Skin Hunger is two stories in one. Told in alternating chapters, Skin Hunger follows the story of Sadima, a farm girl who can speak to animals. Her mother died when the magician hired to heal her instead stole the family’s few valuables and left her to die as she gave birth to Sadima. Seeking to find someone who can understand her abilities, she runs away to the distant city Limòri and starts keeping house for two budding magicians. The second story concerns Hahp,
July 31st, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 5 | Kathleen Duey | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
CLASSIFICATION: The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a post-apocalyptic tale of survival, zombies and love. Its M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” meets George A. Romero meets Stephenie Meyer…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 320 pages divided over thirty-six Roman-numbered chapters. Narration is in the first-person, exclusively via the protagonist Mary. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is self-contained, but there is ample scope for sequels, and the author is actually working on another book set in the same milieu.
July 29th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Carrie Ryan | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Retold fairytales, in which the characters and plots of traditional stories are explored in more depth, or told from an unexpected point-of-view, are a dime a dozen these days. But one stands out from the rest, and that is Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted, which takes the story of Cinderella and not only provides impetus for many of the nonsensical elements of the original tale, but builds a rich imaginary world around it and makes the titular character one of the best heroines to ever appear in YA novel.
July 29th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Gail Carson Levine | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Siege Warriors: A Fantasy Anthology by Brian G. Murray
In his anthology Siege Warriors, Brian G. Murray brings a medieval siege to life through the eyes of a variety of characters. Most of the stories portray cities under siege, surrounded and attacked by an opposing army. The situations described in these stories are similar, but Murray creates diversity by showing the conflict from different points of view.
Other stories take the theme in a different direction. One takes place in a building held by bandits,
July 28th, 2009. John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Brian G. Murray | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber
Editor’s note. Since Kelly first reviewed these books in 2009, they have been picked up by Tor and combined into one volume called Strangely Beautiful (shown here).
As The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker opens, six London youngsters are chosen for a special destiny. Plucked from their ordinary lives, they are brought together by a mysterious goddess. Their mission: to protect humanity from the forces of evil. The goddess promises the six that,
July 28th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Leanna Renee Hieber | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney
The Ten Thousand is a historical fantasy which follows the story of two young men growing up in a very close approximation of the Greek City States known as the Macht. One has just lost his family due to war and the other has set off to find adventure as a soldier. Both of them end up enlisting in a large force of mercenaries bound for a larger empire. Their story is interesting; we follow them on their campaign through a foreign land peopled with races who aren’t human,
July 27th, 2009. John Hulet and Guest | Paul Kearney | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Kestrel is a Promise, a child born with magical abilities, and as such, she should have been turned over to the Danisobans, terrifying wizards who control all magic on the Nine Islands. Instead, her parents died saving her from the magic wielders, and Kestrel has spent her entire life running from the magic she fears. Fortunately for her, Danisoban abilities are neutralized by salt water, so she takes to the seas and a life of piracy. When her captain is lead into a trap by the rogue McAvery,
July 27th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4 | Misty Massey | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Ships of Merior by Janny Wurts
The Ships of Merior is the first part of Arc 2 of THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, the incomparable epic fantasy series by Janny Wurts. The novel was originally released in 1994, and has most recently been re-released by HarperCollins Voyager in a lovely mass market paperback edition, featuring brand new artwork by the author herself. This is the first US paperback edition of the novel in at least 7 years. Further novels in the series will be re-released in late 2009 and throughout 2010,
July 25th, 2009. Stefan Raets and Greg Hersom´s rating: 5 | Janny Wurts | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Personal Demons by Stacia Kane
The beginning chapters of Stacia Kane’s Personal Demons is a bit choppy. There are some strange cuts and splices. In particular, there are several instances where important, plot-relevant conversations occur offscreen and are only mentioned in retrospect as Megan muses about them. (I think it would have been more effective to show these conversations rather than narrate about them after the fact.) I also had trouble getting a feel for the passage of time in these early chapters. I would think days passed,
July 25th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Stacia Kane | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thief With No Shadow by Emily Gee
Ah, Thief With No Shadow. Add this one to the ever growing list of books that leave me utterly baffled as to what the term “romantic fantasy” is supposed to mean. Whatever else it is, this delightful little romp of a fantasy tale is no romance novel.
Though Thief With No Shadow is of a serious nature, it has the benefit of not being extremely bogged down and dreary as seems to be the current fantasy trend.
July 24th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Emily Gee | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.