Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Kat Hooper

Madouc: Lyonesse is Pythonesque

Madouc by Jack Vance

Well, here’s the finale of Jack Vance’s Lyonesse, and I’m sorry to see it end. This novel was about Madouc, the changeling princess of Lyonesse, and her interactions with Casmir, Sollace, Aillas, Dhrun, Shimrod, Throbius, Sir Pom-Pom, Umphred, Twisk, et al.

Madouc maintains the quality of this excellent trilogy — it’s filled with clever prose, charming characters, and lots of imagination. Jack Vance’s careful planning produced a tight plot and Madouc wrapped up all the loose ends from Suldrun’s Garden and The Green Pearl.

Winter’s Heart: Plods along

Winter’s Heart by Robert Jordan

The first six chapters of Winter’s Heart follow Perrin and Faile after Faile is abducted by the Shaido Aiel. The next several chapters follow Elayne as she returns to Caemlyn and prepares to make a bid for her mother’s crown. These two storylines are incredibly dull and I confess that I skimmed over a lot of it and read the excellent cross-referenced chapter summaries at Encyclopaedia WOT. I read Winter’s Heart years ago and I just did not feel like once again sitting in on Elayne’s steward’s descriptions of the rats in the Caemlyn sewers or Perrin’s angst about Faile (good riddance,

Magic Strikes: Ilona Andrews does it again!

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

I didn’t know how much I’d missed Ilona Andrews’ writing until I started reading Magic Strikes (2009). Part of it is the prose. It’s vivid, it has a great streak of humor running through it, and best of all, it’s smooth. The reader is never jolted out of the story by a grammar snafu or an awkward phrase.

Part of it is Andrews’ continued use of a wide variety of myths. Andrews is one of the few urban fantasy authors who seem to realize folklore is a huge sandbox.

Warbreaker: Sequel, please!

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

I just finished Warbreaker, and the words that keep coming to mind are “That was so good!” This is the first Brandon Sanderson novel I’ve read, and it certainly won’t be the last. Warbreaker combines highly original world-building with an exciting plot that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The novel begins with the introduction of two major characters: Vivenna and Siri, princesses of the tiny kingdom of Idris. You may think you’ve seen these archetypes before — the stiff,

The Green Pearl: Florid imagination, deliberately peculiar

The Green Pearl by Jack Vance

The Green Pearl is another engrossing adventure in Jack Vance’s whimsical world. This installment of Lyonesse mainly follows Aillas, now King of Troicinet, as he seeks revenge on the Ska, tests his infatuation with Tatzel, deals with a couple of traitors, and tries to thwart the ambitions of King Casmir of Lyonesse who, unbeknownst to Casmir, is Aillas’s son’s grandfather. We also spend quite a bit of time with Shimrod, Glyneth, Melancthe, and some new and excellent characters such as the duplicitous innkeeper Dildahl,

April 28th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Jack Vance | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

In the Night Garden: Delicious and clever (but not for Kevin)

The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente

In the Night Garden is the first in a two-book (maybe more?) series and if book one is any guide, this is as delicious and clever a tale-telling as one is likely to run into for some time. With an Arabian Nights feel and structure, we’re introduced to one engrossing story after another as the demon-girl of the garden (that’s the Sultan’s garden of course) spins them out to the enraptured young prince who disobeys orders and decorum to listen.

April 16th, 2009. Bill Capossere, Rebecca Fisher, Marion Deeds, Kat Hooper and Kevin Wei´s rating: 5 | Catherynne M. Valente | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |

The Path of Daggers: At least it’s shorter

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan

The best thing I can say about The Path of Daggers is that it is significantly shorter than the last few novels have been — only 700 pages (mass market paperback) compared to the 900-1100 page novels that have preceded it. There is much less of the repetitive backstory. I guess Mr. Jordan finally realized that new readers aren’t jumping in at this point.

However, that’s not to say that there are 700 pages of plot here,

Suldrun’s Garden: Beautiful and complex, full of fascinating characters

Suldrun’s Garden by Jack Vance

As I’m writing this, Jack Vance’s under-appreciated Lyonesse trilogy has been off the shelves for years. My library doesn’t even have a copy — it had to be interlibrary loaned for me. Why is that? Publishers have been printing a seemingly endless stream of vampire and werewolf novels these days — same plot, same characters, blah blah blah. If not that, it’s grit. We all want grit.

Or maybe it’s that more women are reading fantasy these days and publishers think we want to read about bad-ass heroines who kill vampires.

April 15th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Jack Vance | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |

Knights of Dark Renown: Doesn’t leave us wallowing in darkness

Knights of Dark Renown by David Gemmell

It’s been six years since the legendary Knights of the Gabala rode through a gate to hell in order to fight the evil that threatened the realm. They haven’t been heard from since. But they are desperately needed now because the King, once a noble man, has begun rounding up the nomad population in Holocaust style. People who oppose his actions are named traitors and the King’s new henchmen are very strong and very… undead. The king’s new policies have alienated a lot of people — mostly peasants.

A Kiss of Shadows: Not my cup of mead

A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton promises a story of modern-day faeries and their complex court intrigue, which in theory is right up my alley, but I didn’t really get into A Kiss of Shadows.

By about page 100, my significant other was laughing because I kept yelling aloud, “Is she going to sleep with HIM, TOO?” The entire plot of the book seems to consist of Merry’s sexual adventures. That would be OK if it were good erotica,

April 11th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter and Kat Hooper´s rating: 0.1, 2 | Laurell K. Hamilton | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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