Archives | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

The Search for WondLa: Sweet heroine, dull plot

The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

Eva Nine has been living in an underground bunker for all of her twelve years of life. She’s being raised by a slightly humanoid robot named MUTHR (it’s an anagram), her omnipod (a personal hand-held device) and her computerized home called Sanctuary. Eva Nine is the only human she’s ever seen. What’s above ground? Why is she not allowed out? Are there any other humans on Earth? If not, where are they? Soon some of Eva’s questions will be answered because somebody is hunting her and to escape,

Planet of Death: Action-packed, light on theme

Planet of Death by Robert Silverberg

Planet of Death by Robert Silverberg is an enjoyable read, but it was the first story/novel I’ve read of his that was this light on theme, which for me is central to good literature. I know that exploring complex themes is also of primary concern for Silverberg because he emphasizes theme in almost all of the forty-plus stories he included in his short story collections covering the period of time before his writing Planet of Death in 1960.

June 3rd, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 2.5 | Robert Silverberg | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

One Against the Legion: A prime example of a Golden Age sci-fi/mystery

One Against the Legion by Jack Williamson

The third installment of Jack Williamson’s LEGION OF SPACE tetralogy, One Against the Legion, initially appeared in the April, May and June 1939 issues of Astounding Science-Fiction. A short, colorful and fast-moving novel, it reacquaints us with the Legionnaires Jay Kalam, Hal Samdu and Giles Habibula; John Star and his extended family only make cameo appearances in this one.

Whereas in book 1, The Legion of Space,

June 3rd, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Jack Williamson | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

Valour and Vanity: Pirates, Puppets and Lord Byron!

Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal

Valour and Vanity is the fourth book in Mary Robinette Kowal’s series THE GLAMOURISTS. This time our husband-and-wife team of heroes, David Vincent and Lady Jane Vincent, are stranded, penniless, in Murano, victims of a predatory swindler who hopes to sell their secret glamour process to the highest bidder. To stop this from happening, Vincent and Jane must out-swindle the swindler. Yes, that’s right; set during the British Regency, this book is a caper book.

So,

June 2nd, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Mary Robinette Kowal | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Watt O’Hugh Underground: Better than first book

Watt O’Hugh Underground by Steven S. Drachman

Watt O’Hugh Underground is the follow-up by Steven S. Drachman to his early Western fantasy The Ghosts of Watt O’Hugh. I was pretty “meh” toward the first book, though it had a strong close, but I mostly enjoyed Watt O’Hugh Underground throughout, despite having some issues.

Watt O’Hugh Underground picks up not too long after the events of Ghosts, with Watt hiding out in the desert trying to keep out of trouble,

June 2nd, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Steven S. Drachman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Long Earth: An ambitious let-down

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter is a really interesting book without being a particularly good one.

The concept for The Long Earth itself arises from a short story Pratchett wrote before he became Pratchett with a capital P. Essentially, there are other versions of Earth strung out like a strand of pearls in parallel universes — and the ability to travel to these Earths has begun to spread through the human race with the advent of new technology called the “stepper.”

June 2nd, 2014. Kate Lechler and Ray McKenzie´s rating: 2.5 | Stephen Baxter, Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Month: June 2014

The Search for WondLa: Sweet heroine, dull plot

Planet of Death: Action-packed, light on theme

One Against the Legion: A prime example of a Golden Age sci-fi/mystery

Valour and Vanity: Pirates, Puppets and Lord Byron!

Watt O’Hugh Underground: Better than first book

The Long Earth: An ambitious let-down

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