Reposting to include Marion’s new review.
System Collapse by Martha Wells
The first thing to know about Martha Wells’ System Collapse is that if you can’t dredge up memories of its (chronological) predecessor, Network Effect, you’re going to want to refresh yourself either by a reread (fun enough) or skimming a few reviews, as System Collapse picks up directly afterward and really feels like it could have just been part of Network Effect (you know,
March 26th, 2024. Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Martha Wells | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
THE ASGARDIANS 1: Odin by George O’Connor
What do you do when you finish a 12-title series of graphic novels (THE OLYMPIANS) covering a huge chunk of Greek mythology, one that should be a required purchase for all parents, libraries, and schools? Well, if you’re George O’Connor, apparently you look around and go, “Who’s next?” The answer, it turns out, is THE ASGARDIANS. And thank the Norse gods for that.
O’Connor opens up his new series with Odin,
March 25th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Reposting to include Bill’s new review.
The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older
On Jupiter, known as Giant, Mossa, an Investigator, and Pleiti, scholar and instructor, are on a new case, involving the disappearance of a student. As Mossa explores, she finds not one, but seventeen university students, faculty and staff have gone missing. What the two sleuths will uncover in 2024’s The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, by Malka Older, will destabilize Pleiti’s already-shaky faith in the university system,
March 14th, 2024. Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5, 5 | Malka Older | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Book of Love: A Novel by Kelly Link
The Book of Love (2024) is both a book only Kelly Link could have written and a book only Kelly Link could have written. What I mean by that is that the book has Link’s DNA all over it, all the elements and feel of a Kelly Link story, from statues coming to life and walking off their plinths to ancient temples rising alongside a sleepy seaside town to beautifully stunning transformations and transmutations. There are cats of course.
March 12th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Truth of the Aleke by Moses Ose Utomi
The Truth of the Aleke is Moses Ose Utomi’s sequel to his fantastic The Lies of the Ajungo, which I said in my review was “as close to perfect a modern parable as I’ve read in some time.” I’m happy to report that if the follow-up isn’t quite as “perfect,” it’s nonetheless a fantastic read, and one that makes me oh so eager to see how Utomi wraps up this loosely connected trilogy set in the Forever Desert.
March 4th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Moses Ose Utomi | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
I was a big fan of Katherine Arden’s WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY and ended my review of that series by saying I was greatly looking forward to seeing what she did next. Well, what’s next is The Warm Hands of Ghosts (2024), a standalone historical novel set in the horrors of WWI that happily mostly maintains the high bar of quality Arden set with that earlier trilogy, though I had a few issues with some elements.
February 29th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Katherine Arden | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
The Butcher of the Forest (2024) is a dark fantastical novella by Premee Mohamed that hearkens back to the original old folktales by refusing to sand off the edges of the genre to make it safe or cozy. More faerie than fairy, as much horror as fantasy, it is as unsettling and bittersweet a read as it is a worthy one.
The tale is set in an empire ruled by The Tyrant, “the man with a thousand names and a thousand cities under his bootheel … bringer of death,
February 27th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Premee Mohamed | Horror, Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi is a collection of sixteen science fiction stories by the author of Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (one of my most pleasurable reads lately). As with any story collection, Convergence Problems varies in impact of each individual piece, but if I wasn’t blown away by any of the tales save one, the collection as a whole is nicely consistent along the 3-4 scale,
February 15th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Wole Talabi | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are by Rebecca Boyle
Our Moon (2024), by Rebecca Boyle, is an engrossing tour of our relationship with our closest celestial neighbor, full of the usual (and less familiar) facts, while delving into science, history, and culture as Boyle, as she says, explains “How the moon was made, how the Moon made us, and how we made the Moon in our image.”
Boyle starts off not on the Moon but on Earth three-quarters of a century ago with a 39-year-old marine waiting to begin the Allies’ attack on Tarawa Atoll,
February 9th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Allure of the Multiverse: Extra Dimensions, Other Worlds, and Parallel Universes by Paul Halpern
The Allure of the Multiverse by Paul Halpern delves into the scientific history of the theory that seems to have taken over pop culture. Admittedly difficult at time thanks to the relatively esoteric nature of some of the theories such as string theory or M-brane theory, and also perhaps a bit mistitled, it remains a mostly clear exploration of 20th and 21st century physics.
The book opens with what might come as a surprise to some readers who have steeped in the multiverse concept via film,
February 2nd, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contribution to giallo films! Her charisma and the unique blend of suspense and…
What an intriguing exploration of Edwige Fenech's role in giallo films! I appreciate how you highlighted her unique blend of…
Hahaha! You might like the one "Shocktober" scene near the end!
For some strange reason, I get the feeling I might like this one! 😁
Wow, 20 dollars? That seems a lot for a 100-or-so-page book, but most of my novellas have come via ARCs…