The Lady of Han-Gilen by Judith Tarr
The Lady of Han-Gilen is the second novel in Judith Tarr’s AVARYAN saga. In the first book, The Hall of the Mountain King, we met Mirain, supposedly the son of the sun god Avaryan and a human princess. Mirain appeared in Ianon, where his grandfather rules, became his heir, and fought for control of the kingdom. The story wasn’t particularly original, but I enjoyed Tarr’s style and Jonathan Davis’s audio performance.
This second installment,
August 26th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Judith Tarr | Audio | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson by E.F. Benson
I had read E.F. Benson’s The Horror Horn to start with (a collection of 13 of his best ghost stories), after seeing that it was considered one of the Top 100 Horror Books of all time in Newman & Jones’ excellent overview volume. Each of those 13 stories was so good that I just had to have more, and so picked up this collection — The Collected GhostStories of E.F.
August 25th, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 5 | E.F. Benson | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I have a confession to make. Sometimes, I cheat on the fantasy genre. That femme fatale Mystery is often the one who lures me away. This year I’ve been feeling particularly… polygenreous… and Kelley Armstrong’s Omens was just what hit the spot when I wanted to have my cake and eat it too.
The CAINSVILLE series is a departure from Armstrong’s previous work in the WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD books. It’s heavier on the mystery, lighter on the fantasy,
August 25th, 2014. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Kelley Armstrong | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
A Taste of Blood Wine by Freda Warrington
I’m pretty done with vampire novels. D-O-N-E. Done. It’s over. I never really liked them, but the whole genre is overblown and I’m finished with it. So why, might you be asking, did I read A Taste of Blood Wine by Freda Warrington? Because it’s Freda Freaking Warrington! I love her writing, and I couldn’t wait to experience it again, vampires or not.
A Taste of Blood Wine was first published in 1992, and is just now being re-released to the masses because we’ve finally discovered the absolute beauty of Warrington’s writing.
August 23rd, 2014. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 4 | Freda Warrington | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The People Inside by Ray Fawkes
The People Inside by Ray Fawkes is a follow-up to his fairly recent graphic novel One Soul. Ray Fawkes is currently writing a number of titles for DC, and those titles are well-written, but One Soul and The People Inside are absolutely brilliant works of art that attempt to expand the possibilities of sequential art on the printed page. Lately, I’ve seen a number of advances in sequential art in the area of digital comics;
August 22nd, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Fables (Vol. 2): Animal Farm by Bill Willingham (author) and Mark Buckingham (artist)
Willingham further develops his world.
Animal Farm is the second volume in Fables, a comic book series that presents characters from various “make-believe” lands living the immigrant life in the USA. In Volume One, we met Snow White, the capable vice-mayor of Fabletown, and her rebellious sister Rose Red. In Animal Farm, Willingham pulls back the curtain to show us a few of the problems lurking just out of sight.
August 22nd, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Bill Willingham | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Lady Astronaut of Mars, which won this year’s Hugo Award for best novelette, moved me. It was well-structured, all the ends tucked in and callbacks in the right places. It used symbolism and literary reference and pointed to issues of the human condition at large, like career versus family. All of this would usually add up to five stars from me, particularly since the author has as beautiful a voice on the page as she does when she speaks.
August 22nd, 2014. Mike Reeves-McMillan´s rating: 4 | Mary Robinette Kowal | Hugo Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ahh, the end of August. When sundown comes earlier, the nights get cooler, and the thoughts of children and teens turn to school. And the thoughts of those who teach them turn to… drinking.
Sooo, FanLit fans, teachers or not, drinkers or teetotalers, what sort of drinking game related to fantasy writing do you think would be the most fun (or perhaps the most dangerous)?
For instance, let’s say I were reading a particular fantasy series and decided to take a drink every time a particular character tugged on her braid. My wife might,
August 21st, 2014. Bill Capossere | Thoughtful Thursday | 13 comments |
Evolution’s Shore by Ian McDonald
In several equatorial regions of the earth, an alien plant has been growing. The “Chaga,” as it is called, came from outer space and destroys anything manmade that comes near it. Scientists are worried about what it might do to humans. They have not been able to kill it and it is advancing slowly but steadily each day, changing the landscape and covering villages and cities as it progresses. Not only are people’s lives being disrupted as they have to flee their homes and become refugees, but they’re also worried about what the Chaga is doing here in the first place.
August 21st, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Ian McDonald | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Martians by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson’s MARS trilogy is a landmark of science fiction. The books visualize the terraforming of the red planet from a desert wasteland to a verdant living space while Robinson examines humanity from economic, psychological, political, sociological, and ecological viewpoints, culminating in the most in-depth look at colonizing Mars as has yet been written. The quantity of material was so great in fact, that Robinson published the story collection The Martians three years after Blue Mars.
August 21st, 2014. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 3 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no 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…