The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by A.S. Byatt
[At The Edge of the Universe, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us. Today we have two reviews of A.S. Byatt’s The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye.]
The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye is a collection of five stories,
November 23rd, 2012. Kelly Lasiter and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | A.S. Byatt | Edge, Mythopoeic Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Today we welcome Pati Nagle who writes the BLOOD OF THE KINDRED (here’s my review of The Betrayal) and the IMMORTAL series. Pati wants to talk about cool fantasy creatures. One commenter wins an ebook copy of Pati’s latest novel Dead Man’s Hand, which was released a couple of weeks ago, and a print copy of her latest YA fantasy novel, Eternal.
I hear a lot of grumbling these days about sparkly vampires, and I wonder if readers are getting tired of vampires in general,
November 15th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter | Pati Nagle | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 30 comments |
Failure of Moonlight by Rosemary Edghill
Failure of Moonlight is a collection of three short stories, a novella, and a brief essay starring Bast, the snarky New York Wiccan protagonist of Rosemary Edghill’s BAST mystery series. All four of the fiction pieces have appeared elsewhere, but this is the first time they’ve been published together. Failure of Moonlight is only available currently as an e-book, costs about two dollars as I write this, and is well worth the price.
November 15th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Rosemary Edghill | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Today we welcome author Alex Bell whose book Lex Trent Versus the Gods has just been released in paperback in the U.S. Amanda enjoyed Lex Trent and I loved Alex Bell’s novel Jasmyn, so we’re pleased to introduce you to Alex who wants to talk about anti-heroes.
There’s no denying that strong, noble, handsome heroes can be enjoyable to read about but, personally, I have always had an immense soft spot for the anti-hero – whether he (or she) is a conman cheating people out of their wealth,
October 25th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter | Alex Bell | Thoughtful Thursday | 19 comments |
Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire
Seanan McGuire has caused me to abandon work and kept me up nights more than any other author I’ve read recently. Her work is so compelling that I absolutely must find out what happens next. Ashes of Honor (2012) was no exception to this rule. It’s the sixth and latest in the OCTOBER DAYE series, and offers up new surprises about the knight and hero of the Court of Shadowed Hills, Toby Daye.
Toby is surprised herself when Etienne,
October 17th, 2012. Terry Weyna and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4, 5 | Seanan McGuire | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
This Case is Gonna Kill Me by Phillipa Bornikova
One of the things I find most interesting in urban fantasy is when real-world problems intersect with fantasy problems in unexpected ways — the legal system being one of them. Thinking back to the early ANITA BLAKE novels, they dealt regularly with the weird legal issues that crop up when supernaturals are involved. Phillipa Bornikova continues in that tradition with This Case is Gonna Kill Me, featuring Linnet Ellery, a freshly minted lawyer who’s just been hired at a firm run by vampires.
October 11th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Phillipa Bornikova | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
In Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, beautiful young Lucy Westenra was staked and buried after being turned into a vampire. Emma Cornwall’s Incarnation picks it up from there. Lucy (here called Lucy Weston) awakens in the grave and claws her way back to the surface, where she makes her way to London and embarks on a search for the mysterious creature who transformed her.
While Incarnation uses events from Dracula as a jumping-off point,
October 8th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Emma Cornwall | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Once every hundred years, the desert clans’ gods come to walk among them. One young man or woman from each clan is chosen to serve as the vessel for that clan’s deity. The human soul dies and returns to the Dreaming, while the god takes over the body. Now incarnate in the vessel’s body, the god works magic to help keep the clan alive in the harsh conditions of the desert.
Liyana has known for years that she is destined to be the vessel for the goddess Bayla.
October 4th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Sarah Beth Durst | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki
In the aftermath of their parents’ separation, Neil and his older sister Bree go to stay with their aunts in a small town in the middle of nowhere. There’s not much to do there — not much, that is, except breaking into Graylock, the abandoned mental hospital in the woods. Along with two new friends, Neil and Bree explore the old asylum, and soon afterward find that a spectral presence has followed them home…
The Ghost of Graylock is a ghost story for middle-grade readers,
October 1st, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Dan Poblocki | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker & Larkin Reed
Do you like haunted old houses with tangled histories and lots of secret passages? If so, Amber House is the mother lode. This is the kind of book where the heroine figures out there’s a hidden staircase because, while it’s nowhere to be seen in the house itself, a dollhouse based on the real house does have a staircase in that spot. If this appeals to you — and it definitely appeals to me — you need to read Amber House.
September 26th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Kelly Moore | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
[…] (Fantasy Literature): In today’s Shocktober Double Feature we have two curious stories, courtesy of H. P. Lovecraft […]
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Susan, glad you enjoyed. Samuel Jackson should absolutely play him in the movie!