Merry Christmas, friends!
We hope you’re all warm and cozy and surrounded by people (and books) you love.
Did you get any books for Christmas? Or gift cards or cash to spend on books?
If so, which books will you buy?
One commenter gets a FanLit T-shirt or a book from our stacks.
NEXT WEEK: Our favorite books of 2014!
December 25th, 2014. FanLit | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 10 comments |
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
Up, Gouger! Up, Rooter! Up, Tusker! Up, Snouter!
Apparently they celebrate something like Christmas – Hogswatch – on the Disc. Why not? Children write letters to the Hogfather, who travels around the world delivering presents in a sleigh pulled by hogs. But no one really believes in the Hogfather, right?
Sadly, the Auditors have decided to hire Ankh-Morpork’s Assassins Guild to delete Discworld’s Hogfather, or the Fat Man, as they call him. It’s an unusual assignment, thinks Lord Downey, since the assassins don’t believe that the Hogfather exists.
December 25th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Happy Holidays! Today, instead of doing an actual post, I leave you with this eerie illustration of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but next week, on the 31st, I’ll be back with the mother-of-all roundups.
December 24th, 2014. Kate Lechler | World Wide Wednesday | 1 comment |
The Well of the Worlds by Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore
Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore’s final science fiction novel, Mutant, was released in 1953. There would be sporadic short stories from the famous husband-and-wife writing team throughout the ’50s, as well as a mystery series from Kuttner featuring psychoanalyst/detective Dr. Michael Gray, not to mention a superior sci-fi novel from Moore herself, Doomsday Morning, in 1957, but Mutant was, essentially, the last word,
December 24th, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | C.L. Moore, Henry Kuttner | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee
The Mist-Torn Witches is a book that kind of leaves me torn. In some aspects, it’s a really great fantasy book and in others it just lacks… something. The Mist-Torn Witches is a rather short, fun little murder mystery with some magic thrown in for good measure. It’s the kind of fantasy that is a lot of fun to read, but ends up being not quite so memorable.
The two main protagonists in The Mist-Torn Witches are sisters,
December 24th, 2014. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 3 | Barb and J.C. Hendee | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
X by Clamp
X is an eighteen-volume manga by Clamp. It is also known as X/1999, but the more recent six-volume omnibus edition refers to the storyline as X. The series should not be confused with Clamp’s xxxHolic, my favorite series by Clamp (so far). X comes in a close second place for me in terms of plot while perhaps coming in first place on the level of art.
December 24th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Heritage of Cyador by L.E. Modesitt Jr
Heritage of Cyador is the eighteenth book in L.E. Modesitt Jr’s SAGA OF RECLUCE and is the immediate sequel to Cyador’s Heirs. It continues the story of Lerial, the second son of the Duke of Cigoerne. This is a typical Modesitt novel, which means it follows the pattern of having different political parties wrangling back and forth with each other until a hero is forced to use his magical skills in some unique and unexpected way to save the day.
December 23rd, 2014. John Hulet´s rating: 3 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Having carefully woven each strand in Hyperion, in The Fall of Hyperion Dan Simmons braids them together into a singular narrative that fantastically concludes the tale. With whip-crackling energy throughout, the fate of the Hegemony, Ousters, and the Shrike are revealed. All of the questions Simmons created — what will happen to Sol’s daughter? Will Kassad get his revenge on the Shrike? Will the Consul be able to open the time tombs? And ultimately, what is the Shrike?
December 23rd, 2014. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 4 | Dan Simmons | BSFA Award | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The last issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies for 2014 begins with “Alloy Point” by Sam J. Miller. It is a steampunk story of Ashley, who has a talent with Lustrous Metallics like gold and silver, and her forbidden affair with Gabriel, whose strength resides with Base Metallics. They are discovered by the City Fathers, who send a metalman to kill them both. As the story opens, Ashley is in flight from the metalman, who is pursuing her with single-minded determination. Ashley makes some uncomfortable and frightening discoveries as the chase goes on.
December 22nd, 2014. Terry Weyna | Sam J. Miller | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jacaranda is a horror novella set in Cheris Priest’s CLOCKWORK CENTURY universe. This story, set after the end of the USA’s long civil war, is a shivery tale that focuses on supernatural evil rather than the sap-infected zombies of the series.
Priest brings three characters to the Texan island of Galveston, to investigate a long string of strange deaths at the cursed Jacaranda Hotel. Horatio Korman is a Texas Ranger, a smart, clever investigator. Father Juan Quinteros Rios is a Catholic priest with a dark past and a supernatural gift.
December 22nd, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Cherie Priest | Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I believe you are missing the point of this book here. I don't believe the purpose is to tell a…
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…