Lord of the Silent Kingdom by Glen Cook
In my review of Glen Cook’s first book in the Instrumentalities of the Night series, I bemoaned the lack of a map. Somehow, my opinion managed to go unheard and/or unheeded and so I’ll start again by asking if it would be too much to include a map in a book that jumps among a slew of kingdoms, countries, islands, and petty territories.
As a long-time fan of “epic” fantasy, I consider myself pretty well-versed in how to handle sweeping geography,
November 14th, 2008. Bill Capossere, John Hulet and Robert Thompson´s rating: 3, 4 | Glen Cook | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thicker Than Water by Mike Carey
The fourth Felix Castor novel starts out with a bang: the liberation of Rafi from the Charles Stanger Care Facility under the nose of Jenna-Jane Mulbridge, told in a clever departure from Felix’s usual first-person narrative.
From there, Thicker Than Water follows the same formula as the other Castor novels — a tangled supernatural mystery comprised of seemingly unrelated parts — but with some significant differences.
For one, the case is personal this time, revolving around an old childhood acquaintance who was brutally attacked with razors and Castor’s name written in blood.
October 14th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 5 | Mike (M.R.) Carey | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks
In 2005, an enigmatic author by the name of John Twelve Hawks — a writer who supposedly lives ‘off the grid’ — delivered one of the most hyped novels of the year, the critically-acclaimed, New York Times Bestselling debut The Traveler. In that book, readers were introduced to a chillingly familiar world ‘inspired by the modern technology that monitors our lives,’ where Travelers — individuals who possess the ability to send their conscious energy (“Light”) to other realms where they gain insights into transforming the world — and Harlequins (sworn to protect the lives of Travelers) oppose their mortal enemies the Brethren (also known as the Tabula) and their quest for a virtual Panopticon — an invisible prison where the population would assume that they were being watched at all times and therefore would automatically follow the rules.
October 12th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3 | John TwelveHawks | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
A current Professor of English at the University of Central Florida who has received teaching awards from Syracuse University, Cornell University, UCF, and the South Atlantic Administrators of Departments of English, not to mention many other educational accolades and achievements, Susan Hubbard is also an author of two critically acclaimed short story collections (Walking On Ice, Blue Money) and two chick-lit novels (Lisa Marie’s Guide for the Perplexed,
August 11th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Susan Hubbard | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Giant eagles and their reeves who patrol the skies as peacekeepers. Nine Guardians blessed by the Seven Gods to bring justice to the land of the Hundred who have mysteriously vanished. A Qin captain, his young bride and a company of soldiers forced into exile. A slave of twelve years who schemes to buy out his debt as well as his sister’s. An outlander — the youngest and least-favored of seven sons — who can see and hear ghosts goes on a quest in search of his uncle’s bones.
July 16th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Kate Elliott | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dead Men’s Boots by Mike Carey
Dead Men’s Boots is the third Felix Castor novel after Vicious Circle and The Devil You Know. Like the previous volumes, the book finds Felix dealing with several different issues that may or may not be connected. In this case, there’s the suicide of a fellow ghostbreaker (exorcist) who leaves a message for Felix; a wife who hires Felix to clear her husband’s name of murder; a Chicago mob femme fatale who seemingly continues to kill decades after her execution;
June 14th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Mike (M.R.) Carey | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia
CLASSIFICATION: With its intriguing blend of steampunk, gothic romance, political intrigue, and fairy tale spirit — not to mention metaphors on such real world issues as terrorism and racial discrimination — The Alchemy of Stone is like a bizarre, but captivating cross between Frankenstein, Pan’s Labyrinth, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Steamboy, Tool’s animated stop-motion music videos, and the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle).
June 7th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Ekaterina Sedia | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
For me, Alice In Wonderland is one of those unforgettable tales that has been imprinted onto my imagination for as long as I can remember, alongside such classics as The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars, and remains one of the most beloved stories of our time. So when I heard about Frank Beddor’s The Looking Glass Wars, which supposedly told the true story of Alice Liddell and a Wonderland that was real,
May 31st, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Frank Beddor | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Mind the Gap by Christopher Golden & Tim Lebbon
Even though Mind the Gap is extremely fast-paced, the novel started out really slowly for me and it wasn’t until 160 pages in that I began to get excited about the book. The problem was that for almost the first half it seemed like Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon were just going through the motions, delivering a plot that was one recognizable convention after another:
The protagonist’s mother mysteriously murdered by shadowy people and forced on the run… Raised to trust no one,
May 25th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Out of all of the urban fantasy novels that I read in 2007, Mike Carey’s prose debut (The Devil You Know) was one of my favorites. Basically, Mr Carey took everything that I love about the genre — including the supernatural tangoing with the ordinary, mixing humor with horror, and creating a protagonist that is impossible not to root for — and gave the formula a refreshing makeover. Even so, there was room for improvement and in Vicious Circle Mike Carey has delivered a sequel that is in every way bigger and better than its predecessor.
May 14th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Mike (M.R.) Carey | SFF Reviews | no 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.