StarMan is the third in the Axis Trilogy by Sara Douglass. In this book the final battle between Axis and his half brother Gorgrael will take place, the identity of the Lover is revealed, and, finally, WolfStar shows his true colours. StarMan is absolutely packed with events, as the first two books were, and it positively glitters with the force of Douglass’ very vivid imagination.
Sara Douglass has managed to churn out a fairly effective fantasy trilogy.
February 25th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 3 | Sara Douglass | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe
Note: This rating reflects my happiness with the audio version of Burn Me Deadly. Four stars for the print version. Listen to a sample of this audiobook here.
Ah, the combination of Alex Bledsoe (the author), Eddie LaCrosse (the hero) and Stefan Rudnicki (the reader) — it doesn’t get much better than that!
Burn Me Deadly is the sequel to The Sword-Edged Blonde,
February 24th, 2010. Kat Hooper and Rob Rhodes´s rating: 4, 4.5 | Alex Bledsoe | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Dragon Factory by Jonathan Maberry
CLASSIFICATION: Like Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory is an exciting, action-packed techno-thriller in the vein of James Rollins’ SIGMA FORCE novels and 24. Instead of the Resident Evil/28 Days Later-like zombie/horror elements though, the book brought to mind 80s-era G.I. Joe and James Bond due to the villains and their outlandish ideas.
FORMAT/INFO: The Dragon Factory is 496 pages long divided over four titled Parts,
February 24th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3.5 | Jonathan Maberry | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard
Servant of the Underworld by Writers of the Future winner Aliette de Bodard is an interesting and, especially for a debut, well-executed cross-genre novel that successfully combines several disparate elements into an original story.
If ever a novel could be called cross-genre, Servant of the Underworld is it: the story is set in the 15th century Aztec empire (1. historical fiction) but magic and gods are real (2. fantasy). When a priestess is murdered,
February 24th, 2010. Stefan Raets and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3 | Aliette De_Bodard | SFF Reviews | no comments |
We are pleased today to welcome Anton Strout, author of the Simon Canderous urban fantasy series. His latest novel, Dead Matter, goes on sale today. Mr. Strout has graciously offered to give away two novels to commenters on today’s post. Winners can choose between any of his novels:
SB Frank: Welcome Anton! On your website, you have the most intriguing factoid. You write that you are the co-creator of the faux folk musical Sneezin’ Jeff & Blue Raccoon: The Loose Gravel Tour (winner of the Best Storytelling Award at the First Annual New York International Fringe Festival).
February 23rd, 2010. Stephen B. Frank | Anton Strout | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 32 comments |
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
In the world of Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde‘s newest novel, your social standing is partly decided by your ability to perceive color: most people can only see one color, and some people are more color-sensitive, allowing them to see their color better than others. In this “Colortocracy,” the Greys — who can see no color at all — are the lowest class and little more than serfs, those who are most sensitive to their color become community leaders (or “precepts”),
February 23rd, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5 | Jasper Fforde | SFF Reviews | no comments |
METAtropolis edited by John Scalzi
It’s not a utopia. It’s just maybe something that sucks a little less.
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and it turns out that all those eco-freaks were right all along. We humans destroyed the planet and now we’ve got to live with the mess we’ve made. Many world governments, including the U.S., have been essentially dismantled and large, mostly independent and self-governing city-states have taken their place.
Under the direction of John Scalzi,
February 23rd, 2010. Kat Hooper and Stefan Raets´s rating: 3, 3.5 | Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder, Tobias Buckell | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
This the fourth installment in our Heroes series, written by our own Robert Rhodes. The art is courtesy of Allen Douglas.
On a brisk autumn day, Mad Batson went a-wandering.
He closed behind him the door of the forgotten shrine that was his home in Fair Forest and, clicking his tongue, finger-painted the lintel with a rune of sulfur and bean curd. Satisfied that any intruder would be whisked onto the pleasure barge of the Archduchess of Milph and bloated with nose-wrinkling gases, he brushed off his hands and departed.
February 22nd, 2010. Rob Rhodes | 20 Heroes | 3 comments |
SWORD OF CHANGE by Patricia Bray
Devlin is a tortured soul. He wants to die, so he becomes his country’s Chosen One because it pays a fortune (which he can send to his brother’s widow) and it’s certainly deadly.
Sounds exciting, but don’t bother putting on your blood pressure cuff, because it wasn’t.
Devlin’s sure he’s going to die during the initiation ceremony (actually, it was me who nearly died of boredom), but, unfortunately, he doesn’t. And so we accompany him on his journeys which read more like a book report than an adventure.
February 21st, 2010. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | Patricia Bray | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Shamer’s Daughter by Lene Kaaberbol
The Shamer’s Daughter is in itself a pleasant little story that moves along well and has at its core an extremely intriguing concept that here is unfortunately not fully explored, but the good news is that while The Shamer’s Daughter is an ok read, its sequel, The Shamer’s Signet, is a much stronger book, well-rewarding the reader who begins the series.
“Shamers” have the gift of, as one might guess, shaming. To look into a Shamer’s eyes is to look into a mirror of your soul,
February 21st, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Lene Kaaberbol | Children | 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…