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Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: May 2008

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The Meeting of the Waters: How can a swashbuckling Celtic epic be BORING?!?

The Meeting of the Waters by Caiseal Mor

With its gorgeous knotwork cover art and the back-cover blurb about “brave, copper-haired Aoife,” the publishers evidently mean to recommend Caiseal Mor‘s The Meeting of the Waters to readers who’ve read and loved Marillier’s Sevenwaters series, the popular trilogy of Celtic epics featuring strong female protagonists. That’s why I bought this book myself. I expected a similar kind of story, complete with adventure, love, war, and magic. The setting is the time of the Gaelic conquest of Ireland,


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May 31st, 2008. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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The Bone Key: Tales of weirdness and horror

The Bone Key by Sarah Monette

I’ve been seeing Sarah Monette’s name for a while but, for the most part, this collection of short stories was a blind purchase. The Bone Key deals with the exploits of Kyle Murchison Booth which are homages to M.R. James and H.P. Lovecraft. Now I’m not familiar with the former but I can attest that Monette captures the mood of the latter with this book. Even the protagonist himself is similar to Lovecraft’s “heroes” although Monette improves upon the concept and provides us at the very least with an interesting character instead of simply delivering a verbose narrator who can’t hold a decent conversation.


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May 31st, 2008. ´s rating: | | , | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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The Water Mirror: A rich read

The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer

The Water Mirror is a strong start to a series that gives a small sense of resolution at the end but really ends mid-adventure. Before it ends though it has introduced enough characters, plots, and teasing hints that the reader is left wanting much more. It’s certainly one of the better beginnings out there. The setting is an alternate Venice whose canals are filled with sharp- teethed mermaids, whose streets are patrolled by stone lions (a few of which can fly), and whose people are protected by the mysterious Flowing Queen,


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May 31st, 2008. and ´s rating: | | , | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Seeing Redd: Better than the first book

Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor

For me, Alice In Wonderland is one of those unforgettable tales that has been imprinted onto my imagination for as long as I can remember, alongside such classics as The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars, and remains one of the most beloved stories of our time. So when I heard about Frank Beddor’s The Looking Glass Wars, which supposedly told the true story of Alice Liddell and a Wonderland that was real,


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May 31st, 2008. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Dragon Harper: Can’t recommend it

Dragon Harper by Anne McCaffrey

To be honest, I don’t expect much when I pick up a Pern book anymore. These last few have ranged from middling at best (Dragonsblood) to nearly unreadable (Dragon’s Fire). While the eternal optimist in me keeps me reading the series, the realist in me can’t help but note just how long it’s been since there’s been a good book (I’m not asking for the glory of the great ones).

Sadly,


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May 30th, 2008. ´s rating: | , | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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The Iron Hunt: Visceral and poetic at the same time

The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu

“When I was eight, my mother lost me to zombies in a one-card draw.”

That’s the first sentence of Marjorie M. Liu’s The Iron Hunt, and it’s just about perfect as opening lines go. It’s the primary reason I bought the book. Not only does it draw the reader in, eager to find out how and why this happened, but I’m also pretty darn sure it’s an Angela Carter reference. I love Angela Carter.

It would be misleading to suggest,


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May 29th, 2008. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Wolf Queen: Complicated

Wolf Queen by Tanith Lee

Wolf Queen (or Queen of Wolves in some publications) is the third of four books in the Claidi quartet, a series of books that are told in diary-form by the young heroine Claidi and her travels throughout a fantasy land. In the previous installments, Wolf Tower and Wolf Star, she has escaped slavery, destroyed a corrupt system, found her true love, been kept prisoner in a moving castle and escaped once more in a controllable star.


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May 28th, 2008. ´s rating: | | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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The Malloreon: Strangely familiar

THE MALLOREON by David Eddings

Take the plot from The Belgariad, add in the same characters, plus a couple of new ones that look strangely similar to ones in The Belgariad, and you have The Malloreon. Instead of chasing the Orb, the gang is chasing Garion and Ce’Nedra’s son.

This is a quest type of fantasy, and the same things that made The Belgariad so enjoyable are here: interesting characters and a humourous banter that makes for a quick read. The pace is fast. 


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May 27th, 2008. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Knife of Dreams: Moves story forward

Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan

Knife of Dreams has several things going for it. It isn’t as bad as the last few for one, no slight achievement. It is relatively crisp in prose and pace. It advances story and character at a more enjoyable pace. It even has a few (though too few) strong scenes that evoke fond memories of earlier (much earlier) books in the series. It is without a doubt an improvement on the past few and anyone who has put the time into this series and felt like they were scraping along will breathe a sigh of relief.


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May 26th, 2008. and ´s rating: | , | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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A Sword from Red Ice: J.V. Jones is a great story-teller

A Sword from Red Ice by J.V. Jones

This series hooked me with the first one, A Cavern of Black Ice, and I’ve since read all of J.V. Jones’ books. Sure there are better writers out there, but as far as good story-telling goes, Jones is up there with the best of them.

Sword of Shadows reads like a tale told by the village story-teller or a traveling minstrel earning his next room and board. To me, that’s the way a fantasy story should be written,


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May 26th, 2008. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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