Dead Man’s Hand edited by George R.R. Martin
This review will contain mild spoilers for the previous WILD CARDS novels.
Dead Man’s Hand (July 1990), the seventh WILD CARDS novel, was published merely six months after the previous novel, Ace in the Hole (January 1990). Supposedly, Martin had planned for the stories in each to be combined into only one novel but his publisher (Bantam Books) said it would be too long, so it was divided into two books.
June 13th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | George R.R. Martin | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Field of Swords by Conn Iggulden
Conn Iggulden’s The Field of Swords (2005) follows a Caesar who is no longer young. Though he is still eminently capable and still driven to work day and night in pursuit of glory, he is exhausted rather than energized by his work in Spain. Naturally, the real story begins when he returns to Rome to form an alliance with Pompey and Crassus.
Rome considers itself the greatest city in the world, but, to our eyes,
June 13th, 2017. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | Conn Iggulden | Edge | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Fata Morgana by Steven R. Boyett & Ken Mitchroney
It’s 1943, at the height of the air war during World War II. US Air Force Captain Joseph Farley and his crew of nine men fly a B-17 bomber on missions out of England, bombing German factories and other military targets. On their last mission their bomber Voice of America, a never-ending source of problems (“fixing this one’s like taking a gator to the vet. You’re just making it better so it can try to kill you again”) finally bit the dust permanently,
June 12th, 2017. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Steven R. Boyett | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Firebrand (2017) is the second of A.J. Hartley’s STEEPLEJACK series, following shortly after 2016’s Steeplejack and continuing the story of Anglet Sutonga, a young woman with a very strong sense of justice and a knack for finding herself in trouble. Firebrand builds on the events of Steeplejack, and as a result, this review will contain very mild spoilers for Steeplejack.
June 9th, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | A.J. Hartley | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Bios: A Novel of Planetary Exploration by Robert Charles Wilson
Isis is not the M class planet we have been looking for, and upon landing the humans discover that it’s extraordinarily toxic to them. It’s not cheap traveling through space to distant planets, so the scientists will just have to do their best. This is the premise of Robert Charles Wilson’s Bios: A Novel of Planetary Exploration. The scientists initially try to solve this problem with nifty machines and suits, but eventually one of them tries to change people at a genetic level to make them fit the planet,
June 9th, 2017. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 2 | Robert Charles Wilson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Return of Doctor X directed by Vincent Sherman
As a result of his breakthrough role as Duke Mantee in the 1936 gem The Petrified Forest, Humphrey Bogart made no fewer than 25 films for Warner Brothers over the course of the next four years: five in 1936, seven (!) in 1937, six in 1938 and another whopping seven in 1939! Talk about paying your dues! For the most part, Bogart was second or even third billed — and even lower — in these films, typically playing gangsters but also some very unlikely roles,
June 9th, 2017. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!
This week marks our TENTH birthday!
Yep, we’ve been hanging out together (well, some of us) since June 2007!
To celebrate, we’re giving away gifts!
TEN commenters from the US will receive some FanLit BOOKMARKS (quite practical!) and a cozy FANLIT T-SHIRT (as long as we still have your size). Or, if you prefer, you may choose a book from our stacks.
You can leave any sort of commnent — a birthday wish,
June 8th, 2017. FanLit | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 33 comments |
Journey Across the Hidden Islands by Sarah Beth Durst
Seika and Ji-Lin are the twelve year old princesses of the Hidden Islands, a group of a hundred islands cut off from the rest of the world by a magical barrier created by an ancient volcano dragon. Seika is the heir to the throne, while Ji-Lin is being trained as an imperial guard, dedicated to protecting her sister from any danger. For the past year they’ve been separated while Ji-Lin is in training at a mountain temple, with the winged, talking lion Alejan as her partner and closest friend.
June 8th, 2017. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Sarah Beth Durst | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I knew Steeplejack (2016) was a YA thriller/mystery before picking up my review copy, but I wasn’t expecting it to be as solidly-written and entertaining as I ultimately found it to be. A.J. Hartley has not only created a compelling heroine and a richly imaginative world, but also multiple schemes driving the plot which depend on (and drive) social unrest that strikes extremely close to home in places.
Our story begins in the glorious city of Bar-Selehm, a metropolis which is geographically and culturally reminiscent of Johannesburg,
June 8th, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | A.J. Hartley | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
In my review of the third EXPANSE novel from James S.A. Corey (actually a collaborative effort from Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck), I said this:
How did Corey do, based on strengths I highlighted in reviews of the first two books?
June 8th, 2017. Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5, 4.5 | James S.A. Corey | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…
Gentlemen, I concur! (Forgive me for jumping into your convo)
The cover is amazing. I love how the graphic novel (and the review!) hewed close to the theme of "good…
I've thought about picking that one up. The artwork looks perfect.