Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction (writer) and Chip Zdarsky (artist)
Sex Criminals is not just as dirty as it sounds — it’s far more perverse than that. So, if you are even slightly likely to be offended by intentionally offensive material, then I’d stop reading right now. On the other hand, if offensive material becomes less offensive to you by the very fact that it IS intentional — as is the case here for me — then please read on: You just might find Sex Criminals does it for you.
April 25th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
Nightwings by Robert Silverberg
Originally appearing as three separate but linked novellas in the pages of Galaxy magazine, Robert Silverberg‘s Nightwings was, remarkably, the author’s 35th science fiction novel in 15 years; just one of six that he came out with in 1969 alone (the others being Across a Billion Years, the remarkable Downward to the Earth, Three Survived, To Live Again,
April 24th, 2014. Sandy Ferber, Stuart Starosta and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Robert Silverberg | Audio, Hugo Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Pillar to the Sky by William R. Forstchen
While reading William R. Forstchen’s Pillar to the Sky, I kept thinking this is what would have happened if, back in the 1960’s, NASA had commissioned Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein to co-write a story that would get Americans excited about space exploration… and then forgot to send it to an editor. Pillar to the Sky has an exciting premise and an appealing nostalgic feel, but it’s marred by some annoying editorial issues.
April 23rd, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | William R. Forstchen | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
In A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar takes us on a journey that is as familiar and foreign as a land in a dream. It’s a study of two traditions, written and oral, and how they intersect. Samatar uses exquisite language and precise details to craft a believable world filled with sight, sound and scent.
The book follows Jevick, who journeys from Bain, the Harbor City of the land of Olondria to a distant valley, on a quest to settle the ghost that haunts him.
April 23rd, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Sofia Samatar | Stand-Alone, World Fantasy Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In 2010, I put Kate Milford’s The Boneshaker on my list of favorite books of the year. In 2012, I put her The Broken Lands on my list of favorite books of the year. Well, another two years have passed, Milford is out with another story, and, well, you know the rest . . .
Though maybe not all the rest, as there’s a bit of a twist to her newest work, Bluecrowne.
April 22nd, 2014. Bill Capossere | Kate Milford | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sky Raiders is the first book in Brandon Mull’s new FIVE KINGDOMS series for Middle Grade readers. It’s about a boy named Cole who takes his friends, including a girl he has a crush on, to a haunted house on Halloween Night. The occupants of the house lure the kids into the basement where they’re abducted, taken to another world called The Five Kingdoms, and sold into slavery.
As you might guess, Cole feels a little guilty about this.
April 22nd, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Brandon Mull | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell
Expiration Day, by William Campbell Powell, was a book I almost didn’t bother finishing and only ended up doing so because of that added sense of obligation of having received it for free to review. Had I picked it up on my own, I almost certainly would have dropped it somewhere about halfway in. As usual, in these cases, this will be a relatively short review so as not to belabor the issue.
In 2049, humanity has all but died out and is racing to find a cure to this plague of infertility that has been around for some while now.
April 22nd, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 1.5 | William Campbell Powell | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The April issue of Apex Magazine opens with Sigrid Ellis’s editorial, in which she explains that the issue is about repair: “It’s an often-broken world we inhabit. Things falter, plans and bodies and hopes go awry. But we, and the world, keep going. Rebuilt, repaired and reformed. The future will not look like the past. It’s out there, waiting for us, anyway.” They are hopeful words, appropriate to the Easter season, and the fiction Ellis gives us this month is equally hopeful.
“Perfect” by Haddayr Copley-Woods doesn’t start out hopefully,
April 21st, 2014. Terry Weyna | Lavie Tidhar, Pamela Dean | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
“Sleep Paralysis” by Dale Bailey is the opening story of the April 2014 issue of Nightmare, getting things off to a fine start. Bailey’s first person narrator, a skilled undertaker, has found comfort in his wife, beautiful and young, while he is plain and in the autumn of his years. The wife is extremely active in charity work, gone most days and many evenings, leaving her husband to work and spend nights at his club — a situation that has caused rumors that she married him solely for his money, and is engaged in rather more private charity than she admits to.
April 21st, 2014. Terry Weyna | Darren Shan, Lucy A. Snyder | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
We’ve got Jaleigh Johnson with us today. I recently enjoyed her new Middle Grade novel, The Mark of the Dragonfly, which has a wonderful premise and setting. Johnson is best known for her contributions to the FORGOTTEN REALMS shared universe, so Middle Grade is a new realm for her. Curious about how she approached this challenge, I asked her what she does differently when she writes for kids. Her response is below and, at the end, she wants to know what YOU are looking for in a story for children.
April 17th, 2014. Bill Capossere | Jaleigh Johnson | Thoughtful Thursday | 10 comments |
I love it!
Almost as good as my friend: up-and-coming author Amber Merlini!
I don't know what kind of a writer he is, but Simon Raven got the best speculative-fiction-writing name ever!
[…] Its gotten great reviews from Publishers Weekly (starred review!), Kirkus, Locus, Booklist, Lithub, FantasyLiterature, and more. Some of whom…
The Changeling is everything you say it is Sandy. It is well-crafted and low-key in a way that lends considerable…