Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Kat Hooper

The Curse of Chalion: Beautifully written, excellent audiobook

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Lois McMaster Bujold has long been esteemed in the science fiction genre, so I expected great things from The Curse of Chalion, and I’m happy to report that I wasn’t disappointed. This is an excellent piece of work! Bujold’s story is completely fresh, and the world-building and magic system are unique, too. I was hooked from page one and it proceeds at a pleasant pace with plenty of surprises and plot twists. Characterization is deep and somehow Bujold made me really like the main character,

The Ruins of Gorlan: Felt like an old favorite

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Will, the hero of The Ruins of Gorlan, could probably have been taken in entirety from any number of authors who have written this sort of children’s/YA stuff, but for me it was like I was 13 years old and reading Magician’s Apprentice by Raymond Feist. That is high praise because I read that book over and over until the cover literally fell off and the binding no longer held the pages together.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: We love it

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I’m giving Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell a 5 for the simply reason that I thoroughly enjoyed it all the way through, but I’d warn all readers to be more wary than usual of reviews (including this one). More than many books, this one I think will be a matter of true personal taste and experience will be your only truly accurate guide.

To begin with, Strange is often referred to as a “fantasy”

July 14th, 2007. Bill Capossere, Kat Hooper, Marion Deeds, Tadiana Jones and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Susanna Clarke | Audio, Hugo Award, Mythopoeic Award, Stand-Alone, World Fantasy Award | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Doppelganger (Warrior): Marie Brennan’s debut shows promise

Doppelganger (Warrior) by Marie Brennan

I picked up Doppelganger (Warrior) because Marie Brennan is a graduate student at Indiana University where I also went to grad school, so I felt a connection there. (How she’s managing to write novels while in grad school, I’ll never know!) Overall, Doppelganger is a good debut.

At first the story follows the separate lives of Mirage, a kick-butt warrior who has recently graduated from warrior school and makes her living by being commissioned for various dangerous tasks,

June 21st, 2007. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Marie Brennan | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Sword of Shannara: Too derivative

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

The Sword of Shannara was a very popular book back in the 70s right after the huge success of THE LORD OF THE RINGS when everyone wanted to read more fantasy. I wasn’t old enough to read it back then, so I came to it much later. I read part of the first book and, knowing how popular it had been, and feeling like it was a classic, I was prepared to enjoy it. About half way through I gave it to my ten year old son.

June 21st, 2007. Kat Hooper´s rating: 0.1 | Terry Brooks | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Reunion: A little shaky and predictable

Reunion by Meg Cabot

Reunion is the third book in the Mediator series by Meg Cabot/Jenny Carroll, centering around a young woman named Susannah ‘Suze’ Simon, who is a Mediator: someone who guides unquiet spirits to their eternal rest (whether they like it or not!) Having recently moved from New York to California to live with her mum’s new husband, Suze has had to learn to cope with a new Catholic school and putting up with three new stepbrothers as well as the supernatural antics of the ghosts she has to control.

Poison Study: Lightweight political fantasy

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Overall, I am impressed with Maria Snyder‘s first novel, Poison Study. It was well written and the main characters are likeable, complex, and engaging. The characters of the “supporting staff” are also well done. The dialogue is realistic and the writing style is pleasant and unpretentious. The pace is quick, there is political intrigue, spying, treachery, fighting, forgiveness, personal growth, and romance (although the single love scene was confusing and a bit corny).

However, the plot was somewhat predictable and there were few surprises.

June 9th, 2007. Kat Hooper, John Hulet, Tadiana Jones and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Maria V. Snyder | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Kushiel’s Chosen: A painful but beautiful story

Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey

Jacqueline Carey returns to the lush and decadent world of Terre d’Ange in Kushiel’s Chosen, sequel to the strange but beautiful Kushiel’s Dart, and produces a sequel that unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor.

Our masochistic heroine, Phèdre, leaves behind her comfortable new life as a country countess when she begins to suspect that all is not well in Terre d’Ange. She believes that Melisande Shahrizai, from her hiding place in La Serenissima (Venice),

Mistborn: The Final Empire: So much to like!

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I was a fan of Brandon Sanderson’s first novel, Elantris, though the novel had some pretty clear flaws. I’m an even bigger fan of his follow-up, Mistborn, a book that has all the plusses of Elantris without the problems.

Mistborn takes places in an ashen, devastated world where the “Skaa” are a brutally downtrodden majority who do all the work for the aristocratic minority of the Great Houses,

Kushiel’s Dart: Love and pain are never far apart

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel’s Dart is the story of Phèdre, marked as a masochist by the angel of pain and punishment, and trained from youth as a courtesan and spy. The book follows her through her childhood and then the vicissitudes of one fateful year, in which Phèdre learns more about pain and love than she had ever dreamed possible. Tragedy strikes her comfortable life, and she is sold into slavery among the Skaldi (analogous to Vikings), and must use her talents and her wits to survive.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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