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Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: September 2009

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The Renegade Hunter: This one’s for the romance readers

The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands

How I feel about The Renegade Hunter depends, in part, on whether I put on my “romance hat” or my “fantasy hat.” There is definitely some overlap between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but this one falls on the romance side. This is not a bad thing, just something you might want to know, whether you’re seeking out paranormal romance or trying to avoid it. The focus is squarely on the relationship between Jo, a feisty marine biology student; and Nicholas,


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September 7th, 2009. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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The Light of Burning Shadows: Marked improvement

The Light of Burning Shadows by Chris Evans

PLOT SUMMARY: As the human-dominated Calahrian Empire struggles to maintain its hold on power in the face of armed rebellion from within, the Iron Elves’ perilous quest to defeat the power-hungry elf witch, the Shadow Monarch, takes on greater urgency.

The Iron Elves, shunned by their own people for bearing the mark of the Shadow Monarch, and desperately wanting to forever erase this shame, became legendary for their prowess on the battlefield as the Calahrian Imperial Army’s elite shock troops. But when their commanding officer,


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September 7th, 2009. and | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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CROSSROADS: Richly detailed and realistically heterogeneous worlds

THE CROSSROADS TRILOGY by Kate Elliott

Kate Elliott’s CROSSROADS TRILOGY, the first 3 books in a multi-book series, is a great example of how good epic fantasy can be in so many ways: its world-building is richly detailed and realistically heterogeneous; it has a multitude of characters spanning a wide spectrum of human nature and behavior, most of them nicely individualized; its depiction of war is grimly and painfully realistic; the plot contains some pleasantly surprising turns along the way; its fantastic elements don’t overwhelm the plot and are interesting in their own right;


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September 7th, 2009. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Dreamsongs 1: Great collection for exploring pre-ASOIAF Martin

Dreamsongs Volume 1 by George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin has become relatively famous in fantasy circles over the last decade or so, but he had already been writing for about 25 years before his excellent A Song of Ice and FIre fantasy epic began. Dreamsongs Volume 1 is the first of two collections of short-form fiction that Martin wrote before A Game of Thrones hit the shelves. I’d already read a good portion of this material in the original collections which I bought directly from the author when he was selling them (out of print at the time) on eBay and Amazon Auctions.


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September 7th, 2009. ´s rating: | | | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

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The Naming of the Beasts: Another fantastic urban fantasy from Mike Carey

The Naming of the Beasts by Mike Carey

The fifth Felix Castor novel had the unfortunate task of following in the footsteps of what I strongly believe is the best volume in the series thus far (Thicker Than Water), but The Naming of the Beasts was up to the challenge, mainly because the book revolves around an escaped Rafi/Asmodeus and the carnage/horror trailing in the demon’s wake.

Of course, with any Felix Castor novel there’s always other stuff happening…


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September 7th, 2009. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Sea Glass: Better than its predecessor

Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Opal Cowen has been summoned back to Sita’s Magicians Keep by the high council. Never a good sign. After an unsuccessful trip to find her lost friend Ulrick who has switched souls with her long time enemy, Opal heeds the summons and returns only to be put under house arrest. Her new-found power of siphoning the magic of others has the Keep on high alert and she must earn back their confidence.

At the same time, Opal is determined to prove that Ulrick is no longer himself,


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September 4th, 2009. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Swords and Deviltry: Adventure, male camaraderie, easy women

Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber

Brilliance Audio and Audible Frontiers have recently produced audio versions of the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories, so it seemed like a great time for me to finally read them. Within two minutes of putting Swords and Deviltry on my MP3 player and pressing play, I was completely enthralled. The first part of the novel (which is really a compilation of short stories) tells the tale of Fafhrd’s liberation from the taboos, close-mindedness, and “icy morality” of his mother and clan (and the girl he got pregnant) in the northern wastes.


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September 3rd, 2009. , , and ´s rating: | | , , | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Thoughtful Thursday: Multiple authors, same world

This week for Thoughtful Thursday I am going to go to our reader mailbag for the topic. If you have a topic you would like to see addressed in this space, please contact us. Liam Nolosco asked how I felt about authors who pick up dead writers’ series. He referenced both Robert Jordan and Marion Zimmer Bradley.

When it comes to Robert Jordan, many years ago I was dating a young man who thought the Wheel of Time series was the best thing ever written. I read the first book and started the second,


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September 3rd, 2009. | Thoughtful Thursday | 7 comments |

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Poison Sleep: Entertaining urban fantasy

Poison Sleep by T.A. Pratt

Urban fantasy is all the rage these days. While I’m concerned about the eventual over-saturation of the market, it’s definitely a good time to be a fan of the sub-genre, especially when writers like T.A. Pratt are given the chance to shine. Tim Pratt, the winner of the 2007 Hugo Award for the short story “Impossible Dreams,” also left a positive impression on me with his novel Blood Engines and its rewarding blend of wacky characters, comedy, supernatural action, and imagination.


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September 2nd, 2009. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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Steward of Song: Not as good as the first

Steward of Song by Adam Stemple

Steward of Song is the sequel to Singer of Souls, an excellent and original urban fantasy novel by Adam Stemple. I enjoyed the first novel very much, but unfortunately wasn’t as impressed with this sequel. Singer of Souls had a great narrative curve, building up the plot and the tension very carefully, from a slow start to a gradual exposition to an explosive climax. I simply couldn’t put it down. Steward of Songmaintains more or less the same pace all through the story,


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September 2nd, 2009. ´s rating: | | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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