Cons:
Arisia 2020 went forward and File 770 provides some fun photos here.
Books and Writing:
Via File 770, the Heinlein Scholarships program is open until April 1, 2020.
LitHub shares genuine pulp covers of classic literary works—at least they say they are genuine and, like Fox Mulder, I want to believe. I nearly fell over when I saw the Wuthering Heights cover, and then I got to Heart of Darkness.
January 22nd, 2020. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 3 comments |
Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews
With Sweep of the Blade, the fourth installment in Ilona Andrews’ INNKEEPER CHRONICLES series, there is a new main character: Maud, sister of Dina, the previous main character and the innkeeper of this light SF series. We met Maud in the prior book in this series, One Fell Sweep, when Dina convinced Sean the werewolf and Arland the vampire — these are both alien races, by the way,
January 22nd, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Ilona Andrews | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
A Queen in Hiding by Sarah Kozloff
I’ve, unfortunately, been on a run lately in my genre reading of books that are perfectly, well, “serviceable.” They (mostly) keep my interest throughout, offer up some pleasurable reading for a few hours, but never rise above that “solidly decent” level. Nothing startles in the way of plot, language, structure, character. It’s smooth sailing across placid waters with no storms or reefs (i.e. bad writing), which is “nice.” But, also, no dolphins arcing out of the water, no humpback sightings, no sunken ships to explore,
January 21st, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Sarah Kozloff | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jana: This week I started reading An Easy Death, the first book in Charlaine Harris’ GUNNIE ROSE Weird West/alternate-history series, so that I’ll know what’s happening when I read A Longer Fall, the second (and just-published) instalment. For fun, I’m doing a re-read of the various Anne McCaffrey PERN books in my personal library, but the order I’m reading them in will be chronological determined by in-book events, so I’m beginning with Dragonsdawn.
January 19th, 2020. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 1 comment |
The Bard’s Blade by Brian D. Anderson
The Bard’s Blade (2020), by Brian D. Anderson, is the first book of THE SORCERER’S SONG trilogy and as such it’s a perfectly serviceable fantasy, a comfortingly welcome invitation into a new series. If that seems a bit like damning with faint praise, that’s because while the novel goes down easily and smoothly, I can’t say there’s anything that makes it particularly stand out. I’d say it’s the vanilla flavor at a Ben and Jerry’s, save that vanilla is actually my favorite flavor.
January 17th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Brian D. Anderson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Bronze Skies by Catherine Asaro
The Bronze Skies (2017) is the second book in Catherine Asaro’s MAJOR BHAAJAN series. In the first book, Undercity, we met Bhaajan, a private investigator who recently retired from military service. When she is hired by the royal family to track down a runaway prince, she must descend into the grimy tunnels under the capital city of Cries. This is where the lowest cast of citizens live — in the city’s underbelly — and this is where Bhaajan grew up before escaping into the military.
January 16th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Catherine Asaro | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Passing:
Mike Resnick passed away at the age of 77. His best-known book was probably Kirinyaga, but Wikipedia lists 69 books for him, including tie-ins and some mysteries. He won the Hugo and the Nebula in 1995 for his story “Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge” and a Hugo in 1991 for his novelette “The Monamouki.” Recently he edited Galaxy’s Edge. On Twitter, Tobias Buckell acknowledged Resnick as one of his Clarion teachers, a mentor and an inspiration.
File770 has an obituary.
January 15th, 2020. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |
Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld
Shatter City (2019) is the sequel to Scott Westerfeld’s Impostors, a set of four novels extending his UGLIES series by picking up roughly a decade after that earlier quartet ended. As I noted in my review of Impostors, this series doesn’t quite match the high quality of those earlier books, and seems aimed at a somewhat younger audience, but still retains enough of Westerfeld’s plotting strengths to make for an often exhilarating read.
January 15th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Scott Westerfeld | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Strange Exit by Parker Peevyhouse
Decades after the Earth was destroyed by nuclear war and its aftermath, a group of teens aboard an orbiting spaceship meant as a refuge are stuck in a VR stasis while their ship falls apart around them. Only if all them “wake up” and exit the VR simulation will the ship allow them to leave. One girl, 17-year-old Lake, has made it her mission to return again and again into the sim, despite the danger of getting stuck in there, to wake those still “living” there. She’s joined by her younger sister Willow in the form of a sim “figment” (her sister is lost in real life) and a young boy,
January 14th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Parker Peevyhouse | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang’s stories are the very best kind of speculative fiction. They’re modern, sophisticated, intelligent, clever, thoughtful, and entertaining. Best of all, they’re full of futuristic science and explorations of the personal, sociological, and ethical considerations we may be facing as science and technology advance.
Most of the stories in Exhalation have seen print before; only two are new. Here are my thoughts on each:
“The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” — Originally published in 2007 by Subterranean Press,
January 14th, 2020. Kat Hooper and Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Ted Chiang | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
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…