Happy Hour in Hell by Tad Williams
Happy Hour in Hell is the second novel in Tad Williams’ Bobby Dollar series. While readers might enjoy and appreciate the book more if they read The Dirty Streets of Heaven first, its sequel is one of those books that can be understood and enjoyed on its own merit, too. Happy Hour in Hell is darker than its predecessor, the world expands, Bobby Dollar is a more complex character (while never losing his humorous or cynical edge),
February 21st, 2015. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 5 | Tad Williams | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Fortress in Orion by Mike Resnick
The Fortress in Orion is the first book in Mike Resnick’s DEAD ENDERS series. Colonel Nathan Pretorius is a decorated hero in the Democracy’s twenty-three year war with the Traanskei Coalition. Just as he is recuperating from his last mission, Pretorius is given a new assignment, one that seems impossible. It means infiltrating the heart of one of the Coalition’s best-defended fortresses and substituting an imposter for an important Coalition member. Early in the book, the odds of success are given as three percent.
February 20th, 2015. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Mike Resnick | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Kelly Link throws a mean sucker punch. Her latest short story collection, Get in Trouble, is calculated to get you — to draw you in under one premise, and then take you somewhere else entirely. It explores modern America through her special blend of genre-busting surrealism. Exploring various landscapes such as rural North Carolina, Florida swamps, and Southern California, Link exposes the inherent weirdness of our everyday lives. She spins out alternate realities based on the already-established facts of our existence,
February 19th, 2015. Kate Lechler´s rating: 5 | Kelly Link | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
Once upon a time, in a town called Fairfold, Holly Black set her story for her stand-alone novel The Darkest Part of the Forest. The dark faerie-tale fuses the fantastical with the mundane, as humans and Fae folk exist alongside one another, the faeries even being a huge source of tourism for the little town. That is an original and intriguing premise if there ever was one, with promises of dark twists and turns. But somewhere along the lines the plot failed in its execution,
February 19th, 2015. Ray McKenzie, Kate Lechler and Jana Nyman | Holly Black | Audio, Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
On this day in 1930, Pluto was discovered. Also, it was the first time a cow ever flew (and, subsequently, was milked) in an aircraft. Elm Farm Ollie bears the distinction of being the first cow to fly.
Writing, Editing, and Publishing
Next Monday launches Geeky Feminism Week at Housing Works bookstore cafe in NYC, a week full of geeks of all stripes talking about feminism and women’s representation in the fields of geekery.
SF Said wrote a great article for the Guardian this week on the relevance of children’s books for adults.
February 18th, 2015. Kate Lechler | World Wide Wednesday | 6 comments |
Thieves seem to be “in” this decade, and Ari Marmell’s Widdershins, from the COVENANT series, is one of the most popular in YA. In Covenant’s End, Widdershins returns to her home city, only to discover that there have been drastic changes while she has been away. Some are huge and affect the entire city. Some are personal, shifting the fault lines in Shins’ heart.
Shins carries a tiny god, Olgun, in her head. Olgun provides insight,
February 18th, 2015. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Ari Marmell | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth by John Garth
Tolkien and the Great War is an obviously well-researched book that goes into explicit (at times I must admit tedious) detail on J.R.R. Tolkien’s involvement in World War I and its possible impact on his then-current and later writings. We begin by observing Tolkien’s earliest close friendships formed at St. Edward’s Grammar School under the auspices of the “TCBS” (an acronym for Tea Club, Barrovian Society) where the core group of Tolkien, Christopher Wiseman, Robert Gilson,
February 18th, 2015. Terry Lago´s rating: 2.5 | J.R.R. Tolkien | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan
As a military fantasy fanatic, I found Brian McClellan’s The Autumn Republic to be a good but not perfect conclusion to his POWDER MAGE series. With The Autumn Republic, we follow Taniel’s and Tamas’ journey to save the city of Adro not only from invading armies, but from the gods themselves. General Ket is arrested and General Hilanska is a traitor to Adro. Although Inspector Adamat wants to retire from his work for Tamas,
February 17th, 2015. Kevin Wei´s rating: 3.5 | Brian McClellan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Right up front, Jordan Stratford advises the young readers of The Case of the Missing Moonstone (2015), the first book in his WOLLSTONECRAFT DETECTIVE AGENCY series, that he is playing fast and loose with history. Ada Byron (also called Ada Lovelace), Lord Byron’s daughter, was eighteen years younger than Mary Godwin, not three, but Stratford thought these two brilliant young women working together and solving mysteries would be fun, so he changed the timeline.
February 17th, 2015. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Jordan Stratford | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Galaxy Game is Barbadian author Karen Lord’s third novel, following the critically acclaimed and award-winning Redemption in Indigo and last year’s well-received The Best of All Possible Worlds.
Something I want to get out of the way right from the start: while it’s not stated anywhere on the book’s cover, The Galaxy Game is the sequel to The Best of All Possible Worlds.
February 17th, 2015. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5 | Karen Lord | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
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…