Legends & Lattes

Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes, Travis Baldree, 2022 novel. Orc warrior decides to retire and open a coffee shop, slowly assembles quest party of various other people with something to contribute, the real treasure was the friends we made along the way. Extremely cozy, to the extent that it didn't entirely work for me - I'm still not sure how things worked out at the end except that the plot demanded they just had to, so they did - but enjoyable, and a fast read. And the cover is perfect, like, picture a Xanth cover from the 80s, only it's cute f/f D&D monster ladies. Apparently it was Kindle Direct self-published and then Seanan McGuire recced it on Twitter, having noticed it because of the cover, and Tor picked it up, so, like, I don't know if Baldree commissioned the cover from Carson Lowmiller or what, but damn, talk about a good investment. I hope Lowmiller and the cover win some industry recognition (and more work for Lowmiller, if that's something wanted).

Also I have now read all six of the Nebula nominees for best novel! I'm not a Nebula voter, but here's how I would rank them: ( Read more... )