Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: January 2016


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The Eye Creatures: DVD can be used as a decorative cocktail coaster

The Eye Creatures directed by Larry Buchanan

Just recently, I wrote some comments on director Larry Buchanan’s abysmal sci-fi outing Zontar, The Thing From Venus (1966), a made-for-TV product that was a scene-for-scene remake of Roger Corman’s infinitely superior It Conquered the World (1956). But Zontar wasn’t the first time that Buchanan had turned a beloved piece of sci-fi shlock into televised dreck. In 1965, he had taken the tacky but enjoyable 1957 film Invasion of the Saucer Men and transformed it,


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WWWednesday: January 20, 2016

Obituary

Alan Rickman passed away last week, at the age of 69.

At Tor.com, Max Gladstone posted a moving essay about Rickman and what he meant to us.

We at Fantasy Literature were stunned and saddened at the loss. For millions of us, of course, Rickman brought to life the bitter, angry, adversarial and heroic Potions Master, Severus Snape from the HARRY POTTER series. He was so much more than that, though. Many of us think he was the best thing in the 1991 Kevin Costner movie, Robin Hood,


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The Thief: Hits all the right notes

The Thief by Claire North

I am absolutely loving Claire North’s THE GAMESHOUSE series so far. Loving it. These are short stand-alone novellas set in an alternate version of our world where an enigmatic institution called The Gameshouse works behind the scenes to influence minor and major world events. It does this by collecting and using people as “players” and “cards.” For example, The Gameshouse may offer to help a politician win a race and, in return, that politician must make himself available as a “card” when one of the players of the Gameshouse needs to use him in the future.


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Magic City: Recent Spells: A solid urban fantasy anthology

Magic City: Recent Spells edited by Paula Guran

Things you should know:
1. This is a reprint anthology. If you read a lot of anthologies in the field, you will probably have read some of these before. I had read three, though two of them were among the best ones, and I enjoyed reading them again.
2. It still has some worthwhile stuff in it, especially if you’re a fan of the big names in urban fantasy (Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs) and haven’t read these stories before.


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Penric’s Demon: A new Five Gods story!

Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold

It’s been ten years since Lois McMaster Bujold, one of my favorite authors, published a story set in her FIVE GODS fantasy world. This is the award-wining series that consists of The Curse of Chalion (2001, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award), The Paladin of Souls (2003, Hugo, Nebula, Locus Award) and The Hallowed Hunt (2005). I read these when they were first released, and I loved them, so maybe you can imagine how happy I was to hear that Bujold has written a new novella set in the same world.


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Between Two Fires: Epic, emotional, cross-genre fantasy

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman is a hybrid fairy tale / fantasy / horror / historical fiction. These individual parts blend to create a fulfilling whole in a Canterbury Tales-style story of a fallen knight and spiritually lost priest who journey across France during the plague-ridden middle ages with an orphaned girl who’s either an exceptionally special individual, a weird witch, or a gift (literally) from the heavens.

The emotionally driven backdrop is a beautifully diverse French countryside,


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The Girl with All the Gifts: Even a worn-out meme can have power

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Melanie is ten years old, with skin as white as snow, just like in the fairy tale. But she doesn’t live in a tower; she lives in a cell, and is taken from there through the corridor to the classroom, and the shower room, where she is fed grubs once a week before a chemical spray falls from the ceiling. She knows that the place she lives in is called the block, and that the block is on the base, which is called Hotel Echo.


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SHORTS: Brackett, Vo, Vernon, Bachus, Abercrombie

There is so much free or inexpensive short fiction available on the internet these days. Here are a few stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about.

Enchantress of Venus by Leigh Brackett (1949, $0.99 at Amazon)

The world celebrated what would have been the 100th birthday of Leigh Brackett on December 7, 2015, and to celebrate the centennial of the so-called “Queen of Space Opera” in my own way, I have resolved to finally read five novels featuring her most famous character,


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Only the Stones Survive: Has the emotional impact of a textbook

Only the Stones Survive by Morgan Llywelyn

Morgan Llywelyn has written dozens of historical novels about Ireland, the Celts, and the Túatha Dé Danann. Her latest, Only the Stones Survive, recounts her version of the legendary Gaelic conquest of the Túatha Dé Danann in ancient Ireland. According to the myths, the Milesians sailed to Ireland and, after fighting a battle, and with the help of the bard Amergin, made peace with the fae folk. They divided up the island so that the Milesians lived atop the land while the Túatha Dé Danann lived in the underworld below.


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Steven Universe: A Feel-Good Show with Well-Drawn Characters

Steven Universe by Rebecca Sugar

Steven Universe, an episodic 11-minute animated television show created by Rebecca Sugar, is one of my new not-guilty-at-all pleasures. It tells the story of young Steven Universe and his friends, the Crystal Gems, humanoid mineral-based aliens. Steven is half-human, half-gem. His dad, Greg Universe, is a car wash owner and aspiring musician. His mom, Rose Quartz, was one of the Crystal Gems until she gave up her physical form to have a child. Steven lives in Beach City with the three remaining Crystal Gems: Garnet, Amethyst,


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Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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