The Mercy of Gods by James S. Corey
After the brilliance that was THE EXPANSE, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (collectively writing as James S. Corey) are back with The Mercy of Gods (2024), the first book in their new series, THE CAPTIVE’S WAR, and it’s just as good as one would expect it to be. While it shares some narrative DNA with the prior series, The Mercy of Gods is more, um, expansive than THE EXPANSE,
August 5th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | James S.A. Corey | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
P. Djèlí Clark has in past works show himself to be a master of the short novel form, and that holds true with his newest, The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, a fast-paced mystery romp full of dark humor set amidst a twisting turning tale. I had a blast reading it and can’t imagine that reaction won’t be widely shared amongst those wise enough to pick it up.
That odd title (it gets explained in the opening scene) is the name of an assassins guild working in the port city of Tal Abisi.
July 30th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | P. Djèlí Clark | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
Amongst the slew of modern myth retellings the last few years (so many the NY Times recently wrote an article on the number “flooding bookstores”), one of the strongest has been THE SONGS OF PENELOPE by Claire North. The first two, Ithaca and House of Odysseus, were excellent, and North maintains that high standard with the just-released The Last Song of Penelope (2024),
July 16th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Claire North | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life by Ferris Jabr
Ferris Jabr’s Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life is an excellent work of science journalism that takes a pretty common topic in popular science — the history of our planet — but explores it through a relatively unique prism: how living creatures have been “a formidable geological force,” both shaped by and shaping the planet as we currently know it. Jabr’s clear description of Earth’s transformation over eons would have been enough to make this book worth reading,
July 5th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic by Tabitah Stanmore
Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic by Tabitah Stanmore, is a deeply researched exploration of a particular sort of magic in the medieval/early modern era. Full of illustrative anecdotes mostly from primary sources (particularly court cases), Stanmore does an excellent job in showing how “Our focus on witches and the sensationalism of witch trials makes us forget that there was a whole host of magical practitioners … not every person who practiced magic was a witch.” The specific cases are often fascinating,
June 24th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
The Brides of High Hill (2024) is the fifth installment in Nghi Vo’s SINGING HILLS series of novellas. I found it a solid enough of a story if a bit slight, though it’s possible that if, unlike me, you’ve read the others you might have a more positive response.
Cleric Chih is accompanying a young bride, Nhung, and her parents to the estate of Lord Guo, where Nhung is to be wed to her wealthy but far older husband-to-be.
June 10th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Nghi Vo | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger
Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos, by Lisa Kaltenegger is at times a fascinating book, is at times an inspiring book, is often an informative book, but also, unfortunately, is often a frustrating book. Or at least it was for me. It’s a worthy read, but one that feels like it could have been much more.
Kaltenegger is director of the Carl Sagan Institute to Search for Life in the Cosmos at Cornell University and as such is one of the best candidates for writing a book on exoplanets (those planets outside our own solar system),
May 31st, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
2023 was a good year for Peter Beagle fans (and who isn’t a Beagle fan?), with the publication of two retrospective short story collections — The Essential Peter S. Beagle Volumes I and II — and another book (The Way Home) combining two novellas, one a reprint and the other brand new. And now, just as the afterglow of all that may be starting to fade, 2024 says “hold my mead,” offering up a new novel,
May 30th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Peter S. Beagle | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A House Like an Accordion by Audrey Burges
A House Like an Accordion (2024) by Audrey Burges has an absolutely fantastic opening line: “I was brushing my teeth when my hand disappeared.” Talk about a hook. What is going on here? The author had me at the start. Unfortunately, the promise of that opening line was never realized and thanks to a number of issues, the novel ended up being one I had to push myself to finish and thus can’t recommend.
May 28th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2 | Audrey Burges | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Reposting to include Bill’s new review.
Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone
Save the world, or fix the world? Can we do either? These questions underlie the second book in Max Gladstone’s CRAFT WARS series, Wicked Problems. Other things are happening in this 2024 installment, too, and the ending, while anticipated, is a gamechanger for everyone involved.
In Book One, Dead Country, Craftswoman Tara Abernathy took on a student, the orphaned and traumatized Dawn.
May 21st, 2024. Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Max Gladstone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
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