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Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: January 2016

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The Screaming Staircase: Spooky and fun (but no Bartimaeus)

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathon Stroud

LOCKWOOD & CO. is Jonathan Stroud’s second four-part outing. It follows on from the success of his BARTIMAEUS sequence (which comes highly recommended here at FanLit). Stroud specialises in alternate versions of London for children. In BARTIMAEUS it was a London of djinn-conjuring wizards. This time London is troubled by deadly ghosts. The Screaming Staircase is a pacey, exciting introduction to Stroud’s new London, but it lacks the sense of magic and humour that made BARTIMAEUS such a winner.


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January 11th, 2016. ´s rating: | | , | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

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How to Make Fictional People Do All the Work, Part 1

Welcome to another Expanded Universe column where I feature essays from authors and editors of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, as well as from established readers and reviewers. My guest today is Sarah Gailey. Gailey is a Bay Area native and an unabashed bibliophile, living and working in beautiful Oakland, California. She enjoys painting, baking, vulgar embroidery, and writing stories about murder and monsters. She livetweeted Star Wars and the internet got very excited about it, but mostly she writes short SFF and horror. Her fiction has appeared in Mothership Zeta and The Colored Lens,


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January 8th, 2016. | | Expanded Universe | 9 comments |

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In Endless Twilight: Timely discussions, then a really weird ending

In Endless Twilight by L.E. Modesitt Jr

In Endless Twilight (1988) is the final installment in L.E. Modesitt Jr’s THE FOREVER HERO trilogy. My review will probably contain spoilers for the first two novels, Dawn for a Distant Earth and The Silent Warrior. You need to read them before opening In Endless Twilight.

During Dawn for a Distant Earth, we saw Gerswin getting the education and skills he needed to be able to fulfill his dream of restoring the ruined Earth.


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January 8th, 2016. ´s rating: | | | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

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Alpha and Omega: A MERCY companion series kicks off with this novella

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs

Concurrently with her MERCY THOMPSON urban fantasy series about a coyote shapeshifter and her adventures with werewolves, vampires, fae and other supernatural beings, Patricia Briggs has been writing the ALPHA AND OMEGA series about an “Omega” werewolf, who has unique powers for a werewolf. This novella introduces Anna, a seemingly submissive, sexually and physically abused werewolf in an appalling mess of a pack in Chicago. Anna was unwillingly turned into a werewolf three years ago and her life has been miserable since.


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January 8th, 2016. ´s rating: | | | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

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The Star Fraction: A unique work of political science fiction

The Star Fraction by Ken Macleod

The back cover copy claims Ken Macleod’s debut The Star Fraction (1995) is like “modern-day George Orwell”, and there is some truth in it. But rather than an examination of totalitarianism, the novel is a thought experiment on technology in an environment as rife with subtly variegated politics as the scene Orwell covered in WWII Spain in Homage to Catalonia. Given the dry wit and experimental mode, however, I would say that Macleod is more Heinleinian. Regardless of classic parallels,


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January 8th, 2016. | | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

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Thoughtful Thursday Giveaway: What’s the best book you read last month?

It’s the first Thursday of the month. You know what that means, ’cause we do this on the first Thursday of every month! Time to report!

What is the best book you read in December 2015 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF. We just want to share some great reading material. Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.


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January 7th, 2016. | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 14 comments |

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The Serpent: A gorgeous novella by Claire North

The Serpent by Claire North

In 17th century Venice, the young daughter of a wealthy merchant is married off to an older aristocrat wastrel who has lost his money by gambling. His habits continue after the marriage, and he is abusive, which makes her respond by becoming cold and aloof. In an attempt to provoke her, he drags her to a gameshouse, where he continues to lose his money on trivial games of chance and skill.

But she is intrigued by the exotic setting and the cosmopolitan players. She studies the games and is eventually invited to play.


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January 7th, 2016. ´s rating: | | | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |

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Pratchett’s Women: An interesting perspective on a fantasy legend

Pratchett’s Women by Tansy Rayner Roberts

I discovered something about myself by reading Pratchett’s Women, which is always a worthwhile thing. What I discovered was that, although I rejoice greatly at the presence of strong female characters in a book, I don’t necessarily notice their absence as much. Now that I’m aware, hopefully that won’t be true so much.

Tansy Rayner Roberts, herself an award-winning fantasy author, analyses most (but not all) of Terry Pratchett‘s books from a feminist perspective,


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January 7th, 2016. | | | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

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Half-Resurrection Blues: This urban fantasy brings a city and a hero to life

Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older

I love the world Daniel José Older creates in his urban fantasy Half-Resurrection Blues. I love the feel of Brooklyn; the sounds, the sights, the sensibilities; the descriptions of the smell of cigar smoke, booze, and food from the bodegas, sushi bars and food carts. This Brooklyn is full of life — and full of ghosts, which is where our protagonist, Carlos Delacruz, comes in.

Carlos is a half-alive; a person who has died but not completely.


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January 7th, 2016. , and ´s rating: | | | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

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WWWednesday: January 6, 2016

This week’s word for Wednesday is redintegrate, a verb, meaning to restore or make whole, to renew or return to a perfect state (if anything is ever in a perfect state). Redintegrate comes from the Latin redintegrare, to make whole again, and came into usage in the mid-1400s.

Awards
The Hugo nominating ballots are going out. Doesn’t it seem like we just did the Hugos? They did run on a bit last year. If you were a voting or attending member last year at Sasquan, you should already be included in the nomination process.


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January 6th, 2016. | World Wide Wednesday | 5 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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