James Nicoll Reviews

2025’s The Witch Roads is the (just barely) upcoming first volume in Kate Elliott’s Witch Roads duology.

Deputy courier is a humble post. Its duties include spending two weeks of every month walking a circuit of towns and villages near Orledder Halt. Nevertheless, Elen is content with her life. She is quite aware that the Tranquil Empire and the world beyond offer far worse alternatives. After all, Elen and her late sister Aoving escaped two of those alternatives.

Elen’s comfortable life is swept away by two visitors.

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2023’s Furious Heaven is the second volume in Kate Elliott’s Sun Chronicles space-opera series.

Having prevailed in the most recent clash with the Phene Empire, it would be prudent for the Republic of Chaonia to consolidate its gains. The Phene Empire is vaster, wealthier, and enjoys a communications advantage that Chaonia cannot match. An experienced ruler like Chaonia’s Queen-Marshal Eirene would no doubt steer a careful path in the endless struggle with its imperialistic neighbor.

Eirene’s tempestuous daughter Sun would make other choices, but Eirene has considerable experience keeping Sun on a short leash. As long as Eirene is queen-marshal, Sun’s exuberance will be tempered. As long as Eirene is queen-marshal, the Republic’s enemies will have time to orchestrate Sun’s death and replacement as heir by the easily manipulated Prince Jiàn.

As long as Eirene is queen-marshal…

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Kate Elliott’s 2023’s The Keeper’s Six is an upcoming (in only one month!) fantasy novel. 

Although few on Earth are aware of this, Earth is but one minor realm among many. Venture through the alien and deadly Beyond and any number of other worlds may be accessed. Although Earth is a primitive backwater, it is the source of a few goods that are available only on Earth. Thus, it has its own Keeps, through which Earth may be accessed and trade items acquired. The Keeps allow intermittent contact with the other worlds scattered through the Beyond.

Esther and the other members of her magical Hex used to wander the Beyond. Forbidden to do so in punishment for her transgressions, Esther is stuck on Earth. Crisis will force her to break the terms of her sentence.

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Kate Elliott’s 2022 Servant Mage is a standalone (thus far) secondary universe fantasy novella. 

Having led the Liberationists to victory over the corrupt monarchy, the August Protector then centralized government on herself, the better to provide society with the moral guidance it so desperately needed. Subjects found themselves firmly guided towards roles that best suited their strengths and guided away from distractions (like literacy) that could only confuse them. In the eyes of the Protector, utopia has been achieved. For some inexplicable reason, a handful of malcontents persist in resisting the correct social order.

Fellian, for example, is not merely unhappy that her magic was used to justify making her an involuntarily indentured servant AKA a slave. She secretly teaches people to read, something that could get her hanged if she were ever caught. Events will transpire such that illegal literacy will be the least of her crimes.

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Kate Elliott’s upcoming space opera, 2020’s Unconquerable Sun, due out July 7^th, is the first book in her new series, the Sun Chronicles.

Princess Sun returns to Molossia System having routed the Phene enemy. No official accolades await her. As far as her mother Queen-Marshal Eirene is concerned, Sun was competent, as expected. Nothing worth comment. Sun may be Eirene’s heir but she is held to an impossibly high standard and never loved or praised.

Although she is not fully aware of her danger, Sun’s status as heir is under threat.

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I picked up 1992’s Jaran in 1992 and what with one thing and another only just now got around to finishing this anthropological romance (as mandated by this very commissioned review). I have read the Crossroads series so I am not unfamiliar with Elliott’s fiction; it’s just this one I didn’t read at the time. Why? It tickled a peculiar and no doubt shameful prejudice of mine, of which more later⁰.

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