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Tor collected some of the best of the short fiction published on their website this year and collected them into one free DRM-free ebook.
Maurice Sendak’s last interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, animated. Make sure you have tissues available.
January 9th, 2013. Ruth Arnell | World Wide Wednesday | 7 comments |
The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver
I can’t say that Lauren Oliver’s The Spindlers is a particularly memorable middle-grade novel, but its combination of familiar plucky heroine and unusually plucky rat, echoes of The Borrowers, and a few moments of inspired originality made it a consistently enjoyable one.
When Liza’s younger brother Patrick begins acting strangely one morning (one clue is his lack of sticking his tongue out at Liza), she realizes his soul has been taken by the Spindlers, evil spidery creatures that can change size and that have heads at the end of each of their eight legs.
January 9th, 2013. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Lauren Oliver | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Conan the Barbarian: The Stories that Inspired the Movie
by Robert E. Howard
Conan the Barbarian is a Conan story collection recently published by Del Rey/Ballantine as a tie-in to the 2011 Conan movie. It has the same title as a story collection published in 1955, a movie novelization by L. Sprague de Camp in 1982, and a movie novelization by Michael A. Stackpole published in 2011 concurrently with the movie.To add to the confusion, Conan the Barbarian is also the title of the Marvel comicof the 1970’s.
January 9th, 2013. Steven Harbin´s rating: 4 | Robert E. Howard | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Felix Gilman is the author of several well-received novels: Thunderer, Gears of the City, and The Half-Made World (which made my top ten list last year). His newest, The Rise of Ransom City, is a wonderfully unconventional follow-up to The Half-Made World (here’s my review). He recently took some time to answer a few questions, including why he opted against writing a more typical sequel and what projects he is currently working on. You can find out more by visiting Felix Gilman’s website.
January 8th, 2013. Bill Capossere | Felix Gilman | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 12 comments |
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
Every now and then, I find myself writing a review that I know just really doesn’t matter. Usually, you like to think of your reviews as acting as a guide to potential readers as to whether or not they should give any particular book a shot. Somebody out there somewhere saw this book and is wondering, “Hmm, I’m not so sure about this one, should I try it?” or somebody out there never heard of this book and is thinking, “hmm, that sounds intriguing;
January 8th, 2013. Bill Capossere and Tim Scheidler´s rating: 3.5 | Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper
Miranda, daughter of two lawyers who own their own firm, has been a disappointing daughter. She doesn’t want to practice law, doesn’t want to marry her lawyer fiancé, and generally doesn’t want to conform to her family’s expectations. Unfortunately, every time Miranda thinks she’s found the perfect job for her talents and personality, some weird disaster happens and she ends up unemployed again.
She’s got a new job now — one she thinks she’s going to love. She’s a chauffeur for vampires. For her first assignment,
January 8th, 2013. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Molly Harper | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin
There are some crimes that are so heinous that a person’s reaction to them is almost chemical, not logical. When Blaine McFadden is confronted by the sight of his beloved younger sister after she has been sexually assaulted, he loses control and in short order kills the man responsible. In that act, no matter how justified, Blaine seals his fate and is exiled to a distant, frozen penal colony to pay for having taken another man’s life.
Ice Forged is Gail Z.
January 7th, 2013. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Gail Z. Martin | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Silver Surfer: Requiem by J. Michael Straczynski (writer) and Esad Ribic (artist)
I truly enjoy Marvel’s cosmic characters, and Silver Surfer is one of my favorites. The Requiem storyline is not only the first Silver Surfer title I recommend; it’s also the first cosmic title I point new readers of comics toward. First published as four separate issues in 2007, it was put together as a trade in 2008. If you are new to Silver Surfer and Marvel’s cosmic universe, this book is a great place to start because you don’t need any previous information to appreciate it,
January 4th, 2013. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | J. Michael Straczynski | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
I’m pretty sure every person in the western world knows who Harry Potter is and knows the basic story line. Harry Potter was The Boy Who Lived. Both his parents were killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the evil Lord Voldemort, but he survived the attack, somehow causing Voldemort to disappear. Now Harry is eleven, and off to his first year at Hogwarts wizarding school. But it seems like Voldemort is making a resurgence. Is Harry safe, even under the watchful eye of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore?
January 3rd, 2013. Ruth Arnell, Kat Hooper, Terry Weyna, Marion Deeds and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | J.K. Rowling | Children | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Hidden Warrior by Lynn Flewelling
Hidden Warrior is the second installment in Lynn Flewelling’s TAMIR TRIAD about Tobin, the rightful heir to the throne of Skala who is being magically hidden as a girl until it’s time for her to challenge the king. As this book begins, Tobin has just discovered the horrifying truth about himself, but he must still stay hidden until it’s time for the big reveal. He’s now living at the castle as a Companion to the prince. He’s nervous about the future because he genuinely likes his cousin,
January 3rd, 2013. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Lynn Flewelling | Audio | 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…