I have the plague. Well, okay, not really. I have strep. Which means I am in lots of pain as I wait for the penicillin injection (more pain) to kick in to effect.
What this means for Thoughtful Thursday is that I don’t have the brain capacity to come up with a witty or thought-provoking topic. So, I’m turning to you, dear readers, to feel in the gap. What topics do you think we should cover in this space in future columns?
Post a comment and I won’t wipe my germs on you.
January 21st, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 13 comments |
Joining us today is renowned artist Chris McGrath. Chris is responsible for some the best cover art in fantasy today. He’s done covers for Jim Butcher, Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, David Gemmell, and many more. Seeing his art alone is usually enough to make me buy a book. In honor of Chris’s visit we’ll also be giving away a copy of Justin Gustainis’ Evil Ways (Chris did the cover). So with out further delay….
Justin: Thank you Chris for coming by.
January 19th, 2010. Justin Blazier | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 40 comments |
Robin Hobb’s Dragon Keeper is a welcome return to the world of the LIVESHIP TRADERS trilogy (fair warning: if you haven’t read that series, there may be a few spoilers here). Specifically, it is set in the Rain Wilds with the emergence of the serpents/dragons from their casings, an event enthusiastically anticipated by all who long to see these beautiful, powerful creatures soaring through the skies once more.
Often in Robin Hobb’s fiction, though, the most eagerly awaited events turn into the most disappointing ones,
January 18th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Robin Hobb | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Numbers is a book that’s hard to categorize. It starts out as urban fantasy, then becomes more of an adventure novel, then seems to be a “teaching life lessons” story toward the end.
The heroine, Jem, has a supernatural “gift” that has caused her no end of grief. She sees numbers when she looks at people. As a little girl, she didn’t know what the numbers meant — not until her mother’s number turned out to be the day she overdosed on drugs.
January 18th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Rachel Ward | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side is a fun piece of brain candy for teen girls. Imagine the “girl finds out she’s a long-lost princess” fantasy combined with the “girl finds out she’s the destined true love of a hot vampire guy” fantasy, and you’ve pretty much got the gist. I enjoyed the novel while reading it, but I think I’d have liked it better when I was in the target audience, and there were some aspects that really troubled me.
January 18th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | Beth Fantaskey | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Always Forever by Mark Chadbourn
Always Forever is the third novel in the AGE OF MISRULE trilogy by Mark Chadbourn, and at the start of this final installment, things definitely aren’t looking up. As Darkest Hour ends, the five Brothers and Sisters of Dragons are scattered and broken, and the dark god Balor is loose in the land again. If the five heroes can’t somehow stop Balor by the festival of Samhain, when he comes into his full powers,
January 17th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3 | Mark Chadbourn | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood by Katharine Kerr
Note: In the UK, this book is titled Dawnspell. In the US it is The Bristling Wood.
Dawnspell: The Bristling Wood is my favourite of the series so far! In this book the modern day plot follows Jill and Rhodry as they are forced apart by circumstance, and ends on a real cliffhanger where Rhodry vanishes, and it is up to Jill and Salamander to try and find him.
January 17th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 4 | Katharine Kerr | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Swordbearer is an early standalone novel by Glen Cook, originally published in 1982 and re-released by Nightshade Books in 2009. If you’re a fan of Glen Cook, whose CHRONICLES OF THE BLACK COMPANY are classics of the genre, this would probably be an interesting read, as you’ll be able to see some of the author’s themes and quirks taking shape. However, taken on its own, The Swordbearer isn’t anywhere near as good as some of Glen Cook’s other works.
Gathrid, the main character,
January 16th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 1 | Glen Cook | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Flesh and Fire by Laura Anne Gilman
Jerzy is a slave. He has never known anything but slavery in the Master Vineart’s fields, toiling away at the grape vines that create the magical wine that is so coveted by the powerful and all of the Vinearts. Jerzy’s life is uneventful until one fateful day when he happens to get a face full of the grape mash and feels something magical in the wine. Knowing death is certain now that he, a lowly slave, has tasted the magical brew, the Master summons Jerzy to the main house.
January 16th, 2010. Guest´s rating: 2.5 | Laura Anne Gilman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Heir of Autumn by Giles Carwyn & Todd Fahnestock
I started Heir of Autumn with skepticism because (1) it’s a first novel (2) by two guys who’ve been friends since high school (3) that begins with a nubile young woman fondling herself as part of her sorcerous training. A few times during the first few chapters, I considered returning it to the library and writing it off as another botched heroic fantasy epic.
Fortunately, I read on.
The bulk of the story occurs in the fabled city-state of Ohndarien,
January 16th, 2010. Rob Rhodes´s rating: 4 | Giles Carwyn | 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…