Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu
I loved The Iron Hunt, and was eagerly looking forward to the sequel. (Has it really only been a year?) I’m happy to report that Darkness Calls (2009) is a worthy successor. This time around, Maxine and her boyfriend Grant are being hounded by a mysterious group of religious fanatics and by a horrifically creepy being who introduces himself as “Mr. Erl King,” a name that will probably be familiar to myth-geeks like me. Seriously,
July 8th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Marjorie M. Liu | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
When I first picked up Heroes Adrift and read the back, I felt a sudden pang of ‘uh oh’. Okay, I don’t read Moira J Moore’s work for the extremely complex plots. I read her work because it’s entertaining and funny, because I like the characters, and because her occasional bouts of dry irreverence for our genre just tickle me pink. But she always manages to hold her own enough in the plot department that it works with what she’s doing.
July 7th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | Moira J. Moore | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lev Grossman’s The Magicians attempts to take the unreal world of fantasy — magic, spellcasting, other worlds, fabulous beasts — and tie it much more tightly to the real world than is usually done. And (I think) the attempt as well is to tell a “realistic” novel which takes as its premise that magic exists and is being used (not quite the same thing as the first). I’d say he only partially succeeds, though he does so often enough that the book makes a worthy,
July 7th, 2009. Bill Capossere, Stefan Raets, Ryan Skardal, Kelly Lasiter and Terry Weyna | Lev Grossman | Audio | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
The Storyteller and Other Tales by K.V. Johansen
The Storyteller and Other Tales is a book of stories, and I mean that as the highest compliment. I felt like I was transported from the 21st century to some Thane’s hall with a roaring fire and a smoke hole instead of a chimney, while K.V. Johansen wove tales that took me to different and wonderful traditions.
Johansen is a fantasy scholar, and this shows up clearly in this book. The four tales that she presents use widely differing fantasy settings.
July 7th, 2009. Guest´s rating: 5 | K.V. Johansen | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES Vol 1: BloodList, LifeBlood, BloodCircle by P.N. Elrod
The Vampire Chronicles compiles the first three books in P.N. Elrod’s series featuring Jack Fleming who, in case you haven’t deduced by the title, is a vampire.
What makes this series different from most other recent vampire novels is that Elrod combines an old familiar trope with something familiar but not usually associated with vampires: noir detectives. Her characters are believably of the gumshoe type and include those hopeful yet gray sensibilities that were products of that era.
July 6th, 2009. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3 | P.N. Elrod | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Dark Planet by Patrick Carman
He was so proud of him and all that he’d done, proud enough to never call him his maker again.
The Dark Planet is the conclusion to Patrick Carman’s Atherton trilogy about a young boy, Edgar, and his adventures while finding out who his father really was. Along the way he makes numerous friends on Atherton, and the Dark Planet itself. He knows he was made for a purpose, he knows he doesn’t have real parents like everyone else,
July 6th, 2009. Skye Walker´s rating: 3.5 | Patrick Carman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
Tim Pratt’s second short story collection, Hart & Boot & Other Stories, features 13 stories that tackle various concepts and genres. While most of the stories still retain that mythology-inspired influence that is undeniably Pratt, they tend to have more closure compared to the stories in the previous collection. They’re nonetheless quick and easy reads, however, and anyone can get immersed in Pratt’s writing style.
Somehow, Tim Pratt manages to write stories called “Romanticore” and “Lachrymose and the Golden Egg” yet end up with a serious,
July 5th, 2009. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Tim (T.A.) Pratt | Hugo Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In Ashes Lie continues the story of the Onyx Court, a faerie city situated just below London, and the Court’s dealings with London’s mortals. Lune, who became queen of the Onyx Court in Midnight Never Come, reigns still. Her mortal consort, Michael Deven, is long dead. Lune has chosen another man to act as her official consort and liaison with the mortal world, but the role is political only.
In Ashes Lie follows Lune and her allies through the end of Charles I’s troubled reign,
July 5th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Marie Brennan | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Wild Thyme, Green Magic by Jack Vance
I’m a big fan of Jack Vance’s wild imagination and his “high-end” writing style (his description, as I learned in this book). So, I was happy to get a copy of Wild Thyme, Green Magic, an assortment of his fantasy and science fiction tales which have previously been published in several SFF magazines and have now been compiled and edited by Terry Dowling and Jonathan Strahan and published by Subterranean Press.
July 5th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Jack Vance | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Seven Towers by Patricia C. Wrede
I was strangely dissatisfied by The Seven Towers but really couldn’t figure out what exactly was the problem until I sat down to write the review. I normally start with a plot summary, and I couldn’t figure out how to summarize the story. A lot of stuff happens, and a lot of characters run around and do a lot of things, but there is a fundamental disjointedness to the story that is exacerbated by the multiple points of view.
The Seven Towers is the story of one world’s attempt to defeat the Matholych,
July 5th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 2.5 | Patricia C. Wrede | 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.