The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey
I picked up The Phoenix Unchained, the first novel in The Enduring Flame trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory because I haven’t read Lackey before (and I wanted to) and this book was available for download in audio format (and I needed something for my commute). The Phoenix Unchained is a sequel to The Obsidian Trilogy which, unfortunately, is not available (yet) on audio, and which I haven’t read.
August 10th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | Mercedes Lackey | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The wood sucks at the mind, it sucks out the dreams.
Many times I don’t like sequels because there’s nothing new to learn. Authors tend to give us all of their world-building in the first novel, so I’m often bored by a sequel. But Lavondyss blew my mind. It is, I have no doubt, one of the best fantasy novels ever written.
In Mythago Wood, Harry Keeton entered the forest with Steven and he’s been there for years.
July 23rd, 2009. Kat Hooper and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Robert Holdstock | BSFA Award | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham
I’ve been a big fan of Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartet and The Price of Spring, its concluding volume, confirms my view that it is one of the more original and best-written fantasy epics in recent years.
If you haven’t read the third volume, An Autumn War, stop reading here as you’ll run into spoilers for that book.
As has been the pattern in the series, the story picks up years after the events of An Autumn War.
July 21st, 2009. Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Daniel Abraham | Audio | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins has already proven her talent for storytelling with her recently completed Gregor the Underlander series. In that series, she showed she was able to create strong characters, move plot along quickly, deftly control the rise and fall in tension, and create moving scenes. While there were some weak sections in the series (sometimes the pace moved too quickly, settings often could have been more detailed, and a few characters could have been more richly drawn), by the end she had crafted one of the best YA series to hit the shelves the past few years — a thoughtful,
July 9th, 2009. Bill Capossere, Kelly Lasiter, John Hulet, Terry Weyna and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Suzanne Collins | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Wild Thyme, Green Magic by Jack Vance
I’m a big fan of Jack Vance’s wild imagination and his “high-end” writing style (his description, as I learned in this book). So, I was happy to get a copy of Wild Thyme, Green Magic, an assortment of his fantasy and science fiction tales which have previously been published in several SFF magazines and have now been compiled and edited by Terry Dowling and Jonathan Strahan and published by Subterranean Press.
July 5th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Jack Vance | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
I’m impressed with Brandon Sanderson’s first fantasy trilogy. The entire story was carefully thought out, well-plotted, and well-paced. What impresses me most is that in this last installment, The Hero of Ages, there are plenty of wonderful surprises left. But these surprises aren’t little add-ons that Sanderson lately thought up and decided to throw in just to keep up the interest and excitement. These are major pieces of the puzzle that have purposely been left for the characters (and therefore the readers) to discover.
June 23rd, 2009. Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5, 4 | Brandon Sanderson | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A Sorcerer’s Treason by Sarah Zettel
Bridget Lederle is the lighthouse keeper on Sand Island, Wisconsin in 1899. She’s an outcast, having had a baby (which died) while she was single. One night she saves the life of mysterious Valin Kalami whose boat crashed onto the rocky shore of Lake Superior.
It turns out that Kalami is a sorcerer sent from the kingdom of Isavalta to find Bridget — who doesn’t realize that she has a tie to this parallel world and some powers of her own. With not much to keep her on Sand Island,
June 19th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Sarah Zettel | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Charles de Lint said once that the current urban-fantasy novels are highly focused on character, and that readers like or dislike a series based on whether they connect with the protagonist. (I wish I could find that quote!) Based on this, I’m not surprised that Charlaine Harris has, as I write this review, the top three best-selling fantasy titles on Amazon. Disclaimer: I’ve only read this first book so far, and haven’t seen the TV series. But from what I’ve seen, Sookie Stackhouse is a delight.
June 16th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter and Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5, 4 | Charlaine Harris | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan
Crossroads of Twilight was maddening. I read it years ago and ended up giving up on The Wheel of Time after this book. I tried again in my preparation for reading Memory of Light, and I just couldn’t manage to do it again. So, as with Winter’s Heart, I cheated by reading many of the chapter summaries at Encyclopaedia WOT. I skimmed the chapters involving Perrin’s hunt for Faile because I remembered how slow,
May 21st, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 0.5 | Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick
Some people don’t like to admit that they didn’t “get” a book, but I’m secure enough with myself to say that I didn’t get this one.
The Iron Dragon’s Daughter started off well. Jane is a human changeling who works in a Faerie factory that makes flying iron dragons for weapons. Jane and the other child slave laborers (who are a mix of strange creatures) are entertaining and bring to mind Lord of the Flies and that scene in Sid’s room from Pixar’s Toy Story.
May 16th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | Michael Swanwick | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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