Guest | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

To Reign in Hell: Fantastic accomplishment

To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust

The accomplishments here are nothing short of spectacular. Imagine writing a book populated with some of the most well known characters in Western history: Yahweh, Jesus, Satan, Lucifer (yes, they are separate), and the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel. They all need unique personalities. If they’re not, if they’re retreads of biblical, Dante, Milton, or others, then the book fails.

Then imagine creating a reason for God to create the Cherubs, Seraph, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, etc. Give all of them a purpose. Imagine creating Heaven,

Charmed and Dangerous: Horrid

Charmed and Dangerous by Candace Havens

Bronwyn’s job is not exactly conventional. She’s a witch who not only fights off warlocks, demons, and evil zombies, but gets paid to do it. She protects the Prime Minister and is his personal body guard. She also murders, plots, and shoots fire from her hands while blowing up cars in the process. Bronwyn is not a witch to be reckoned with, although being a magical body guard does tend to get in the way of having anything that resembles a normal love life.

I made it to exactly page 35 of this book.

March 30th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 0.5 | Candace Havens | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The View From the Mirror: Not regular fantasy fare

THE VIEW FROM THE MIRROR by Ian Irvine

I wonder how much of an abstract autobiography this tale is. The main character shares a name very similar to that of the author (Ian and Llian) and his occupation is that of a chronicler and teller of tales. In other words, he is the rough equivalent of an author and researcher with a Ph.D. Ian Irvine earned a doctorate in environmental sciences before becoming an author, the former probably accounting for his excellent ability to create believable races and places.

Anyhow,

February 26th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 4 | Ian Irvine | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Book of Earth: I’m indifferent

The Book of Earth by Marjorie B. Kellogg

Erde, the daughter of a German noble, is suddenly and terribly thrust into a world of magic and fear when she is accused of a crime she did not commit. After fleeing her father’s wrath and the insane ravings of a power-hungry priest, Erde heads into the mountains to be joined by a small, clumsy, surprisingly un-fantastic dragon named Earth.

Earth knows that he is called to a higher purpose, he just does not know exactly what. Content to put as much distance between her father and herself as possible,

February 10th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 2.5 | Marjorie B. Kellogg | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Wizard’s Ward

The Wizard’s Ward by Deborah Hale

I blame Deborah Hale for my drowsiness this morning. I had to stay up late to finish The Wizard’s Ward, or I would never have been able to sleep.

Maura Woodbury, an enchantress, has always led a quiet life… until her uncle announces that she is to be queen of all Umbria and she has to make her way to the Secret Glade and awaken the Waiting King who will drive the evil Han from Umbria forever and restore peace to all the land.

February 9th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 4 | Deborah Hale | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Lightbringer: Deserves more notice

The Lightbringer by Oliver Johnson

Oliver Johnson‘s The Lightbringer is a different sort of fantasy trilogy. For one thing, it involves vampires, and since vampire novels have spawned their own genre you rarely find them in true fantasy any more. However, this is not a vampire novel; it’s most definitely high fantasy. The next thing that makes The Lightbringer somewhat of a departure from the norm is that the hero is seriously disfigured and spends almost his entire time behind a mask designed to obscure his features.

February 7th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 4 | Oliver Johnson | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Pretties: A sequel that doesn’t disappoint

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Finally, a sequel that does not disappoint!

Tally finally has all she ever wanted: She’s pretty, she’s popular, she’s in the coolest clique in New Pretty Town.

What could possibly go wrong now?

Nothing does… until the night of the coolest costume party ever when a blast from the past shows up and leaves her a mystery to follow. All of a sudden Tally and her new friend Zane not only have a mystery to solve, but two tiny white pills to take…

In the Eye of Heaven: Good for a first draft

In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck

In the Eye of Heaven has potential, but unfortunately the writing drags it down considerably. It really needed to be polished. At the moment it reads almost like a first draft, without anything properly fleshed out.

The first problem is that scenes are poorly described, when they are described at all. I felt almost blind as I was reading, because David Keck gives you nearly no idea of the places or people that the characters find themselves around.

January 27th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 2 | David Keck | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Divine by Choice: Like a sundae

Divine by Choice by P.C. Cast

Shannon Parker, Beloved of Epona and now living in the lap of luxury in Parthalon is suddenly pulled back into the modern world from whence she came. Summoned back by the mirror image of her centaur husband, ClanFintan, Clint Freeman a handsome and brave former Air Force pilot has been battling with Shannon’s evil twin Rhiannon.

But Shannon isn’t the only one who has been pulled out of Parthalon. The evil spirit of the demon Shannon helped to vanquish in Divine By Mistake,

January 26th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 4 | P.C. Cast | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Kingless Land: The Plotless Book

The Kingless Land by Ed Greenwood

To say there is little plot to The Kingless Land is an understatement. I used to game with a number of players where one of them kept notes of our gaming session. The next time we came together to game, he would recap what occurred the last time we played. Greenwood apparently has this down to an art form. The Kingless Land reads exactly like a D&D gaming session. I can’t think of anything more boring than reading about someone else’s D&D adventures.

January 25th, 2008. Guest | Ed Greenwood | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Author: Guest

To Reign in Hell: Fantastic accomplishment

Charmed and Dangerous: Horrid

The View From the Mirror: Not regular fantasy fare

The Book of Earth: I’m indifferent

The Wizard’s Ward

The Lightbringer: Deserves more notice

Pretties: A sequel that doesn’t disappoint

In the Eye of Heaven: Good for a first draft

Divine by Choice: Like a sundae

The Kingless Land: The Plotless Book

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