The setting for Scourge of the Five Kingdoms’ story is a decade-long war, not just a war story. The war and rogue’s gallery of antagonists are a clear threat.

In a futuristic society people are grown as nearly identical embryos & conditioned to remove strong desires. They take a drug called soma to keep them docile.

This is not part of an epic saga which is a staple in the world of fantasy. Geralt rides the countryside, meeting people, talking to them, and killing a monster

Piranesi is an apt novel for 2020. The theme of being alone in your own world, in a “House”, a study in solitude, is something we could certainly understand.

Telling the stories, and how they differ, is a main point in this book. Retelling the same passage in either a different way, or a different perspective.

This book has a lot going for it, police drama, corporate intrigue, murder, action, a new kind of tortured super-hero, and the effects on a small community.

The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette tells of seven people wake up one morning and slowly realize the rest of humanity has simply vanished.

Dellaria Wells, Delly, is a hard-drinking thief, about to be evicted from her apartment in Leiscourt. Delly is also a talented fire-witch, but has no idea how to hone her skills. Delly fast-talks herself into a good paying job, protecting a young rich lady from assassination.

The story revolves around Jie and Lilian’s blossoming love, while at the same time Lilian is planning a way to get herself out of the Black Lotus Clan, even considering killing Jie. In the present, Jie, Tian, and the rest are busy protecting the Empire from being overthrown.

The North is rebelling against the Chinese Emperor, intending to secede from the Empire. Last time this happened, Lord Yu and his family were killed for treason, the only survivor was the three year old daughter, Yu Mei, witnessing the murders.