The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
It’s unfortunate that Tanith Lee had to pass away for me to get the jolt of interest needed to read her work. The Silver Metal Lover (1981), one of her most loved works, is a story about an immature love that blossoms into a fully realized one, and about an immature girl who cries too often and falls in love too easily but blossoms into a strong-willed, independent woman. It’s a story about Jane, and her relationship with her robot lover,
January 25th, 2017. João Eira and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Tanith Lee | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
What would you give in exchange for immortality? Greg Egan‘s unabashed answer to that question in Permutation City is simple: Your humanity. Its sounds cliché, but Permutation City is a book that is able to do what only the best science fiction books can: make you think of questions you never knew you had, and imagine futures that seem ever more possible as time passes.
Around the mid-21st century, mind-uploading technology has been perfected,
May 13th, 2016. João Eira and Stuart Starosta | Greg Egan | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
House of Chains by Steven Erikson
Being the fourth entry in Steven Erikson’s sprawling series THE MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN, House of Chains continues with the storyline first started in Deadhouse Gates and somewhat loosely with the repercussions of the explosive climax to Memories of Ice. I won’t bother trying to summarize the setup of the book, and readers are expected to have knowledge of the previous books. So, if you have not yet read them — and I would suggest you give at least Gardens of the Moon a try — then I wouldn’t recommend reading this review.
May 9th, 2016. João Eira´s rating: 4 | Steven Erikson | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Downfall of the Gods by K.J. Parker
Who do you fear when you’re an immortal god?
Your father seems worthy of your fear. He is older, more powerful, perhaps wiser. His wrath can make your life a living hell, and you don’t want to be the one god in your family that strays far from the godly path you’re born to follow. Your life is eternal, and that is both blessing and curse. Fortunately, there are a handful of talented human beings in every generation, and a truly wonderful musician has arisen.
February 22nd, 2016. João Eira´s rating: 5 | K.J. Parker | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Neal Stephenson doesn’t shy away from big concepts, long timelines, or larger than life events. His most recent novel, SevenEves, begins with the moon blowing up. Readers never find out what blew up the moon, because all too quickly humanity discovers that the Earth will soon be bombarded by a thousand-year rain of meteorites — the remnants of the moon as they collide with each other in space, becoming smaller and smaller — which will turn Earth into an uninhabitable wasteland. Humankind has a 2-year deadline to preserve its cultural legacy and a breeding population.
December 17th, 2015. Kate Lechler, Stuart Starosta, João Eira and Kat Hooper | Neal Stephenson | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 18 comments |
The Madonna and the Starship by James Morrow
Blue logical positivist lobster aliens give a prize to a writer of a scientific-minded kid’s show and plan to wipe out 2 million religious people from the face of the Earth. And don’t forget to drink your Ovaltine and eat your Kellogg’s Sugar Corn Pops, with the sweetenin’ already on it.
James Morrow‘s novella, The Madonna and the Starship, manages that delightful act of being a laugh out loud funny story at the same time that it intelligently deals with serious issues.
December 9th, 2015. João Eira´s rating: 4 | James Morrow | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton
My jaw remained open whilst I read the last pages of Jo Walton’s The Just City, and for a little while afterwards. Released earlier this year, Walton’s first novel in a new trilogy saw the start of a story whose foundational ideas are so wild, so daring, that only an author with the fullest grasp of her talent could even think of trying to wrestle with them, let alone to actually subdue and then use them to write an engaging story.
November 27th, 2015. João Eira´s rating: 4.5 | Jo Walton | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Now winding down his hectic promotion schedule, Stephen Aryan joins us at Fantasy Literature to talk about his debut fantasy novel, Battlemage, his literary influences, and to tease us about what may be in store for the sequel, Bloodmage.
Three random commenters, two with a US address and one with a UK address, will win a copy of Battlemage. Start your comment with (US) or (UK) according to where you live to enter the giveaway, and please welcome, Stephen Aryan!
João Eira: Hi Stephen,
October 6th, 2015. João Eira | Stephen Aryan | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 32 comments |
There is so much free or inexpensive short fiction available on the internet these days. Here are a few stories we read this week that we wanted you to know about.
“Please Undo This Hurt” by Seth Dickinson (2015, free at Tor.com)
Not speculative fiction, but a very insightful and poignant story of Dominga, an EMT on the verge of burnout after the man she loves breaks up with her. Her friend Nico is in a tough spot as well, after breaking up with his girlfriend because he thought she deserved better,
October 5th, 2015. João Eira, Tadiana Jones, Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds | Aliette De_Bodard, Seth Dickinson | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Battlemage by Stephen Aryan
Not too long ago, as I pondered which book to read next, it came to me on a whim that I was craving an epic fantasy novel where wars were battled with not only bow and sword, but with devastating magic. Granted, it’s a simple wish. I wasn’t looking for a deep exploration of human relationships or an allegory about the state of our current world. I just wanted to read about some big-ass battles fought with dazzling magic. I went to Amazon to search for that hypothetical book and the first search word that popped into my mind was “battlemage.” Lo and behold,
September 29th, 2015. João Eira´s rating: 4.5 | Stephen Aryan | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
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