Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: May 2020

Thoughtful Thursday: What’s the best book you read last month?

It’s the first Thursday of the month. Time to report!

What is the best book you read in April 2020 and why did you love it? It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF. We just want to share some great reading material.

Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.

And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our Fanlit Faves page and our 5-Star SFF page.

May 7th, 2020. FanLit | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 13 comments |

The City We Became: Hail the champions of New York City

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

Note: N.K. Jemisin’s short story “The City Born Great,” free at Tor.com, is the opening chapter of this novel.

New York City is in danger from eldritch horrors. We’ve seen these things before, originally, and most notably, in stories by H.P. Lovecraft. These beings come from outside our universe. They are ancient, powerful, and merciless, and there is no negotiating with them. They want our planet and they’re looking for a way into our world to destroy us.

Stories of Your Life and Others: Eight carefully crafted stories

Stories of Your Life: And Others by Ted Chiang

In his review of Ted Chiang’s brilliant short story collection Stories of Your Life and Others (2002) in The Guardian, China Miéville mentions the “humane intelligence […] that makes us experience each story with immediacy and Chiang’s calm passion.” The oxymoron “calm passion” is an insightful and ingenious way to describe these stories because of the way it hints at their deft melding of the most solid of hard science fiction concepts with an often surprisingly gentle,

WWWednesday: May 6, 2020

Here are 10 simple and fun science experiments you can do at home with young children, once you buy a gallon jug of distilled white vinegar. We’re in our sixties; we do not have kids or grandkids, and I’m thinking of doing a few of these myself.

Awards and Conventions:

For inquiring minds everywhere, File 770 has provided a chart of when the Hugo voting packets and ballots usually come out.

WisCon 2020 has been cancelled. They are working on an online event,

May 6th, 2020. Marion Deeds | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

The Last Human: I want to read Zack Jordan’s next book

The Last Human by Zack Jordan

This doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it’s almost soul-crushing. I adored the first 25% of Zack Jordan’s The Last Human. It was on its way to being my favorite book so far this year. It was imaginative, clever, exciting, funny, and warm. I loved it. Then, it took a turn, and I struggled to finish it.

The Last Human (2020) is about a girl named Sarya who is being raised by a huge sentient black widow spider.

Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin: Darth Vader goes on a mysterious mission

Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin by Tim Siedell & Stephen Thompson

I noticed with interest that this volume was published in 2013, meaning it just missed out on being an official part of the new Disney canon. Yet despite being relegated to what’s now called Star Wars Legends, Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin still fits into the new continuity (minus one small detail at its conclusion) that can be read as a straightforward standalone story.

The head of a vast mining operation vows revenge on Darth Vader after the death of his only son and heir.

May 6th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Kingdom of Liars: Hold off to see how the sequel does

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

The Kingdom of Liars (2020) is a debut novel by Nick Martell and the beginning of his series THE LEGACY OF THE MERCENARY KING. As such, it shows some debut issues with character, plotting, and world-building, though it has an interesting mystery at its core.

There has “always been a Kingman in Hollow” goes the refrain, a member of the Kingman family who acts as a check on the king. But some years before the novel’s start, Michael’s father,

May 5th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Nick Martell | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

The Kingdom of Back: Nannerl Mozart will not be forgotten

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

Marie Lu’s The Kingdom of Back (2020) is a historical fantasy based on the lives of Wolfgang Mozart and his beloved sister Marie Anna whose pet name was Nannerl. Nannerl was four years older than Wolfgang and a musical prodigy when she was a child. Tutored by her father, Leopold, she was much admired and praised as “the rare woman with a good ear” according to one of the characters in Lu’s novel.

As a child,

Baba Yaga’s Assistant: A compelling tale by a gifted collaboration

Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola (author) & Emily Carroll (illustrator)

Baba Yaga’s Assistant, by Marika McCoola and illustrated by Emily Carroll, is a MG graphic novel that tries to work the frightening richness of the Baba Yaga folktales into the press of modern family life, but despite the great source material, the attempt falls short, though it has its moments.

The protagonist is Masha, a young girl whose father has just proposed to a woman sometime after her mother’s death.

May 4th, 2020. Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Sunday Status Update: May 3, 2020

Kat: Exam week, so I only got one book read: Providence by Max Barry. I didn’t like this as well as I hoped I would. Review coming soon.

Bill: Finals week so like Kat, not a lot of reading. I did finish Kingdom of Liars, a solid if at times problematic debut by Nick Martell. Outside of genre I continue my reread with my son (his first read) of Tony Hillerman’s enjoyable Navajo mysteries, completing The Dark Wind.

May 3rd, 2020. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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