At first glance at the cover and blurb for Mark Smylie’s prose debut The Barrow, you’ll notice that something sets it apart from a significant portion of recent fantasy. There are no warring states, no fight for the throne. There is no greater evil or battle between light and dark. The Barrow, at its heart, is a treasure hunt — an adventure. Sure, it’s got fae and curses, a band of anti-heroes, and a very Dungeons &
January 12th, 2015. Pat Doherty´s rating: 4 | Mark Smylie | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn
With a complicated web of back-story set up and a return to familiar characters that we’ve seen develop, it goes without saying that Brilliance of the Moon should be the gripping climax of a trilogy that has thus far moved from strength to strength. The third and final instalment of the TALES OF THE OTORI series, the book has many loose ends to tie up, not to mention a certain prophecy that needs fulfilling.
January 10th, 2015. Ray McKenzie and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Lian Hearn | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
Richard Paul Russo published Ship of Fools in 2001 and it won the Philip K Dick Award for that year. I read it when it came out but only remembered two or three scenes from it (powerful scenes, though, I should say). The re-read surprised me and maybe disappointed me slightly. One thing seems clear. In 2001 Russo was playing with concepts that would show up in later writers’ work with regularity in the intervening fourteen years; the “generation ship” and the idea of a social and economic underclass is addressed by Brenda Cooper in her YA series RUBY’S SONG,
January 9th, 2015. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Richard Paul Russo | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
After busting through the door with a whole new Hyperion story in Endymion, Simmons returns with The Rise of Endymion to close it. Answering all of the questions and satisfying all the plot build up of the first half, Rise concludes the story in grand fashion, living up to expectations. It does, however, leave a little wanting thematically.
The Rise of Endymion opens where Endymion left off.
January 9th, 2015. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 3.5 | Dan Simmons | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian
The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian is the first in a new mystery series; unfortunately, it didn’t leave me much interested in reading the next two. Pandian has some decent ideas to work with, but issues with plausibility, pacing, choice of detail, and style had me thinking about giving up from about the halfway point on. To be honest, had it not been a review book, I almost certainly would have, making this one a “not recommended” from me.
Zoe Faust,
January 8th, 2015. Bill Capossere | Gigi Pandian | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Andromeda’s Fall by William C. Dietz
Andromeda’s Fall is the start of a new prequel trilogy related to William C. Dietz’s LEGION OF THE DAMNED and it’s a fine place for someone to enter this good military science fiction series.
Catherine Carletto is Empire nobility. Her family is incredibly powerful and wealthy and Catherine is on a sort of debutante tour after finishing college. She’s pretty, she’s rich and so everyone on the planets she visits wants to meet her. In the midst of a social event she is attacked by a Synth,
January 8th, 2015. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | William C. Dietz | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dwellers in the Mirage by Abraham Merritt
After taking a brief respite — in the hardboiled yet outre crime thriller Seven Footprints to Satan — from the tales of adventurous fantasy at which he so excelled, Abraham Merritt returned in fine form with Dwellers in the Mirage (1932). In this terrific novel, Merritt revisits many of the themes and uses many of the ingredients that made his first novel, The Moon Pool,
January 8th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Abraham Merritt | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
On this day in 1835, the HMS Beagle dropped anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.
Writing, Editing, and Publishing:
At the end of this year, WHEEL OF TIME fans can expect a new book: The Wheel of Time Companion, edited by Robert Jordan‘s wife, Harriet McDougal, and his two editorial assistants, Alan Romanczuk and Maria Simons.
Kameron Hurley writes here about what being a writer is like: how much money you make, what kind of help you have,
January 7th, 2015. Kate Lechler | World Wide Wednesday | 1 comment |
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
[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.]
I don’t usually include photos of a book I’m reviewing, except for the cover, but part of the charm of Murakami’s odd little novella, The Strange Library, is its exquisite packaging. The book is published by Borzoi Books,
January 7th, 2015. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Haruki Murakami | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Rooms by Lauren Oliver is a beautiful, and beautifully-told, story about a house and the generations of people who have inhabited it. As the story opens, the Walker family converges upon the house after the death of Richard Walker, ex-husband to Caroline and father to Minna and Trenton. What the living do not realize — at least at first — is that the house also harbors ghosts: Sandra and Alice, two women who lived in the house at different times in the past.
I was nervous to read this book because I do not like being scared,
January 6th, 2015. Kate Lechler´s rating: 4 | Lauren Oliver | Stand-Alone | 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…