Grave Importance by Vivian Shaw
Grave Importance (2019) is the third DR GRETA HELSING book by Vivian Shaw, following Strange Practice and Dreadful Company. For the best experience, you should read those books first, though it’s not strictly necessary. Each book’s main plot stands alone, but the characters’ relationships (including a romance) develop over the course of the three novels.
After the events of Dreadful Company,
November 26th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Vivian Shaw | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
Holly Black’s FOLK OF THE AIR series just gets better and better. This final novel, The Queen of Nothing (2019) is a thrilling conclusion. You need to read the first two books, The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, first. There will be spoilers here for those books. You may also want to read The Lost Sisters,
November 19th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Holly Black | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw
Dreadful Company (2018) is the second book in Vivian Shaw’s warm-hearted DR GRETA HELSING series. It follows Strange Practice which, for best results, I’d recommend reading first. The stories are self-contained, but the characters’ relationships with each other evolve a bit throughout the series.
Greta has been asked to present a paper at a medical conference in Paris. She travels to the City of Lights with her vampire friend Lord Ruthven and,
November 14th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Vivian Shaw | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
Greta Helsing, a 34 year old doctor, has a discreet medical practice in modern London. Her life’s mission is to study, help, and heal all of the supernatural creatures that most of the world is unaware of and would view as monsters if they did learn about them. As you might expect, this gets her into all sorts of weird situations that have been documented in Vivian Shaw’s DR GRETA HELSING series.
In this opening volume, we meet a couple of Greta’s best friends: Lord Ruthven,
November 13th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Vivian Shaw | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
You have never heard me gush over a novel by Joe Abercrombie, but times have changed and gushing will now commence. A Little Hatred (2019) is fabulous. It’s got everything I’m looking for in a fantasy novel.
A Little Hatred is the first book in Abercrombie’s new fantasy series, THE AGE OF MADNESS. It’s set in the same world as his FIRST LAW series (The Blade Itself,
November 12th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Joe Abercrombie | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch
My friends here at FanLit love Ben Aaronovitch’s RIVERS OF LONDON / PETER GRANT series. I haven’t read any of the novels yet, so when The October Man (2019), a related stand-alone novella, was recently released, I thought it might be the perfect place to jump in.
I was right. Though familiarity with the novels might have made things a little easier, I found The October Man to be both perfectly understandable and enjoyable.
November 6th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Ben Aaronovitch | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
SHORTS: The annual Halloween edition. Our horror-themed column this week, reviewing some recent online short fiction works, features demon babies, slasher film heroines, ghosts and more.
“Growing and Growing” by Rich Larson (2019, free at Nightmare Magazine)
Ignacio and Hector are on their way home after a night of drinking when they find a baby crying in the middle of the road. Ignacio decides to bring it home for the night so he can take it to the hospital in the morning. But on the way home,
October 31st, 2019. Kat Hooper and Tadiana Jones | Jonathan Carroll | Audio, Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A nightmarish disease has attacked a small but growing group of people in rural America. They are walking, zombie-like, across the country together. Nobody knows where they’re going or why. They can’t be communicated with and they can’t be stopped. Some of their family and friends follow behind, trying to keep them safe.
The CDC is investigating, trying to track down the origins of this strange outbreak. Homeland Security is worried that it’s a biological weapon. POTUS can’t decide whether or not she should send in the military.
October 28th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Chuck Wendig | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Red Magician by Lisa Goldstein
Winner of the National Book Award, Lisa Goldstein’s The Red Magician (1982) is such an unusual fantasy novel. I read it because Tantor Audio has just released the first audio edition of the book.
As the story begins, a young girl named Kisci is growing up in a small, isolated Jewish community in Eastern Europe. Her family’s rabbi is visiting Kisci’s home and expressing his displeasure at the way Kisci’s school is teaching Hebrew as if it were a common language.
October 25th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Lisa Goldstein | Audio, Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Queen’s Advantage by Jessie Mihalik
The Queen’s Advantage (2019) is the second story in Jessie Mihalik’s ROGUE QUEEN series. These are short and entertaining science fiction novellas. I enjoyed the first one, The Queen’s Gambit, because it’s fast-paced, has a strong female protagonist, an appealing love interest, and a nice sense of humor. You’ll want to read it before picking up The Queen’s Advantage.
I listened to Tantor Audio’s edition which is narrated by Rachel Dulude.
October 22nd, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Jessie Mihalik | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.