Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Kate Lechler

The Goblin Emperor: A beautiful world and protagonist

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

A few weeks ago I finally finished with revisions to my dissertation and rewarded myself with a read of The Goblin Emperor, the first book published under the name of Katherine Addison (the pen-name for Sarah Monette, accomplished spec-fic author).

It’s been a while since I experienced such pure undiluted reading enjoyment. I was thrilled on every page that this book even existed, and even more excited that Katherine Addison is a young writer so that,

August 16th, 2021. Kate Lechler, Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman´s rating: 5 | Katherine Addison | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

BINTI: The Complete Trilogy

Editor’s note: BINTI was originally published in three separate novellas but has recently been released in a complete trilogy. We’ve combined all of our new and previous BINTI reviews in this post.

BINTI: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor

As Binti, a mathematically brilliant, 16 year old member of the African Himba tribe, sneaks away from her home in the dead of night, I felt almost as much anticipation as Binti herself. Binti has decided, against massive family pressure, to accept a full-ride scholarship to the renowned Oomza University on a planet named ― wait for it ― Oomza Uni.

City of Miracles: A perfect ending!

City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett

Bill: I think it’s going to be impossible to review City of Miracles (2017) without reference to events from Robert Jackson Bennett’s first two books in the series (City of Stairs, City of Blades). or without discussing the major precipitating event (no real pangs of guilt here; that event is also detailed in the official bookseller summary), so consider this your fair warning: There be spoilers ahead!

February 14th, 2018. Bill Capossere, Marion Deeds, Kate Lechler and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Robert Jackson Bennett | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |

City of Blades: Inspiring and heartbreaking

City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

Marion: City of Blades is the second book in Robert Jackson Bennett’s THE DIVINE CITIES series, which tells several sides of the story of a major international cultural conflict. Saypur, a civilization that has been oppressed by the Continent for centuries, rose up and subdued its oppressors by killing their gods. In the wake of the Saypuri revolution and its conquest of the Continent, all of the Continental Divinities have vanished,

February 7th, 2018. Marion Deeds, Kate Lechler, Bill Capossere and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Robert Jackson Bennett | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

City of Stairs: A glorious, mind-bending mash-up

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

City of Stairs is a glorious, mind-bending mash-up; part second-world fantasy, part political thriller and part murder mystery. Shara Thivani and her “secretary” Sigrud are my two new favorite action heroes.

Robert Jackson Bennett once again, has taken a conventional sub-genre and made it original, creating an experience that reads like an actual sociological thriller set in another, magical world.

Shara Thivani is a junior ambassador from the Saypuri islands – at least, that is her cover.

February 2nd, 2018. Marion Deeds, Kate Lechler and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | Robert Jackson Bennett | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Robert Jackson Bennett talks DIVINE CITIES

Robert Jackson Bennett first came to our attention in 2010 with his Depression-era dark fantasy Mr. Shivers. He won the Shirley Jackson Award for that book. He has since published The Company Man (which won an Edgar Award and a special citation from the Philip K. Dick award), The Troupe and American Elsewhere, which garnered him another Shirley Jackson Award. The first book in his breath-taking DIVINE CITIES trilogy,

June 13th, 2017. Marion Deeds, Bill Capossere and Kate Lechler | Robert Jackson Bennett | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 22 comments |

How reviewing for FanLit helped my writing career (Giveaway!)

Today we welcome back Dr. Kate Lechler who retired from FanLit so she could focus on her writing career.

I’m a writer and a teacher. By day, I teach English literature at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS, and at night, I write about genetically engineered dragons and unicorns. My work has appeared in Podcastle, Metaphorosis, and Arsenika, and is forthcoming from Superstition Review. From 2014-2016, I reviewed SFF for FanLit but in December I retired so I could concentrate on my fiction.

April 7th, 2017. Kate Lechler, Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds | Expanded Universe, Giveaway! | 26 comments |

Rosewater: Weird, gritty, gorgeous alien invasion story

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

In the Nigerian town of Rosewater, Kaaro, the main character of Tade Thompson’s Rosewater (2016), works for Section 45, a sinister government agency. Rosewater is built next to an alien dome, Utopicity, and the arrival of the aliens ten years earlier seems to have unleashed a host of unusual occurrences and abilities within the human population of Rosewater.

Kaaro is one of these people — for his job at Section 45, he prevents crime, can read the minds of prisoners,

Feedback: The cure for the common zombie nonsense

Feedback by Mira Grant

I am not, historically, a fan of zombie narratives — neither in books nor in movies. The allegories are too obvious: consumerism, racism, opposing political party members, generalized xenophobia, etc. There’s hardly ever a satisfying answer as to why any of this is happening. Characters rarely do anything more interesting than board up windows, shriek at each other, get chewed on, and then do a little chewing of their own before dying gruesomely. Imagine my grateful surprise, then, when I opened up a copy of Mira Grant’s Feedback (2016),

Frankenstein: A classic for a reason

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley’s first novel was written in 1818 when Shelley (then Mary Godwin) was only 20. She was staying with her husband-to-be, the married poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, on Lake Geneva. As a kind of game, Lord Byron, their friend and companion, proposed that each person in the party write a ghost story. Byron wrote the third canto of Childe Harold; another friend, Polidori, was inspired to write the first vampire novel, “The Vampyre.” But Mary Shelley’s response to the prompt would ultimately become the most famous: Frankenstein,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Recent Discussion:

Sandy on Quest for the White Witch: The exciting conclusion to an epic trilogyMay 5, 2025
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Marion Deeds on Quest for the White Witch: The exciting conclusion to an epic trilogyMay 5, 2025
Wonderful review, Sandy.
Marion Deeds on Red Rabbit: Perfect blend of western adventure and wild magicApril 27, 2025
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Marion Deeds on The Antidote: Sometimes great, sometimes befuddlingApril 26, 2025
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
Bill Capossere on Red Rabbit: Perfect blend of western adventure and wild magicApril 25, 2025
this sounds like a fun one