Wolfhound Century by Peter Higgins
I’ve read several novels over the last few years that were compared to China Miéville by reviewers, publishers, or both. In most cases, I thought the comparison was a stretch, to say the least. In some cases, it was simply ludicrous. Setting your fantasy novel in a grimy city where it rains a lot is not enough. Not every weird/slipstream dystopia qualifies. There is more to it than that.
When Wolfhound Century by Peter Higgins arrived on my doorstep,
March 29th, 2013. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | Peter Higgins | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Walk to the End of the World by Suzy McKee Charnas
In the mood for a good piece of post-apocalyptic, feminist science fiction? Well, then, I’ve got a doozy for you! Suzy McKee Charnas’ first novel, Walk to the End of the World (1974), is just such a book, combining a tough little tale with a healthy dose of sociopolitical rumination.
Taking place many years after mankind has destroyed its planet with wars and pollution, “leaving it to the wild weeds,” Walk to the End of the World introduces the reader to the society of the Holdfast,
March 29th, 2013. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Suzy McKee Charnas | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Now, you know we love Jack Vance — he’s one of our favorite speculative fiction authors — but some of the covers on his books are truly atrocious.
This one here, in fact…
We think the title Space Opera is just too generic for this striking cover. Can you help us rename it?
Here’s the description, if it helps:
Space Opera — (1965) A society matron underwrites the interstellar tour of an Earth opera company, performing Beethoven, Mozart and Rossini for bewildered human and alien audiences on a kaleidoscopic range of planets.
March 28th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter | Jack Vance | Thoughtful Thursday | 14 comments |
In 2850 AD, Louis Wu is at his 200th birthday party and thinking about how bored he is. The world has become homogeneous — everyone on Earth uses the same language, everything is available everywhere, and all the cities have lost their unique flavor. Life is dull. That’s why Louis Wu is a perfect candidate for the alien Nessus (a Pierson’s Puppeteer) who wants to take a manned spaceship to explore a strange phenomenon in space.
Nessus also recruits a Kzin named Speaker-to-Animals who is a feline alien from a warlike culture,
March 28th, 2013. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Larry Niven | Audio, Hugo Award, Nebula Award | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
Would you like some beautiful art to start your week? Check out these blown glass spacecraft.
March 27th, 2013. Ruth Arnell | World Wide Wednesday | 3 comments |
Monster Hunter Legion by Larry Correia
What’s more fun than hanging out with Owen “Big Z” Pitt, Earl Harbinger, Julie, Milo, Holly, Trip, Mosh Pitt, and Skippy the orc at the MHI compound in rural Alabama? How about MHI meeting up with teams from all over the world at a monster hunter conference in Las Vegas? And how about if that ancient Lovecraftian god that Big Z pissed off three books ago decides to unleash his wrath right about now? And how about if those incompetent federal agents who keep trying to cover up the monster attacks want to make sure that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,
March 27th, 2013. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Larry Correia | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I love Sean Stewart, and I wish he hadn’t given up on writing fantasy. His books are always a treat and pay back tenfold the effort put into them by the reader. Clouds End was Stewart’s “pure fantasy” novel, in contrast to the mixed urban fantasy with science fictional elements type of story that characterizes the majority of his works. I have to admit that the first time I tried to read this book I didn’t like it. I still think that Stewart wasn’t fully successful in realizing what he was attempting,
March 27th, 2013. Terry Lago´s rating: 3 | Sean Stewart | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Suburban Strange by Nathan Kotecki
Celia is a high school sophomore who’s grieving the death of her father and starting at a new school. She is swept up into a clique called the Rosary, a group of friends who pride themselves on their “darkness” and their sophistication. Celia feels awkward with them at first but gradually begins to gain confidence from these friendships. Meanwhile, something eerie is going on at Suburban High. Girls are suffering injuries or sudden illnesses on the day before their sixteenth birthdays. Will Celia find out what’s going on before her own birthday rolls around?
March 26th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Nathan Kotecki | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Monster Hunter Alpha by Larry Correia
Welcome to the exciting world of professional monster hunting. Usually not quite so… messy. Well, it’s always messy, but we’ve reached a whole ‘nother level on this one.
I’ve been heartily enjoying Larry Correia’s MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL series so far. It’s been non-stop freaky monsters, evil villains, rigid government agents, flying fists, biting teeth, scratching claws, falling bodies, fiery explosions, gaping portals to hell, and lots and lots of gun porn. Now we’re back for round three.
March 26th, 2013. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Larry Correia | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The April/May 2013 issue of Asimov’s leads off with a difficult but exciting novella by Neal Asher entitled “The Other Gun.” It portrays a complicated universe in which humanity has found itself at war with a race called the prador, which is ruthless, merciless and completely uninterested in compromise. It has already exterminated several species when it runs into humans, and a survivor of one of those wars, a member of a hive species, has allied itself with humans. The narrator of this tale is a parasitologist and bio-synthesist who was working on a biological weapon to be used against the prador when he was reassigned to work for the Client,
March 25th, 2013. Terry Weyna | James Patrick Kelly, Ken Liu, Linda Nagata, Naomi Kritzer, Robert Silverberg | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 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…