Warhost of Vastmark by Janny Wurts
Warhost of Vastmark by Janny Wurts takes up directly where The Ships of Merior left off. The two books are definitely meant to be read back to back — together they comprise Arc 2 of the author’s THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW series, and some editions actually combine both of them in one cover.
It’s hard to give many details of the story without throwing in spoilers for The Ships of Merior,
December 20th, 2009. Stefan Raets and Greg Hersom´s rating: 5 | Janny Wurts | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dragon and Phoenix by Joanne Bertin
Joanne Bertin’s Dragonlord plot has been rather weak overall. However, Dragon and Phoenix is a huge improvement on The Last DragonLord.
The Dragonlords are no longer the sole concern and in fact, they are hardly mentioned for a good deal of the novel. They’re much less overbearing this time around and while the whole “soultwin” bit is still silly, it isn’t quite as absurd as it was throughout The Last DragonLord.
December 20th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4 | Joanne Bertin | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz
Katherine Kurtz is truly a mistress of fantasy — she’s been writing high epic fantasy for 40 years and should be considered one of the post-Tolkien “parents” of our genre.
The setting of the Deryni saga is an alternate medieval Europe (clearly analogous to our medieval England and Wales) and the Deryni are a magical race who look just like, and can interbreed with, humans. They have been persecuted for years by the Church (clearly meant to be our medieval Catholic church) and most people with Deryni blood choose to hide and/or deny their lineage and magical powers.
December 20th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Katherine Kurtz | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Sometimes being unique is not a requirement for writing a good story. Jaye Wells’ Red-Headed Stepchild is not unique. In fact, it’s cookie-cutter urban fantasy with all the clichés. But, Wells uses all the same old urban fantasy elements to crank out a decent story.
Sabina Kane, a half-vampire / half-mage assassin for the vampire governing body, has been raised by her maternal grandmother after the ill-starred match of her vampire mother and mage father leaves her an orphan. Sabina is just as sassy,
December 20th, 2009. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Jaye Wells | SFF Reviews | 2 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…