Speak to the Devil by Dave Duncan
Speak to the Devil, the first novel in Dave Duncan‘s new The Brothers Magnus series, is set in Jorgary, a fictional country inserted smack in the middle of late 15th-century Europe. Aside from this new country, the second main divergence from the actual history is a form of magic called Speaking, which involves asking saints (or according to the Church, demons) for intercession.
Anton Magnus, a young and ambitious hussar in the Jorgarian army,
May 24th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3 | Dave Duncan | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
Ever since that teaser chapter at the end of On the Edge, we Ilona Andrews fans have been dying to get our hands on Magic Bleeds (2010). Curran stands Kate up, and when she calls the Keep trying to reach him, his people give her a humiliating brush-off. Not knowing why this happened, and what happens next, has had us anxious for months! Well, fellow Andrews fans, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. And the first thing you want to know,
May 24th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter, John Hulet, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Ilona Andrews | Audio | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
While Kelley Armstrong is best known for her Women of the Otherworld series, which I have read and mostly enjoyed, I personally prefer her YA-geared Darkest Powers series. The Darkest Powers novels, which begin with The Summoning and The Awakening, detail the stories of Chloe Sanders, a girl raised in a wealthy yet non-magical home who, upon hitting puberty, discovers that she can see ghosts.
A misinterpreted incident at school leads to a diagnosis of mental illness and soon lands her in a halfway house for disturbed teens with serious psychological problems,
May 24th, 2010. Stephen B. Frank´s rating: 4 | Kelley Armstrong | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell
Jurgen, an aging pawnbroker who considers himself a poet and a “monstrous clever fellow,” sets off to find his missing loquacious wife — not because he likes her, but rather because his family and friends say it’s the manly thing to do. While searching for Lisa, he enters a strange land and charms Mother Sereda into temporarily giving him back his youth and good looks. Then he uses his renewed vigor to lie and philander his way across a magical landscape, “dealing fairly” with all the women he meets,
May 24th, 2010. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | James Branch Cabell | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Breakaway, the second Cassandra Kresnov novel by Australian SF and fantasy author Joel Shepherd, picks up soon after the ending of series opener Crossover. Sandy, a highly advanced artificial human with military training, is now attached to a squad of SWAT agents, while also helping the government of Callay review its network security. Despite the sensitive nature of this work, and her ongoing integration into Callay society, many political and religious factions still take issue with her presence.
May 24th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5 | Joel Shepherd | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling (eds.)
Ruby Slippers, Golden Tearsis the third in the series of fairy tale anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. It’s a very good collection; in quality it’s probably equal to its immediate predecessor, Black Thorn, White Rose, though I didn’t personally like it as much for reasons I’ll elaborate below.
My favorite of the stories is Ellen Steiber’s stunning novella “The Fox Wife.” Set in nineteenth-century Japan, it concerns a domineering husband and his young wife who shows signs of becoming a kitsune,
May 23rd, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Anne Bishop, Delia Sherman, Ellen Datlow, Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Terri Windling | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause entwines the two stories of Zoe and Simon, chapter by chapter. We start with Zoe, a lonely girl who is struggling with the steady decline of her mother to cancer and the loss of her best friend who is moving to a new city. She feels lost and unloved, and as though no one can understand her grief and pain. Enter Simon, one of the undead. A vampire who has flitted from city to city in pursuit of his monstrous brother,
May 23rd, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 4 | Annette Curtis Klause | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint
Jack of Kinrowan is actually two books — Jack the Giant Killer and Drink Down the Moon — in an omnibus edition.
Jack the Giant Killer served as de Lint’s volume in the excellent Datlow and Windling edited series of modern retellings of classic fairy tales, as it retells the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, this time with Jack being a Jacky.
May 22nd, 2010. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4 | Charles De_Lint | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Cup of the World by John Dickinson
John Dickinson’s The Cup of the World centers on Phaedra, daughter and only child of the Warden of Trant, an all-important land/fortress in a land with a long history of internal warfare. Her combination of looks, inheritance, and intelligence makes her the prime bridal catch, even one of the two princes is her suitor, but she rejects them all for two basic reasons: fear (of losing her independence and her life as her mother did, dying in childbirth) and love (of a strange man who comes to her in her dreams).
May 22nd, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | John Dickinson | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was extremely gripping and exciting, with a great deal of plot progression.
Here, Harry is dealing with the aftermath of the return of Lord Voldemort, and coping with the fact that he is kept very much in the dark about what is happening. While at the Dursleys’ over the summer, he has been relying on the Muggle news to see whether Voldemort has started the expected killing spree and reign of terror.
May 22nd, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest), Bill Capossere, Kat Hooper and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | J.K. Rowling | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
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…