Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Kelly Lasiter

Black Magic Woman: Looks like a fun series!

Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis

Black Magic Woman begins in Salem, during the infamous witch trials, as a convicted witch utters a curse against her accuser. From there, we cut to the present time, and to a riveting vampire hunt in rural Texas. We are introduced to Quincey Morris, who is sort of a freelance paranormal investigator and vigilante, and also the direct descendant of the Quincey Morris who appears in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. (In this universe, Dracula was a true story and Morris a real man,

April 10th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Justin Gustainis | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Magic Burns: No sophomore slump!

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

No sophomore slump here! Ilona Andrews follows — and tops — her debut novel with an excellent sequel, Magic Burns (2008).

We get some more world-building. Andrews explains, in a way that flows smoothly with the story and doesn’t feel like an infodump, the theory as to why the magic and tech have gone wonky in the first place. We also learn about magic flares, which occur roughly every seven years. During these upsurges in magic, powerful and dangerous summonings can be done.

The Black Jewels Trilogy: Joy and pain, rage and celebration

THE BLACK JEWELS TRILOGY by Anne Bishop

Imagine a fairy-tale heroine. You know the type: beautiful, kind, able to charm all the beasties of the forest into eating out of her hand. On the astral plane, she even has a unicorn’s horn. Now imagine that she has enough magical power to move mountains. (Literally.)

You might think this is a recipe for the worst Mary Sue in the history of literature, but in Black Jewels, it works. There’s a reason Jaenelle is the way she is.

March 31st, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Anne Bishop | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Child of the Prophecy: Darker

Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier

While, like Son of the Shadows, Child of the Prophecy is never quite as wonderful as Daughter of the Forest, it is nevertheless a good book, and worth reading if you liked the first two.

This one is darker in tone. In Daughter of the Forest, the heroes and villains were clearly delineated; in Son of the Shadows the line between the two was more hazy,

March 29th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Juliet Marillier | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Goddess of Spring: Light romantic fun

Goddess of Spring by P.C. Cast

I hesitated to read Goddess of Spring. I never did really get into P.C. Cast‘s first novel, Goddess by Mistake, and I love the Persephone myth and didn’t want to be disappointed. But finally I decided to read Goddess of Spring — and liked it!

Lina, a baker from Tulsa, needs a miracle to save her bakery. She finds it in the form of a mysterious, mystical cookbook,

March 27th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | P.C. Cast | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Black Ships: Cross the wine-dark sea with Gull

Black Ships by Jo Graham

There’s nothing I love so much as sinking into a big fat book that combines the sweep of history with a dash of magic. This book is an adaptation of The Aeneid, from the point of view of the Sybil who, in the poem, guides Aeneas through the underworld.

She’s a lot more fleshed out here. Her name is Gull, later known as Linnea and as Pythia, and jumps off the page from the very beginning of chapter one with a self-introduction that reminded me a bit of Phèdre’s at the beginning of Kushiel’s Dart.

March 23rd, 2008. Kelly Lasiter, Ruth Arnell and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4, 5 | Jo Graham | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Out of Avalon: An Anthology of Old Magic and New Myths

Out of Avalon: An Anthology of Old Magic and New Myths by Jennifer Roberson

Out of Avalon: An Anthology of Old Magic and New Myths is an anthology for everyone who loves re-takes on the Arthurian legends, and especially those readers who loved The Mists of Avalon and are seeking more of the same sort of retellings, laced with gender politics, religious issues, and romance.

As in all anthologies, some of the stories are to my taste, some aren’t, and there is probably something for everyone.

March 5th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | David Farland, Diana Gabaldon, Jennifer Roberson, Judith Tarr, Katharine Kerr, Kristen Britain, Laura Resnick, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Michelle Sagara West, Mike Resnick, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Rosemary Edghill | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Blood and Gold: Two sides to every story

Blood and Gold by Anne Rice

I enjoyed this book, except for the subplot about the Norse vampire, Thorne, at the beginning and end. This frame story had a lot of promise but ended up making little sense to me. I think maybe it alludes to Norse myth, which has never been my forte. Whatever the reason, it left me scratching my head.

But at least it gets Marius telling his life story, and perhaps because the “interviewer” is a stranger, he feels comfortable opening up about all sorts of things.

March 5th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Anne Rice | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Midnight’s Daughter: Dhampirs, Dracula, and Daddy Issues

Midnight’s Daughter by Karen Chance

Meet Dorina; she comes from perhaps the most dysfunctional family in existence. She’s the niece of Dracula, the bastard daughter of Drac’s older brother Mircea. Dracula, Mircea, and their third brother, Radu, are all vampires, and centuries of bad blood lie between Drac and the other two men. Dorina’s own place in the clan is shaky. She is a dhampir, the offspring of a vampire and a human, a creature subject to berserk rages and ostracized from both human and vampire society. Most dhampirs die early, violent deaths.

February 19th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Karen Chance | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Sword of Maiden’s Tears: Pamela Dean meets a slasher movie

The Sword of Maiden’s Tears by Rosemary Edghill

I’ve become a bit of a Rosemary Edghill fan lately, so I opened the cover of this foray into urban fantasy with anticipation. It takes place in New York in the eighties (take note of the clothing styles for a nostalgic chuckle). Thrust into the teeming streets of New York City is elfin lord Melior — and of course, as an out-of-towner, he gets mugged almost instantly. The mugger steals his magic sword and leaves him bruised and shaken. Melior is taken in by a young grad student,

February 16th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Rosemary Edghill | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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