Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Jana Nyman

The Tourist: Twisty-wisty, wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff

The Tourist by Robert Dickinson

The good news is that, in terms of time-travel novels, Robert Dickinson does quite a lot of interesting things with The Tourist (2016): dual narratives — one straightforward and one circuitous, commentary on human nature, and the mechanics of time-travel itself, along with its social and economic effects on the 21st-century. The bad news is that the novel stumbles in the third act and never regains its footing, sacrificing clarity and plot in favor of poetic imagery.

The Tourist begins by describing the prison “you” reside in,

The Accelerators Vol. 1: Time Games

The Accelerators Vo1. 1: Time Games by R.F.I. Porto, Gavin P. Smith, Tim Yates

If you were the kind of kid (or are the kind of adult) who staged epic action-figure battles between army guys and dinosaurs, or G.I. Joes and pretty much anything else, you’re going to love The Accelerator Vol. 1: Time Games’s blood-drenched stadium showdowns featuring Romans and Prohibition-era gangsters, Maya warriors and samurai, and much more, ably illustrated by Gavin Smith and Tim Yates. And if you’re in the mood for a forward-only time-travel mystery,

August 23rd, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Shattered Warrior: Tale’s too familiar but artwork shines

Shattered Warrior written by Sharon Shinn & illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag

Shattered Warrior (2017) is a new graphic novel written by Sharon Shinn and illustrated by Molly Knox Ostertag. The artwork is excellent, but as far as plot, it’s an overly familiar one and, as usual for me with graphic novels (fair warning), neither story nor characters are rich enough for my deep engagement.

The story is set on a human world conquered years ago by an alien race (the Derichet) and mostly wholly subjugated,

Theodora Goss: 4 Misconceptions About Victorian Women

Today, Fantasy Literature welcomes Theodora Goss, who stopped by Fantasy Literature to talk about her research and writing process for The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, a late-Victorian-era murder mystery starring some familiar faces from classic works of fiction — and which posed all sorts of interesting problems regarding the accurate portrayal of both men and women of that time period.

And we’ve got one copy of The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter to give away to a lucky commenter!

August 11th, 2017. Jana Nyman | Theodora Goss | Expanded Universe, Giveaway! | 16 comments |

Age of Assassins: Intriguing world-building and an attempted-murder mystery

Age of Assassins by R.J. Barker

Let’s suppose, for the sake of argument, that you’re a fan of Robin Hobb’s REALMS OF THE ELDERLINGS — in particular, the FARSEER SAGA and FITZ AND THE FOOL books — as many readers are. Naturally, with Assassin’s Fate bringing the grand tale of Fitzchivalry Farseer to a close, you might feel a bit cast adrift, wondering where you might get your fix for “young assassin’s bildungsroman” paired with a deadly mentor and spycraft-disguised-as-theatre in an epic fantasy setting.

August 9th, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | R.J. Barker | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Standard Hollywood Depravity: Killer-robot conceit succeeds in shorter format

Standard Hollywood Depravity by Adam Christopher

The very thing which makes Adam Christopher’s Ray Electromatic a compelling character — he’s a robot P.I.-turned-assassin for hire with a 24-hour memory — is simultaneously the best and most-frustrating thing about his RAY ELECTROMATIC series. When Christopher is restrained by the shorter word-counts of the novelette “Brisk Money” or this novella, Standard Hollywood Depravity (2017), there’s no room for unnecessary repetition or extraneous plot devices, and the “robot noir” at the heart of this series takes center stage.

Linnea Hartsuyker: Five Surprising Things I Learned About Vikings

Today Linnea Hartsuyker stops by Fantasy Literature to share some interesting facts about Vikings, which she heavily researched for her debut novel, The Half-Drowned King (which I loved). This novel brings to life the figures and circumstances surrounding Harald Fairhair, the ruler who unified the lesser kingdoms or Norway, and who happens to be a great-great-etc. ancestor of Mr. Hartsuyker herself! We have three copies of The Half-Drowned King to give away, so please comment below for a chance to win!

Five Surprising Things I Learned About Vikings

When I set out to write The Half-Drowned King,

August 4th, 2017. Jana Nyman | Linnea Hartsuyker | Expanded Universe, Giveaway! | 22 comments |

Strange Alchemy: Working out the kinks

Strange Alchemy by Gwenda Bond

Strange Alchemy (2017) has the unusual distinction of being Gwenda Bond’s first and latest published novel — originally released in 2012 as Blackwood by Strange Chemistry, indie publisher Angry Robot’s YA imprint, this novel is one of many to find new life elsewhere after Strange Chemistry’s brief tenure. For readers who, like myself, are reading Strange Alchemy after already becoming familiar with Bond’s style, this novel is an interesting look at where her career started,

The Half-Drowned King: A fascinating tale of revenge and freedom

The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker

The Half-Drowned King (2017), Linnea Hartsuyker’s debut novel, is a fascinating glimpse into a long-ago time, when Scandinavian warriors took their dragon-boats as far south as Constantinople or west to Ireland, trading with and terrorizing the locals, depending on regional treaties and individual temperaments. By necessity, this accounting of events leading up to the coronation of King Harald Fairhair is largely fictionalized, but as most sagas and poems about his life were compiled a few centuries after his death — rather like King Arthur of Britain — their own historical accuracy should be taken with a pinch of salt and enjoyed for their entertainment value.

August 2nd, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Linnea Hartsuyker | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Bannerless: A thoughtful detective story in a post-apocalyptic world

Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

In Bannerless (2017), Carrie Vaughn ― perhaps best known for her KITTY NORVILLE urban fantasy series inhabited by werewolves and vampires ― has created a reflective, deliberately paced post-apocalyptic tale with some detective fiction mixed in. It’s about a hundred years in our world’s future and after an event simply called the Fall, when civilization collapsed worldwide. The cities are now ruins, abandoned by all but the most desperate people. Climate change has resulted in, among other things,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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