Dead Man’s Hand, Pieces of Hate, A Whisper of Southern Lights by Tim Lebbon
The three novellas Dead Man’s Hand, Pieces of Hate, and A Whisper of Southern Lights make up Tim Lebbon’s ASSASSIN series. They were originally published in 2004, 2005, and 2008 by Necessary Evil Press but were reprinted by Tor.com in 2016. Tor packaged the first two stories together under the name Pieces of Hate.
August 16th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Tim Lebbon | Audio, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Twisting the Rope by R.A. MacAvoy
Twisting the Rope (1986) is a sequel to R.A. MacAvoy’s Tea With the Black Dragon. It’s recommended, but not necessary, to have read Tea With the Black Dragon first.
It’s been five years since Martha Macnamara met Mayland Long at the hotel in San Francisco. They’ve been together since. Martha is now approximately 55 years old and Mayland appears to be around the same age,
August 15th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | R.A. MacAvoy | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
“The Walking-Stick Forest” by Anna Tambour (2014, free on Tor.com, 99c Kindle version)
This is an excellent dark and fantastical short story, set in 1924 in Scotland. Athol Farquar is a veteran of World War I who now lives a solitary life as a carver ― or, more accurately, a shaper ― of wooden walking sticks. He has a deep affinity for blackthorn wood and the forests around his home,
August 14th, 2017. Tadiana Jones | Carrie Vaughn, Mary Robinette Kowal | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Shattered Warrior written by Sharon Shinn & illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag
Shattered Warrior (2017) is a new graphic novel written by Sharon Shinn and illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag. The artwork is excellent, but as far as plot, it’s an overly familiar one and, as usual for me with graphic novels (fair warning), neither story nor characters are rich enough for my deep engagement.
The story is set on a human world conquered years ago by an alien race (the Derichet) and mostly wholly subjugated,
August 14th, 2017. Bill Capossere and Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Sharon Shinn | Comics, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Joe Golem: Occult Detective by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden blends the private eye genre with the golem legend and takes place in a future world in which part of New York is under water and people get around by boats, makeshift bridges, and unstable-looking planks. This first Joe Golem trade includes two stories — one three issues long and the other two issues. However, they are connected as Joe meets a young woman in the first story (Lori Noonan), and we see her again in the second, and Joe’s character develops from one tale to the next.
August 12th, 2017. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3.5 | Christopher Golden, Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Today, Fantasy Literature welcomes Theodora Goss, who stopped by Fantasy Literature to talk about her research and writing process for The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, a late-Victorian-era murder mystery starring some familiar faces from classic works of fiction — and which posed all sorts of interesting problems regarding the accurate portrayal of both men and women of that time period.
And we’ve got one copy of The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter to give away to a lucky commenter!
August 11th, 2017. Jana Nyman | Theodora Goss | Expanded Universe, Giveaway! | 16 comments |
Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon
Prose fiction has often seemed to have trouble dealing with the figure of the superhero. While the subgenre can boast many excellent graphic novels, and film and television adaptations have been successful, it has never really found its voice in a less visual medium. There have been some notable successes, but it feels as though the breakout work has yet to be written. Wearing the Cape (2011) is a pretty good try, though it does have its flaws.
First,
August 11th, 2017. Tim Scheidler´s rating: 3 | Marion G. Harmon | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
It’s summer and Harvey Swick, a ten year old with an active imagination, is bored. That’s how he gets lured into Mr. Hood’s Holiday House. It’s a wonderful place that’s fun and exciting, where Harvey gets everything his heart desires, and where he and the other kids who live there can play all day every day and eat delicious food whenever they want. As the seasons fly by, Harvey is happy at Mr. Hood’s house until things start to get a little spooky and it starts to dawn on Harvey that the place seems unnatural.
August 11th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Clive Barker | Audio, Children, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
It’s been more than six years since we created SFF knock-knock jokes, so let’s try it again!
Create and share your own (must be original) SFF-inspired knock-knock joke.
The one that makes us laugh the hardest (or groan the most) wins a book from our stacks.
Here is a groan-worthy joke from our previous contest:
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Ron.
Ron who?
Ron away! The spiders are coming!
August 10th, 2017. FanLit | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 12 comments |
Dragon’s Island by Jack Williamson
The five-year period from 1948 – ’52 was one of superlative productivity for future sci-fi Grand Master Jack Williamson. Although he’d already written some 75 short stories since his first sale at age 20, in 1928 (“The Metal Men,” in the December issue of editor Hugo Gernsback’s Amazing Stories magazine), that five-year stretch saw him produce some of his most fondly remembered longer pieces: the novels Darker Than You Think (1948),
August 10th, 2017. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Jack Williamson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one
These weird westerns are always interesting and have been popping up more in recent times (it seemed like there was…
Looking forward to reading the review.