry tells a heart-rending revenge fantasy set during the French Revolution. While A Far Better Thing stands on its own, I highly recommend reading A Tale of Two Cities first. At the very least, you should familiarize yourself with the characters. Sydney Carton is a fascinating man in the original, and Parry's version adds a ton of depth. If you read the original, the overarching plot won't surprise you. It's how Parry gets there, however, that's so impressive. Every version of Sydney Carton is a reluctant antihero with a heart of gold. Here, Parry gives him a deeper internal voice than he originally has. He begins the novel as a drunk, bitter man. He's lonely and broken, due to his status as a human taken as a child by the fae. Now he's their unwilling servant, committing horrible acts just to survive, and you can feel how deeply tired he is. It's only when he meets a few people he might be able to care about that his isolation ends – only for everything to come crashing down when the fae catch up with him. RELATED: Book Review: Crueler Mercies The fae themselves are unsettlingly strange. Their motivations are never quite clear, but this isn't a bad thing. It helps keep them removed from the human realm, even as they're meddling in its affairs. The human world, specifically France, is falling apart on the eve of revolution, and it's largely their fault. Their existence also offers explanations for elements of A Tale of Two Cities . Sydney Carton, Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay share their unexpected, deep connection not because of fate, but because they are all changelings. A Far Better Thing adds enticing layers to the source material that will keep readers engaged even if they think they know where the story is going. Whether you're a fan of A Tale of Two Cities or modern classics like Jonathan Strange & Mr. NorrelI , you'll love A Far Better Thing . It's a rich, emotional story about identity, sacrifice and a chance at redemption. A Far Better Thing is available for purchase now from your local independent bookstore or TW: alcoholism, blood, child abuse, child death, classism, death, grief, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, murder, slavery, suicide, violence, war New Release Radar: New Books Coming Out on July 1
Los Angeles Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The week's bestselling books, June 29
1. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine Books: $30) A story of friendship, love and adversity during the 1980s Space Shuttle program. 2. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Press: $30) An unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond. 3. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab (Tor Books: $30) A vampiric tale follows three women across the centuries. 4. James by Percival Everett (Doubleday: $28) An action-packed reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' 5. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (Berkley: $29) Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of an heiress. 6. King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar: $29) A man returns to his roots to save his family in this Southern crime epic. 7. My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Atria Books: $30) The bond between a group of teens 25 years earlier has a powerful effect on a budding artist. 8. The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb (S&S/Marysue Rucci Books: $30) A young father grapples with tragedy and the search for redemption. 9. Nightshade by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown & Co.: $30) The bestselling crime writer returns with a new cop on a mission, this time on Catalina Island. 10. With a Vengeance by Riley Sager (Dutton: $30) A deadly game of survival and revenge plays out on a luxury train heading from Philadelphia to Chicago. … 1. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster: $30) A call to renew a politics of plenty and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life. 2. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (Hay House: $30) How to stop wasting energy on things you can't control. 3. Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green (Crash Course Books: $28) The deeply human story of the fight against the world's deadliest infectious disease. 4. Steve Martin Writes the Written Word by Steve Martin (Grand Central Publishing: $30) A collection of greatest hits from the beloved actor and comedian. 5. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (Knopf: $28) Reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its fundamental values. 6. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow (Penguin Press: $45) The Pulitzer-winning biographer explores the life of the celebrated American writer. 7. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Penguin: $32) The music producer on how to be a creative person. 8. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer and John Burgoyne (illustrator) (Scribner: $20) The 'Braiding Sweetgrass' author on gratitude, reciprocity and community, and the lessons to take from the natural world. 9. I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally (Gallery Books: $30) The restaurateur relates his gritty childhood and rise in the dining scene. 10. It Rhymes With Takei by George Takei, Steven Scott, Justin Eisinger and Harmony Becker (illustrator) (Top Shelf Productions: $30) The actor and activist tells his most personal story of all in a full-color graphic memoir. … 1. All Fours by Miranda July (Riverhead Books: $19) 2. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (Ecco: $20) 3. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster: $19) 4. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Vintage: $18) 5. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Transit Books: $17) 6. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune (Berkley: $19) 7. