Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: July 2010

Brown Girl in the Ring: Ahead of its time

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Brown Girl in the Ring is a novel that may have been a little ahead of its time. When it was first published in 1998, it had “Science Fiction” stamped on the spine. Cue angry Amazon reviewers complaining that it was full of “mumbo jumbo.” If I were to wager a guess, I’d say that Brown Girl in the Ring was marketed as science fiction because of its near-future setting and heavy violence level, which were not nearly as common in late-nineties urban fantasy as they are today (see Ilona Andrews,

On a Pale Horse: Juvenile

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

When the grim reaper shows up a few seconds early, Zane shoots him instead of using the gun on himself as he’d planned. Now, instead of being dead, Zane is Death. He has to take over the office, riding around the world in his convertible pale horse collecting and measuring the souls of those who’ve committed equal amounts of good and evil during their lives — those who are “in balance.” In his new guise (complete with all of the accoutrements: scythe,

Thoughtful Thursday: The loss of possibilities?

Last week I got an email from my sister with the subject line “DNF without opening the book?” and the entire body of the message was this:

The Serpent M’gulfn has been destroyed, its dark reign ended – but its death has unleashed dangerous energies that threaten the Earth of Three Planes anew. Journeying to Gorethria comes Melkavesh, daughter of Ashurek, determined to harness the new potential of sorcery for good. It seems she is too late, for a ruthless usurper, Duke Xaedrek, has already seized power. Aided by a demon with malign ambitions of its own,

July 8th, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 23 comments |

The Dervish House: The rise of nanotechnology in Istanbul

The Dervish House by Ian McDonald

Necdet, a troubled young man, is witness to what looks like a botched suicide bombing on a crowded city tram; afterwards, he starts seeing djinn and other supernatural creatures. Can, a nine year old boy with an amazing robotic toy — and a heart condition that confines him to a silent world — accidentally becomes involved in the intrigue. Ayse, a gallery owner, is contracted to find a mysterious and elusive relic, while her boyfriend Adnan, a successful trader, works on his own scheme to become rich.

The Godmother: Fairy tales with a dash of social consciousness

The Godmother by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

In traditional fairy tales, fairy godmothers show up when they are least expected but most needed, to right wrongs and assist those in peril. Enter Felicity Fortune. Summoned to Seattle by a sweet but burned-out young social worker named Rose, she sets out to solve problems both modern and ageless with magic and kindness.

Felicity discovers many young people in danger in the city. Hank and Gigi have been abandoned by their mother and kidnapped by a child molester. Cindy has just been fired from her job by her own stepsisters and booted out of her family home.

July 8th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Elizabeth Ann Scarborough | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Cyndere’s Midnight: Dark but hopeful

Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet

Jeffrey Overstreet‘s previous novel, Auralia’s Colors, took us to a sublimely well-imagined land and introduced a cast of imaginative characters. In Cyndere’s Midnight, the story begins where Auralia’s Colors left off. Overstreet adds a few more characters and moves the plot several huge steps forward.

Cal-Raven continues to grow in his magic as a stoneshaper and as a leader of fallen House Abascar. The remnants of his people are living with him in abject poverty as they attempt to survive the continued predations of the Beastmen of House Cent Regnus.

July 8th, 2010. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Jeffrey Overstreet | SFF Reviews | no comments |

World Wide Wednesday: Masterworks and iPads

Okay, after our little break while we waited for our systems to catch up with our scintillating articles, here is another vibrant issue of World Wide Wednesday: your weekly trip through the joys of the Internet!

1) SFF Masterworks

First up, there is a little project in the works right now. You can find the SFF Masterworks Read blog here: an audacious project to read all of the SF and Fantasy masterworks as issued by Gollancz. The various members of the reading project will be familiar to you from other review blog sites,

July 7th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest) | World Wide Wednesday | 3 comments |

The Very Best of Charles de Lint: Truly Charles de Lint’s very best

The Very Best of Charles de Lint by Charles de Lint

With a title like The Very Best of Charles de Lint, I had high hopes, and I have to say that they were met. Yes, this is the best of Charles de Lint’s fantasy. Chosen in consultation with his readers on Facebook and on his website, de Lint has culled down decades of writing to create a special volume with beautiful cover art by Charles Vess that highlights the reason why de Lint is considered one of the founding fathers of urban fantasy.

Discord’s Apple: Refreshing and unexpected

Discord’s Apple by Carrie Vaughn

Evie Walker is a comic book writer who is to inherit a magical storeroom from her terminally ill father. Unbeknownst to her, it has been the duty of her family for thousands of years to keep this storeroom safe. The storeroom contains artifacts from myth and legend, such as the Golden Fleece, Cinderella’s slippers, and of course Discord’s apple. Not only is Evie about to inherit these objects of legend, but she is also about to inherit the attention of powerful beings that would love to obtain them.

Wintercraft: Ordinary with occasional flashes of brilliance

Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

In Shadowcry (Wintercraft in the UK where I live) we meet Kate Winters, a young girl who discovers that she has the power to see through the veil and command the souls of the dead. She and her friend, Edgar — who is more than he first appears to be — are taken to the city of Fume and caught up in a power struggle between the Skilled and the High Council, who wish to destroy them.

Wintercraft is a really mixed bag.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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