Fantasy Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Diary of an Immortal (1945-1959) by David J. Castello

★★★★ The Diary of an Immortal by David Castello

In The Diary of an Immortal, author David J. Castello shows his skills as a wordsmith and creates an unforgettable narrative that looks at immortality from every possible side.

As a main character, readers can hardly ask for more from Steven Ronson, who begins as a hapless but heroic young man who stumbles upon something unimaginable – a formula that allows him to live forever. Readers are quickly taken away from the battlefields of WWII, but the fight is far from over. Ronson soon learns that chasing his every dream, without fear of failure or fatality, is not […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-24T19:47:01+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fantasy Book Reviews|

Magical Eyes: Dawn of the Sand by Jessica D’Agostini

Magical Eyes: Dawn of the Sand Princess Martina lives in the kingdom of Brightalia where magic is forbidden, yet she’s gifted with magical abilities. Her secret might be safe, except her brother has it out for her. When tragedy befalls the royal palace, the princess might need to reconcile with her brother in order to save the kingdom, only he has sinister intentions of his own. Teaming up with a newfound friend, a peasant boy named Enzo, they set out to save the kingdom before it falls to ruin.

Magical Eyes unfolds like a movie, with each moment vividly depicted, so it comes alive in a […]

Lysa Grant2019-01-22T11:01:05+02:00February 22nd, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Middle Grade Fiction Book Reviews|

Gawain and the Green Knight by Stefan Emunds

Gawain and the Green Knight by Stefan Emunds Gawain and the Green Knight is a retelling of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” – a classic 14th-century Arthurian tale told in verse. In the story, Gawain is challenged to a duel by the Green Knight if he agrees to receive a blow in a year and a day. The Green Knight is beheaded, and Gawain goes on a quest, which tests his honor via a number of dangers and temptations.

It’s a tall order for a young fantasy author to take on a project that also has a translation by J. R. R. Tolkien and many others, as […]

James Grimsby2017-02-17T11:01:14+02:00February 17th, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: The University of Corporeal and Ethereal Studies by Wolfgang Edwards

★★★★½ The University of Corporeal and Ethereal Studies

For readers who are looking for an exciting ride past the boundaries of the unknown, the wild tales of The University of Corporeal and Ethereal Studies are right up your alley. Author Wolfgang Edwards shows that his powers of creativity are not to be trifled with as he builds an unforgettable world of magic and supernatural science that rivals some of the great fantasy authors of the past.

The book is broken up into 8 stories centering around various students of this peculiar university as they face impossible challenges, life-changing decisions and their own unbelievable potential as practitioners of […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-03-02T03:57:33+02:00February 10th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Paranormal Book Reviews, Steampunk Book Reviews|

Review: The Humming Blade by Christopher Clark

★★★★

Fantasy readers love the promise of epic battles, inexplicable power, walking corpses, ancient cats, magic swords, and heroes with impossible destinies to discover. All of that and more is on display within the first 15 pages of The Humming Blade, the stunning new novel by Christopher Clark. The author wastes no time sucking readers into his fantastical world, and while the use of a dream sequence to kick off a novel isn’t unique, it certainly works for this book.

Wyatt Arden is an unremarkable kid living in the tiny town of Ven with his mother, working the farm […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-03-01T02:23:08+02:00February 8th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

The Amazing Adventures of 4¢ Ned (Coinworld: Book One) by Benjamin Laskin

The Amazing Adventures of 4¢ Ned The Amazing Adventures of 4¢ Ned (Coinworld: Book One) by Benjamin Laskin is an amusing and highly imaginative novel told from the perspective of a nickel coin – you read that correctly – named Ned who’s had the misfortune of being stamped with 4¢ instead of 5. This makes him an outcast among other coins, but hot property for collectors. As coins are ever-changing, Ned learns that he has a troubling destiny, so he teams up with a ragtag group of coins to make sure the inhabitants of Coinworld never lose value.

The premise of the book is just crazy […]

Henry Baum2021-11-29T05:56:47+02:00February 2nd, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews, Humor|

Review: Professor Flintwick’s Dream Machine by Dominic R. Daniels

★★★★ Professor Flintwick's Dream Machine

In Professor Flintwick’s Dream Machine, author Dominic R. Daniels delivers an unforgettable young adult fantasy with the depth of a novel intended for adults. Blending the whimsical impossibility of “Spirited Away” with the pared down, yet surreal style of Murakami, this short book is an adventurous ride that will be difficult to put down.

Yoshi Flintwick, an eccentric inventor and loving grandfather, once built weapons for the government, but is now much more interested in his dream machine – an invention that constructs rather than destroys. When Professor Flintwick has a horrible vision of creatures under the cruel […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2017-02-17T05:37:14+02:00January 27th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: A Blaze of Beginnings (The Family Crest Book 1) by A.K. Rohner

★★★½ A Blaze of Beginnings by A.K. Rohner

It doesn’t take long for the excitement to start in A Blaze of Beginnings, the new novel by A.K. Rohner, as readers are dropped right in the middle of a family mystery that could change all of their lives forever. What unfolds is a coming-of-age tale with more than a few supernatural twists, as Aaron James, the intrepid teenage hero, is catapulted into a world of danger and intrigue where the only thing that can save him is a bold heart and one powerful talisman.

The crux of the plot is a magical ring that Aaron is given […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-07-29T05:46:57+02:00January 11th, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|