Ben 10 by Jason Henderson (author) and Gordon Purcell (artist)
Ben 10 by Jason Henderson is a fun comic book for younger kids who like the TV show, but it’s not for older kids or adults, and I don’t think it would be that interesting to any children who aren’t already familiar with the show. This particular story takes place in the summer, while Ben and his fellow Plumbers are on a cruise ship for a vacation. The Plumbers, in case you don’t know, are a group that defends the earth.
June 9th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 2 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Coffin Hill (Vol. 1): Forest of the Night by Caitlin Kittredge and Inaki Misanda
Coffin Hill is a great new horror comic that is worth checking out in this first trade collection. It is part of the new wave of titles being put out by Vertigo, DC’s line of mature comics for adult readers. I tried reading Caitlin Kittredge’s Coffin Hill when it came out on a monthly basis, but it didn’t hold my interest, so, after two issues, I decided to wait until it was published as a trade.
June 6th, 2014. Brad Hawley and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Caitlin Kittredge | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon
[In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.]
When I started listening to Alena Graedon’s The Word Exchange on audiobook (read by Tavia Gilbert and Paul Michael Garcia), I was bowled over. The sheer beauty of Graedon’s language, the book’s inventive dictionary structure, its references to Alice in Wonderland,
June 6th, 2014. Kate Lechler´s rating: 3 | Alena Graedon | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Andre the Giant: Life and Legend by Box Brown
Who doesn’t love The Princess Bride? And who doesn’t have a soft spot for Andre, that sweet, kindly giant, when he rhymes, “Does anybody want a peanut” and when he catches the lovely Princess? If you feel as I do, you’ll want to read Box Brown’s fascinating biography of Andre the Giant: Life and Legend.
Brown’s biography comes from someone who grew up with a great love for professional wrestling,
June 6th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Hawksbill Station by Robert Silverberg
Although it had been over 45 years since I initially read Robert Silverberg’s novella “Hawksbill Station,” several scenes were as fresh in my memory as if I had read them just yesterday; such is the power and the vividness of this oft-anthologized classic. Originally appearing in the August ’67 issue of Galaxy magazine, the novella did not come to my teenaged attention till the following year, when it was reprinted in a collection entitled World’s Best Science Fiction 1968. Silverberg later expanded his 20,000-word story to novel form,
June 6th, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Robert Silverberg | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Elfin Ship by James P. Blaylock
Audible has recently put several of James P. Blaylock’s novels in audio format, so I’m giving a few of them a try. The Elfin Ship, first published in 1982, is the first book in Blaylock’s BALUMNIA trilogy about a whimsical fantasy world filled with elves, goblins, dwarves, wizards, and (because it’s Blaylock), a few steampunk elements such as submarines and airships.
In The Elfin Ship we meet Jonathan Bing, a cheesemaker who lives in a quaint little village with his dog Ahab.
June 5th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | James P. Blaylock | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Batgirl (Vol. 4): Wanted (New 52) by Gail Simone
I have enjoyed the first few volumes of Batgirl in the New 52. It hasn’t been my favorite title, but I’m a fan of Gail Simone’s work so I’m usually willing to give her work a try. So far in the New 52, Simone has taken Barbara Gordon to some dark places, and doing so has worked well. However, I did not like the beginning of this particular collection, primarily because I found the main villain — the Ventriloquist — to be just too creepy and disgusting for my tastes.
June 5th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Queen of the Legion by Jack Williamson
Fans of Jack Williamson’s LEGION OF SPACE series would have a long time to wait after part 3 of the saga, One Against the Legion, appeared in 1939. It would be a full 28 years before a short story featuring any of the Legion characters came forth, 1967’s “Nowhere Near,” and it was not until 1983, almost 50 years after part 1 of the series (The Legion of Space) was released,
June 5th, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Jack Williamson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Welcome to WWWednesday! On this day in 1783, the Montgolfier brothers demonstrated their new invention — the montgolfiere, or, as we know it, the hot air balloon.
Writing, editing, publishing:
It just came out this week that George R.R. Martin may be considering stretching the “Song of Ice and Fire” series to eight books instead of the planned seven. I’m with blogger Netw3rk . . . it may be time to start skipping the detailed clothing-and-horse descriptions.
However, if Martin’s work isn’t long enough for you and you frequently find yourself in bookstores screaming “MOAR EPIC FANTASY,
June 4th, 2014. Kate Lechler | World Wide Wednesday | 6 comments |
Incredible Adventures by Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Blackwood’s Incredible Adventures was first released in book form in 1914, and is comprised of three novellas and two short stories. The literary critic and scholar S.T. Joshi has called this book “perhaps the greatest weird collection of all time,” and while I do not pretend to be well read enough to concur in that evaluation, I will say that the book is beautifully written… and certainly weird, in Blackwood’s best manner.
The five pieces in Incredible Adventures are almost impossible to categorize.
June 4th, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 5 | Algernon Blackwood | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.