Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: July 2010

Grand Conspiracy: Excellent epic fantasy

Grand Conspiracy by Janny Wurts

It gets harder and harder to review each subsequent novel in Janny Wurts’ excellent epic fantasy series THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW without either repeating yourself or including spoilers for earlier volumes. My previous reviews have highlighted the series’ complexity, level of detail, deep characterization, gorgeous prose, and inventive descriptions of magic. All of those positives can again be found in Grand Conspiracy, the fifth book in the overall series and second in the Alliance of Light arc.

July 15th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4.5 | Janny Wurts | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

The Seventh Swan: A moving story

The Seventh Swan by Nicholas Stuart Gray

I had a hard time getting into The Seventh Swan at first; I think Nicholas Stuart Gray‘s writing style was the culprit. He jumps between points-of-view constantly, so it’s hard to tell who’s thinking what. After I got used to that, though, I found The Seventh Swan moving.

Alasdair is the seventh swan-brother from the famous fairy tale, left with a swan’s wing instead of one of his arms because his sister was unable to finish that last shirt in time.

The Hounds of Avalon: Too much more of the same

The Hounds of Avalon by Mark Chadbourn

The Hounds of Avalon is the third book in Mark Chadbourn’s DARK AGE trilogy, which continues the story of England after the Fall described in the author’s earlier AGE OF MISRULE trilogy. A noticeable difference between the two trilogies is that the AGE OF MISRULE follows the same group of five main characters, the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons, throughout all three books. The DARK AGE trilogy introduces one set of characters in book 1,

July 13th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 0.1 | Mark Chadbourn | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

The Traitor: A wonderfully dark tale of bleak morality

The Traitor by Michael Cisco

A good friend of mine who has excellent taste recommended The Traitor to me. I had heard of Michael Cisco, mostly through people like Jeff Vandermeer and Jeffrey Ford saying nice things about his work, but until now I hadn’t read any of his novels. With strong recommendations from three people who opinions I rate highly I expected quite a lot, and I have to admit I wasn’t disappointed.

The Traitor is written as a first person narrative by Nophtha,

Linger: Loose ends unravel further

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Warning: This review will contain spoilers for the previous book, Shiver. There’s simply no good way to discuss Linger without them.

You could stop with Shiver. You really could. It ends on a tentative note of happiness, and it’s easy to imagine that everything worked out OK after that. Sure, there are a few loose ends: Isabel’s dad is still itching to shoot some wolves, the lycanthropy cure is incredibly dangerous and might have unintended consequences,

Wizard at Work: Not groundbreaking, but fun for young readers

Wizard at Work by Vivian Vande Velde

Wizards are supposed to be old men with pointy hats, so the young wizard professor at the center of this story makes himself look like an old man during the school year. He puts his disguise away at the beginning of his summer vacation and looks forward to a few months of puttering around the garden growing vegetables he won’t eat, when a chance encounter with a witch sets him off on a series of adventures to discover that appearances don’t always match reality.

Wizard at Work by Vivian Vande Velde is a collection of humorous takes on familiar fairy tale staples.

A Walk in Wolf Wood: A top-notch novel for young readers

A Walk in Wolf Wood by Mary Stewart

Mary Stewart is best known for her Merlin-themed books (including The Crystal Cave), which are geared toward slightly older readers, but A Walk in Wolf Wood, (along with The Little Broomstick and Ludo and the Star Horse) are wonderful books to make accessible to younger readers. Told in clear, descriptive prose, with plenty of adventure and mystery, plus a few nuggets of wisdom, Stewart’s novels are a great addition to any child’s library.

Imager’s Intrigue: Political intrigue, social commentary, exciting action

Imager’s Intrigue by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

L.E. Modesittreturns to great storytelling in Imager’s Intrigue, the powerful third book of The Imager Portfolio series. Imager’s Intrigue follows closely on the heels of Imager’s Challenge as Rhennthyl, the main character, continues his rise in power as an Imager and a catalyst for change.

Rhennthyl, now married to his fiancée Seliora and father of a young daughter, continues in his role as Patrol Captain and Imager. Modesitt has fast-forwarded a few years and created a good transition between where we left off and how things now are.

July 10th, 2010. John Hulet and Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5, 4 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Black Heart, Ivory Bones: All that’s best of dark and bright

Black Heart, Ivory Bones edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Black Heart, Ivory Bones is the sixth and final entry in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s series of fairy tale anthologies. Of the six, I’ve read four, and each has its own particular flavor, its own unique mood. While all of the books contain a mix of light and darkness, in this volume there seems to be more of a balance: “all that’s best of dark and bright,” if you will. The mood that Black Heart,

July 10th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Charles De_Lint, Delia Sherman, Ellen Datlow, Esther Friesner, Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, Tanith Lee, Terri Windling | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Why You Should Read… David Gemmell

This is the first in a new weekly feature entitled ‘Why You Should Read…’ It will be a series of articles by bloggers, publicists, editors and authors focusing on various speculative fiction authors, and giving you reasons as to why you should be reading these authors NOW.

If you would like to contribute a feature, then please do get in touch with us.

First up, we have blogger Steve Aryan. He runs his own blog Steve’s Fantasy Book Reviews and is also the co-host of a comics and pop culture podcast (which includes a Book Club and Author Interview feature on a regular basis).

July 9th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest) | David Gemmell | SFF Reviews | 11 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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