Warriors edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
FORMAT/INFO: Warriors is 736 pages long divided over twenty short stories and an Introduction by George R.R. Martin. Each short story is preceded by biographical information about the author and a short description of their contribution to the anthology. March 16, 2010 marks the North American Hardcover publication of Warriors via Tor.
ANALYSIS:
February 28th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Greg Hersom´s rating: 4.5 | Carrie Vaughn, Cecelia Holland, David Weber, Diana Gabaldon, Gardner Dozois, George R.R. Martin, James Clemens, Joe Haldeman, Joe R. Lansdale, Naomi Novik, Peter S. Beagle, Robert Silverberg, Robin Hobb, S.M. Stirling, Tad Williams | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The Sorcerer’s House by Gene Wolfe
The Sorcerer’s House is a beautifully subtle new novel by master fantasy and SF author Gene Wolfe. The novel’s protagonist is a recently released convict who, seemingly by complete coincidence, comes into possession of an abandoned house. As he moves in, he discovers that the house already has a few odd inhabitants…
A large part of the enjoyment of this novel is the process of discovery, as the protagonist slowly finds out more and more about the odd nature of the house and its inhabitants,
February 28th, 2010. Marion Deeds and Stefan Raets´s rating: 3 | Gene Wolfe | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The River Kings’ Road by Liane Merciel
CLASSIFICATION: The River Kings’ Road is a traditional, medieval European-influenced epic fantasy in the vein of Greg Keyes’ THE KINGDOMS OF THORN AND BONE, David Farland, and early J.V. Jones.
FORMAT/INFO: The River Kings’ Road is 384 pages long divided over twenty numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third person via Brys Tarnell,
February 27th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Tim Scheidler´s rating: 4 | Liane Merciel | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke
Sometimes you find a fantasy novel that’s not extremely original, but is so much plain fun to read that you just can’t help but love it. The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke is one of those books: despite using some recognizable fantasy templates, it’s a great story and a book I found extremely hard to put down.
Whenever the main character in a fantasy novel is poor and young, you can be almost certain that they’re destined for great things later in the book or series.
February 27th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | Glenda Larke | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Since Firebird is one of Mercedes Lackey’s somewhat older works, I thought I’d enjoy it. It certainly sounded promising.
And indeed, Firebird starts off with a lot of potential. Though the main character, Ilya, is yet another underappreciated, super-clever youth whose family is mean to him, etc. etc., he’s a bit of a, well, womanizer. He likes him some womenfolk, and it’s kind of charming in a rather “That’s not very like Mercedes Lackey” kind of way.
February 27th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 0.1 | Mercedes Lackey | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
King Maker by Maurice Broaddus
The premise of King Maker is simply awesome, and I wanted to love the book based on that alone. I’m a big fan of the King Arthur mythology, and the idea of such a unique slant on the story had me extremely excited. I found myself bewildered, however, as I worked my way through the book.
I want to deal with the strengths of the novel first. Maurice Broaddus’ writing creates a dangerous and authentic mood.
February 26th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 2 | Maurice Broaddus | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Dead Matter is the third book in the Simon Canderous series by Anton Strout. Overall, it was entertaining, worth reading, and just missed being exceptional. One unexpected strength of Dead Matter is the plot, including the mystery. Too often, in fantasy billed as comedic, the plot or mystery suffers. Not so here. Anton Strout is an excellent story crafter, and his talent shines throughout. The setting is also strong: imagine Ghostbusters meets Dilbert.
February 26th, 2010. Stephen B. Frank´s rating: 3.5 | Anton Strout | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Original Sin by Allison Brennan
Original Sin is a hot mess, and I’m not quite sure where to start.
Allison Brennan may not have known where to start, either. The early chapters jump around in time to a head-spinning degree. There are so many flashbacks to years ago, and references to events of weeks ago, that Original Sin gives the impression of beginning in the wrong place. If the monastery murders and fire are so important, why not put them in the novel?
February 26th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 1 | Allison Brennan | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
As you know, we’re constantly adding fantasy authors to our site and our eventual goal is to review each and every one of them. We’re up to 994 authors today — nearly 1000 fantasy authors! Don’t worry, we’ve got more to add, but we thought it’d be fun to make a contest of it (and to make you do some of the work for us — heh heh.). So, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday, Dear Reader, your task is this:
Pick the next 6 authors who should be added to our menu above.
February 25th, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 21 comments |
I never thought I’d be nostalgic for Micah. Back then, it seemed a little much to charge mass market paperback price for a novella. Enter Flirt: a novella in hardback. This is one case where the format of the book affects the star rating. Flirt would be much more palatable in an anthology, or even as a mass market paperback. At hardback price, I can’t recommend it.
The early chapters are a mix of the interesting and the tedious.
February 25th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Laurell K. Hamilton | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Agree! And a perfect ending, too.
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