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (Penguin: $18) 8. Sandwich by Catherine Newman (Harper Perennial: $19) 9. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (Grand Central: $20) 10. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (Vintage: $18) … 1. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (Crown: $12) 2. The Wager by David Grann (Vintage: $21) 3. The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (Penguin: $19) 4. The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides (Vintage: $19) 5. The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne (Penguin: $21) 6. Sociopath by Patric Gagne (Simon & Schuster: $20) 7. The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger (Harper Perennial: $20) 8. The Art Thief by Michael Finkel (Vintage: $18) 9. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (Crown: $20) 10. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (TarcherPerigee: $20)
Los Angeles Times
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The week's bestselling books, June 22
1. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Press: $30) An unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond. 2. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab (Tor Books: $30) A vampiric tale follows three women across the centuries. 3. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine Books: $30) A story of friendship, love and adversity during the 1980s Space Shuttle program. 4. Nightshade by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown & Co.: $30) The bestselling crime writer returns with a new cop on a mission, this time on Catalina Island. 5. My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Atria Books: $30) The bond between a group of teens 25 years earlier has a powerful effect on a budding artist. 6. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (Berkley: $29) Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of an heiress. 7. James by Percival Everett (Doubleday: $28) An action-packed reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' 8. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead Books: $30) Worlds collide when a teenager vanishes from her Adirondacks summer camp. 9. The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb (S&S/Marysue Rucci Books: $30) A young father grapples with tragedy and the search for redemption. 10. King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar: $29) A man returns to his roots to save his family in this Southern crime epic. … 1. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster: $30) A call to renew a politics of plenty and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life. 2. Steve Martin Writes the Written Word by Steve Martin (Grand Central Publishing: $30) A collection of greatest hits from the beloved actor and comedian. 3. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Penguin: $32) The music producer on how to be a creative person. 4. How to Lose Your Mother by Molly Jong-Fast (Viking: $28) The author's memoir on her intense relationship with her famed mother, writer Erica Jong. 5. Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane (W. W. Norton & Co.: $32) The naturalist explores rivers as living beings whose fate is tied with our own. 6. The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad (Random House: $30) A guide to the art of journaling, with contributions from Jon Batiste, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem and others. 7. The #1 Dad Book by James Patterson (Little, Brown & Co.: $25) The bestselling author's tips on being a better father. 8. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow (Penguin Press: $45) The Pulitzer-winning biographer explores the life of the celebrated American writer. 9. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer and John Burgoyne (illustrator) (Scribner: $20) The 'Braiding Sweetgrass' author on gratitude, reciprocity and community, and the lessons to take from the natural world. 10. The Haves and Have-Yachts by Evan Osnos (Scribner: $30) A collection of essays exploring American oligarchy and the culture of excess. … 1. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Vintage: $18) 2. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (Ecco: $20) 3. All Fours by Miranda July (Riverhead Books: $19) 4. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune (Berkley: $19) 5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (HarperOne: $18) 6. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster: $19) 7. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Vintage: $19) 8. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Transit Books: $17) 9. Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood (Berkley: $20) 10. Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Grove Press: $17) … 1. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (TarcherPerigee: $20) 2. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (Crown: $12) 3. The Wager by David Grann (Vintage: $21) 4. The Art Thief by Michael Finkel (Vintage: $18) 5. Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch (Tarcher: $20) 6. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions: $22) 7. The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger (Harper Perennial: $20) 8. Waiting for Britney Spears by Jeff Weiss (MCD: $19) 9. Historic Los Angeles Roadsides by Mimi Slawoff (Reedy Press: $27) 10. Sociopath by Patric Gagne (Simon & Schuster: $20)
Geek Girl Authority
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
Book Review: BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL
