The Man of Gold by M.A.R. Barker
The Man of Gold is a lush, richly written fantasy novel. M.A.R. Barker’s work is both strongly developed and highly detailed, at levels that few other authors ever attain. Barker spent decades building the living, breathing world of Tékumel. In the 1970s, Barker developed this world into a role-playing setting; later, in the 1980s, he wrote a series of novels set there. The Man of Gold, published in 1984,
August 23rd, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 4 | M.A.R. Barker | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Magic of Recluce (Special 20th Anniversary Edition) by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
I first read The Magic of Recluce over 15 years ago, and I still have my original paperback copy. This year two special editions are being released by Tor and Subterranean Press. Rereading this story again, after having covered so much ground in epic fantasy, was both interesting and very comforting — comforting because it was nice to realize that a good story is still a good story even after all these years.
The Magic of Recluce chronicles the life of Lerris,
June 20th, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The Chicagoland Vampires series started out fairly light and has gradually become darker. The unpretentious, easily digestible writing style is still in effect, and humor is still present, but Merit’s troubles have increased in complexity and the emotional stakes have been steadily raised. Hard Bitten is the fourth in the series and the darkest so far. Chloe Neill brings together a number of previously introduced plot arcs, and all hell breaks loose.
Merit is touched by Ethan’s recent gestures but still wary of him after their breakup in Twice Bitten.
June 6th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter and John Hulet´s rating: 3, 4 | Chloe Neill | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
When I first saw The Pack, I thought it looked completely cliché. Silly me… Jason Starr takes one of the more oft-used themes in urban fantasy, the werewolf community in modern society, and takes it in an original direction. The Pack has flaws, but it’s so real and the main character is so believable that I finished it in less than 24 hours. Starr deserves a lot of credit for crossing over from the crime fiction genre to urban fantasy and doing it well.
May 31st, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | Jason Starr | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell
[In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.]
Often there is a fine line between historical fiction and fantasy. In the case of Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell, the line is especially blurry. Of course, there is no magic or elves or dragons.
April 29th, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 4 | Bernard Cornwell | Edge | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Kim Harrison is so much fun to read. Harrison is an urban fantasy author who understands the need for story, adventure, and just enough relationship interaction to give the story meaning without gutting the fantasy elements in favor of paranormal romance. In Pale Demon, many of the adventures that take place are based on relationships, but the core of the story is about commitment to friends and doing what’s right — a great combination.
Rachel Morgan has been in deep trouble with the “good witch” PTA for some time now.
March 22nd, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | Kim Harrison | SFF Reviews | no comments |
River Marked by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson has been through a lot. Patricia Briggs has not spared her heroine anything and, in River Marked, if feels like Mercy is finally going to get a break… This feeling, however, is not to last…
The first quarter of River Marked focuses on Mercy’s plans to marry alpha werewolf Adam Hauptmann. She’s also still dealing with some of the lingering problems from previous books, like the recovery of her vampire friend Stefan and her continued adjustment to being a coyote in a wolf pack.
March 11th, 2011. John Hulet and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Patricia Briggs | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Elfsorrow is the first book in The Legends of the Raven, James Barclay’s second series about a group of mercenaries called the Raven. If you have not read the previous series, The Chronicles of the Raven, you are going to end up guessing at much of what is going on. If I had it to do over again, I would have read the previous series first; based on all the information that I had to figure out from context,
February 19th, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | James Barclay | SFF Reviews | no comments |
March in Country by E.E. Knight
March in Country had a lot to live up to after Winter Duty, the previous book in the prolific Vampire Earth series by E.E. Knight. Winter Duty was a tour de force example of grit, determination, pain and combat that really re-energized the series.
David Valentine has always been an amazing contradiction of hardened killer in combat and soft-hearted do-gooder after. Some of the lengths he has gone to in order to save friends,
February 12th, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | E.E. Knight | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick
Mike Resnick’s The Buntline Special is a steampunk-injected re-telling of the gunfight at the OK Corral. Many of the classic characters, including Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, are present, making for a fun adventure.
The steampunk elements of The Buntline Special are introduced at the very beginning as Doc Holiday rides an electric bulletproof stagecoach into Tombstone. Resnick doesn’t tell us much about what happened to make magic work or the how the alternative technologies came to be — they just are,
January 23rd, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Mike Resnick | SFF Reviews | no comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
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…