Legends of the Sky by Liz Flanagan
Legends of the Sky by Liz Flanagan, first published in the UK in 2018 as Dragon Daughter and reprinted in the US in 2019, is set on the island nation of Arcosi. Dragons have long been extinct on Arcosi, but still play a powerful symbolic role in the culture. (For what it’s worth, I like the UK title better! I think it more effectively conveys both the importance of dragons and the revelations about long-lost family that the heroine,
May 20th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Liz Flanagan | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Darth Vader: Vader by Kieron Gillen (writer) and Salvador Larroca (artist)
Darth Vader (Volume One): Vader by Kieron Gillen is just as good, if not better than, Star Wars (Volume One): Skywalker Strikes by Jason Aaron, both of which came out recently from Marvel. Marvel now has the rights to the Star Wars comic books, and so they are reissuing quickly all the Star Wars comics that were put out over the years by Dark Horse. In addition to these reissues,
May 19th, 2020. Brad Hawley and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
Luce Cannon was a rising rock star, traveling with a new band and doing live shows all over the country, until a rash of deadly terrorist attacks, and the threat of more to come, caused the American government to criminalize large public gatherings.
Now, instead of live concerts, musicians and their fans meet virtually, with the fans wearing hoodies equipped with technology that allows them to safely experience the perception of being with others at a show. But Luce and like-minded artists never bought into this concept and aren’t willing to sell their souls to StageHoloLive,
May 18th, 2020. Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Sarah Pinsker | Nebula Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Kat: It’s been two weeks since you heard from me and I’ve read several books and one short story. Here they are in the order I read them: Blood of the Heroes by Steve White, “Dave’s Head” by Suzanne Palmer, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker, Sal & Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, The Book of Koli by M.R.
May 17th, 2020. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |
B.P.R.D. (Vol. 1): Hollow Earth and Other Stories by Mike Mignola (writer) & various writers and artists
The first story in this collection, “Hollow Earth,” starts off in the Ural Mountains above the arctic circle where Liz Sherman is seeking help in a monastery as she hopes to learn how to control the fire within her. At headquarters we meet Kraus, whose origin story we get in B.P.R.D.: Being Human. He has just joined the bureau and moved in to make his home at headquarters since he can’t pass as human in the outside world.
May 16th, 2020. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
Readers who enjoyed Carlos Hernandez’s Nebula-nominated Sal and Gabi Break the Universe are likely to also enjoy the sequel, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe (2020). The story picks up where the previous one left off. Sal’s “magical” abilities have left holes in the universe and his father (Papi) is building a machine (in the living room) that he hopes will fix the holes. But Sal notices that the machine makes him feel sad when he’s around it… and it might be developing consciousness.
May 15th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Carlos Hernandez | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The small colony of humans on the planet Pax, who left Earth a couple of hundred years earlier, have established a cooperative relationship with at least some of the sentient plant life on Pax, as well as a group of nomadic aliens called the Glassmakers, as related in Semiosis. Their technology now is more Stone Age than Information Age (Pax is deficient in metals). So it’s out of the question to return to or even communicate with Earth, which is 55 light years away.
May 15th, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Sue Burke | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s 55th Annual Nebula conference (May 29-31) will be held online this year and the 2019 Nebula Awards will be announced on Saturday, May 30, 2019.
A few weeks ago we discussed the finalists for Best Short Story and Best Novelette. Today we’ll talk about the novels and novellas, including the Middle Grade and Young Adult novels nominated for the Andre Norton Award.
Here are the finalists in these categories. Click the links to read our reviews and get the links to the stories.
May 14th, 2020. FanLit | Nebula Award | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 10 comments |
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
Anything written by K.J. Parker is a must-read for me. I love his work and recommend it to anyone looking for exciting stories with unique, intelligent, and often unreliable, heroes. Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (2019) is no exception.
Orhan is a master bridge builder who’s slightly corrupt (you have to be if you want to get anything done on time and within budget in this city). He arrived in the city when he was a child after his parents were killed and the enemy enslaved him.
May 14th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | K.J. Parker | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Cog (2019), a nominee for the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction, is the story of a robot who was built to learn. Mentally and, by all appearances, the titular character (Cog) is a 12-year-old boy whose function is to be a learning artificial intelligence. When he discovers that the best way to learn is to make mistakes, he resolves to make lots of mistakes — a decision which kicks off the narrative arc of the story.
Cog has an underdog main character,
May 14th, 2020. Skye Walker´s rating: 1 | Greg Van_Eekhout | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…
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…