The Stone in the Skull

3.5ish stars This book has transportive worldbuilding and exquisite descriptions of a unique setting. Some interesting characters are introduced and the stage is set for what seems like it will be a great series. The downside is that the book is almost entirely stage-setting; it hints at great thing......more

By the end of this new fantasy of Elizabeth Bear, I was completely under its spell. Like, utterly. But I really need to be honest here: most of the novel is really slow-paced and focused on slow reveals about the lands as the Gage (a fantasy cyborg) and the Dead Man, a highly-skilled bodyguard, trave......more

The Stone in the Skull kicks off strong with a unique and visual scene of a group of mercenaries featuring two of the main characters. Gage is an automaton and the other one? He is called The Dead Man. OK, it got my attention! Then when the setting changes, I honestly became more invested and quickl......more

OK, yes, this is set in the world of Bear's (highly, highly recommended) Eternal Sky trilogy. But it's set 50 years later and centers around an (almost) entirely new cast of characters, so you don't need to have read the initial trilogy to start here. (But you should. Because the initial trilogy was......more

Mini Review: I’m writing a mini review for this one because, even though it has only been a couple weeks since I finished the book, I couldn’t tell you much about it. It’s set in the same world as her Eternal Sky series, and I couldn’t help but wonder while reading if she was riding the success of p......more