Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: August 2013

New Monthly Comic Titles: ASTRO CITY and THE WAKE

New Montly Comic Titles: ASTRO CITY by Kurt Busiek and THE WAKE by Scott Snyder

In last week’s column, I explained pull lists and the benefits of buying monthly comics instead of waiting for trade collections or only buying older comics that have already been collected. Mainly, I argued that comic book stores and comic book readers offer a community that is more active and immersed in fictional narrative than anywhere else (even here at FanLit!). Why? Because of the nature of the comic book industry: Since comics come out monthly,

August 30th, 2013. Brad Hawley | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Clans of the Alphane Moon: Yet another feather

Clans of the Alphane Moon by Philip K. Dick

Clans of the Alphane Moon was one of six books that science fiction cult author Philip K. Dick saw published in the years 1964 and 1965. Released in 1964 as a 40-cent Ace paperback (F-309, for all you collectors out there), it was his 14th science fiction novel since 1955. This period in the mid-’60s was a time of near hyperactivity for the author. Under the influence of prescription uppers (like one of Clans of the Alphane Moon ‘s central characters,

Sarah Beth Durst asks “Why do you read?”

We’ve got Sarah Beth Durst with us today, author of several books we love. I’m currently enjoying her new book, Conjured, which will be released next week. Sarah’s got a fundamentally important question for you.

So here’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately… Why do people read?

I have my big-picture generic answer, of course: we read because we need stories as desperately as we need air, food, and water. Stories are how we process, cope with, and/or escape from the world. Whether they’re told by friends,

August 29th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter | Sarah Beth Durst | Thoughtful Thursday | 11 comments |

Six Heirs: Give it a pass

Six Heirs by Pierre Grimbert

Six Heirs, the first book in the SECRET OF JI series by Pierre Grimbert, was originally published some years ago in the author’s native French. Sadly, it does not import well, though some of the flaws may be due to translation issues rather than authorial ones.

The novel opens with a captivating story of how several generations ago an enigmatic stranger (is there any other kind?) led a group of emissaries from most of the nations of the Known World to the island of Ji,

August 29th, 2013. Bill Capossere´s rating: 1.5 | Pierre Grimbert | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Dreadnaught: Nothing new

Dreadnaught by Jack Campbell

Warning: Contains spoilers for Jack Campbell’s original LOST FLEET series.

Dreadnaught is the first book in Jack Campbell’s LOST FLEET: BEYOND THE FRONTIER series which is a spin-off of his LOST FLEET series, but really Dreadnaught is just book seven in the LOST FLEET series. You don’t need to read the previous six books, but it would help. Dreadnaught follows the same characters and begins shortly after the events of Victorious,

Foundation and Empire: One of Asimov’s better books

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

This is the second book in Isaac Asimov’s original FOUNDATION trilogy, which later became the FOUNDATION series. It first came out in book form in 1952, but it originally saw print in the form of two novellas, “Dead Hand” (originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, April, 1945) and “The Mule” (originally published in Astounding Science Fiction in November and December, 1945).

Like the first book in the series,

August 28th, 2013. Steven Harbin´s rating: 5 | Isaac Asimov | SFF Reviews | no comments |

When We Wake: I could do with more YA like this

When We Wake by Karen Healey

I read some great YA novels last year, but also a few less than impressive ones. In my reviews, I explained my reservations about the novels I didn’t like in some detail. At one point, I started to wonder whether I was being too hard on them, because, after all, those books are aimed at a younger audience. Is it fair to set the same expectations for YA as for books aimed at mature readers? Looking back, I even mentioned in some reviews that I clearly wasn’t the target demographic for these novels and that someone who is closer to the YA age range would probably enjoy them more.

The Returned: Worthy of a recommendation, but not a fervent one

The Returned by Jason Mott

The Returned, by Jason Mott, is a solid enough novel, capably told for the most part, but which nonetheless left me feeling unsatisfied in that it seemed like it just didn’t quite meet up with its full potential. The premise is pretty simple to sum up: one day the dead start returning, seemingly wholly alive (this is not a zombie novel). While this obviously will have major societal and global ramifications, The Returned is almost exclusively focused on the much more personal impact this mystifying event has on a small town and a handful of people.

Any Other Name: An improvement in almost all ways

Any Other Name by Emma Newman

I didn’t enjoy Between Two Thorns, the first book in Emma Newman’s SPLIT WORLDS series because I didn’t like the characters, felt a little lost in the world, and thought the plot was boring. However, at the end of that novel things started to improve and since I already had the second book, Any Other Name, loaded into my phone (Brilliance Audio sent me review copies), I listened to it.

Any Other Name picks up where the previous book ended (it is absolutely necessary to have read Between Two Thorns).

The Long Walk: A novel about exhaustion

The Long Walk by Stephen King

Ray Garraty, Maine’s own, lives in a near-future dystopian America where boys enter an annual game, the Long Walk, in which the winner is given anything he wants. The winning boy must walk at four miles per hour longer than any other boy in the competition. Boys whose pace drops below four miles per hour are given a warning, which they can lose after an hour of at-pace walking. Boys that collect three warnings, however, receive their “ticket,” a bullet.

The Long Walk was originally published under Stephen King’s pseudonym,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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