A Flight of Angels by Rebecca Guay (illustrator)
Stories by Holly Black, Bill Willingham, Alisa Kwitney, Louise Hawes and Todd Mitchell
An angel has fallen. Led by their insatiable curiosity, the hosts of fae have followed the descent of the white-winged creature and now gather around his still-breathing body to decide what to do with him. They decide to hold a trial, and present evidence in the form of stories about the deeds of angels to decide whether or not to let him live.
November 20th, 2019. Ruth Arnell and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Bill Willingham, Holly Black, Louise Hawes, Rebecca Guay | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
This, my friends, is how young adult fantasy is done. In The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley has created a world out of whole cloth and polished it until it shines. Or in this case, until it is a dusty desert full of horse riding warriors, a dwindling magic, demon barbarians invading from the north, and civilized white men invading from across the ocean. McKinley is a master of prose, and this book has stood the test of time for almost 25 years now.
September 10th, 2018. Ruth Arnell and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Robin McKinley | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
White Cat (2010), the first book in Holly Black‘s The Curse Workers series, focuses on Cassel, a teenage boy born into a family of workers. Working magic is illegal, which means anyone born with the gift — his entire family — either works for the mob or as a con artist. Except Cassel, that is, because Cassel doesn’t have a gift. What he does have is strange dreams that make him sleepwalk, and end up in the strangest places,
October 12th, 2017. Ruth Arnell, Skye Walker and Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5, 4 | Holly Black | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Gabriel is about to become Archangel. He is required to lead the annual singing of the Gloria on the Plains of Sharon in just a few months with his wife, the angelica, at his side. There is just one problem: Gabriel isn’t married. Faced with this dilemma, he goes to the oracle to find out who he is supposed to marry, and is given the name of a woman, Rachel, but he has no idea where to find her. With the months slipping away before his voice raised in song is the only thing that can turn away the wrath of the god Jovah,
June 16th, 2017. Ruth Arnell and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Sharon Shinn | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Magic of Blood and Sea by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Magic of Blood and Sea (2017) combines two of Cassandra Rose Clarke’s novels, The Assassin’s Curse (2012) and The Pirate’s Wish (2013), into one volume. Originally, these novels were published by Strange Chemistry, the YA branch of Angry Robot Books, but the imprint went defunct (as sometimes happens) and the publication rights to their various books were scattered to the four winds. In this particular case,
March 20th, 2017. Jana Nyman and Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4.5 | Cassandra Rose Clarke | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Wonders of the Invisible World by Patricia McKillip
I love Patricia McKillip’s writing, and was excited to hear she had a short story collection coming out. I really enjoy reading short stories because I think it’s a good measure of what a writer can do – distill down the essential elements of story to a concentrated core of who they are as a writer.
Upon opening the collection I was slightly disappointed to realize that these were all stories that had been previously published, many of which I had read before.
February 15th, 2017. Ruth Arnell and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Patricia McKillip | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Ignore the YA label slapped on this one if that gives you pause. Though that won’t be hard to do because The Graveyard Book opens with a hand in the darkness holding a knife wet with the blood of almost an entire family: father, mother, and older child. The knife lacks only the blood of the toddler son to finish its job. Luckily for the reader (and the boy) he escapes into a nearby cemetery where a mothering ghost convinces the cemetery community to protect him.
October 10th, 2016. Bill Capossere, Ruth Arnell, Stuart Starosta and Skye Walker´s rating: 5 | Neil Gaiman | Audio, Children, Hugo Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
My Body is Not My Own…
Having just finished Paolo Bacigalupi’s Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel, I’m left rather bereft at how to describe, let alone review, The Windup Girl. I am not a big reader of science-fiction or dystopian thrillers, which means that no obvious comparisons come to mind, and the setting and tone of the novel are so unique (to me at least) that they almost defy description.
Set in a future Thailand where genetically engineered “megodonts” (elephants) provide manual labor and “cheshires” (cats) prowl the streets,
February 11th, 2016. Rebecca Fisher, Marion Deeds, Stefan Raets, Justin Blazier, Ruth Arnell and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 4 | Paolo Bacigalupi | Audio, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
In Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood details an apocalyptic plague, introduces a new species of creatures that have been genetically designed to replace humanity, and the villain is a mad scientist in love. What could be more “SFF” than Oryx and Crake?
Quite a lot, according to Margaret Atwood, who prefers to describe her novel as “speculative fiction” rather than “science fiction.” In interviews promoting Oryx and Crake,
January 1st, 2016. Ryan Skardal, Ruth Arnell, Bill Capossere, Kat Hooper and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Margaret Atwood | Edge | SFF Reviews | 11 comments |
Dust by Hugh Howey
I know I’ve retired from reviewing, but since I reviewed the first two volumes in the SILO trilogy (Wool and Shift) and there isn’t a review for this third one, I thought I would do a little guest review here for my friends at FanLit because nothing sucks more than the first two books in a trilogy being great and then the third one going right off the rails and exploding in a burst of unresolved plot lines and out of character behavior.
July 7th, 2014. Ruth Arnell and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Hugh Howey | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
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…
this sounds like a fun one