Nine of Stars (2016), Laura Bickle‘s dark and fantastical tale of an alchemist’s daughter in Wyoming, is attempting to cast a wide net as far as its readership goes. It is billed as both the third instalment of the DARK ALCHEMY trilogy, as well as the first book in the WILDLANDS series, which readers can jump straight into. What’s more, it’s a fantasy-cum-crime-cum-romance, so it should in theory be ticking a lot of boxes for a lot of readers.
January 24th, 2017. Jana Nyman and Ray McKenzie´s rating: 3 | Laura Bickle | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear
New Amsterdam is billed as “the hardcover debut” from Elizabeth Bear, who had been winning awards for her short stories and novels before this work was published in 2007. Though not exactly described as such, New Amsterdam is a compilation of six short stories, each connected to and increasingly dependent upon the others as the overarching plot progresses. While each story is ostensibly a mystery which requires investigation and the use of forensic sorcery in order to arrive at each solution,
January 20th, 2017. Jana Nyman and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Elizabeth Bear | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
In the northern lands of medieval Rus’, a daughter is born to Pyotr Vladimirovich, a boyar, lord over many lands, and his wife Marina, who dies in childbirth. But Marina, daughter of the Grand Prince of Moscow and a mysterious, swan-like beggar girl, has bequeathed her daughter Vasilisa a mystical heritage. Vasilisa, or Vasya, grows up to be a spirited and rather rebellious young girl who, like an untamed colt, freely roams the fields and forest, and is able to see and communicate with the domovoi (a guardian of the home),
January 11th, 2017. Tadiana Jones, Jana Nyman and Katie Burton´s rating: 4.5, 5 | Katherine Arden | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
I am not, historically, a fan of zombie narratives — neither in books nor in movies. The allegories are too obvious: consumerism, racism, opposing political party members, generalized xenophobia, etc. There’s hardly ever a satisfying answer as to why any of this is happening. Characters rarely do anything more interesting than board up windows, shriek at each other, get chewed on, and then do a little chewing of their own before dying gruesomely. Imagine my grateful surprise, then, when I opened up a copy of Mira Grant’s Feedback (2016),
January 3rd, 2017. Jana Nyman and Kate Lechler´s rating: 4.5 | Mira Grant | Horror | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Heiress of Collinwood by Lara Parker
Heiress of Collinwood (2016) is the fourth DARK SHADOWS novel written by Lara Parker, who happens to have been an original cast member on the gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows, which ran on American television from 1966 – 1971 and has inspired a large number of tie-in novels. (Ms. Parker starred in the role of Angélique Bouchard Collins, in addition to a few other characters.) Contrary to the comedic tone of Tim Burton’s 2012 film based on the show,
December 7th, 2016. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Lara Parker | Horror | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer
Last Song Before Night (2015) is the debut novel from Ilana C. Myer, and while many aspects of the work shine — detailed world-building combined with protagonist backstory and development — they come at the expense of antagonist development, prose ranging from lovely to overly ornate, and, most importantly, the plot of the novel itself.
The novel ranges far and wide, but at its crux, there is a woman named Lin who seeks to achieve the impossible by becoming a female poet,
December 5th, 2016. Jana Nyman and Kevin Wei´s rating: 3 | Ilana C. Myer | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
The Queen of Blood (2016) is the first book in an epic fantasy series by Sarah Beth Durst, THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA. Durst seems to be able to write whatever she sets her mind to: YA, urban fantasy, or dark fairy tales. The Queen of Blood is a briskly-paced story that introduces us to an original fantasy world with some unusual magical powers.
Daleina lives with her parents and little sister in one of the “outer villages” in the great forests of the kingdom of Aratay.
December 2nd, 2016. Marion Deeds, Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Sarah Beth Durst | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
With The Fate of the Tearling (2016), Erika Johansen concludes her QUEEN OF THE TEARLING trilogy, which began in 2014’s The Queen of the Tearling and continued in 2015’s The Invasion of the Tearling. Fans of this YA series have eagerly waited for answers to questions posed throughout the preceding books: What makes Queen Kelsea Glynn special, and why can she experience memories and lifetimes that aren’t her own?
November 30th, 2016. Ray McKenzie and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Erika Johansen | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Family Plot by Cherie Priest
With The Family Plot, Cherie Priest takes a break from steampunk and Lovecraftiana to tackle a tried-and-true convention, the haunted-house story. The book, filled with atmospherics, family feuds and long-buried secrets, is a spooky read that will leave you side-eyeing bathrooms and showers for days after you’ve finished.
The Dutton family business is salvage, and Music City Salvage has just purchased a bonanza of a job — a full Southern estate, built in the 1800s,
November 30th, 2016. Marion Deeds and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Cherie Priest | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation edited and translated by Ken Liu
Invisible Planets is an interesting and varied anthology of thirteen speculative short fiction stories and three essays by seven contemporary Chinese authors, translated into English by Ken Liu. As Liu mentions in the Introduction, several of these stories have won U.S. awards (most notably the 2016 Hugo Award for best novelette, given to Hao Jingfang’s Folding Beijing) and have been included in “Year’s Best” anthologies.
November 28th, 2016. Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Cixin Liu, Hao Jingfang, Ken Liu | Hugo Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
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