Shadowheart is the concluding fourth volume of Tad Williams’ most recent trilogy (yes, yes, I know), following Shadowmarch, Shadowplay, and Shadowrise. The last was originally intended to finish the series but instead was split in half, leading to Shadowheart. The first book, Shadowmarch, started off a bit slow and had some issues I thought with pace and cliché.
December 15th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Robert Thompson´s rating: 4, 4.5 | Tad Williams | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Shadowrise is Tad Williams’ third and thus concluding novel of the Shadowmarch trilogy, begun in Shadowmarch and continued in Shadowplay. So in this final volume… wait, hold on… I’m now being told that Williams, clearly feeling a sense of fantasy author peer pressure, has decided that, yes, while this is the “concluding volume,” it has in fact been split into two (hmmm, where have I heard that before), making this trilogy,
November 29th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Tad Williams | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Surrender to the Will of the Night by Glen Cook
PLOT SUMMARY: Piper Hecht’s first and greatest secret is that he knows how to kill gods. It is knowledge that makes him dangerous, but also puts him in danger — from his enemies, who fear what he might do, or who want revenge for what he has already done; and from his friends, who want to use his knowledge for their own purposes.
For example, Piper’s sister Heris and his living ancestor Cloven Februaren, the Ninth Unknown, have made Hecht part of their fight against the return of the dark god,
November 19th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Bill Capossere | Glen Cook | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Disciple of the Dog by R. Scott Bakker
CLASSIFICATION: Featuring a first-person narrative drenched in cynicism, a noir-esque mystery to solve, and sarcastic humor, Disciple of the Dog is a contemporary private eye novel influenced by the classics, but stamped with R. Scott Bakker’s own unique flavor.
FORMAT/INFO: Disciple of the Dog is 288 pages long divided over fourteen chapters (tracks) with titles like “One Hundred Thousand Cigarettes” and “The Law of Social Gravitation”. Narration is in the first-person exclusively via the private investigator,
November 17th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | R. Scott Bakker | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey
Richard Kadrey’s Kill the Dead is the sequel to Sandman Slim, and James Stark has been keeping himself busy working for various entities in order to pay the rent. The Devil is one of the entities that makes use of Stark’s services, and he wants Stark to serve as his bodyguard while he’s in town on business. Stark is forced to juggle the obligations of both Heaven and Hell, and manages to place himself in the middle of a conflict that started at the dawn of time.
November 5th, 2010. Justin Blazier, Terry Weyna, Robert Thompson, Greg Hersom and Marion Deeds | Richard Kadrey | Audio | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Passion Play by Beth Bernobich
CLASSIFICATION: Passion Play is a novel that blends together romance, classic fantasy tropes and political intrigue. Some comparisons have been made to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series, and while there are a few similarities, Passion Play is not nearly as grandiose, sensual, or elegantly written. Instead, the book reminded me at times of Robin Hobb’s early stuff, some Kate Elliott, and C.E. Murphy’s Inheritors’ Cycle, although Beth Bernobich has her own style.
October 4th, 2010. Robert Thompson, Bill Capossere and Kelly Lasiter | Beth Bernobich | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Out of the Dark by David Weber
CLASSIFICATION: For the most part, Out of the Dark is a military science fiction novel set on contemporary Earth, but the book also contains some historical fiction and cyber warfare in the prologue and beginning chapters.
FORMAT/INFO: Out of the Dark is 384 pages long divided over thirty-nine Roman numbered chapters, and a Prologue and Epilogue. Narration is in the third persion via many different perspectives, both humans and Shongairi. Main characters include Thikair, the Shongairi Fleet Commander;
September 24th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3 | David Weber | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
CLASSIFICATION: The CLOCKWORK CENTURY series is set in an alternate history America, circa 1880, flavored with steampunk, western, intrigue, and horror.
FORMAT/INFO: Dreadnought is 400 pages long divided over twenty-two numbered chapters. Narration is in the third-person, exclusively via the nurse, Mercy Lynch. Dreadnought is self-contained, but loosely connected to Boneshaker and Clementine, the first two volumes in the Clockwork Century series. September 28, 2010 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of Dreadnought via Tor.
September 17th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Cherie Priest | SFF Reviews | no comments |
PLOT SUMMARY: The ancient past is not dead. The hand of the Wizard Kings still reaches out to challenge the Androfrancine Order, to control the magick and technology that they sought to understand and claim for their own.
Nebios, the boy who watched the destruction of the city of Windwir, now runs the vast deserts of the world, far from his beloved Marsh Queen. He is being hunted by strange women warriors, while his dreams are invaded by warnings from his dead father.
Jin Li Tam,
September 7th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Ken Scholes | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
One of the most entertaining novels I read in 2009 was Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker. Full of exciting cross-genre adventure (zombies, steampunk, post-apocalyptic retrofuturism), memorable characters and a cool twist on American history, Boneshaker was a blast to read. I couldn’t wait to see what else Cherie Priest’s CLOCKWORK CENTURY had to offer. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long thanks to Subterranean Press and their publication of Clementine.
July 19th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5, 4 | Cherie Priest | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
so you're saying I should read it? :)
As a native New Yorker, I love the idea of the city being filled with canals and no skyscrapers! And…
How did I miss this? Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
I guess that is true, Marion. And when it comes to "You Only Live Twice," I saw the movie TWICE…
You managed to work in your two loves; vintage fiction and films!