Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: April 2010

Storm of Wings: Realistic military fantasy

Storm of Wings by Chris Bunch

Chris Bunch shows some real creativity in Storm of Wings by his ability to adequately blend real military action with fantasy themes. Undoubtedly, his service as a commander in Vietnam and his writing as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes gives him the background which makes his story so plausible.

Hal Kailas, our poor down-trodden adolescent hero, loves dragons and, through a series of events, he gets conscripted into the military. Hal’s fascination with dragons gives him some useful ideas and skills which both reward and punish him at different points in the story.

April 26th, 2010. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | Chris Bunch | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Blood Oath: Addictively fun

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

CLASSIFICATION: Blood Oath marries political and techno thrills with the supernatural. It’s like 24 meets Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels meets Fringe meets Blade.

FORMAT/INFO: Blood Oath is 400 pages long divided over 69 numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third person via several characters, both good and bad, including Nathaniel Cade, Zach Barrows, the President of the United States, Tania, Dr.

April 26th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Christopher Farnsworth | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Weathermonger: Quick interesting YA

The Weathermonger by Peter Dickinson

Set in a vague idea of the future (or rather as the future may have looked to a writer in 1969) The Weathermonger opens with Geoffrey and Sally, two siblings left adrift on a rock in the sea by their community. Confused by a knock on the head, Geoffrey is informed by Sally that their uncle has been killed after being found working on a motorboat, and that the two of them have been left to be drowned when the tide comes in.

Every Which Way But Dead: Still on the journey

Every Which Way But Dead by Kim Harrison

I sped from The Good, the Bad and the Undead (which I thoroughly enjoyed) straight into Every Which Way But Dead, and was a little disappointed. I genuinely loved the second book in the Hollows series — it had a tight plot, a spicing of sex, plenty of danger, and I just could not stop turning pages.

Every Which Way But Dead was a little different. Many of the good qualities of the second book remained.

April 25th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | Kim Harrison | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Our favorite HP novel

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is easily my favourite of the Harry Potter books. Harry is in his third year at Hogwarts, and the big news is the escape of dangerous and deadly wizard Sirius Black from Azkaban prison. Harry learns that, for some reason, Sirius is after him. To increase security at Hogwarts, Dumbledore has reluctantly allowed the Dementors — ghostly cloaked beings that suck the happiness from a person’s soul and eventually drive them mad — to guard the castle.

Cugel’s Saga: Who could imagine such protean depravity?

Cugel’s Saga (aka The Skybreak Spatterlight) by Jack Vance

Cugel “the clever” is one of the scummiest, nastiest, lowliest rogues in all of fantasy literature. He’s got no morals and no respect for women, he’s often a coward, he’s not good looking, nor is he particularly good with a sword. In the words of one of Cugel’s acquaintances, “who could imagine such protean depravity?” The answer, apparently, is Jack Vance. And that’s why Cugel is one of my favorite “heroes” — because he belongs to Jack Vance.

Way of the Wolf: A strange mix that works well

Way of the Wolf by E.E. Knight

Post-apocalyptic science fiction is one of my favorite sub-genres. Finding a good fantasy equivalent can sometimes be difficult, as it usually gets classified as science fiction. E.E. Knight’s Way of the Wolf has vampires and magic, and clearly falls into the category of fantasy. It also is about a post-nuclear United States with aliens, and scattered communities of humanity fighting for survival. It’s a strange mix, but it all works out well.

In the 2020’s a series of natural disasters struck earth,

Before I Fall: Will be one of Kelly’s annual rereads

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

It could have been maudlin. It’s not.
It could have been preachy. It’s not.
What Before I Fall is, is awesome.

The protagonist, Samantha “Sam” Kingston, will alienate a lot of readers at first. She and her friends Lindsay, Elody, and Ally make up the ruling clique at their high school. Steeped in privilege, fawned over by other students and teachers alike, they torment classmates who are lower on the social ladder. Sam is uneasy about some of the bullying behavior,

The Captive: Characters to care about

The Captive by L.J. Smith

The Captive is the second book in the Secret Circle trilogy by L.J. Smith. In this book Faye tightens her hold around Cassie, blackmailing her over her love for Adam and forcing her to betray Diana. At the same time the Circle learns that a dark power is on the loose and killing, and Cassie begins to suspect that the crystal skull recovered from Black John’s articles is behind the deaths.

L.J. Smith has written a number of trilogies in the YA paranormal arena, and excels at the format.

Thoughtful Thursday: Name the FanLit Dragon

There were shouts of glee resounding through the FanLit offices last year when we heard that Janny Wurts’ Wars of Light and Shadow series was going to be re-released in the US. Beyond just being a great author, we here at FanLit have another reason why Ms. Wurts holds a special place in our hearts and on our bookshelves. Have you ever noticed our beautiful dragon logo? That dragon was created by the multi-talented Janny Wurts.

A few weeks ago, our fearless leader, Kat, went in to get the original artwork framed,

April 22nd, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 26 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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