Ursula K. Leguin:
Here is SFWA’s obituary of Ursula K. Le Guin.
Karen Joy Fowler shares ten things she learned from LeGuin.
LitHub talks about Le Guin’s The Language of the Night.
Conventions:
An act of inclusion and generosity from John Picacio and John Scalzi, who between then funded memberships to WorldCon for four Mexicanx fans and/or creators. The deadline has passed, but it’s a great story and a great gesture. By reading the comments,
January 31st, 2018. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 2 comments |
Golden Blood by Jack Williamson
I’d like to tell you about a terrific book that I have just finished reading. In it, a 2,000-year-old Arabian woman, living her immortal existence in the heart of an extinct volcano after being endowed by a mysterious force of nature, waits patiently for the reincarnation of her dead lover to reappear to her. “Hold on,” I can almost hear you saying. “I know that book … that’s She!” And if that is indeed your reaction, a gold star for you,
January 31st, 2018. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Jack Williamson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
The fifth book (not counting the prequel novellas) in Sarah J. Maas‘s THRONE OF GLASS series is easily twice as long as the first book, but has one thing in common: half the story is a really good action-fantasy-adventure, and the other half is an overwrought “love” story.
In the case of Throne of Glass, the bad half was more to do with frivolous teenage angst impinging on what was otherwise a pretty serious fight-to-the-death tournament,
January 31st, 2018. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Sarah J. Maas | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
The Hazel Wood (2018) is one of those novels whose reputation precedes it. Authors and critics alike are singing the book’s praises, dubbing it mesmerising, creepy, captivating. It promises to be a dark and twisting fairytale in the vein of Caraval and The Bear and the Nightingale, but can Melissa Albert‘s debut live up to its own hype?
Alice and her mother have moved from place to place for as long as she can remember.
January 30th, 2018. Ray McKenzie, Jana Nyman and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 2.5 | Melissa Albert | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I’m honestly not quite sure of how to review Jo Walton’s 2018 collection of short stories, Starlings. As a fiction read, it left me greatly wanting, with many of the stories (there are also poems and one play, but more on those later) feeling undeveloped, slight, and too one-note, so that most frequent reaction was “nice idea, but …” with the “but” mostly signifying a response that really wasn’t a response. And so what’s the problem, you might be thinking.
January 30th, 2018. Bill Capossere and Skye Walker´s rating: 4 | Jo Walton | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Midnight Front by David Mack
The European theatre of WWII has been used as a staging device for so many forms of modern entertainment media that it’s hard to believe David Mack could find anything new or interesting to write about it in The Midnight Front (2018). And yet, he managed to come up with an angle I’ve never seen, implement it in a thoroughly researched and imaginative way, and open the door for subsequent books to examine the aftershocks of WWII throughout subsequent decades.
January 30th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | David Mack | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A War in Crimson Embers by Alex Marshall
Fair warning: if you haven’t read the previous two novels in Alex Marshall’s CRIMSON EMPIRE trilogy, A Crown for Cold Silver and A Blade of Black Steel, you aren’t going to have any understanding for what’s happening in A War in Crimson Embers (2017). It’s vitally important that these books are read in order!
At the close of A Blade of Black Steel,
January 29th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Alex Marshall | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Neal Asher’s 2002 The Skinner follows closely on the heels of Gridlinked’s success and is the first in a sub-series of the POLITY called SPATTERJAY. The novel is part horror, part fantasy, part science fiction, and its main character may be the water world Spatterjay itself, filled with vividly imaginative, exotic (and hungry) forms of indigenous life. The Skinner, Asher’s second published novel, improves upon the first and gives lovers of action/adventure sci-fi hope that a new voice is emerging.
January 28th, 2018. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 2.5 | Neal Asher | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Pretender to the Crown by Melissa McShane
Pretender to the Crown (2017) follows the adventures of Willow North, a professional thief who’s always been a lone wolf type of personality. Willow has an inherent magical talent for sensing worked metals: she both sees it ― even in total darkness and through walls ― and feels it. It’s a particularly handy talent for a thief, since she can see where metal jewelry is hidden and when guards with swords are approaching. Anyone with a strong magical talent is required by law to study to become a mage or “Ascendant,” but Willow holds such bitter feelings against Ascendants,
January 26th, 2018. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Melissa McShane | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
I have to admit I’m still not completely sold on Sarah J. Maas‘s THRONE OF GLASS series, though the fact I’m still reading must mean the pros outweigh the cons. There’s been a pattern to my reading experience: every second book has been an improvement on its predecessor, which means I wasn’t too impressed by Throne of Glass, was pleasantly surprised with Crown of Midnight,
January 26th, 2018. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Sarah J. Maas | Young Adult | 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.