The Phoenix Empress by K. Arsenault Rivera
I’ll confess at the start that I was not a fan of K. Arsenault Rivera’s first novel in the THEIR BRIGHT ASCENDANCY series, The Tiger’s Daughter, and came about as close as I can to just stopping at several points along the way. So it was with some trepidation that I began The Phoenix Empress (2018), book two of this Asian-influenced series. The good news is that the sequel improves on its predecessor in many ways.
October 12th, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | K. Arsenault Rivera | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera
When I picked up The Tiger’s Daughter (2017), I didn’t know what I was getting into. Written as a long, dramatic letter between two old friends, it is an epic tale of loss, faith, political intrigue, and forbidden love. The Tiger’s Daughter is the debut novel from K. Arsenault Rivera, and set to be the first book in the series titled THEIR BRIGHT ASCENDENCY. The Tiger’s Daughter wends its way from the first time our heroes meet,
October 12th, 2018. Skye Walker and Bill Capossere´s rating: 1.5, 5 | K. Arsenault Rivera | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
What’s the Matter With Helen? directed by Curtis Harrington
One of the more curious subcategories of the horror field, the genre known as hagsploitation (sometimes called psycho-biddy films, Grande Dame Guignol and, as my buddy Rob calls it, aging-gargoyle movies) got its jump start with the release of the seminal What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, in 1962. After the success of that truly remarkable film, the crone gates were opened, and it was quickly followed by others, in which formerly glamorous actresses, now advanced in years,
October 12th, 2018. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
I heard once that William Gibson coined the phrase “mashup,” but it turns out that may not be the case.
The concept of mixing styles and genres may have come from the music scene and it has several fun names. Some of us are old enough to remember “sampling,” but two other newly discovered favorites of mine are “plunderphonics,” and “collage music” (collage as in the art form of assembling bits from other works).
In fiction, I think “mashup” took hold in the 1990s. Whatever it’s called, speculative fiction has always done it well.
October 11th, 2018. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 14 comments |
A Study in Honor by Claire O’Dell
I enjoyed quite a lot about A Study in Honor (2018), the first novel in Claire O’Dell’s near-future mystery series THE JANET WATSON CHRONICLES. Her twists on the Holmes-and-Watson dynamic are fresh and interesting, the characters themselves are compelling and beautifully real, and her portrayal of an America gripped by conflicts and changes brought on by unrest at home is all-too-relevant. As a mystery novel, however, it falls a little short, with most of O’Dell’s attention going toward establishing who the primary characters are and bringing them together despite their personality conflicts,
October 11th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Claire O'Dell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Devil’s Bride by Seabury Quinn
Pop Quiz: Which author was the most frequently published in the pages of the legendary pulp magazine Weird Tales? If your answer is the obvious one, H.P. Lovecraft, guess again. Robert E. Howard, C.L. Moore, Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, Robert Bloch? Still wrong. Surprisingly, the answer is Washington, D.C.-born Seabury Quinn, who, during the 279-issue run of Weird Tales,
October 11th, 2018. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Seabury Quinn | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms directed by Eugène Lourié
As I have mentioned elsewhere, it is a keynote of all the films that appear on my personal Top 100 Films list that they are capable of bearing up under repeated viewings with undiminished enjoyment. And indeed, of those 100 films, many of them have been seen by yours truly dozens of times, if not more, with just as much pleasure as when I saw each picture for the very first time. But of all those films, the one that I have probably sat down with the most is The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.
October 11th, 2018. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
Shadow of the Fox (2018) is the first of Julie Kagawa’s books that I’ve read, but based on how much I enjoyed reading it, this certainly won’t be the last. Readers don’t have to know anything about feudal-era Japanese culture, language, folklore, and customs that influenced the SHADOW OF THE FOX series, nor do they have to be ardent fans of manga/anime to appreciate what this first volume offers, but having even a little background in either will greatly enrich their reading experience.
October 10th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Julie Kagawa | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner
I first read Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Kingdoms of Elfin (1977) almost twenty years ago. At the time, I was using the recommendation lists in the back of Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s fairy tale books as a to-read list (side note: I highly recommend this; I found lots of amazing books that way). The online used-book market was not what it is today, so I found most of them by haunting the local used bookstores constantly to see if anything on the list had appeared since my last visit.
October 10th, 2018. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Sylvia Townsend Warner | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Snow Devils directed by Antonio Margheriti (aka Anthony Dawson)
During the 1960s, the Italians proceeded to make impressive strides in their historic cinematic output. The old-master auteurs such as Fellini, Antonioni, De Sica, Visconti and Pasolini continued to put out quality product (to put it mildly, in the case of the first two), while up-and-comers such as Mario Bava and Sergio Leone helped to jump-start the nascent genres of Italian Gothic horror, the giallo film, and the so-called “spaghetti Western.” The Italian comedies continued to flourish, as did the country’s truly one-of-a-kind “sword and sandal”
October 10th, 2018. Sandy Ferber | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
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.
I like the way you think, Bill. I found the second one particularly objectionable; the one with Khan. It was…