The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell
CLASSIFICATION: Combining lighthearted humor and graphic violence with both traditional fantasy tropes and trope-breaking twists, The Conqueror’s Shadow is what would happen if you took Dungeons & Dragons and crossed it with the writing styles of David Eddings and Joe Abercrombie.
FORMAT/INFO: The Conqueror’s Shadow is 448 pages long divided over 28 numbered chapters, a Prologue, and an Epilogue.
February 15th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Ari Marmell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology by Christopher Golden (ed.)
FORMAT/INFO: The New Dead is 400 pages long divided over nineteen short stories. Also includes a Foreword by the editor Christopher Golden, and biographies on all of the anthology’s contributors. February 16, 2010 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of The New Dead via St. Martin’s Griffin. Cover art provided by Per Haagensen. The UK version will be published on February 18,
February 13th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Christopher Golden, David Wellington, Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, John Connolly, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Mike (M.R.) Carey, Rick Hautala, Tad Williams, Tim Lebbon | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher
CLASSIFICATION: If you’re a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, or the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter comic books, then The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle will be perfect for you. Like those, Welcome to the Jungle boasts a fun mix of fast-paced supernatural action, humor and a dash of mystery/thrills. This graphic novel in particular is pretty tame in the violence/language department and is suitable for teen readers and above.
February 5th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Jim Butcher | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In The Extra, a near-future science fiction novel set in a dystopian version of Los Angeles, Val Margolian is the creator and most successful director of a new genre of action movies, in which crowds of real people are cast as extras and have to defend themselves against movie monsters. The action is real, and so are the deaths. Whoever manages to kill one of the monsters, and anyone who survives the shoot, gets a huge cash reward. Naturally, with rampant poverty in LA,
February 1st, 2010. Stefan Raets and Robert Thompson´s rating: 1.5 | Michael Shea | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Mad With Wonder by Frank Beddor
Mad With Wonder is the second geo-graphic novel that chronicles Hatter Madigan’s 13-year search for Princess Alyss, who was lost on Earth after escaping through the Pool of Tears. This time around, Madigan’s quest takes him to America during the Civil War and finds the Milliner crossing paths with circus freaks, a group of outlaws, Mr. Van de Skülle, a child gifted with the power of healing, and a vampire as well as being imprisoned in an insane asylum.
The first Hatter M volume was nominated for an Eisner Award and won the 2009 Silver IPPY Award for Best Graphic Novel,
January 31st, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Frank Beddor | Comics, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
While Dust is categorized as science fiction, there were actually a lot of familiar fantasy elements in the book, which I found a little bit surprising but quite enjoyable. For example, a number of medieval concepts are employed in the novel, such as a ruling family of nobles; politics regarding bloodlines, successors and inheritances; knights; castles; swords as the preferred choice of weaponry; chivalry; and so on. Then there’s the story, which features a servant girl who discovers she’s someone important, a couple of quests including one to prevent a war between the House of Rule and Engine,
January 30th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Elizabeth Bear | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Robin Hobb’s Dragon Keeper is a welcome return to the world of the LIVESHIP TRADERS trilogy (fair warning: if you haven’t read that series, there may be a few spoilers here). Specifically, it is set in the Rain Wilds with the emergence of the serpents/dragons from their casings, an event enthusiastically anticipated by all who long to see these beautiful, powerful creatures soaring through the skies once more.
Often in Robin Hobb’s fiction, though, the most eagerly awaited events turn into the most disappointing ones,
January 18th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Robin Hobb | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
CLASSIFICATION: Sleepless is a classic crime/mystery story set in a post-apocalyptic milieu afflicted by a unique illness. Think Dennis Lehane meets José Saramago’s Blindess and P. D. James’ The Children of Men meets Richard K. Morgan.
FORMAT/INFO: Sleepless is 368 pages long divided over thirty numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the first-person via a sixty-year-old, ex-military freelance mercenary named Jasper,
January 6th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 5 | Charlie Huston | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington
Jesse Bullington’s debut novel is a difficult one to review, not because of plot or character, but because of the general style in which it is written. Plainly speaking; it’s pretty gross. Full of pus, vomit, blood, urine, gore, snot and other bodily fluids, The Brothers Grossbart isn’t short on content that will make you screw up your nose in disgust. Yet dismissing this novel for its ability to make you cringe is a bit like going to a Quentin Tarantino movie and complaining about the violence.
December 15th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher, Robert Thompson, Greg Hersom, Kat Hooper and Justin Blazier | Jesse Bullington | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 14 comments |
CLASSIFICATION: Set in 1812 during the French invasion of Russia — specifically the Battle of Borodino, the capture and fires of Moscow, the retreat from Moscow, and the Battle of Berezina — with the primary antagonists being vampires, Twelve is much like the book describes itself… a vibrant blend of detailed historical fiction and heart-stopping supernatural horror. I was reminded of a cross between a Bernard Cornwell novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles,
November 28th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 5 | Jasper Kent | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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.
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…