Congratulations to Justin Lee Anderson on his win of SPFBO6! The win is well deserved. The Lost War is a really good book, well-written and engaging. The ending is superb and he rightly deserves all the accolades coming his way. I read the book during my spotlights and you can see what I said about […]
Lola Ford is an SPFBO author from 2020. I read her book recently and was impressed enough by the book to want to do a spotlight interview. I know! We have both been cut. SPFBO is over except for those glorious winners. But Lola’s book is a perfect example of why you should read not […]
J. Rushing entered his book, Radio, into SPFBO6. This dark urban fantasy takes place in 1928 Paris, with the protagonist, Marduk. Yes, that Marduk, the Babylonian god. He has been reimagined, along with myriad other gods, not as a god, but as a creature able to Broadcast to the minds of “Monos.” They can also […]
Danielle Mathieson Pederson entered SPFBO this year with Lasera, Book One of the Mer Archives. This YA urban fantasy follows Valerie, a senior in high school as she navigates her final season as a high school diver. Valerie has suffered deep loss in her young life, but she finds hope and healing when she meets […]
Chris Ing submitted Heart and Soul Fist to the SPFBO 6. It’s a rollercoaster of a book with a well-developed Spirit world, and a seventeen year old protagonist who will steal your heart. I read the book over the weekend and found it to be charming. Jane Choi, the main character, and her family belong […]
G.M. White entered The Swordsman’s Lament into SPFBO 6 this year. I read the book and was very impressed with his main character, Belasko. He’s an aging duellist and the king’s champion…and he’s also a foodie. Mr. White writes a heck of a fight scene. The story quickly picks up when Belasko is enmeshed in […]
Patrick Sampire entered Shadow of a Dead God in to SPFBO6. This mixture of high fantasy with a hard-boiled mystery worked. I loved the book. I’m a big fan of both Carol Berg’s “Dust and Light” duo and Harry Dresden and this book scratched the same itch in a wonderful way. The world felt Greek. […]
Allegra Pescatore wrote Where Shadows Lie and entered it in the SPFBO6. The story has a large cast and intricate plot, centering around the royal family and the rebellion against them. Princess Elenor is taken by the rebellion when her brother, the heir, tries to assassinate their father. This is a complex and mature story […]
The Alchemy Dirge surprises you with its wit and well-drawn characters. This entry into SPFBO6 was penned by Ryan Howse. While it is book 2, it does stand alone. I had no problem entering the world…and what a world it was. Aeon exists, a city several hundred years after Ragnorok, in a world that contains […]
Todd Herzman wrote A Dark Inheritance and entered it into SPFBO6. It’s the tale of three siblings, separated when a blood mage comes to town and captures the eldest. Their parents are dead. The middle child, Ella, soon goes looking for him and finds herself entangled with a group of people with aligned interests. The […]
Zack Argyle entered Voice of War into SPFBO6. This was the first SPFBO book I read after joining the competition. It was a fantastic start. While it did have the obligatory dark opening, the story itself wasn’t all dark and had moments of wonder, especially in the forest kingdom. The magic system is unique, with […]
Brandon Lindsay wrote Shoreseeker, Book One of the Farshores Saga and entered it into SPFBO this year. This is a well-crafted world with an interesting magic system …and very well-written book! The prologue is gruesome, but the rest of the book isn’t quite as dark (keep reading). It follows the main character of Tharadis, the […]
Raymond St Elmo entered The Origin of Birds in the Footprints of Writing into SPFBO this year. I loved this book. Loved it. No reservations, no problems, I absolutely recommend this book. Warning… It’s a bit strange. Imagine being let inside the head of a man who is very smart, so smart he seems mad […]
Alexzander Christion entered By the Hand of Dragons: Alinguard in SPFBO6. The book is a standalone and a quick read. It follows the young Shefa, king of the magical land of Fuumashon on his first adventure to AlinGuard, a prison where the evil inmates have taken over. The story suffers from a lack of editing. […]
Matthew Sylvester wrote Hell Hound for SPFBO 6. It’s a unique book in the contest. It’s Urban Fantasy with a lesbian, Half-Indian-from-India, foul-mouthed witch assassin as a protagonist. I’m not being clever calling her a witch. She’s actually a witch. When I say foul-mouthed, I mean it. The book has loads of swearing. There’s an […]
D.H. Willison wrote Harpyness is only Skin Deep and entered it into SPFBO 6. I read the book the week after it was booted from the contest, and I’m glad I did. It’s a fun adventure about Darin, a guy who gets an opportunity to escape his humdrum life and live on a planet with […]
Clayton Snyder entered The Oblivion Psalm into SPFBO 6. He’s known for a lot of other work (which you can see here.) This was not the type of book I normally read, but I picked it up as soon as the contest commenced. It’s dark, very very dark. This book is “dark madness” and very […]
SPFBO Author J.A. Andrews has written Dragon’s Reach and four other books which make up the The Keeper Chronicles. This is the first book in her new series The Keeper Origins, a prequel series. I read Dragon’s Reach, after reading her other books and was delighted (as usual). This classic fantasy story introduces us to […]
SPFBO author Justin Lee Anderson wrote Carpet Diem and The Lost War. The Lost War is his entry into SPFBO 6. I read The Lost War and really enjoyed it! The Lost War is more of a classic fantasy with solid RPG roots. The story follows Aranok, a draoidh (wizard), as he leads a group […]
