Hell's Heart by Alexis Hall

Published March 10, 2026 from Tor Books

A pretty fun opening. The narrator has a very distinctive voice.

 

1: I like that it’s establishing the narrator’s state of mind, but all these abstract descriptions make everything feel distant.

2: This description is more specific and fun.

3: Or maybe time to go to therapy.

 

I like the chatty style but this is still a lot of terms that we don’t have any context for.

 

Sometimes a bunch of worldbuilding references can be fun, and some of these do sound pretty cool, but it feels like an overload of new concepts.

It’s starting to feel a bit info-dumpy.

Verdict: Some fun concepts and narration, but a little too dense with terminology.

Green & Deadly Things by Jenn Lyons

Published March 3, 2026 from Tor Books

1: I’m listening.

2: He would be, wouldn’t he.

 

1: This man sounds like he may be the worst person in the world.

2: I appreciate the attention to detail, but I’m having trouble picturing the layout of the camp.

 

1: Definitely a strong candidate for the worst person in the world. I like his smug inner voice, but would prefer specific details over abstract descriptions.

2: I like this image, but again, wouldn’t mind more detail. For example, what species are the trees? 

3: Sounds like a rhetorical question.

 

1: Seems like a guy you should probably listen to.

2: Unsurprising but a nice character detail. 

3: I like the colorful dialogue, but the level of whimsy is maybe a little excessive. 

4: Sounds like a you problem.

 

1: Nice detail, the narrator has such a rude inner voice.

2: Kind of strange it wasn’t mentioned sooner that there’s a crowd watching.

 

Verdict: I’m interested but not totally drawn in.

The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn Josephson

Published March 3, 2026 from Erewhon Books

I mean, both of those sound pretty difficult if you’re encountering a non-zero amount of beasts.

1: All these abstract descriptions aren’t helping much with picturing the scene.

2: Ink-green?

1: So she’s still pretty much right next to them?

2: Awkward phrasing.

3: Kind of a cliche line.

 

1: Not sure what it looks like to glower firmly.

2: Alabaster?

 

1: She was only ruminating for about half a sentence, doesn’t seem like long enough to be noticeable.

2: Verdant?

Verdict: Not for me.

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

 

Published Feb. 24, 2026 from Tor Books

1: Wow, rude.

2: Nice way to slip in an unexpected character detail.

3: Let’s please not go there.

1: I like the description.

2: Nice to give the ghost some personality.

 

1: I’m concerned about this guy’s lifestyle.

2: Never a good sign in a dark fantasy novel.

3: We’re getting some details to back-fill what was going on in the jarring opening. It slows down the narrative a bit, but it’s fairly unobtrusive.

 

1: The dialogue is perfectly serviceable, but it isn’t providing a ton of character information since it’s so straightforward.

2: Doing some creepy but effective detective work.

 

1: I like how it’s very deliberate at getting information across about the murder.

2: Nice to get some varied perspectives on magic.

Verdict: I’m not completely drawn in but I’m intrigued enough to continue.