Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: February 2018

The Blood of Olympus: The final battle between Olympus and Mother Earth

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

The fifth and final book in THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS pentalogy sees our seven demigods finally go up against the threat that’s been brewing for the last four books: Gaia, the primordial goddess who’s been deliberately pitting the Greeks and the Romans against one another. With the training camps of young half-blood youths preparing for war and many of the gods torn between their Greek and Roman personas, our young protagonists have only a prophecy to guide their quest for peace: one that suggests they’re not all going to make it out alive.

WWWednesday: February 7, 2018

Conventions:

Those of you who might be attending WorldCon 76, consider taking a tour of the Winchester House. New concessionaires have bought the place and they are taking a new tack. I hope it includes more about the real Sarah “Sallie” Winchester; successful businesswoman and inventor and less of the completely fictionalized “Ghosts! A Curse!” narrative. (H/T to Terry for this link.)

Awards:

The Hugo nominating period is open. More details are here.

File 770 reported the finalists for this year’s Bran Stoker Awards.

February 7th, 2018. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 2 comments |

Tarnished City: Powerful social commentary and engaging characters

Tarnished City by Vic James

As much as I enjoyed Vic James’ 2017 debut novel, Gilded Cage, I thought there were a few missteps and odd choices, and I wasn’t sure what that meant for the second book in her DARK GIFTS trilogy, Tarnished City (2018). I am pleased to report that Tarnished City blew all of my expectations out of the water, improving on the first novel in every possible way and preparing readers for world-shaking consequences with a true nail-biter of a cliffhanger ending.

Gilded Cage: The abuse of power by the super-powered

Gilded Cage by Vic James

In the world of Gilded Cage (2017), there are those who are called Equals ― but there’s a deep divide between Equals, who have magical Skills, and the commoners, the Skilless, and they are decisively not equal. In England the Equals are both the aristocrats and the sole parliament, and they hold all the power, with the magical ability to enforce it.

One of the ways the Equals use their power is to require all commoners to spend ten years of their lives as slaves,

City of Blades: Inspiring and heartbreaking

City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

Marion: City of Blades is the second book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s THE DIVINE CITIES series, which tells several sides of the story of a major international cultural conflict. Saypur, a civilization that has been oppressed by the Continent for centuries, rose up and subdued its oppressors by killing their gods. In the wake of the Saypuri revolution and its conquest of the Continent, all of the Continental Divinities have vanished,

February 7th, 2018. Marion Deeds, Kate Lechler, Bill Capossere and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Robert Jackson Bennett | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Your One & Only: Entirely too familiar

Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay

While it’s debatable whether there are any new stories left to be told, I think that discovering fresh ideas or interesting twists within familiar stories is part of what makes reading so enjoyable. Aldous Huxley certainly didn’t create the Dystopian genre with Brave New World, nor did Lois Lowry with The Giver, and neither did Kazuo Ishiguro with Never Let Me Go,

Tempests and Slaughter: The education of young Numair

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

With Tempests and Slaughter (2018), Tamora Pierce launches a new series set in her beloved Tortall universe, which includes over twenty books. Pierce backtracks several years to relate the youthful experiences of Arram Draper, who plays a key role in other TORTALL books, particularly the IMMORTALS series, as the powerful mage Numair.

When Tempests and Slaughter begins, Arram is a ten year old boy, just beginning a new year at the School for Mages,

Shards of Honor: Fall in love with the Vorkosigans

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

Editor’s note: This is Marion’s review of Shards of Honor, Barrayar, and The Warrior’s Apprentice. Kat’s comments about Shards of Honor and Tadiana’s and Stuart’s reviews are below.

Do you like fancy military uniforms? Shiny spaceships that blow things up? Brooding aristocrats with hulking stone castles and dark secrets? Snappy comebacks and one-liners? Voluptuous women warriors? Swords and secret passages? Surprising twists on standard military tactics of engagement?

If you answered “Yes” to three or more,

Wraeththu: Lyrically written dark fantasy

Wraeththu by Storm Constantine

Oddly enough, I started reading Wraeththu because I happened upon it randomly in the bookstore and I was absolutely entranced by the fact that I didn’t like the cover art at all. That’s the opposite response I usually have toward cover art. I’m not sure why this is the one book that I looked at and thought, “Wow, that’s pretty terrible cover art. I better read the book.” Whatever the reason, I’m glad I did.

This was my first experience with any of Storm Constantine’s work,

February 5th, 2018. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 5 | Storm Constantine | SFF Reviews | no comments |

How to Stop Time: It isn’t you; it’s me.

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

How To Stop Time (HTST): So, do you want to, like, go out again next week or …

ME: I’m, I’m sorry, but I don’t think, I don’t think this is going to —

HTST: Was it something I —

ME: No. No. It isn’t you; it’s me.

HTST: Not that old —

ME: No, really. Look, there are lots of nice readers out there for you. Millions.

HTST: Millions?

ME: Millions.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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