A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones
While I await my copy of the third book of Sword of Shadows, A Sword from Red Ice, I’m re-reading the first two books of what may be my all time favorite epic series. For A Cavern of Black Ice, which I first read back in 2000, it’s my third reading and it’s still just as much fun and exciting as the first time.
I’ve read all of J.V.
July 26th, 2007. Greg Hersom and Rob Rhodes´s rating: 5 | J.V. Jones | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold has long been esteemed in the science fiction genre, so I expected great things from The Curse of Chalion, and I’m happy to report that I wasn’t disappointed. This is an excellent piece of work! Bujold’s story is completely fresh, and the world-building and magic system are unique, too. I was hooked from page one and it proceeds at a pleasant pace with plenty of surprises and plot twists. Characterization is deep and somehow Bujold made me really like the main character,
July 26th, 2007. Kat Hooper and Kevin Wei´s rating: 4.5 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Audio, Mythopoeic Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Wishsong of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Out of the original trilogy of SHANNARA novels, The Wishsong of Shannara is possibility the best of the three, though certainly not Brooks’s best overall (not that his best is groundbreaking literature anyway). As one of the early detractors of Tolkien, Brooks’s SHANNARA series caters to the fantasy buffs that just can’t get enough of noble quests against evil — but with likeable characters, fast-paced narrative and some genuinely intriguing components stirred in Brooks’s works aren’t a complete plagiaristic waste.
July 26th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Terry Brooks | SFF Reviews | no comments |
It seems lately that a lot of books have come out where setting plays as large a role as character. I’m thinking of Jeff VanderMeer’s Ambergris, China Miéville’s New Crobuzon, Gregory Frost’s Shadowbridge, and Jay Lake’s Mainspring. Books that haven’t simply created a new world, but whose world itself is an integral part of the story, rather than just the physical part the story moves across.
Felix Gilman’s Thunderer certainly falls into that category — more successfully than some and less so than others.
July 25th, 2007. Bill Capossere and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4 | Felix Gilman | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The First Chronicle of Druss the Legend by David Gemmell
The First Chronicle of Druss the Legend is the sixth book in David Gemmell’s non-sequential series, the Drenai Saga. It’s a prequel to the first Drenai book, Legend, and I think it’s the perfect prequel because it actually enhances his Druss stories by not being in chronological order.
Renegade soldiers turned slavers massacre a mountain village and take Druss’s wife, the seeress, Rowena. Desperate and enraged, the young country bumpkin takes up a battle-ax (inherited from his infamous grandfather) to begin a quest that will take him across half the world and last over seven years.
July 25th, 2007. Greg Hersom´s rating: 4 | David Gemmell | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The premise of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart, that some have the ability to call out characters from books by reading aloud, is absolutely wonderful. At first, of course, one thinks how great to have such a talent — to call out Bilbo or Willy Wonka or Aladdin, but what if you couldn’t then return them to their homes — how tragic and cruel for them. Or even worse, what if you couldn’t control your talent, so reading aloud Lord of the Rings might mean you’d get to talk to a hobbit or an elf,
July 25th, 2007. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Cornelia Funke | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
The Summoner is the first book that I have read by Gail Martin, but I was happily impressed with this first installment of The Chronicles of the Necromancer. I didn’t love it, and there seemed to be some rough patches throughout the book, but on the whole it was interesting.
Central to this story is a lust for power and what happens as a result. The main character, Martris “Tris” Drayke, is not very unique,
July 21st, 2007. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Gail Z. Martin | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Wizard Hunters by Martha Wells
The Wizard Hunters has a great opening line. Unfortunately, it never quite lives up to the promise so tantalizingly held out to us. The good news is the character we meet in that first line, Tremaine, holds up well throughout the book. In general, the characterization is one of the book’s stronger points. The story premise is also a highlight, offering up an unusual meshing of cultures — one with magic and science/technology working side by side, another where technology has yet to form and magic is evil,
July 21st, 2007. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Martha Wells | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Spellsinger & The Hour of the Gate by Alan Dean Foster
… Well, perhaps not Tolkien, but I had the urge for alliteration in the title. Spellsinger is a fantasy series quite unlike any other. While the anthropomorphisation of animals is certain not a new thing, Alan Dean Foster has done something out of the ordinary with it here. To give you some idea, if you can imagine the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters in a fantasy setting, then you’ll have some idea of what to expect.
July 21st, 2007. Guest´s rating: 3.5 | Alan Dean Foster | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
There’s good news, middling news, and bad news in the final Harry Potter installment, a book that replicates in many ways the unevenness of the series as a whole. First the good news. The main character, which has always been the book’s strength, continues in that vein through most of the book. Harry’s oh-so-realistic ongoing grief at his parents’ deaths, his sometimes-bends-but-never-breaks bond with Hermione and Ron, his coming-of-age process through idol-worship then respect then disillusionment then adult understanding with Dumbledore,
July 21st, 2007. Bill Capossere and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | J.K. Rowling | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…
Gentlemen, I concur! (Forgive me for jumping into your convo)
The cover is amazing. I love how the graphic novel (and the review!) hewed close to the theme of "good…
I've thought about picking that one up. The artwork looks perfect.
I like the way you think, Bill. I found the second one particularly objectionable; the one with Khan. It was…