The Land of the Changing Sun by Will N. Harben
Released seven years after English author H. Rider Haggard sensationally jump-started the “lost world” craze in fiction with his seminal novels King Solomon’s Mines (1885), She (1887) and Allan Quatermain (also 1887), American author Will N. Harben’s only contribution to the genre, The Land of the Changing Sun, is a decidedly second-rate affair that yet manages to somehow entertain.
July 11th, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 2.5 | Will N. Harben | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Ecolitan Enigma by L.E. Modesitt Jr
The Ecolitan Enigma (1997) closes out L.E. Modesitt Jr’s four-book ECOLITAN MATTER series. It’s a direct sequel to The Ecologic Envoy which was published in 1986, so you need to read that book first. The other two books in the series, The Ecolitan Operation (1989) and The Ecologic Secession (1990), take place 400 years earlier with different (but related) characters,
July 9th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life by Ferris Jabr
Ferris Jabr’s Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life is an excellent work of science journalism that takes a pretty common topic in popular science — the history of our planet — but explores it through a relatively unique prism: how living creatures have been “a formidable geological force,” both shaped by and shaping the planet as we currently know it. Jabr’s clear description of Earth’s transformation over eons would have been enough to make this book worth reading,
July 5th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Even the Wall Street Journal is weighing in on “romantasy.” (Thanks to Kat for this link.)
Reactor shared a short story from Nisa Shawl’s Everfair universe.
“Fantasy science for the win.” Judith Tarr writes columns on various topics for Reactor, including movie reviews. Here is her slightly acerbic take on 13th Child.
For Harlan Ellison fans everywhere, File770 has published the Table of Contents for the upcoming anthology The Last Dangerous Visions.
Harry Potter author J.K.
July 3rd, 2024. Marion Deeds | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder by James De Mille
As I believe I’ve mentioned elsewhere, British author H. Rider Haggard‘s back-to-back-to-back releases of King Solomon’s Mines, She, and Allan Quatermain from 1885 – 1887 served as a sort of triple shock wave on the worldwide literary community. From that point and for the next half a century, scores of imitators would come out with hundreds of works that attempted to emulate the so-called “Father of the Lost-Word Novel,” and with varying degrees of success.
July 2nd, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | James De_Mille | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna Van Veen
Johanna Van Veen’s My Darling, Dreadful Thing (2024) is a gothic horror love story set in the 1950’s Netherlands. Lush descriptions and an original, creepy take on spirit companions made this story a seductive, engaging read.
Roos Beckman has had a spiritual companion named Ruth since she was a little girl, when she was first pressed into service by the woman she calls Mama to help fake seances. Crouched in a cubby under the floorboards, Roos pulled ropes and pushed levers to create the effects of spiritual visitation.
July 1st, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Johanna Van_Vleen | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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