The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Alexander’s fantastic five-part Chronicles of Prydain begins with The Book of Three, which is required reading for anyone who considers themselves a fantasy fan and/or a lover of children’s literature — or in fact anyone who loves a darn good book. And you can’t stop there — make sure you have on hand the following volumes: The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer and The High King.
January 3rd, 2010. Rebecca Fisher and Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Lloyd Alexander | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Cybermage is Alma Alexander’s third book in the Worldweavers series and one that can satisfyingly close this particular series though I hesitate to ever use the word “concluding” with any fantasy trilogy as authors (or nervous publishers/agents) are wont to reopen allegedly “done” series.
Cybermage picks up just a little while after book two ended and while this book can stand on its own, with an independent storyline, it will make much more sense and be all the richer for having read the previous two (Gift of the Unmage and Spellspam),
January 3rd, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Alma Alexander | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Crack’d Pot Trail by Steven Erikson
Crack’d Pot Trail is the fourth of Steven Erikson’s Malazan novellas following the exploits of Korbal Broach and Bauchelain, a pair of sinister necromancers whose dark side is often thrown into a grayer cast due to their situational context and the characters (often allegedly “purer” or “better”) that surround them. As with the earlier novellas, Erikson lightens up on the dense worldbuilding, labyrinthine layered plots, and casts of thousands of the larger series to focus on,
January 2nd, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Steven Erikson | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Leviathan is the beginning of a new steampunk YA series by Scott Westerfeld, author of other well-known (and highly recommended) YA series such as Uglies and Midnighters, along with one of my favorite non-YA science fiction works of recent memory, The Risen Empire (even more highly recommended). As is usual with good YA, don’t let the label turn you away; Westerfeld knows how to write for a younger audience without dumbing things down and without excluding older readers.
January 1st, 2010. Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4, 5 | Scott Westerfeld | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Under in the Mere by Catherynne Valente
Catherynne Valente’s novella Under in the Mere is about as inaccessible a book as I’ve read in some time. That doesn’t mean I’m not recommending it, but it’s fair warning to any who attempt it. Under in the Mere is a poetic, surrealistic “retelling” of several Arthurian tales (a mix of the better and lesser known ones), although “retelling” is really far too pedestrian and prosaic a term for Valente’s dense, imagistic and poetic language here,
January 1st, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Catherynne M. Valente | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud
The Golem’s Eye is a solidly enjoyable if slightly disappointing follow-up to The Amulet of Samarkand, which admittedly set itself a very high standard. The book returns to the same setting and characters first introduced in Samarkand, while expanding upon the first novel with a few new characters, one new setting (Prague) and a somewhat more complicated plot.
As in the first book, the major story involves a plot against the government which Nathaniel the young ambitious wizard must confront with his much more wise and experienced (and acidic) djinn,
December 28th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Jonathan Stroud | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
As I’ve said in previous reviews, if you’re going to set your book in England and have as a main character a young boy learning the art of wizardry, you’ve guaranteed yourself a comparison to HARRY POTTER. With The Amulet of Samarkand, Jonathan Stroud can proudly say, “bring him on — wands at 15 paces!” With so much pallid fantasy out there, Amulet is a breath of fresh air,
December 28th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Jonathan Stroud | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jailbait Zombie by Mario Acevedo
I confess I sometimes wonder about writing bad reviews (not reviews that are bad, but reviews of bad books). With so much out there, is it better to point people to the good stuff or warn them of the not-so-good? The feeling is exacerbated when the book is one by a popular author, let alone, as in this case, part of a popular series. Obviously somebody (a lot of somebodies) likes these books, so who am I to say they’re wrong? Or to warn people off who may have,
December 24th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 1.5 | Mario Acevedo | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente
The first thing that strikes you about Palimpsest is the gorgeous prose. Every sentence is crafted with the utmost care, resulting in a novel that almost reads like poetry. It simply begs to be read out loud. I’ve read many books that attempt this kind of lush prose, but Palimpsest is one of the most successful and most beautiful.
Palimpsest is a sexually transmitted city. People who have been there have a small tattoo — a piece of the city’s map — somewhere on their body.
December 21st, 2009. Stefan Raets, Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5, 4.5, 5 | Catherynne M. Valente | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
December 2nd, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | George Mann | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
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!