The Devil Inside by Jenna Black
I checked out The Devil Inside from the library, read the first few chapters, and then ended up simply forgetting to pick the book up again. Eventually I got an overdue notice from the library, which often results in my either renewing the book or hurrying up and reading it before returning it. Instead, I simply took The Devil Inside back to the library without regret. It took me a while to put my finger on why I lost interest,
February 15th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 0.1 | Jenna Black | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I was looking forward to the story of Merrick, a distant biracial cousin of the famous Mayfair Witches, who practices voudoun. I was looking forward to Louis’s quest for the ghost of Claudia — but then I’ve always liked Louis.
In this book, in fact, a lot of interesting things happen to Louis — the Claudia thing, a new love, and a complete change of heart about how much vampiric power he wants. (I’ll try not to commit a spoiler by telling any more details than that.) In other words,
February 5th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Anne Rice | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Taste of Night by Vicki Pettersson
The Taste of Night begins a few months after The Scent of Shadows ended, at a charity date auction where Joanna, masquerading as Olivia, meets a man who gloats that he’s uncovered Joanna’s secret identity. A fierce battle ensues, breaking the tenuous truce between Light and Shadow, and Joanna also meets a mysterious young Shadow initiate who may be an unlikely ally, or a secret enemy.
I’m really beginning to get a headache trying to keep track of who knows what information about Joanna’s identity.
February 5th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter and John Hulet | Vicki Pettersson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman‘s place on my personal “favorite authors list” is cemented firmly by Smoke and Mirrors, a versatile collection of his short stories and narrative poems. There is a wide variety of “types” of story here, from fantasy to horror to mystery to wildly hilarious comedy. I liked almost all of them.
Neil Gaiman‘s two finest gifts are (1) humor, and (2) truly scary horror that gets under your skin rather than just grossing you out with gore.
January 25th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Neil Gaiman | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Magic Bites (2007) is an exciting urban fantasy with a unique premise and detailed world-building, somewhat marred by an unsatisfying twist in the story’s central mystery.
I give Ilona Andrews a lot of points for creativity here. In Magic Bites‘ near-future setting, magic and technology come and go a bit like the weather; when magic is working, tech isn’t, and vice versa. The shifts are unpredictable, but it can be assumed there will be several per day.
January 9th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Ilona Andrews | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier
With this novel, Juliet Marillier returns to the Celtic world of her first novel, the fantastic Daughter of the Forest, about eighteen years later. Sorcha and Hugh have lived happily together, and have three children, Niamh, Sean, and Liadan. Niamh is a restless beauty with a case of wanderlust; Sean is a future leader growing up in his uncle Liam’s mold; and Liadan is her mother’s successor, a storyteller and healer. But Liadan is not Sorcha; having grown up in a loving environment,
January 4th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Juliet Marillier | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
Fire and Hemlock is possibly Diana Wynne Jones’ most complex and subtle novel, and it’s certainly not for the younger readers who’ve enjoyed her most famous work, the Chrestomanci novels. It is most basically described as a retelling of the Tam Lin/Thomas the Rhymer ballads, set in 1980’s England over a nine-year period. Needless to say, it is dense and complicated, filled with hidden meaning, metaphor and symbolism where two threads of life are wound together to make an intricate whole.
December 31st, 2007. Rebecca Fisher and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4, 5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
This is just the sort of faery novel I’ve been missing. Who knew I needed to be looking in the young-adult section?
Wicked Lovely is adapted from one of my favorite off-the-beaten-path fairy tales, a Scottish tale of the turning seasons. In it, the Winter Queen attempts to prolong the cold season by keeping the Summer King and his bride from marrying and coming into their full power. Melissa Marr‘s version features a Winter Queen who has diminished the Summer King’s power permanently,
December 29th, 2007. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Melissa Marr | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Divine by Mistake by P.C. Cast
I was not able to finish Divine by Mistake. It flunked the Finish-able Book Test, which means that if I put it down for a couple of days and find no desire to pick it back up, I don’t bother wasting my time.
Shannon, a schoolteacher from Oklahoma, gets zapped by magic into the mythical world of Partholon, where she ends up worshipped as a priestess, married to an attractive shapeshifter, and embroiled in a war with the truly nasty and evil Fomorians.
December 26th, 2007. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 0.1 | P.C. Cast | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Wounded Hawk by Sara Douglass
Set amid the drama and cast of the 100 Years War (though more parallel than true history), this sequel to The Nameless Day continues the story of Thomas Neville, former cleric returned to his noble life, as he tries to complete the quest given him by archangel Michael — to retrieve a mysterious casket that will allow him to send back to hell the demons that now roam the world. As readers of the first book know (and only readers of the first one should read this),
December 2nd, 2007. Bill Capossere and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Sara Douglass | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I had it on my list to reread (which means I looked over at the bookcase one night, saw it…
Marion, I'm saving James (and Orbital) for after my semester ends so I can devote my undivided attention to them.…
Susan, glad you enjoyed. Samuel Jackson should absolutely play him in the movie!
Troy, 100% agreed. Sadly the BBC adaptation is also confused about this. They seem to think Orciny is some kind…
Hey Marion! The weather is the *same* in Ul Qoma and Beszel in the novel. They even have a recurring…