The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
One thing I’ve always wanted to do since the first time I read an anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling was to read all the books they recommend in the excellent essays they almost always include on the topic of the volume. I finally decided to do it, using the essay in After as my reading list. The book they listed as having started modern dystopian fiction is The Time Machine by H.G.
December 12th, 2012. Ruth Arnell, Kat Hooper and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | H.G. Wells | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Trollbridge by Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple
Trollbridge is a quirky collaboration between a mother/son team: author Jane Yolen and musician Adam Stemple.
An amalgamation of the fairytales “Three Billy Goats Gruff” and “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” (with a bit of Scandinavian folklore thrown in for good measure), it involves chapters that alternate between driven music protégée Moira Darr and trio of brothers Galen, Jakob and Erik Griffson, a burgeoning boy-band who have managed to wrangle a weekend away from their stage-managing parents.
December 11th, 2012. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Adam Stemple, Jane Yolen | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Swords and Ice Magic by Fritz Leiber
“I am tired, Gray Mouser, with these little brushes with death.”
“Want a big one?”
“Perhaps.”
Swords and Ice Magic is the sixth collection of Fritz Leiber’s stories about Fafhrd the big northern Barbarian and his small thieving companion the Gray Mouser. The stories in the LANKHMAR series have generally been presented in chronological order, so we’re nearing the end of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser’s adventures in Nehwon and its famous city Lankhmar.
December 11th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Fritz Leiber | Audio | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Metal Monster by Abraham Merritt
Abraham Merritt’s second novel, The Metal Monster, first saw the light of day in 1920, in Argosy magazine. It was not until 1946 that this masterful fantasy creation was printed in book form. In a way, this work is a continuation of Merritt’s first novel, The Moon Pool (1919), as it is a narrative of America’s foremost botanist, Dr. Walter T. Goodwin, narrator of that earlier adventure as well. As Goodwin tells us, he initially set out on this second great adventure to forget the terrible incidents of the first;
December 11th, 2012. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Abraham Merritt | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Quantum Coin is E.C. Myers’s second book, following the adventures of Ephraim Scott and his friends as they hop from universe to universe by means of a magical coin, er, I mean, a coheron drive disguised as a quarter. In this outing, the very multiverse is collapsing and universes are merging, with unpredictable results. It appears that only Ephraim, Jena Kim, Zoe (an “analog” of Jena from a dystopian universe) and Nathan can stop it — but is that even the right thing to do?
December 10th, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | E.C. Myers | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma
The Map of the Sky is the follow-up to Felix J. Palma’s The Map of Time, a book that had much to recommend it but that I couldn’t in the end quite get behind. The Map of the Sky shares some of the same flaws as its predecessor, leaving me with a mixed reaction, but on the whole, I found it to be an improvement over the first book and more consistently enjoyable.
December 10th, 2012. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Félix J. Palma | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright
[In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.]
Islandia is a keeper. It’s one of those books that lives on your shelf and which you gaze at lovingly from time to time, considering whether this is the time to crack it open again or not. You don’t want to do it too often for fear that you might dilute some of its power (and let’s be frank: it’s a looong book),
December 7th, 2012. Terry Lago´s rating: 5 | Austin Tappan Wright | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
“You go to the place of the lie to find out the truth?”
Ursula K. Le Guin’s HAINISH CYCLE continues with City of Illusions, which I liked better than its predecessors, Rocannon’s World and Planet of Exile. City of Illusions takes place on Earth sometimes in the far future after an alien invasion has killed off most of the people and has completely changed the Earth’s ecology,
December 7th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Ursula K. Le-Guin | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Well of Tears by Roberta Trahan
From the back cover description of The Well of Tears by Roberta Trahan:
More than five centuries after Camelot, a new king heralded by prophecy has appeared. As one of the last sorceresses of a dying order sworn to protect the new ruler at all costs, Alwen must answer a summons she thought she might never receive. Bound by oath, Alwen returns to Fane Gramarye, the ancient bastion of magic standing against the rise of evil.
December 6th, 2012. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 0.1 | Roberta Trahan | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
It’s like fruit of the month club, but with books.
A wonderful column discussing the role of Christianity in the work of Madeline L’Engle, written by a non-Christian.
Author Malindo Lo responds to the controversy over how to portray gay characters in (particularly YA) fantasy in a brilliant two part column, part one and part two.
The BBC is going to be doing a radio adaptation of my favorite Neil Gaiman novel, Neverwhere, and it’s going to be starring one of my imaginary boyfriends,
December 5th, 2012. Ruth Arnell | World Wide Wednesday | 6 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…