ZITA THE SPACEGIRL by Ben Hatke
If I were forced to choose one word to sum up Ben Hatke’s ZITA THE SPACEGIRL trilogy, it would be “delightful.” I could toss a lot more words into the mix — imaginative, whimsical, heartwarming, and so on, but really, all one need know is the entire series is a delight. And now I just wondered if our comic/graphic expert Brad had reviewed it and of course he has, and it turns out at the end he says Zita is “a delight.” So there you go.
June 20th, 2014. Bill Capossere and Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Forever Watch by David Ramirez
You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get from a debut novel. Sometimes they come out of nowhere to blow you away — “Really? You did that on your first try?” (OK, we all know it wasn’t really a “first try” — drafts and all — but still). Sometimes you’re left wondering if perhaps the author should have tried for “debut short story” or “debut blogging” or even “debut fly swatting.” And then there’s the more common middle ground, where you can see some strong concepts,
June 19th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | David Ramirez | SFF Reviews | no comments |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!
This week marks our SEVENTH birthday. Some of us (Kat, John, and I) have been around since the beginning (June 2007). Rebecca and Kelly joined us in 2008. Ryan and Terry arrived in 2010. Marion and Tim showed up in 2011, Brad and Steven joined in 2012. Sandy was a guest here for a couple of years before finally giving in and signing on a couple of months ago.
June 12th, 2014. Bill Capossere | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 27 comments |
Watt O’Hugh Underground by Steven S. Drachman
Watt O’Hugh Underground is the follow-up by Steven S. Drachman to his early Western fantasy The Ghosts of Watt O’Hugh. I was pretty “meh” toward the first book, though it had a strong close, but I mostly enjoyed Watt O’Hugh Underground throughout, despite having some issues.
Watt O’Hugh Underground picks up not too long after the events of Ghosts, with Watt hiding out in the desert trying to keep out of trouble,
June 2nd, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Steven S. Drachman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Ghosts of Watt O’Hugh by Steven S. Drachman
I confess to having mixed feelings when I was done with The Ghosts of Watt O’Hugh, by Steven S. Drachman, but the book’s relative brevity, strong finish, and the fact that its sequel, Watt O’Hugh Underground, was an improvement, means in the end I feel OK in recommending it, with a few caveats.
The cover will tell you right away we’re in Western world, with its neckerchiefed,
May 29th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Steven S. Drachman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien (author) & Christopher Tolkien (editor)
The last few years has seen the release by the Tolkien Estate of several hybrid books that combined original retellings/translations of ancient hero legends (Sigurd, Arthur) with further commentary by J.R.R. Tolkien (on the source material) and Christopher Tolkien (on his father’s work). The latest in this series is Tolkien’s translation of Beowulf, which has perhaps incurred greater interest since outside of his fiction, Tolkien is perhaps best known for his famed essay, “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” As with the prior two,
May 22nd, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | J.R.R. Tolkien | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Wizards: From Merlin to Faust by David and Lesley McIntee
I’ve been a huge fan of just about all the MYTHS AND LEGENDS series from Osprey Publishing, having given four stars to Troy, Robin Hood, and Thor; and 4.5 to King Arthur, with only Jason and the Argonauts standing out as a weak entry in the roll.
May 20th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Myths-&-Legends | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Skraelings: Clashes in the Old Arctic by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley
Skraelings: Clashes in the Old Arctic, by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, is a Middle Grade book that despite some problems has a winning charm to it.
Set in, well, the old Arctic, at a time when the Inuit were just entering a land, the story is both a coming-of-age tale and a clash of cultures narrative. The coming-of-age belongs to a young Inuit hunter named Kannujaq. The culture clash involves the new-to-this-land Inuit,
May 16th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Talus and the Frozen King by Graham Edwards
If Jean Auel and Arthur Conan Doyle had collaborated, the result might have been Talus, the bard detective at the center of Graham Edwards’ novel, Talus and the Frozen King. Set in northern Europe during the Neolithic period, Talus and his companion Watson, umm, I mean Bran, stumble across an island village mourning the sudden death of their king. It takes only a few pages for Talus to throw everything into chaos with his Quincy-like revelation (yes,
May 15th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Graham Edwards | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
I just finished reading Jeff VanderMeer’s Authority, the second book in his SOUTHERN REACH trilogy. When I reviewed the first book, Annihilation, Kat (our tyrannical managing editor, in case you didn’t know) butted into my review because she didn’t like what I originally wrote and she made me change it. I’m expecting her to do the same thing here, so if you see any bold red text, that will be her. She likes to talk in bold red.
May 13th, 2014. Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Jeff VanderMeer | Audio | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
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.