Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Dennis L. McKiernan
have a thing for retold fairy tales. There was a time when I had even more of a thing for retold fairy tales. I was obsessed. I combed bookstores for anything claiming to be a retelling of this or that. I was especially interested in treatments of the lesser-known tales, and one of those lesser-known tales was “East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon.”
When I learned of Once Upon a Winter’s Night, I was ecstatic.
August 19th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Dennis L. McKiernan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Welcome to Wednesday! I’ve got a lovely lot of links to share with you this week, so let’s get right on down to it! No dilly-dallying today!
1) Cover Art Cliches for 2009
Orbit have done a survey of the cover art on display during 2009, and A Dribble of Ink brings us the results with some added commentary — personally, I can see the 2010 version being dominated by hooded men!
We have a lovely new blog on the blogosphere —
August 18th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest) | World Wide Wednesday | 2 comments |
The Killing Machine by Jack Vance
After successfully dispatching the first of his lifelong enemies in the previous novel, The Star King, Kirth Gersen now takes on the second of the five demon princes, Kokor Hekkus, aka “The Killing Machine.” The Killing Machine is even more fun than The Star King. It’s full of diverse characters, exotic venues, hilarious fashions, weird food, awesome architecture, and bizarre machinery. Nobody outdoes Jack Vance for sheer inventiveness. The plot moves rapidly and contains plenty of action and suspense.
August 18th, 2010. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Jack Vance | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve
Whatever becomes of us, we’ll be together…
I read the first installment of THE HUNGRY CITY CHRONICLES back in 2003 with Mortal Engines and now I finally come to the end of the four-part story with A Darkling Plain. There is still a prequel to enjoy, but for all intents and purposes, this is the last chapter of Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw’s adventures in a world filled with airships, traction cities,
August 18th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Philip Reeve | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Last Page by Anthony Huso is an exciting debut novel that, despite some rough spots here and there, delivers thrills and originality in spades, and promises great things for the future.
Caliph Howl, the main character, is described on the book’s cover as Stonehold’s “reluctant High King,” but when The Last Page starts off, Caliph is actually still the crown prince and a student of holomorphy (blood-fueled magic) at the High College of Desdae.
August 17th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5 | Anthony Huso | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Shadow Chase by Seressia Glass
The back cover blurb for Shadow Chase promises an adventure story revolving around the Vessel of Nun, an Egyptian artifact that has gone missing and, unless restored to its proper place, will unleash a worldwide flood.
This storyline, however, doesn’t start until after the 100-page mark (though there is one brief hint that foreshadows part of it), and this is to the detriment of the book. In the early chapters, most of the page time is taken up with introspection, discussions,
August 17th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | Seressia Glass | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee
Karin Lowachee, who has written three highly acclaimed SF novels, released her first fantasy novel, The Gaslight Dogs, in April 2010 — and it’s another good one. The novel has two memorable main characters, Sjennonirk (or Sjenn for short) and Jarrett, as well as several well-drawn side characters. Sjenn is the young spiritwalker of her Anwi (think: Inuit) tribe, who finds herself taken captive by the Ciracusan army and transported from the frozen north to the gaslit city of Nev Anyan.
August 16th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | Karin Lowachee | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
I’ve been having some difficulty reviewing Diana Rowland’s Mark of the Demon. Not because I didn’t like it; on the contrary, I thought it was fantastic. The problem is, every time I start to think about it, my brain goes on a tirade. Mark of the Demon leaves me frustrated with the urban fantasy genre as a whole, because it is everything UF can be. And inevitably, when I try to think about what I love about Mark of the Demon,
August 16th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 5 | Diana Rowland | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Vault of Deeds by James Barclay
Vault of Deeds proved to be a funny read as James Barclay plays on heroic fantasy conventions, not unlike Jim C. Hines or A. Lee Martinez. In this novella, it’s up to a scribe — in this case someone who records the deeds of heroes — to save the day.
Barclay’s writing is easy to get into but goes beyond simply being functional or serviceable. Dialogue and action are frequently utilized to draw the readers in, and comedy is provided by the verbose and exaggerated prose spoken by the protagonists.
August 16th, 2010. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3 | James Barclay | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
We move back to the fantasy genre for this week’s edition of Why You Should Read… Bryce Lee, from Only the Best Sci Fi/Fantasy and his personal blog Seak’s Stamp of Approval, brings us compelling reasons as to why you should pick up your first book by John Marco.
I was first introduced to John Marco a number of years ago by a good friend of mine through the first book in his Tyrants and Kings Trilogy, The Jackal of Nar.
August 13th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest) | John Marco | SFF Reviews | 8 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…