Return: An Innkeeper’s World Story by Peter S. Beagle
Return: An Innkeeper’s World Story was my first Peter S. Beagle read, but it certainly won’t be my last. I’ve just put his The Innkeeper’s Song on my TBR list.
Return is a slim novella (only 104 pages) which tells the story of Soukyan’s return to that place where he was raised and from which he’s been running for years. He’s ready to put an end to those who’ve been hunting him,
September 22nd, 2010. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Peter S. Beagle | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
City of Ghosts is the third book about Chess Putnam, as she goes through the business of debunking hauntings. In this novel Chess is drawn into a Black Squad (government department) investigation, bound to silence about her doings. She struggles to work through the meager clues of the case as danger tightens around her, throwing everyone she cares about into the gravest peril.
I’ll say straight out that I adore this series, but I find that most series tend to have a weaker book.
September 22nd, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 4 | Stacia Kane | SFF Reviews | no comments |
This Crooked Way by James Enge
Already an exile, Morlock Ambrosius is now also officially an outlaw in This Crooked Way. Winter finds him wandering when his horse, Velox, is stolen. Previous adventures have earned Morlock’s loyalty to the mystical steed and it’s apparent that the horse theft is a tactic to lure Morlock into a series of traps orchestrated by an enemy from his past. So into the dangerous pass called the Kirack Kund — dwarvish for “The River of Skulls” — The Crooked Man goes.
September 21st, 2010. Greg Hersom and Rob Rhodes´s rating: 4.5 | James Enge | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Lavie Tidhar’s new novel The Bookman is an alternate history of Victorian England that focuses on the authors of the era, as well as many of their fictional creations. For some, this clever premise may strongly recall Alan Moore’s graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Is that a problem? Most will argue not since, like Moore, Tidhar has a great deal of fun stirring up trouble in the Victorian Era and then setting his poets and canonical characters on the trail of a mysterious villain.
September 20th, 2010. Ryan Skardal and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3 | Lavie Tidhar | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe’s The Sword of the Lictor essentially contains no plot, but it’s the best plotless book I’ve ever read. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, period. I loved every moment of it! (I read this on audio; Audible Frontiers‘ audio version, read by Jonathan Davis, is exceptional.)
This third installment of The Book of the New Sun continues Severian’s journey from apprentice in the torturers’ guild to Autarch.
September 20th, 2010. Kat Hooper and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Gene Wolfe | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
In Stacia Kane’s second Downside Ghosts novel, Chess Putnam is pulled between two cases: the official Church investigation of the possible haunting of a celebrity, and the serial murders of prostitutes in Downside. She soon discovers that there is a dangerous sort of magic at work, and is forced to walk a fine line trying to balance all the elements of her life and work.
“Self-destruction was one thing, but she was turning into a one-woman wrecking ball.” In this book Chess is falling into an appalling addiction,
September 18th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 5 | Stacia Kane | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Beth Johnson Sonderby brings us this week’s Why You Should Read… On the face of it, Beth has written a love letter to Bruce Coville but, honestly, this is really an essay on why we should all read — enjoy!
I’d like to share a story with you. It’s a rather personal story, but I want to share it anyway. Because I think sometimes we forget what an amazing thing it is, that unique bond between writer and reader, between reader and story. We invest a lot of time in reading because we enjoy,
September 17th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest) | Bruce Coville | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
CLASSIFICATION: The CLOCKWORK CENTURY series is set in an alternate history America, circa 1880, flavored with steampunk, western, intrigue, and horror.
FORMAT/INFO: Dreadnought is 400 pages long divided over twenty-two numbered chapters. Narration is in the third-person, exclusively via the nurse, Mercy Lynch. Dreadnought is self-contained, but loosely connected to Boneshaker and Clementine, the first two volumes in the Clockwork Century series. September 28, 2010 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of Dreadnought via Tor.
September 17th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Cherie Priest | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dear readers, I’ve missed you! I’ve been gone for the last several weeks working on my dissertation, on a topic I’m sure you don’t care about, and frankly, I’m not sure I care about anymore either. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, and so I’m back to bring a bit of magic into what might otherwise be a prosaic Thursday.
Fall is just around the corner. There is a crispness to the air that prophesies of shorter days, longer nights, and all the free time that comes from having your yard and garden under a foot of snow.
September 16th, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 14 comments |
The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe
If Night falls, all falls.
Helen Lowe’s début novel Thornspell was a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story from the Prince’s point of view. The Wall of Night trilogy is a more traditional epic fantasy, though it contains a dash of science fiction and a unique setting that sets it apart from the usual swords-and-sorcery fare.
Set in the world of Haarth, the titular Wall of Night refers to a mountain range that is garrisoned by the warlike Derai clans.
September 16th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Helen Lowe | 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…