Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: January 2013

The Kassa Gambit: A run-of-the-mill space-action book

The Kassa Gambit by M.C. Planck

The Kassa Gambit, by M.C. Planck, is a pretty run-of-the-mill space-action book, a debut book that feels like a debut book in many ways. Those issues mostly made the book fall flat for me, though the main character was intriguing enough that I might pick up a second book involving her, were one to come along.

The universe of The Kassa Gambit is one in which humans have long ago left Earth behind (it’s merely a legend now) and spread throughout the galaxies via “nodes,” gates in space that allow for big jumps in short time periods.

January 22nd, 2013. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | M.C. Planck | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

There Will be Dragons: Standard

There will be Dragons by John Ringo

The premise of There Will Be Dragons is interesting, the kind of premise that made me want to read the book just to see where John Ringo would go with it. Ringo paints a unique, utopian world with a nearly perfect society. Then, in this perfect world, an apocalypse happens and forces these individuals to live in pre-industrial style. I would consider There Will Be Dragons a science fiction/fantasy hybrid.

This is a broad undertaking for any author,

January 22nd, 2013. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 3 | John Ringo | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

The Elementals: Belongs up there with my favorites

The Elementals by Francesca Lia Block

“Add in the way college isolated you, left you feeling as if the rest of the world, including your past and your family, was just a dream compared to what you read in your books and on the faces of the other students, and anything could happen.”

I’ve long had a thing for college stories. I loved being in college and I always enjoy getting to vicariously revisit it in the pages of a novel. And it’s such a liminal time, which makes it a great setting for a story.

Batman: Snow

Batman: Snow by Dan Curtis Johnson & J.H. Williams III (writers), Seth Fisher (artist), Dave Stewart (colors), Phil Balsman (letterer)

Batman: Snow is a trade collecting a story arc originally published in 2005 in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (issues 192-196). Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight is a series that featured stories about Bruce Wayne’s early adventures as Batman. Such a premise allows writers to deal with a somewhat naïve Bruce who makes mistakes as a vigilante and allows readers to see where he learned the lessons that make him the seasoned vigilante we see in later stories told in comics and block-buster movies.

January 18th, 2013. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Understories: Tim Horvath has an amazing imagination!

Understories by Tim Horvath

Tim Horvath has an amazing imagination. He can take his work in academe (as a writing teacher) and turn it into a story about a dying department of umbrology, the study of shadows, complete with all the political scheming for promotion and infighting about ancient scholars (Galileo or Socrates?) you might expect in such a story. But then he can also imbue it with poetry when describing a lunar eclipse, or with whimsy, as in relating his experiences watching shadows on a ski slope, or even the nature of love (“she told me once she preferred rainy days because on them I looked at her more directly”).

Hardcase: Nothing special here

Hardcase by Dan Simmons

Readers of Dan Simmons have been spoiled by his numerous great works: THE HYPERION CANTOS, Song of Kali, and The Terror, for example, which sold well around the world and in many languages. Hardcase, unfortunately, finds Simmons returning to earth from the heights of this success. Hardcase is run-of-the-mill action — well told, but still average.

Before buying the book, I noted that many reviewers enjoyed Simmons’s delving into detective noir to tell the story of hardened private eye Joe Kurtz,

January 18th, 2013. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 2.5 | Dan Simmons | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Planning a male fantasy pin-up calendar

A couple of days ago Kat talked to Patrick Rothfuss about his 2013 Fantasy Pin-Up Calendar which raises money for his Worldbuilders charity. They talked about Heifer International, art, sexual objectification, and women’s changing roles in speculative fiction. They also talked about the possibility of a future Male Fantasy Pin-Up Calendar, you know, just to be fair. ;)

So I polled a few female bloggers, asking which male fantasy characters they adore. Here are their suggestions. If you’ll leave your suggestions in the comments, you’ll have a chance to win a book from our stacks.

January 17th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter | Thoughtful Thursday | 21 comments |

WWWednesday: January 16, 2013

This column is a bit short and lacking in flair because one, I am siiiiiiick, and two, it’s my birthday! And apparently I celebrate by reading unreleased Catherynne M. Valente books rather than working on my column. So here we go.

1. An awesome comic teasing Neil Gaiman about his amazing success.

2. An excerpt from George R.R. Martin’s upcoming The Winds of Winter. It is due out sometime this year.

3. And here’s some video documentaries about The Wheel of Time:

“

January 16th, 2013. Ruth Arnell | World Wide Wednesday | 5 comments |

The Merchant of Dreams: Still interesting, but not as good as the first book

The Merchant of Dreams by Anne Lyle

Anne Lyle continues her Elizabethan sword-and-cipher fantasy series NIGHT’S MASQUE with Book Two, The Merchant of Dreams. This book picks up almost a year after the end of The Alchemist of Souls, and follows Mal Catlyn and his friends on their adventures, which take place mostly on the ocean or in the city of Venice.

In Lyle’s universe, the New World is populated by skraylings, a non-human race who reincarnate and who use magic.

January 16th, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Anne Lyle | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Patrick Rothfuss discusses his Fantasy Pin-Up Calendar

Today we welcome Patrick Rothfuss, author of THE KINGKILLER CHRONICLE. You probably know about Pat’s Worldbuilders charity that raises money for Heifer International, but did you know that he and artist Lee Moyer created a 2013 Fantasy Pin-Up calendar to raise money for Worldbuilders? Pat sent me a copy of the calendar (and a copy for one of you!), and then we talked about it. We’d love to hear your thoughts. One commenter will get a calendar.

Kat Hooper: Many of your readers know about Worldbuilders,

January 15th, 2013. Kat Hooper | Patrick Rothfuss | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 72 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

We have reviewed 8468 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Subscribe to all posts:

Get notified about Giveaways:

Support FanLit

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:

You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US UK CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!

SFF Deals

Recent Discussion:

bounty lottery on The Giallo Films of Edwige FenechMay 10, 2025
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Steven on The Saint of Bright Doors: The good parts are so goodMay 8, 2025
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Sandy on Quest for the White Witch: The exciting conclusion to an epic trilogyMay 5, 2025
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Marion Deeds on Quest for the White Witch: The exciting conclusion to an epic trilogyMay 5, 2025
Wonderful review, Sandy.
Marion Deeds on Red Rabbit: Perfect blend of western adventure and wild magicApril 27, 2025
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…