Thank you to Tor Books for sending me a copy of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil in exchange for an honest review. María, Charlotte and Alice are three women separated by centuries but united by longing, defiance and a burning desire for freedom. In 16th-century Spain, María marries into wealth to gain freedom, only to find herself trapped again until a mysterious widow offers her a dangerous escape. In 19th-century London, Charlotte is exiled for loving the wrong person, until another enigmatic widow reveals a hidden legacy and a new path forward. And in 2019 Boston, Alice awakens as a vampire after a one-night stand, launching her on a desperate quest for answers – and for the woman who turned her life upside down. RELATED: New Release Radar: New Books Coming Out On June 10 Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil Book Review Spanning centuries and continents, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a dark, addictive fever dream. V.E. Schwab's newest book is meant to be savored, even if you want to devour it. While Schwab engages in plenty of modern vampire tropes, this isn't a romantic story. Instead, it's about obsession, power and a hunger for more. She draws on clear inspiration from Interview with the Vampire . As a result, this is a dark, twisted tale full of morally grey and even downright evil characters. Each must address the same questions: If eternity turns you into something inhuman, can you still be good? Or does survival mean surrendering to the monster within? RELATED: Top 10 Vampires From Books, TV and Film It's the different character studies that make Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil so powerful. María, Charlotte and Alice's stories echo each other in a fierce exploration of power, survival and the cost of choosing yourself. Each woman begins the narrative shackled by society, queer women searching for love, recognition and wholeness in a world that denies their existence. In spite of these similarities, however, their stories never get repetitive. Each woman's differences make her stand out from the rest. María is sympathetic, ambitious and ruthless. As the one who lives as a vampire the longest, her transformation is fascinating to watch. Charlotte is relatable but also frustrating, and will likely be the most divisive of the three narrators. And Alice is sweet, with a fierceness hidden beneath her grief. All three stories intertwine with themes of grief, longing and the desire for control. RELATED: 8 Books to Read for Pride 2025 and Beyond As a whole, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is another stunning work from V.E. Schwab. It's full of female rage and women who refuse to be tamed. Read this one for a story of yearning and hunger that will stay with you long after you finish. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is out now and available from your local independent bookstore or TW: alcohol, animal death, blood, body horror, car accident, child death, classism, confinement, death, death of a parent, domestic abuse, drug use, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, gaslighting, gore, grief, homophobia, injury/injury detail, lesbophobia, mental illness, misogyny, murder, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, rape, sexism, sexual harrasment/assault, sexual content, suicide/suicidal thoughts, stalking, torture, toxic relationship, violence, war Book Review: THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER
Geek Tyrant
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
James Cameron Confirms His Next Movie Will Be a Fantasy Epic THE DEVILS — GeekTyrant
James Cameron has been burined deep in the world of Pandora for years, but he's announced what his next film project will be. The filmmaker behind Aliens , Titanic , and Avatar announced on Facebook that his next movie after Avatar: Fire and Ash will be an adaptation of The Devils . The Devil's is a brand-new fantasy novel by British author Joe Abercrombie, and Cameron is producing and co-writing the script with Abercrombie himself. The director said: 'I've loved Joe's writing for years, cherishing each new read, throughout the epic cycle of the First Law books, especially Best Served Cold (LOVE IT!), and the Age of Madness trilogy. 'But the freshness of the world and the characters in The Devils finally got me off my butt to buy one of his books and partner with him to bring it to the screen. 'I can't wait to dig into this as I wind down on Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will be a joyful new challenge for me to bring these indelible characters to life.' Abercrombie has built a loyal following in the grimdark fantasy space. His First Law series redefined the genre with its morally compromised antiheroes and sharp, self-aware writing. But, The Devils , which just hit shelves last month via Tor, kicks off a new trilogy, one with a very different premise. Set in a warped version of our own world, The Devils imagines a Europe crawling with unspeakable monsters and under siege by flesh-eating elves. The story centers on Brother Diaz, a weary soldier-priest tasked with assembling a team of both men and monsters to fight back the rising tide of horror. Abercrombie seems just as excited about the team-up, saying: 'I can't think of anyone better to bring this weird and wonderful monster of a book to the screen,' he said in a statement. This isn't the only Abercrombie film adaptation in the works. Best Served Cold , one of his most beloved standalone novels, is currently being developed as a feature film with Rebecca Ferguson set to play the deadly Monza Murcatto. That project is being directed by Deadpool's Tim Miller and is currently in pre-production. Cameron, meanwhile, still has a few stops left on the Avatar train. Fire and Ash , the third installment in his sprawling sci-fi epic, is scheduled to open on December 19th. Two more sequels are planned after that, with tentative release dates in 2029 and 2031. But clearly, the filmmaker is already mapping out his next creative obsession. If The Devils lands with the scope and visual intensity we associate with Cameron, and given the source material, this could be a great new chapter for both the director and modern fantasy cinema. The Devils is available now in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.
