Dawnthief is the first book in James Barclay‘s CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN trilogy (followed by Noonshade and Nightchild). In addition to the trilogy, the author also published four LEGENDS OF THE RAVEN novels and one Raven novella, as well as two ASCENDANTS OF ESTORIA novels and the stand-alone Vault of Deeds. Dawnthief was James Barclay‘s first published work in 1999 and,
July 20th, 2009. Stefan Raets´s rating: 2.5 | James Barclay | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts
The Curse of the Mistwraith took me completely by surprise. Based on (obviously mistaken) assumptions, I expected something completely different — epic fantasy, yes, but nothing even close to the gorgeous prose and astounding depth I found in this novel.
The plot of this story is hard to summarize, partly because there are so many twists and turns that it’s almost impossible not to run into spoiler territory very quickly. Two half-brothers, Arithon and Lysaer, are on opposite sides of a conflict that spans generations.
July 20th, 2009. Stefan Raets, Greg Hersom and John Hulet´s rating: 5 | Janny Wurts | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Considering how popular Stephenie Meyer has become, it’s hard to imagine that her debut novel was only just released in 2005, because it seems like I’ve been hearing about the author for decades. The Host — Ms. Meyer’s first novel for adults — marks my introduction to the author’s charms and I can now see firsthand why Ms. Meyer is so popular.
Let’s start with the setup. While reminiscent of the Body Snatchers films/book and The Puppet Masters, there are some key differences in The Host.
July 20th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Stephenie Meyer | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Purple and Black by K.J. Parker
You have to love a story that starts out with the line, “You are, of course, an unmitigated bastard.”
Purple and Black is a collection of the military dispatches sent back and forth between the new Roman Emperor Nicephorus and his best friend Phormio, who has reluctantly taken charge of the military at Nico’s insistence. Nico is appointing his friends to the important government positions because the empire has gone through seventy-seven emperors in the last one hundred years — all but a handful of them dying painful deaths.
July 20th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4.5 | K.J. Parker | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
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…