Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: February 2010

Orcs: These orcs are pretty tame

Orcs by Stan Nicholls

The Wolverines are an elite Orc fighting unit bound to the service of an evil witch-queen. War rages between religious factions — those who follow the one god who places humans above the elder races (orcs, dwarves, trolls, etc.) and those, such as the Wolverines, who worship the old god. On a mission to secure a mysterious relic, the Wolverines discover a slim hope of salvation for all the elder races, but they must turn renegade to achieve it.

The shadowed brute on the cover of Orcs caught my eye,

February 16th, 2010. Greg Hersom´s rating: 0.1 | Stan Nicholls | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Haroun and the Sea of Stories: Lots of meaning

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

I confess that I’ve read nothing by Salman Rushdie before, and any knowledge I have of him stems from the controversy that surrounds him. Most are probably well aware of this already, but in 1988 his novel The Satanic Verses was published, resulting in a call by Muslim extremists for his execution. Consequently, he has been forced to spend many years under police protection. I only mention this in the context of this review, because I doubt Haroun and the Sea of Stories would exist had Rushdie not experienced this concentrated effort to have him permanently silenced.

Magic by the Book: Pales next to the books it’s a tribute to

Magic by the Book by Nina Bernstein

It’s hard not to appreciate a book whose author clearly intends it to be a literary homage to some all-time favorite young fantasy authors: E. Nesbit, Edward Eager, Mary Norton, etc. And whether the tribute is subtle in terms of theme or visuals or plot or more directly stated, as when one of the characters references a book by the above mentioned authors, it is always done without a sense of irony — there’s a sincere sense of love there.

Unfortunately,

Airs Beneath the Moon: Not the best school fantasy

Airs Beneath the Moon by Toby Bishop

Ever encounter one of those books that you really wished you’d enjoyed more than you had? For me, Toby Bishop‘s Airs Beneath the Moon was one of those books.

There’s something truly solid here, a pretty good foundation with some strong writing structurally speaking, with the exception of the fact that Bishop seems to think that a comma can always replace the word ‘and’. It can’t.

There’s also some fun support characters, like Hester Golden,

February 16th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 3 | Toby Bishop | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Conqueror’s Shadow: A major surprise!

The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell

CLASSIFICATION: Combining lighthearted humor and graphic violence with both traditional fantasy tropes and trope-breaking twists, The Conqueror’s Shadow is what would happen if you took Dungeons & Dragons and crossed it with the writing styles of David Eddings and Joe Abercrombie.

FORMAT/INFO: The Conqueror’s Shadow is 448 pages long divided over 28 numbered chapters, a Prologue, and an Epilogue.

February 15th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Ari Marmell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Ratha’s Creature: Romeo and Juliet with cats

Ratha’s Creature by Clare Bell

Anyone who has a cat can tell you that they are amazingly intelligent. Imagine if they could talk. Talking cats are the central conceit of Ratha’s Creature, the tale of the female cat Ratha and her fight for respect in the clan of cats that make up her family. Ratha is a challenge to the leadership of her clan, especially the misogynistic Meoran. But when she learns to tame fire, she is a threat that can no longer be tolerated.

I’ve heard books called workmanlike,

Blood Debt: Final Blood Book

Blood Debt by Tanya Huff

Blood Debt is the fifth and last book in the Blood Books series by Tanya Huff featuring Vicki Nelson, Henry Fitzroy and Mike Celluci. We pick up the tale as Henry finds himself haunted by a tormented ghost and realizes he needs Vicki’s help. It’s hard to review Blood Debt completely without spoiling the events at the end of Blood Pact, but I shall attempt it!

Although there is a ghost involved,

February 15th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | Tanya Huff | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Mirror Prince: Couldn’t see the forest for all the Trees

The Mirror Prince by Violette Malan

As a result of losing a civil war in the Elven Kingdom, the Guardian Prince has been exiled to the human lands and stripped of his memories, with only a small band of Riders to protect him. Now, as the exile is coming to a close, the Hunt has appeared, set upon destroying him before he can return to reclaim his place. The Guardian Prince has to regain his memories to save himself and the Elven Kingdoms, but how?

I was excited when I opened The Mirror Prince.

The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology

The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology by Christopher Golden (ed.)

FORMAT/INFO: The New Dead is 400 pages long divided over nineteen short stories. Also includes a Foreword by the editor Christopher Golden, and biographies on all of the anthology’s contributors. February 16, 2010 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of The New Dead via St. Martin’s Griffin. Cover art provided by Per Haagensen. The UK version will be published on February 18,

February 13th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Christopher Golden, David Wellington, Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, John Connolly, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Mike (M.R.) Carey, Rick Hautala, Tad Williams, Tim Lebbon | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Blood Pact: Overwhelmingly creepy in a good way

Blood Pact by Tanya Huff

In the first few chapters of Blood Pact, the fourth novel in the Blood Books series, Vicki Nelson receives extremely bad news concerning her mother’s death. The news gets worse when she travels to Kingston and realizes that her mother’s body is being used in an appalling series of experiments. Blood Pact is the tale of Dr. Frankenstein, brought up to date in a gruesome manner. Vicki tries frantically to find out who is behind the desecration of her mother’s corpse,

February 13th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 4 | Tanya Huff | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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