The pleasure for me in reading E. Lily Yu’s collection of short stories, Jewel Box, was sourced in two of the book’s elements: its what-if premises and its, well, jewel-like language, which glittered precise and edged as any gemstone in a Tiffany’s case. The plots and characters, meanwhile, were more hit and miss for me, which is why I’m not giving it a five.
As is typical for collections, the individual stories varied in their impact,
November 6th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | E. Lily Yu | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
In Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, Cat Bohannon sets herself an ambitious task as evidenced by the sub-title — How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution — and I’m happy to report she’s more than up to the job, turning out out a work that impresses across the board: in information and organization, in scholarship and research, in voice and wit,
October 20th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards is an even-handed, highly readable, always interesting, sometimes fascinating history of Marvel movie-making, starting from their early days of licensing characters to formation of their own studio, to reclaiming some of their most popular characters, to merging their TV and films under one roof to their purchase by Disney up to their most recently released films and TV shows in 2022.
September 29th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Comics, Film / TV, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Normal Rules Don’t Apply by Kate Atkinson
In a number of her novels, Kate Atkinson explores the idea of alternate possibilities, playing with “what if” scenarios for various characters. Showing she doesn’t need a full novel to explore the heady concept, Atkinson returns to that theme in Normal Rules Don’t Apply, a collection of eleven loosely linked short stories.
The first, “The Void”, is a masterclass in chilling mundanity as out in the countryside an old man and his equally old dog find their daily walk shockingly interrupted by a horrific sight.
September 25th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Kate Atkinson | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka
An Inheritance of Magic is a solid fantasy with an entirely engaging Everyman of a character who comes with an equally engaging cat. I could have done with a bit more clarity on the world the story is set in, and at times things seemed to come a little easily to the main character, but this was a generally enjoyable and interesting story, enough so that I’ll pick up the necessary sequel.
Stephen Oakwood is twenty years old and adrift in the world of London.
September 22nd, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Benedict Jacka | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes
Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes moves along smoothly and quickly, is peopled by engaging characters, and nods toward some serious themes of ethics, violence, and colonialism. I mostly enjoyed this fast read, though found myself wishing its themes were delved into more deeply.
The novel is set in a universe where the Pale Empire has been conquering/colonizing other planets or planetary systems/alliances. Some years back, one of their stiffest foes, whose military and altruistic institutions were known as “Orders”,
September 8th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Valerie Valdes | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar
Once upon a time in the ancient era when childhood was about to bleed into pre-adolescence, we used to question if someone “liked” another person or “liked liked” them, our eyes wide in anticipation of the stressed or unstressed response. For the past half-dozen or so novels I’ve read by Lavie Tidhar, the reply each time was a no-brainer: a breathy, intense, “I like like.” With his newest, Circumference of the World,
September 5th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Lavie Tidhar | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
House of Odysseus by Claire North
Claire North’s THE SONGS OF PENELOPE trilogy of Greek reworkings offers up three queens (Clytemnestra, Helen, and Penelope) and three goddesses (Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena). The first book, Ithaca, centered on Penelope and Clytemnestra, and was narrated by Hera in a fiercely, sharply wry voice. House of Odysseus (2023) picks up shortly after the close of book one and (wholly unnecessary spoiler alert for the old as dirt storyline) the death of Clytemnestra at her son Orestes’ hands.
August 17th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Claire North | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Shigidi and The Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
Shigidi and The Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi is a new addition to the fantasy heist genre, one that brings a sense of freshness due to its backdrop of Yoruba folktale/myth and a sense of depth thanks to its focus on character, as well as a moving close.
The narrative is set in a world of gods and spirits who have organized themselves into companies and regions and who are,
August 7th, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Wole Talabi | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Medusa’s Sisters by Lauren J.A. Bear
Every now and then my reads fall into a pattern, the most recent being a trio of reimaginings of Greek tales. Medusa’s Sisters, by Lauren J.A. Bear falls in between the other two in terms of the reading experience, with engaging characters, good narrative voices, a moving close, and a nice refocusing of the ancient story of Medusa and Perseus (rather than of Perseus and Medusa).
Bear begins, well, at the beginning (after an excellent opening that gives us right away the classic Perseus-Kills-Medusa moment,
August 2nd, 2023. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Lauren J.A. Bear | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
this sounds like a fun one
These weird westerns are always interesting and have been popping up more in recent times (it seemed like there was…
Looking forward to reading the review.
Always my pleasure, Marion! I'm almost finished with Book #3 now, and hope to be reporting on it very shortly....
After reading your review, I'm quite sure I never read this one, or Book Three for that matter. I loved…