The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
I was a big fan of Katherine Arden’s WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY and ended my review of that series by saying I was greatly looking forward to seeing what she did next. Well, what’s next is The Warm Hands of Ghosts (2024), a standalone historical novel set in the horrors of WWI that happily mostly maintains the high bar of quality Arden set with that earlier trilogy, though I had a few issues with some elements.
February 29th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Katherine Arden | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
I picked this site because they included Comeuppance Served Cold on one of their “favorite” lists, but the whole place looks pretty fun.
Uncanny Magazine, Issue 57, is available on March 5.
The Crime Writers Association announces its 2024 winners.
Victoria Strauss discusses productive ways to change your mindset when thinking about agent/writing scams. (Thanks to File 770.)
The U.K. Guardian has an obituary for Canadian actor Kenneth Mitchell,
February 28th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 2 comments |
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
The Butcher of the Forest (2024) is a dark fantastical novella by Premee Mohamed that hearkens back to the original old folktales by refusing to sand off the edges of the genre to make it safe or cozy. More faerie than fairy, as much horror as fantasy, it is as unsettling and bittersweet a read as it is a worthy one.
The tale is set in an empire ruled by The Tyrant, “the man with a thousand names and a thousand cities under his bootheel … bringer of death,
February 27th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Premee Mohamed | Horror, Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
With 2024’s The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett introduces us to another beautiful, strange world, gives us a murder mystery, and brings on stage an engaging duo of detectives, against a backdrop of gargantuan creatures and weird botanical science. The first book of THE SHADOW OF THE LEVIATHAN is a satisfying mystery that leaves plenty of bigger questions unanswered, and I want the next book. Now.
Dinios Kol is a member of the Iudex,
February 26th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Robert Jackson Bennett | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Sentinels From Space by Eric Frank Russell
In the science fiction novel of 1953, mutants and their various abilities – especially telepathic – were apparently all the rage. Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man, the first novel to win the Hugo Award, showed us how difficult a proposition murder could be in a society of mind readers. In Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore’s Mutant, the “Baldies” referred to in the title had to learn how to live among a society that feared and despised them.
February 23rd, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Eric Frank Russell | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The saga of the Hugos continues, and now there is documentation of obvious manipulation by the committee. Chris M. Barkley and Jason Sanford published this article which details most of the problems with the ballot process. They lay most of the blame on Dave McCarty, who has said publicly that he believes he did the right thing. Diane Lacey published a statement of apology when the article came out. Kat Jones released this statement. Glasgow WorldCon has released Kat Jones from all her assignments.
NBC interviewed Paul Weimer about the fracas.
February 21st, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |
Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep by Philip Reeve
Philip Reeve has been one of my favourite authors for a while now, even though most of his stories are slightly outside my preferred genres. I loved Railhead, which was science-fiction, and Mortal Engines, which was dystopian – so imagine the weird squeaky noise of excitement I made on discovering that his latest book was not only in my genre wheelhouse (fantasy, of course) but which bore the captivating title of Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep (2021).
February 20th, 2024. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Philip Reeve | Children | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
“It’s easier to be a villain than a pub owner, I’ll tell you that much.”
I think most people know the plot of John Scalzi’s 2023 novel, Starter Villain. Our protagonist, Charlie, is divorced. He’s been downsized out of his job as a business journalist, and is eking out a living as a substitute math teacher. When the story opens, his best or only friend is his cat Hera. Then Charlie learns that his enigmatic Uncle Jake,
February 19th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | John Scalzi | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi is a collection of sixteen science fiction stories by the author of Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (one of my most pleasurable reads lately). As with any story collection, Convergence Problems varies in impact of each individual piece, but if I wasn’t blown away by any of the tales save one, the collection as a whole is nicely consistent along the 3-4 scale,
February 15th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Wole Talabi | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In Utero by Chris Gooch (writer and artist)
Top Shelf recently published Australian Chris Gooch’s In Utero, a surprising coming-of-age graphic novel. The book starts with a preliminary event, twelve years before the main story begins: A mysterious explosion, right in the middle of the city, devastates a large section of the downtown area. In the twelve years that have passed, though the hole in the earth remains visible, roads have been built over it. Some businesses surrounding it, however, seem to be left in disrepair. The rest of the city’s population continues on as if nothing has happened.
February 10th, 2024. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…