Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Bill Capossere


testing

Pawn of Prophecy: Juvenile

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

I read Pawn of Prophecy as an adult, a few years ago. I had heard great things about it, so I was disappointed after reading it. The plot is typical “orphan boy saves the world” fantasy, the description is weak, the dialogue is often silly (humor is a focus, and much of the dialogue is funny — but it’s not realistic). The pace is rapid, however, and I flew through the book in one day.

The Belgariad would be just right for a teenager (so I give it 3 stars),


Read More




testing

The Shadow Roads: Decent but anticlimactic close to trilogy

The Shadow Roads by Sean Russell

The Shadow Roads brings The Swans’ War to a somewhat satisfying close, but its many weaknesses lessen the impact it might have had. The strength is the backstory — the sense of myth surrounding the three children of Wyrr, Death walled away into his own world, stories of loss and transformation. When Sean Russell spends time in this area, whether in detail or just tangentially, it lends a sad sense of grandeur and depth to the work as a whole.


Read More




testing

Midnight Over Sanctaphrax: Better than first, not as good as second

Midnight Over Sanctaphrax by Paul Stewart

Midnight Over Sanctaphrax falls into the middle of the first three books of the series. While Twig’s character is enlarged upon and other interesting ones added, the book falls too easily into the same episodic nature of the first book, where one peril follows closely upon another with none of them ever explored in enough depth so that they truly feel dangerous or suspenseful.

The nature of the basic plot, Twig searching for his lost crew after his skyship explodes and hurls them in different directions,


Read More




testing

Beyond the Deep Woods: Weak start to series

Beyond the Deep Woods by Paul Stewart

Beyond the Deepwoods is the start to the long-running Edge Chronicles. This first book does what one would expect, introduces the world, the major characters, and the major conflicts, but it does so in such shallow fashion that one might be hard-pressed to consider reading on. I don’t know how the rest of the series goes, but I can say that the second novel, Stormchaser, improves in many ways upon the first.

Beyond the Deepwoods,


Read More




testing

The Belgariad: Sometimes fun is enough

THE BELGARIAD by David Eddings

Back before David Eddings became a shampoo-rinse-repeat sort of author, churning out the same old storylines and character types, there was the original Belgariad series, which remains by far his best work.

The premise is an old stand-by — farmboy discovers he’s not who he thought he was and, along with a band of helpers, goes on a quest to stop the world’s destruction/domination by the evil one. But Eddings manages to breathe a lot of life into the archetypical plot. His characters are gradually revealed throughout the series to have hidden layers of complexity,


Read More




testing

The Family Trade: Meet superwoman

The Family Trade by Charles Stross

In The Family Trade, Charles Stross brings together an interesting blend of several different fantasy subgenres. Most of the characters are enjoyable and make sense in their roles, but the main character, Miriam, seems to have left her blue and red superwoman suit in her luggage. She acquires an unending stream of skills and abilities when she gets in a tight spot. Sometimes, in order to be realistic, an author needs to let the hero flounder and fail a bit.

But I look forward to the next Merchant Princes book because The Family Trade has set a stage where multiple factions appear to be competing to eradicate Miriam,


Read More




testing

Bill Chats with Alma Alexander

Recently I had a chance to chat with Alma Alexander, author of the young adult epic WORLDWEAVERS. Please find synopses, cover art, and my reviews of Alma Alexander’s WORLDWEAVERS novels here. Alma Alexander’s website is here.

How much of a “plotter” are you before you start — do you have detailed outlines of where you are going, a general sense of conclusion? Have you ever found any of your characters “getting away from you,” in the sense that they end up involved in ways you hadn’t anticipated?


Read More




testing

A Secret Atlas: Slow in places, solid start

A Secret Atlas by Michael A. Stackpole

A Secret Atlas has its flaws, but overall makes for a solidly enjoyable read, especially as it generally (with some exceptions) improves as one moves through it.

The story begins in Nalenyr, one of the “Nine Principalities”, the divided remnants of an empire that along with much of the known world was brought to near ruin centuries earlier in the Great Cataclysm. The novel focuses most of its attention on the Anturasi family, whose patriarch Qiro has the Talent (capital T intentional) of mapmaking.


Read More




testing

The Well of Ascension: Plenty left to tell

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

Bridge books are always dicey things — many fall into a sophomore slump, meandering along trying to get from A to C with the required stop at B (because everyone knows a fantasy story can’t be told in only two books; three is clearly the sacred minimum — damn you Tolkien!). Luckily, The Well of Ascension (2007) doesn’t fall into that trap.

Mistborn is set in an ashen, mist-filled world whose myths tell of a time when plants were green.


Read More




testing

The Wind Singer: Somewhat uneven but many strong sections

The Wind Singer by William Nicholson

The Wind Singer is a children’s novel and so comes with all the pluses and minuses of that genre. The pace is quick with little room or time for digression or a lot of descriptive detail. The upside is that the book never once bogs down and keeps pulling the reader along. The downside, though how much of a downside will mostly depend on age and expectations, is that characterization suffers a bit and there are a few places where it would have been nice to have gotten a more full picture (both visually and in terms of plot context/background).


Read More




Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

We have reviewed 8479 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Subscribe to all posts:

Get notified about Giveaways:

Support FanLit

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:


You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US          UK         CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!
Try Audible for Free

Recent Discussion:

  1. Bill Capossere
  2. Bill Capossere
June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30