July 2025 - Novel Notions

Book Review: Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) by Martha Wells

July 9, 2025 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover art by Jaime Jones

Network Effect by Martha Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Murderbot Diaries (Book #5)

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 346 pages (Kindle Edition)

Word count: 112,000 words

Published: 5th May 2020 by Tordotcom

I can say with ease that Network Effect, the fifth title and the first full-length novel in the series, is the best book in The Murderbot Diaries so far.

“Oh shit, my media!…No, wait, I had access to some of it.”

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Book Review: The Radiant King (Astral Kingdoms, #1) by David Dalglish

July 6, 2025 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Review copy provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art by Magali Villeneuve

The Radiant King by David Dalglish

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Astral Kingdoms (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Pages: 514 pages (PaperbackEdition)

Word count: 174,000 words

Published: 4th March 2025 by Orbit Books

The Radiant King by David Dalglish is a Berserk inspired epic fantasy book that will become one of Dalglish’s most underrated titles.

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Book Review: Flameheart (Flameheart Chronicles #1) by Dalton and Emily Bequette

July 3, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

Flameheart by Dalton Bequette
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The description for Flameheart captivated me from the moment I read it, and saw the lovely cover art attached to the story. Flameheart is something of a portal fantasy, a book about books and a world containing a vast array of other worlds within it, worlds of which most inhabitants are wholly unaware and unsuspecting. It’s a love letter to stories, and to the weight the hold in our lives. …