The Singer’s Crown by Elaine Isaak
When I picked up The Singer’s Crown and read the back of it, I thought it sounded pretty generic, but an instinct told me that I should pick it up and give it a try. I don’t know, perhaps I’m desperate for another Carol Berg or Lynn Flewelling. I’m not exactly sure what tree I was barking up here, because Elaine Isaak’s work made this review less of a “Did Not Finish” and more of a “Barely Began”.
February 8th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 0.1 | Elaine Isaak | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sorcerers of the Nightwing by Geoffrey Huntington
After his father’s death, fourteen year old Devon March is sent to his new home in New England — the huge and forbidding mansion Ravenscliff, that all the townspeople he meets on his way warn him against travelling to. But Devon is not as afraid of his future as others in his shoes would be: he knows he is gifted with a special power, a power that protected him from the very real demons and monsters that he had dwelling in his cupboard and under his bed as a child.
February 7th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Geoffrey Huntington | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Innkeeper’s Song by Peter S. Beagle
The Innkeeper’s Songis a one-volume fantasy for mature readers that is by turns (or even simultaneously) lyrical and maddening. Lyrical because much of its language is, in contemporary fantasy, on par with only Patricia McKillip and Guy Gavriel Kay. Maddening because — despite the full-throttle beginning, intricately woven characters and a world made wondrous without a map or long descriptions but simply by names and prosaic brushstrokes — the promise of the beginning and middle absolutely fizzles to a all-but-incomprehensible anti-climax in which none of the characters’
February 7th, 2010. Rob Rhodes´s rating: 3 | Peter S. Beagle | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
In his introduction to the first American fairytale that went on to become one of the most famous and beloved movies of all time, author L. Frank Baum says a rather extraordinary thing. Discussing the purpose of the old fairytales by Grimm and Andersen, Baum tells us that such tales existed both to entertain children and provide a moral by means of “horrible and blood-curdling” incident. True enough, but Baum goes on to say that his book falls outside this typical definition of a fairytale,
February 7th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | L. Frank Baum | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent
My Soul to Save begins at a pop concert. The opening act is Addison Page, an up-and-coming singer who dated Kaylee’s reaper friend, Tod, back when he was alive in the normal sense. After her set, superstar Eden takes the stage. When Eden collapses mid-concert, Kaylee doesn’t feel the urge to scream, so she’s sure the pop star will be fine. But Eden dies, and when Kaylee sees the sludgy substance that wafts from the body, she learns that Eden didn’t have a soul.
February 6th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Rachel Vincent | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Major Keir Roget, an agent for the Chinese-dominated Federation government, is sent to investigate a mysterious world — mysterious because it is entirely enveloped by a “haze” of shielding particles. When he arrives on Haze, he finds a friendly and seemingly very advanced civilization of humans who give him such complete access to their society that it almost seems as if his perceptions or thoughts are somehow being controlled.
Roget’s story is told in alternating chapters, going back and forth from the Haze mission to the events leading up to it,
February 6th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
It’s just a routine rain spell. Jessie and her teacher and lover, Cooper, head to the city park to call up a storm and make a few bucks. But something goes horribly wrong. By the end of the night, Cooper has been sucked away into a Hell realm, and Jessie has suffered devastating injuries.
Then, things get worse. Benedict Jordan, the leader of the city’s magicians, gives Jessie a choice: either she agrees not to rescue Cooper, or else she becomes anathema.
February 5th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Lucy A. Snyder | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher
CLASSIFICATION: If you’re a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, or the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter comic books, then The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle will be perfect for you. Like those, Welcome to the Jungle boasts a fun mix of fast-paced supernatural action, humor and a dash of mystery/thrills. This graphic novel in particular is pretty tame in the violence/language department and is suitable for teen readers and above.
February 5th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Jim Butcher | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Fantasy is rife with sprawling epics, series that go on and on and on and… In fact, Bill coined the acronym LRMMVSTLB to describe this phenomenon: the long-running massive multi-volume split-the-last-book epic series. But sometimes, you don’t want to commit to a whole series. Sometimes, you want a nice, stand-alone fantasy novel to enjoy for a few days, rather than a tome that is going to require a multi-year commitment.
So, dear readers, what is your recommendation for the best stand-alone fantasy novel you’ve read?
Leave a comment and we’ll enter you in a drawing to win Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass (isn’t that an awesome name?
February 4th, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 23 comments |
The Paladin is a stand-alone novel set in the China of an alternative world. It’s more of an alternative history than a fantasy — there are no mythical creatures or magic here, although superstitions of both remain. The story falls into two parts. In the first, a stubborn girl seeking vengeance for her murdered family arrives at the mountain home of an exiled hermit who was the greatest warlord in the Empire prior to the death of the old emperor and the takeover by an evil regent.
February 4th, 2010. Rob Rhodes´s rating: 3 | C.J. Cherryh | Stand-Alone | 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…