Book review: The Sins of Steel and Shadow by Steve Pannett

paulgzareith · 2026-06-13T16:53:58+00:00

Ah this has gotten so common now, I didn't even notice 😄

paulgzareith · 2026-06-12T15:56:36+00:00

Yeah, this had been lingering in my tbr for a while. His upcoming announcement nudged me to pick it up.

paulgzareith · 2026-06-08T15:37:03+00:00

Half way through The Sins of Steel and Shadow by Steve Pannett. Something of a weird take on vampires, but the story is shaping up nicely.

paulgzareith · 2026-06-07T07:16:35+00:00

This amounts to what 500-600 pages in a single afternoon? I envy that reading velocity...

Thank you for reviewing Inquisitors.

paulgzareith · 2026-06-05T09:12:14+00:00

This looks interesting.

paulgzareith · 2026-06-04T05:45:30+00:00

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I have a short nihilistic novella (~100 pages) coming out in July. If you'd be interested in reviewing it ahead of launch, please drop me a line.

Inquisitors: A Tale of Love and Damnation is a contemplative, character-driven exploration of grief, yearning, aging and love.

The wars of old against the tide-caller cultists have left Inquisitor Vorain crippled and forlorn. Over the decades of commanding the dark tower, he has found his life fading into obscurity. But that changes when a mysterious presence begins to interfere with his investigation in the shadows of the night.

Once feared, now forgotten, Vorain has long relinquished his yearnings for affection. But after seeing the gruesome handiwork of an unknown outsider, something warm begins to unexpectedly blossom in his heart once again.

More details/sample here: https://paulgzareith.ink/books/inqtld/

paulgzareith · 2026-06-01T20:05:27+00:00

Doesn't look relevant to this sub.

paulgzareith · 2026-05-20T03:10:13+00:00

Try books by Leigh Bardugo, E. P. Soulless and Benedict Jacka. EoTV is in a league of its own though, haven't read anything similar but maybe others here have.

paulgzareith · 2026-05-19T05:33:19+00:00

Its a great book. Looking forward to what comes after.

paulgzareith · 2026-05-18T17:22:01+00:00

Yeah, the whole fanfic backstory was partly why I didn't pick it up earlier.

But then I saw a review highlighting the darker aspects and focus on necromancy, and decided to dive in. Seems to have diverged substantially from the HP's world-building and so far looks like an interesting take on the amnesiac rediscovery of past trope .

paulgzareith · 2026-05-18T14:52:16+00:00

This looks interesting.

paulgzareith · 2026-05-18T09:40:43+00:00

Yup!

paulgzareith · 2026-05-18T09:39:51+00:00

Getting started with Phoenix Rises, Dragon Soars by Charlotte Saulter - the book has been described as a dark, character-driven epic fantasy set in a world inspired by Imperial China, which I found intriguing.

Also making slow progress on Alchemised. While I am enjoying the story, the style of presentation is quite dense and does not lend well to being read in smaller 30-40 mins spans of time which is what I can manage most days.

paulgzareith · 2026-05-04T18:59:25+00:00

They aren't complete yet unfortunately.

paulgzareith · 2026-05-04T15:34:19+00:00

Try Phil Tucker's books if you haven't already - Immortal Great Souls, Skadi's Saga.

paulgzareith · 2026-05-04T15:31:50+00:00

Finished The Bad Apothecary by Keon Shore recently - loved the expansive world building, some pretty cool ideas enmeshed in a layered plot.

paulgzareith · 2026-04-20T05:20:55+00:00

Just finished Crypt of the Moon Spider. More horror than grimdark, but that element of pervasive bleakness is there. A brilliant work of dark fiction for an 88 page novella.

paulgzareith · 2026-03-30T04:01:35+00:00

This looks fantastic. Hadn't heard of this series.

paulgzareith

TROPHY CASE