Month: May 2014

Blade Reforged: Fun cloak and dagger fantasy

Blade Reforged by Kelly McCullough

Kelly McCullough’s FALLEN BLADE series has been a lot of fun to read. For fans of cloak and dagger fantasy, it’s been a welcome, easy to read morsel. You really don’t need to pay close attention because the story is about humor, a little danger, long lost romance and loyalty to ideals that have been lost. It’s not complex, but it’s good.

Blade Reforged follows Aral Kingslayer through his final transformation back from dissolute, amoral thug-for-hire to someone who at least resembles the rising star of the Order of Namara before her death at the hands of the Son of Heaven.

May 23rd, 2014. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Kelly McCullough | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Aquaman: Death of a King by Geoff Johns

Aquaman (Vol. 4): Death of a King (The New 52) by Geoff Johns

Geoff Johns, perhaps best known for his incredible nine-year run on Green Lantern, has written another winner with Aquaman: Death of a King. The company-wide reboot of all DC titles is known as the New 52, and it’s had a lukewarm reception, to put it mildly. Post-reboot, only a handful of titles have been considered exceptional, including two by Geoff Johns: His start to Aquaman and his conclusion to Green Lantern (which ended in volume three of the Green Lantern New 52 trade collections).

Beowulf: Tolkien’s translation

Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien (author) & Christopher Tolkien (editor)

The last few years has seen the release by the Tolkien Estate of several hybrid books that combined original retellings/translations of ancient hero legends (Sigurd, Arthur) with further commentary by J.R.R. Tolkien (on the source material) and Christopher Tolkien (on his father’s work). The latest in this series is Tolkien’s translation of Beowulf, which has perhaps incurred greater interest since outside of his fiction, Tolkien is perhaps best known for his famed essay, “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” As with the prior two,

May 22nd, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | J.R.R. Tolkien | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

WWWednesday, May 21, 2014

Awards

The Nebula Award winners have been announced. Ann Leckie is cutting quite a swath with her first novel, Ancillary Justice, which has now won the Nebula, the British Science Fiction Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award. It’s also up for a Hugo.

The winners of the Spectrum Awards have been announced.

The finalists for the Ditmar Awards have been announced. The Ditmar Awards are given by the Australian National Science Fiction Convention for professional and fan works by Australians.

May 21st, 2014. Terry Weyna | World Wide Wednesday | 4 comments |

Magic’s Price: Bittersweet finale

Magic’s Price by Mercedes Lackey

In Magic’s Price, the third book in Mercedes Lackey’s THE LAST HERALD MAGE trilogy, we discover how this trilogy got its name. It’s been nine years since the previous story ended and the Herald-Mages are being knocked off one by one. Valdemar is in great danger. Vanyel is “the last Herald-Mage” and there’s a target on his back. If he dies, how will Valdemar survive a magical attack by enemies? Can Vanyel and Yfandes, his Companion horse, find and stop Master Dark,

Dangerous Space: Gorgeous short stories

Dangerous Space by Kelley Eskridge

Dangerous Space is a revelation. I had no idea these gorgeous short stories were out there. Put me on the list of people who will now read absolutely everything Kelley Eskridge writes, because if these are characteristic of her work, I want it all.

Eskridge often makes creativity her subject, writing movingly about various forms of art, especially music. The opening story, “Strings,” posits a world in which the classical composers are revered so completely that any deviation from their scores,

Wizards: From Merlin to Faust

Wizards: From Merlin to Faust by David and Lesley McIntee

I’ve been a huge fan of just about all the MYTHS AND LEGENDS series from Osprey Publishing, having given four stars to Troy, Robin Hood, and Thor; and 4.5 to King Arthur, with only Jason and the Argonauts standing out as a weak entry in the roll.

Magic’s Promise: A little less angsty than previous novel

Magic’s Promise by Mercedes Lackey

Magic’s Promise is the second book in Mercedes Lackey’s THE LAST HERALD MAGE trilogy. This review is likely to spoil some of the first book’s plot, so be warned.

It’s been several years since the horrid events that took place at the end of the Magic’s Pawn. Vanyel is now the most powerful Herald-Mage on the planet and he’s been traveling all around the realm helping to fight a war with one of Valdemar’s neighbors.

The Ganymede Takeover: The oddball of PKD’s sci-fi oeuvre

The Ganymede Takeover by Philip K. Dick

When I read Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore‘s 1946 novella Chessboard Planet some years back, the thought occurred to me that this story is a must-read for all fans of cult author Philip K. Dick. In the story, the United States is in the midst of a decades-long war with the European union and is in big trouble, because scientists working for the enemy have come up with a formula employing “variable constants” that can completely preempt reality.

In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era by Robert Silverberg

In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era by Robert Silverberg

I’ve been enjoying reading Silverberg’s early story collections lately, and I particularly enjoy that he, like his friend Harlan Ellison in his story collections, includes not only an autobiographical introduction to the book, but also memoir pieces before every story. As a result, his collections become two books in one: part short story collection and part portrait of the artist.To be honest, I think I like both parts equally.

In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era consists of sixteen stories written from 1955 to 1959.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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