Heroics for Beginners by John Moore
This is one of my favourite fantasy books ever. It might not have the epic scope of The Lord Of The Rings, nor the immersive quality of Feist’s Riftwar Saga, but what it does have going for it it has in spades: it’s very clever. This is The Hitch Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy of fantasy novels. Forget Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt, and Robert Rankin. John Moore is far funnier.
January 31st, 2009. Guest´s rating: 5 | John Moore | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In the Forests of Serre by Patricia McKillip
Patricia A. McKillip once more takes us into her intricate and ornate imagination with In the Forests of Serre, which has the feeling of an old fairytale that McKillip has discovered in some old book and fleshed-out for us in her unique style of writing. Combining several components from various myths and legends, (predominantly the Firebird and a witch who bears more than a passing resemblance to the Russian Baba Yaga), In the Forests of Serre is a book that McKillip’s fans will find to their liking.
January 30th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Patricia McKillip | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
My favorite novel by J.V. Jones is The Barbed Coil, a stand-alone novel set in both 20th century Earth and a strange and distant world. It begins in a most unusual manner, and I didn’t think it would work for me, but I read on, and I was glad I did.
Tessa McCamfrey suffers from tinnitus, or a ringing in her ears. She is never entirely free of it, but at certain periods of her life she suffers from especially bad spells.
January 26th, 2009. Tia Nevitt (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | J.V. Jones | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Speculative fiction sometimes gets a bad rap for being nothing but “escapism.” While there are certainly plenty of “just for fun” books in the genre, what people sometimes forget is that sci-fi and fantasy have often been a place where writers can experiment with unusual prose styles and tackle controversial themes that might not go over well in mainstream, “realistic” fiction. Sylvia Kelso’s Riversend is an ambitious novel, blending dense, lyrical prose with a thought-provoking look at gender roles and unconventional relationships, and it’s a good story to boot.
January 25th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Sylvia Kelso | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan
The Steel Remains, by Richard Morgan, is a dark, gritty, and in some places obscene fantasy that will not be to everyone’s liking. So let’s get the surface material out of the way — if you don’t like your books laced with a heaping amount of f-bombs, graphic sex (hetero and homosexual), and graphic violence, The Steel Remains is not for you. In the slightest. Run. Run as far as you can. And if you can live with the swearing,
January 19th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Richard K. Morgan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sherwood Smith’s Inda is such a wonderful book. To begin with, Smith has created a world full of all the details and history that many of us crave and so seldom find. Smith takes the time to do more than simply tell a story. She creates a really vibrant backdrop for the characters to act against and the result is something a cut above most of the fantasy being written today.
Inda (his actual name is Indevan-Dal) is the second son of a noble family.
January 19th, 2009. John Hulet´s rating: 5 | Sherwood Smith | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook
Princess Contessa of Constantinopolie has a pretty good life. She’s an expert shopper, has parents who love her and are good rulers, and is looking forward to her upcoming engagement to Prince Garett of Misdev. So what if a few pesky assassins try to get in her way? She’s been well trained to ward them off — she’s not worried.
Oh, but she should be. Prince Garett, not taking the advice of his father, arrives in Constantinopolie early, almost six full months before the formal engagement is announced.
January 14th, 2009. Guest´s rating: 4.5 | Dawn Cook | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Longeye by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Longeye is the sequel and conclusion to the enjoyable novel Duainfey.
Now that Becca has escaped from life as a sex-slave to Artificer Altimere, she must find a way to rebuild her life, learn to trust again, and help solve the mystery of what is happening to the land around her, as undead trees and strange monsters are starting to appear and take over Faliance. (Undead trees? That’s the big bad guy here?)
I usually am a big fan of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller,
January 12th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 2 | Sharon Lee | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Master of Dragons by Margaret Weis
Master of Dragons, the final book in Margaret Weis’s Dragonvarld trilogy was a tasty but sloppy finale — like a cheesecake that didn’t quite set.
This last book wraps things up, as we knew it would, and everything is finally well in the world, as we knew it would be. There are some fine moments (Draconas showing tenderness to a female dragon, Ven finds a family, Marcus falls in love) and even some hilarious ones (Draconas darning socks,
January 12th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | Margaret Weis | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
Just as every Harry Potter book began with the requisite tormenting of the Dursley family, every Percy Jackson book begins with the destruction of a school, a trend that continues in the fourth book starring the young demi-god son of Poseidon. Unless you’re familiar with the three previous books, you’ll probably find yourself lost with what’s going on here. About to celebrate his fifteenth birthday party, Percy is still up to his neck in problems, ranging from his mother’s new boyfriend to the Greek monsters that keep trying to kill him.
January 8th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Rick Riordan | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one