The Fall of Gondolin by Christopher Tolkien
Last year, when Christopher Tolkien published Beren and Lúthien, an exploratory history/retelling of one of his father’s three “great tales” of the First Age, he noted that due to his 93 years of age, “it is (presumptively ) my last book in the long series of editions of my father’s writing.” That parenthetical qualifier turned out to be a good idea, as here we are a year later, and he’s back with The Fall of Gondolin.
August 31st, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | J.R.R. Tolkien | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Dallas Barr is a Stileman — one of the few humans who’ve paid a million pounds and given up all their assets to have their bodies rejuvenated. These folks need the process repeated every decade or so, so they spend that decade earning the money needed for the next treatment. To keep the Stilemen from gaining too much wealth and power, they’re required to give up their assets each time. This leads to the funding of many philanthropic initiatives around the world.
When Dallas and his girlfriend Maria discover a conspiracy affecting the Stileman Process,
August 31st, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Joe Haldeman | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Ninth Key is the second book in Meg Cabot’s MEDIATOR series about Suze, a high school student who can interact with restless ghosts. She helps them settle their affairs on Earth so they can move on to wherever they’re supposed to go (she doesn’t know what happens after they leave Earth). In Shadowland, the first MEDIATOR book, Suze and her mom had just moved from New York to northern California so her mom,
August 30th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Meg Cabot | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
My usual response to reading any book by Diana Wynne Jones is: “how does she come up with this stuff?” This is swiftly followed by bewilderment (especially in the wake of Harry Potter) that nobody has ever adapted any of her work, despite the fact her stories would make for excellent on-screen entertainment.
Dogsbody (1975) is no exception. It begins by introducing the immortal Dog Star Sirius, who is in serious trouble with his peers.
August 30th, 2018. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Hugos:
File770 looks at instances of 3-in-a-row (threepeat) winners and finds that in the novel/novella categories N.K. Jemisin has pulled off a “first.”
Here’s the text of Jemisin’s acceptance speech.
The UK Guardian approves of Jemisin’s threepeat. Deeper into the essay they seem to imply that her characters aren’t rounded, and that is not correct.
Conventions:
Have I mentioned recently that I love File 770? Here, they provide a wrap-up of WorldCon 76.
August 29th, 2018. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 3 comments |
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
Laon Helstone is a British missionary to Arcadia, the recently discovered land of the fae. Laon hasn’t been heard from for a while, so his sister Catherine sets out to find him, travelling alone (but with the approval of the Catholic church) to Arcadia. When she arrives at the house where Laon has been living, she finds out that he hasn’t been seen there in quite a while, but is expected home soon.
As Catherine waits, she befriends a couple of the house’s residents and learns that the fae aren’t too interested in hearing the Gospel.
August 29th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Jeannette Ng | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire
Seanan McGuire’s novella Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day (2017) is a sensitive tale of love, loss, and regret — the kind that haunts people, turns them into ghosts, makes them flee thousands of miles from their homes, makes them linger somewhere long after it’s time for them to leave.
In 1972, Jenna Pace’s older sister Patty committed suicide in New York City, far away from her family home in Mill Hollow,
August 29th, 2018. Jana Nyman, Tadiana Jones and Skye Walker´s rating: 3.5, 5 | Seanan McGuire | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
A warm welcome to Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne, co authors of the July 17 released fairytale farce extraordinaire Kill the Farm Boy. Kevin kindly returns to the FanLit interview seat where we’ve spoken to him in the past about his fabulous IRON DRUID series.
Taya: Tell us about the genesis of Kill the Farm Boy. Whose idea was the premise and how did it evolve?
Kevin: Delilah and I were in the Dallas airport after a signing and killing time before our flights in a seedy barbecue joint.
August 28th, 2018. Taya Okerlund | Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne | Author Interviews | 2 comments |
For all of his life, young Khai has been training to be the “Shadow” protector of Zariya, the youngest daughter of his nation’s king. Nobody knows why the gods have decreed that Zariya, a politically unimportant princess, needs a protector, but the role as her shadow should be relatively easy. Nevertheless, Khai has trained hard and hopes he is ready for the role. When he arrives at the palace to finally meet his charge, Khai is surprised to discover that Zariya is not the kind of princess he envisioned and this is not going to be an easy assignment after all.
August 28th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Jacqueline Carey | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Descent of Monsters by J.Y. Yang
Every page of J.Y. Yang’s newest TENSORATE novella, The Descent of Monsters (2018), carries a pervasive and steadily-increasing sense of dread. But when the primary character announces straight off that “You are reading this because I am dead,” it’s hard not to wonder how and why that comes to pass, and which event will be the one which ends Tensor Chuwan Sariman’s life.
Note: It will help to read The Black Tides of Heaven and The Read Threads of Fortune before beginning The Descent of Monsters,
August 28th, 2018. Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | JY Yang | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
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.
I like the way you think, Bill. I found the second one particularly objectionable; the one with Khan. It was…
I find if I take every Trek reference out of them (the title, the character names, the ship names, etc.),…