Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Kelly Lasiter

Dust: Cast iron stomach required

Dust by Joan Frances Turner

Sometimes, when I give a book a middling rating, it means the book was middling throughout. This is not one of those times. I intensely disliked the first half of Dust, and it took me about a month to get through it. The second half, I loved, and read in one day.

Dust’s greatest strength — and also its greatest drawback — is that Joan Frances Turner writes description extremely well. She has the gift of evoking that one perfect image that puts you right there in the character’s mind: a dimly remembered strawberry,

October 14th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | Joan Frances Turner | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Bayou Moon: Has a little bit of everything

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

William Wolf didn’t get the girl in last year’s On the Edge, but he certainly won over plenty of us readers. In Bayou Moon, the second Edge paranormal romance by the husband-and-wife team that makes up Ilona Andrews, William gets his turn to shine and to meet his match in a scrappy Edge woman.

Cerise Mar has just become de facto head of her wild but tight-knit family after the disappearance of her parents.

October 11th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Ilona Andrews | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Passion Play: Could have been great

Passion Play by Beth Bernobich

CLASSIFICATION: Passion Play is a novel that blends together romance, classic fantasy tropes and political intrigue. Some comparisons have been made to Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series, and while there are a few similarities, Passion Play is not nearly as grandiose, sensual, or elegantly written. Instead, the book reminded me at times of Robin Hobb’s early stuff, some Kate Elliott, and C.E. Murphy’s Inheritors’ Cycle, although Beth Bernobich has her own style.

October 4th, 2010. Robert Thompson, Bill Capossere and Kelly Lasiter | Beth Bernobich | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

An Artificial Night: The fae realm comes to life

An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire

October Daye, private investigator to San Francisco’s faerie nobility, stumbles upon her most troubling case yet. Two of her friends’ children vanish without a trace, and a third falls into an enchanted sleep from which no one can awaken her. Toby pokes around and learns that other children have been disappearing as well, both fae and human, and that an ancient and sinister power is behind the kidnappings.

Seanan McGuire wisely plays to her strengths — and Toby’s — in An Artificial Night.

Sparks: The salamander is an irresistible bright spot

Sparks by Laura Bickle

In Sparks, Laura Bickle’s follow-up to Embers, Anya Kalinczyk faces another baffling case of magic and mysterious fires. The Detroit Fire Department is confounded by what seem to be instances of spontaneous human combustion. Meanwhile, huckster guru Hope Solomon is amassing wealth and power on the backs of Detroit’s desperate. Anya and her friends are in grave danger when Anya discovers a link between Hope and the fires.

Hope Solomon is incredibly creepy. She espouses a blend of the popular “law of attraction” and “pay it forward” philosophies,

September 29th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Laura Bickle | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Idylls of the Queen: More than a good murder mystery

The Idylls of the Queen by Phyllis Ann Karr

Phyllis Ann Karr’s The Idylls of the Queen is so much more than a good murder mystery. It is a good murder mystery, but unlike an ordinary mystery, you can reread it (even knowing whodunit) without any of the fun being spoiled. The murder is one that actually appears in the legends, so some readers may recognize the bones of the story, but again, it’s enjoyable even if you know the murderer’s identity. The mystery is sort of a backdrop to the real show: an original take on the personalities of Arthurian legend,

The Grimrose Path: Had me laughing, shuddering, sniffling

The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman

Trixa Iktomi comes from a long-lived, semi-divine trickster race. (Think “relative of Coyote” here.) She currently makes her home in Las Vegas, running a bar with her friend Leo, who is really the god Loki. As a result of events that occurred in the first TRICKSTER book, Trick of the Light, Trixa and Leo are de-powered at the moment and now have to solve their problems with very little in the way of magical ability.

Trixa is approached by a demon,

September 7th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Rob Thurman | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

The Capture: Enjoyable and suspenseful

The Capture by Kathryn Lasky

In anticipation of the upcoming movie based on Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, Scholastic has re-released the first book in the series, The Capture. Being an owl fan, I of course had to give it a try! Lasky is clearly following in Richard Adams’ footsteps here, what with her invented owl words and the mixture of animal behavior and very human social commentary. The Capture is less intense than Watership Down in terms of both reading level and violence level,

Plain Kate: If you’re sick of romantic YA, you’ll like Plain Kate

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Plain Kate is the orphaned daughter of a master woodcarver, and a skilled woodcarver herself. She lives in the town of Samilae, whose inhabitants are a superstitious lot; when the crops fail or disease strikes, they cast around for someone to blame. A Roamer (Rom), perhaps. A person with a deformity. Or, maybe, someone with a skill they think is uncanny. An enigmatic stranger arrives in Samilae with a terrible plan, and vulnerable Kate is just the right person to serve as the linchpin in it. He frames her for witchcraft,

The Waters Rising: Did Not Finish

The Waters Rising by Sheri S. Tepper

It pains me to DNF this book. Sheri Tepper is one of my favorite authors. Her novel The Family Tree is one of my all time favorite books. But I can’t make myself continue reading The Waters Rising. I have tried for over a month to read this book, and the same thing happens every time — I find my attention wandering after about five minutes. I think this can be attributed to three different things.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

We have reviewed 8497 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Subscribe to all posts:

Support FanLit

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:

You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US UK CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!

SFF Deals

Recent Discussion:

David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
Bill Capossere on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
We’re in total agreement David!
David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.