James Nicoll Reviews

April’s big news – aside from that whole Easter weekend ​“A Civilization will die!” thing – is that on April 20^th, the Aurora Award finalists were announced, and my Young People Read Old SFF was one of the finalists¹. Then, on April 21^st, the Hugo Award finalists were announced and I am up for Best Fan Writer. Then, on April 22^nd, I wasn’t nominated for anything. Clearly, there is room for improvement on my part.

I am always surprised to be nominated. This year’s Hugo nomination was a particular surprise because the Worldcon is in the US and save for one previous occasion, all of my nominations have come from Worldcons outside the US. As well, I didn’t think appending ​“USA delenda est” to every review was going to be hugely popular south of the border. If anything, I expected to get even fewer votes than in 2025. 

As for reviews…

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The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker (November 2026)

The forbidden royal romance of Red, White & Royal Blue meets the dragon-riding adventure of Fourth Wing, in The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker.

Two princes, born to a world at war.

Heir to a kingdom built on lies and stolen magic, Prince Reverie has one goal: avoid the crown. Raised by a cruel and violent king, Reverie’s real life begins after curfew — bottle service, masked revelries, top-shelf highs, and anonymous rooftop liaisons. But when his king plots to seize dwindling majikal resources from the Drakon King, Reverie hits his limit — he casts aside his royal obligations and gets the hell outta town. Better a free fugitive than a tortured captive.

Heir to a kingdom banished into the sky, Prince Xandreth has one goal: find a missing friend. His brother, the Drakon King, stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that their people keep going missing, so Xandreth takes it upon himself to hunt down answers.

A meeting that will change them both.

Having abandoned their kingdoms, both princes end up stranded in the dangerous and bewitching Wraithwood, and out of desperation, agree to help each other and then go their separate ways.

A love that will save their world.

But when a myth as old as the world — a bird on fire in the belly of a massive volcano — is whispered from Human lips to Drakon ears, Reverie and Xandreth are suddenly at the heart of a crisis so much bigger than a missing friend or even freedom.

If they can’t come together, the world itself may go up in flames.

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The Thrice-Bound Fool by Christopher Buehlman (Ocober 2026)

The Thrice-Bound Fool is the epic, rollicking next chapter in the bestselling and ​“awesome as hell” (Nicholas Eames) fantasy adventure series that began with The Blacktongue Thief.

Professional thief and inveterate trickster Kinch Na Shannack has always enjoyed a good book. But now his life, and the future of all of Manreach, depends on him deciphering a very bad book indeed; a stolen, sentient tome that tries to kill him every time he opens it — and often when it’s closed.

Galva, veteran of the goblin wars and death’s sworn handmaiden, has vowed to protect Kinch while he mines the book for its dark magic and even darker secrets. She does so not for Kinch’s sake — though the cheeky bastard is growing on her — but because the book is the key to stopping the shadowy tyrants out to kill the queen she serves, and loves.

The ruthless, all-seeing Taker’s Guild dogs their every step, and thief and knight must flee the known world entirely if they hope to succeed in their mission. But trouble finds Kinch wherever he goes, and the pair may have traded the devil they know for horrors far darker and hungrier as they enter lands unknown. 

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Demonology for Overachievers by Lily Anderson (September 2026)

Dark academia takes a fresh twist in this YA novel, where a determined high school senior strikes a bargain with a demon to win a coveted scholarship — only to discover her rival has made the same deal. Merritt Maldonado has done everything right. But for every club she’s founded, tree she’s planted, and sport she’s played, her academic nemesis Linus Lexington has been right there. By her side. Copying her every move. 

And now they’re neck and neck for a coveted full ride scholarship. Desperate to gain an edge, Merritt finds herself making a deal with a demon. But when other applicants start dying in gruesome ways, Merritt realizes the demon is killing off her competition. And to make matters worse, she finds the demon’s mark on Linus. 

Now Merritt and Linus’ souls are tied to the same deadly demon. With bodies piling up, they have to work together to break the pact, stop the killings, and maybe admit that the bond they share isn’t just supernatural… 

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The Photonic Effect by Mike Chen (April 2026)

A starship captain and her crew face conspiracies and betrayals as they clash with various factions of a galactic civil war in a thrilling space adventure by New York Times bestselling author Mike Chen.

The starship Horizon​’s crew spent ten years trapped across the expanse of space. Now they’re finally home — only it’s not the home they knew. The Cluster, once a peaceful coalition of planets, has fractured in the wake of civil war.

Captain Demora Kim wants nothing more than to protect her surviving crew. It’s what she owes them after years of instability and terror. But in times of war, no one is allowed neutrality.

After an attack on a mining station leaves thousands dead, Demi’s efforts become almost impossible. Every ship is needed on the frontline. Thrust deeper into a conflict she barely understands, Demi considers a bold choice — one that might keep her promises but tip the galaxy further into chaos. 

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James Nicoll Reviews offers escape from our spiraling descent into dark age dystopia with explorations of luminously upbeat works such as A Canticle for Leibowitz, Memory of Water, and On the Beach. You can help fund this worthy cause in several ways. 

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