Quintessence is a historical fantasy by David Walton, set in an alternate 1500s, a time of religious and political turmoil, exploration, and advances in natural philosophy, as old authorities were beginning to be challenged. In the last days of Edward VI’s reign, a ship returns from the edge of the world (literally — this world is flat) with news of a fantastic island, Horizon, filled with strange creatures and even better, home to what appears to be the Elixir of Life.
March 19th, 2013. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | David Walton | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Impulse is the third book in Steven Gould’s JUMPER series. The first book, Jumper, which was more thriller than science fiction, told the story of Davy, a teenager who discovered that he could teleport. He used his ability to fight the terrorists who caused him some personal pain. In the second book, Reflex, Davy is captured by people who want to use his power for their own purposes and Davy’s wife Millie sets out to find him.
March 19th, 2013. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Steven Gould | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Dark Country by Dennis Etchison
The Dark Country was Dennis Etchison‘s first collection of short stories, and originally appeared back in 1982. I picked up an out-of-print copy recently, after seeing that it had been included in Stephen Jones and Kim Newman‘s excellent overview volume, Horror: 100 Best Books. Well, I don’t know if I would place it on my personal top 100 list, but this book certainly is a unique collection of shuddery,
March 18th, 2013. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Dennis Etchison | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St. James
I enjoy a good Gothic novel, and I was intrigued by An Inquiry Into Love and Death as soon as I first heard about it. After reading it, I can report that it is indeed a good Gothic novel, and fans of the genre should definitely check it out.
Jillian Leigh’s life as an Oxford student is interrupted when her uncle Toby dies in a fall from a cliff in the remote village of Rothewell. With Jillian’s parents out of the country,
March 18th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Simone St.James | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Gregory Frost graduated from Clarion Workshop, authored five novels and the critically-acclaimed short story collection Attack of the Jazz Giants & Other Stories, and has been a finalist for nearly every major award in the fantasy field including the Hugo, the Nebula, the James Tiptree, and the World Fantasy Award.
Impressive, but what did I think of Shadowbridge? Well, for the most part I enjoyed reading Shadowbridge and while I may have liked the novel,
March 16th, 2013. Robert Thompson and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Gregory Frost | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Astonishing X-Men, Volume One: Gifted (Issues 1-6) and Astonishing X-Men, Volume 2: Dangerous (Issues 7-12) by Joss Whedon (writer) and John Cassaday (artist)
These two Astonishing X-Men trade collections by Joss Whedon — Gifted and Dangerous — make a great introduction either to superhero comics in general or to X-Men comics specifically. There are some goods reasons Joss Whedon was chosen to write and direct the latest Avengers movie,
March 15th, 2013. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
The first installment in the ARTEMIS FOWL series ended with a dire note from a fairy psychologist, explaining that Fowl would go on to become “the People’s most feared enemy” over the course of “decades.” However, already foreseeing the sequel (if conspicuously not planning for the legion of follow-up novels past that point in which Artemis is about as villainous and feared as Minnie Mouse), author Eoin Colfer also slipped in a little tease about a certain occasion in which all the favorite protagonists and antagonists from book one were forced to work together.
March 15th, 2013. Tim Scheidler´s rating: 3.5 | Eoin Colfer | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an award-winning author of dozens of science fiction and fantasy books, including the Hugo and Nebula award winning Ender’s Game. So who else would you turn to for instruction on how to write a science fiction and fantasy novel? I’m working on a novel — isn’t everyone these days? — and picked up How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy for some instruction. I’m used to writing for an academic audience,
March 15th, 2013. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 2.5 | Orson Scott Card | Hugo Award, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Desolation Road by Ian McDonald
I was reminded, while reading Desolation Road, of two authors in particular: John Crowley and Gene Wolfe. This is not to say that I think Ian McDonald was in any way aping them or merely writing some kind of amalgamated pastiche, but there were elements to his tale that made both author’s names spring to mind. I think the first one was Wolfe, largely because of the way in which McDonald made the magical seem almost commonplace (or was it that the commonplace was made to seem magical?) in a way that reminded me of the inversions of the various aspects of the world in both Wolfe’s NEW SUN and LONG SUN series,
March 15th, 2013. Terry Lago´s rating: 4.5 | Ian McDonald | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Today we welcome Laura Bickle, author of Embers, Sparks, and the YA novel The Hallowed Ones. The Outside, a sequel to The Hallowed Ones, will be released later this year. Laura also writes the DARK ORACLE series under the name Alayna Williams. Her question for you today is: Where do you want to be when the apocalypse hits? One commenter wins a copy of The Hallowed Ones.
One of the great things about writing is getting to ask those “what-if” questions.
March 14th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter | Alayna Williams, Laura Bickle | Thoughtful Thursday | 13 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…