The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Stuart Turton’s debut novel, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, was one of my favorite reads of 2018, a compulsively readable and wildly original murder mystery, an homage to Agatha Christie, with a science fictional wrapper. Turton’s second novel, The Devil and the Dark Water (2020), is a highly twisty and eerie Sherlockian mystery, set in the seventeenth century on a large ship traveling from Batavia (now Jakarta,
December 11th, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4.5 | Stuart Turton | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Elatsoe (2020), a YA debut by Darcie Little Badger, creates a richly woven world of folklore, myth, story, friendship, and family, all set in “a slightly stranger America,” one “very similar to our own … [but] shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and not.” As a debut, it shows some of the typical first-book characteristics (issues with pacing, transitions, etc.), but it’s overall a warmly rewarding and enjoyable read.
Elatsoe — “Ellie” for nearly all the book — is a 17-year-old Lipan Apache girl with the ability to raise ghosts,
December 10th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Darcie Little Badger | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
I was going to start this review of Piranesi (2020) by Susanna Clarke by stating that I was of two minds on the novel and then noting that this was both appropriate and also strong praise. Appropriate because the book is in many ways of the mind, and is as well of two worlds. Strong praise because my two minds were “I loved it” followed by “I liked it.” But then I thought more about it, and I decided my minds were really “I loved it,” “I liked it,” then “I loved it” again.
December 10th, 2020. Bill Capossere, Tadiana Jones and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Susanna Clarke | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
Conventions:
DisCon III (next year’s Worldcon) is trying to decide whether to hold an online in August, 2021, or move their date to December of that year and try for an in-person event. They are polling the community. You do not have to be a WorldCon member to take the survey.
At this time, the Horror Writers of America still plans to hold their May, 2021 StokerCon as an in-person event. They are creating a contingency plan, though.
Books and Writing:
December is “best of” and “roundup” month,
December 9th, 2020. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 1 comment |
Involution Ocean by Bruce Sterling
John Newhouse is a middle-aged man addicted to a drug called Flare which is synthesized from the oil of a whale that lives in a large sea of dust on a hostile planet. John lives with several other drug addicts. When Flare is declared illegal and their stash runs dry, John and one of his roommates decide to join a whaling ship’s crew so they can get access to the oil they’ll need to manufacture the drug for themselves. John is hired as the ship’s cook while his friend comes aboard as a deckhand.
December 9th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Bruce Sterling | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magic: A History: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present by Chris Gosden
Chris Gosden takes on a lot in Magic: A History: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present (2020) — a history of magic through time and space, skipping across millennia and the continents. Though “history” might be a tad misleading, in that Gosden includes our current age in his survey and then makes a call for magic to, if not “return” (he would argue it never left),
December 8th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Last year, Anya and her friends Ivan and Håkon defeated a bloodthirsty Viking named Sigurd, who wanted to murder Håkon for his river dragon magic. Since then, Anya’s been bat mitzvahed, Ivan’s family has settled into their lives in Zmeyreka, and the local magistrate has been expelled, with the result that Anya’s family has been openly welcomed among the other villagers, but her papa still hasn’t returned from war. When Anya learns that there’s been a miscommunication and her papa has been sent to Rûm rather than home,
December 8th, 2020. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Sofiya Pasternack | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Batman: 100 Greatest Moments by Robert Greenberger
Batman: 100 Greatest Moments (2019), by Robert Greenberger, like his Flash: 100 Greatest Moments which I previously reviewed (and will borrow some of here due to the similarities) is a browser’s reference book that offers up a comic reader’s cornucopia of illustrations, something one always hopes for in this sort of book. As the title says, it’s a look at an (obviously subjective) list of highlights from the near-century the classic character has been around.
December 8th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Comics, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge by K. Eason
Rory Thorne is back for another adventure in K. Eason’s How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge (2020). At the end of the first THORNE CHRONICLES novel, How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, it looked like Rory was finished with politics. (“Does the multiverse really need more politicians?”)
Rory, Jaed, and their friends/bodyguards Zhang and Thorsdottir are currently working as privateers far away from civilization.
December 7th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | K. Eason | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Disclaimer: As my students know, I’ve had a crush on Hank Green for years. I will try to not let this bias my review.
In the middle of the night when April May, a graphic designer, is on her way home from work in Manhattan, she’s the first person to notice a huge new statue on the sidewalk. It’s totally out of place, but she appreciates its artistry, so she calls her friend Andy and asks him to help her make a video about the statue (which she names Carl).
December 7th, 2020. Kat Hooper and Ray McKenzie´s rating: 4 | Hank Green | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.