Valdemar (2023) is the third and final book in Mercedes Lackey’s FOUNDING OF VALDEMAR trilogy. This series is a great place to start if you’re new to Valdemar, but you’ll definitely want to read Beyond and Into the West first. Only mild spoilers for those books ahead.
It’s been ten years since Duke Kordas Valdemar led his people away from the Empire, and they’re still working to establish their new home.
March 21st, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Mercedes Lackey | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Into the West by Mercedes Lackey
Into the West (2022) is the second book in Mercedes Lackey’s THE FOUNDING OF VALDEMAR trilogy. Readers can absolutely start with this trilogy before diving into any other VALDEMAR books, but you’ll want to read Beyond, the first (and most exciting) book in this trilogy, before picking up this one. Only mild spoilers for Beyond are in this review.
The journey continues with Duke Kordas Valdemar and his people as they seek a new home.
March 12th, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Mercedes Lackey | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Mercedes Lackey’s Beyond (2021) is the first book in her THE FOUNDING OF VALDEMAR trilogy which is set in her wider VALDEMAR universe. As the name of the trilogy suggests, it’s a prequel, so Beyond is a fine entry point in the VALDEMAR series and, in fact, I’d recommend it as a great starting point because it’s well-written and entertaining all the way through. Lackey’s books are often hit or miss for me and Beyond,
March 4th, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Mercedes Lackey | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wood Sprites (2014) is the fourth installment in Wen Spencer’s ELFHOME series. You’ll want to read the previous books (Tinker, Wolf Who Rules, and Elfhome) first.
Wood Sprites takes a surprising turn—one that, frankly, the series needed. Instead of following Tinker’s storyline, we return to Earth and meet two precocious nine-year-old twins,
February 21st, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Wen Spencer | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Calling (2022), the final installment in Molly Harper‘s SORCERY AND SOCIETY trilogy, brings Sarah Smith’s journey to a close. You’ll want to read Changeling and Fledgling first (expect spoilers for those installments in this review).
This story continues with Sarah, Alicia, and Ivy hiding out in the English countryside with the changeling children they’ve rescued. They’re trying to protect them from the looming threat of Miss Morton’s zombie army.
February 14th, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Molly Harper | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Elfhome (2012) is the third book in Wen Spencer’s ELFHOME series, and it’s definitely not where you want to start if you’re new to the series. You’ll need to have read Tinker and Wolf Who Rules first to fully grasp what’s going on and why the stakes are so high.
The story kicks off with Tinker recovering from a broken arm and being cornered by a persistent reporter who,
January 24th, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Wen Spencer | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wen Spencer’s Wolf Who Rules (2006) is the second book in her ELFHOME series, blending urban fantasy and science fiction in an alternate Pittsburgh. In my review of the first book, Tinker, I explained that while I loved the premise and setting, I didn’t think Spencer fully capitalized on its potential. I wanted more weird Pittsburgh—the cultural oddities of a city stuck in an elven dimension were intriguing but underexplored. I found Tinker‘s plot overburdened with infodumps and the protagonist’s characterization leaning heavily into Mary Sue territory,
January 9th, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Wen Spencer | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wen Spencer’s Tinker (2003), the first book in her ELFHOME series, presents a unique mix of urban fantasy and science fiction. The premise, which is the series’ best feature, is imaginative — due to a glitch with an interdimensional gate, the city of Pittsburgh (but not the rest of the United States) exists in Elfhome, an alternate dimension inhabited by elves. Once a month the gate is powered down and Pittsburgh returns to Earth for one day to get resupplied. Pittsburgh is so weird that it doesn’t really interact with the rest of the U.S.
December 12th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Wen Spencer | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Reposting to include Marion’s new review.
Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb
FitzChivalry Farseer’s life keeps getting worse. He has once again barely — and I mean just barely — survived Uncle Regal’s machinations. As Assassin’s Quest, the third book in Robin Hobb’s FARSEER trilogy, opens, Fitz’s situation seems hopeless. Only a couple of people know he still lives and Molly is not one of them. She’s gone, and it seems safest for Fitz to let her live in ignorance.
December 2nd, 2024. Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Robin Hobb | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
No Night Without Stars by Andre Norton
No Night Without Stars (1975), by Andre Norton, is a post-apocalyptic adventure set in a world where civilization has collapsed, and all that’s left are scavengers and warring factions.
The hero of the story is an ambitious and curious young man named Sander who has left his tribe, where he feels disrespected, to search for lost knowledge from the past. Sander hopes to discover the secrets of creating a particular alloy that smiths used to use.
September 12th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Andre Norton | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I might say "formulaic" actually.
Your review made me curious, so I looked this book up. Sure enough: Tor. Tor seems to specialize in these…
It's a tightrope act for sure.
[…] Stuart (2 December 2015). “Roadside Picnic: Russian SF classic with parallels to Vandermeer’s Area X | Fantasy Lit…. fantasyliterature.com. Retrieved 8 […]
yes, I mean, there are certainly lots of good sci-fi/fantasy novellas out there, so they aren't impossible to do, but…