Never wear your good shoes to Hell
In Cat’s Claw, Amber Benson picks up right where she left off in the tumultuous life of Calliope Reaper-Jones: office drone, wannabe fashionista, and daughter of Death himself. As the novel begins, Calliope learns that her maybe-boyfriend Daniel may not be as dead as he seems, Cerberus wants a favor in return for the hellhound puppy Calliope stole, and her parents have enlisted an eccentric “aura specialist” to train her in magic.
March 8th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Amber Benson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Once Bitten & Twice Dead by Kalayna Price
One of the great joys of book blogging is the discovery of a new authorial talent. I recently had the distinct pleasure of reading two books — Once Bitten and Twice Dead — by new author Kalayna Price.
The protagonist of this excellent series, Kita, is a shapeshifter — a tiny tabby cat who hails from a world dominated by lions and tigers. Forbidden to marry the man she loves,
March 8th, 2010. Stephen B. Frank´s rating: 4 | Kalayna Price | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire
I was a little disappointed in Rosemary and Rue, the first OCTOBER DAYE novel, but I could see tons of potential there and looked forward to the rest of the series. A Local Habitation (2010) blows it out of the water, and blows most of the urban fantasy on the shelves out of the water while it’s at it.
In this installment, Duke Sylvester Torquill asks Toby to check up on his niece,
March 6th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Seanan McGuire | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Story of Cirrus Flux by Matthew Skelton
Matthew Skelton’s The Story of Cirrus Flux is an uneven YA novel that solidly entertains, though one wishes for stronger characters and a greater sense of place.
The Story of Cirrus Flux is set in London, 1783. The title character is an orphan whose father was a famed Antarctic explorer years ago, though Cirrus doesn’t discover this for some time. The book opens in 1756 during one of Cirrus’ father’s journeys,
March 6th, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Matthew Skelton | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Red Wyvern by Katharine Kerr
The Red Wyvern is the first book in a new cycle of novels set in Deverry by Katharine Kerr, and as such new readers can start out at this point. I would recommend vehemently, though, that they do not since a number of storylines from prior novels come together or are referenced in this novel.
For the first time we drift in time forwards rather than backwards, albeit for a short time, when we discover that Haen Marn is adrift in time as well as space.
March 6th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 4 | Katharine Kerr | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thirteen Years Later by Jasper Kent
CLASSIFICATION: Like its predecessor Twelve, Thirteen Years Later is a “vibrant blend of detailed historical fiction” and vampire horror. Think Bernard Cornwell meets Bram Stoker meets Anne Rice’s THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES meets Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire.
FORMAT/INFO: Thirteen Years Later is 500 pages long divided over three Parts,
March 5th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 5 | Jasper Kent | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Seventh Witch by Shirley Damsgaard
In The Seventh Witch (2010), Ophelia and Abby travel to the Appalachians to visit family, and learn that events of decades ago continue to echo through the present. Along the way, Ophelia learns a lot about herself and the future she wants to build.
Unlike previous Ophelia and Abby books, The Seventh Witch is not primarily focused on the “whodunit” aspect. There’s a murder, but the question is not so much who committed the crime but how and why.
March 5th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Shirley Damsgaard | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Except the Queen by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder
In Except the Queen, two faerie sisters, Serana and Meteora, accidentally learn a scandalous secret about the faerie queen and let it slip. For their transgression, the two women are separated and banished to mortal Earth to live among humans. They are completely adrift in this new world, and if that weren’t bad enough, their new human bodies are old and overweight.
I think Except the Queen is meant — at least in part — as an exploration of aging.
March 5th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 0.1 | Jane Yolen, Midori Snyder | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
This week’s column is for Greg. Two weeks ago we talked about love in books, and how it works, to which Greg responded that he didn’t know much about love “but if you have a discussion for most bad-:censored: fight scene, I could post pages and pages of comments…”
So, Greg, and the rest of you out there, what is the best fight scene in a fantasy novel? We may need to have sub-categories for this one. Epic, urban, military… As for me, I don’t think many writers out there do military fantasy better than Elizabeth Moon.
March 4th, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 27 comments |
and Falling, Fly by Skyler White
When I finished and Falling, Fly, the first words out of my mouth were, “Wow, what a mindf*ck.” The cover art, while a beautiful example of its kind, seems to imply a fairly standard urban fantasy. and Falling, Fly is anything but.
Skyler White unfolds this story through the eyes of two main characters, Olivia and Dominic. Olivia lives in a world of sensual depravity; she believes she is a fallen angel and a vampire,
March 3rd, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Skyler White | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 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…