Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Marion Deeds

Marion chats with Robert Jackson Bennett (again)

American Elsewhere is Robert Jackson Bennett’s fourth novel. Every book by Bennett is a little bit different; American Elsewhere (which I’ve reviewed) is a meditation on the American self-image, the myth of the frontier; a suspenseful family drama and a crackling good SF/horror story. Currently Bennett is on a book tour for American Elsewhere, and at work on his fifth project, but he set aside some time to discuss books and writing with me. And he graciously signed a copy of American Elsewhere which I’ll be giving to one of you.

February 26th, 2013. Marion Deeds | Robert Jackson Bennett | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 21 comments |

The Wrong Goodbye: Another fine example of supernatural-noir

The Wrong Goodbye by Chris F. Holm

The Wrong Goodbye is Chris F. Holm’s second COLLECTOR adventure. Sam Thornton is a damned soul. In life he struck a deal with a demon to save his wife, who was dying of tuberculosis. It wasn’t enough that he traded his soul for her life; the demon corrupted him while he was still alive. Now Sam is pressed into service collecting and delivering other damned souls to Hell.

Things have gotten precarious since Sam’s last outing.

February 26th, 2013. Marion Deeds and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3.5 | Chris F. Holm | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Aurorarama: This glittering Tesla-punk 19th century novel pastiche actually works

Aurorarama by Jean-Christophe Valtat

Other reviewers on Fanlit will probably be surprised by the number of stars I’ve given this book, because they’ve had to read my kvetching about it for several Status Updates. I finally finished it, and to my surprise, I think in Aurorarama, Valtat succeeded in his Tesla-punk 19th century adventure novel pastiche.

It is early in the 20th century, and New Venice is a city in the Arctic, powered by Tesla-like machines, filled with art, music, entertainment, drugs, censorship, science and magic.

February 20th, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Jean-Christophe Valtat | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

American Elsewhere: Classical mythology meets American paranoia

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

I confess I had my doubts about American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett. I’ve read all three of his previous novels and he hasn’t let me down yet, but the mix of elements in his latest one left me feeling skeptical. It just seemed like too much: rural horror; a Stepford-like village; quantum weirdness; tentacled inter-dimensional creatures; a secret government lab; people who aren’t what they seem; Elder gods; classical mythology; muscle cars, hidden files and video footage; a pink moon.

I’m pleased to report that Bennett pulls it off once again.

Faces Under Water: A beautiful but dated template of a story

Faces Under Water by Tanith Lee

I found the first book of Tanith Lee’s THE SECRET BOOKS OF VENUS series, Faces Under Water, in a used bookstore recently. To call Lee a prolific writer is to understate things somewhat. I had never heard of this series, set in an alternate Venice and based on the four elements. They were published by Overlook Press in the late 1990s and early twenty-first century.

Faces Under Water is short but dense,

January 30th, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Tanith Lee | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Be My Enemy: No sophomore slump in the EVERNESS series

Be My Enemy by Ian McDonald

Be My Enemy is Ian McDonald’s second book in his alternate-universe EVERNESS series. In this book, our hero Everett Singh confronts his most powerful enemy, himself.

At the end of Planesrunner, Everett’s father was transported into a random universe by the Known Worlds villain Charlotte Villiers. Villiers used a weapon she called a jumpgun. Everett managed to grab the jumpgun, and has used it and the map of universes on his computer tablet to send the airship Everness to another universe as well.

The Six-Gun Tarot: A crazy-wild desert town and a roller-coaster adventure

The Six-Gun Tarot by R.S. Belcher

I don’t know if I’ve seen a book as packed with ideas, tropes, storylines, and genres as The Six-Gun Tarot, by R.S. (Rod) Belcher. To give a rough idea, here is a mere sampling of what’s in the mix: Native American coyote mythology, zombies, a seemingly unkillable sheriff, Lovecraftian/Cthulhu mythos, Western genre tropes, acupuncture, Lilith mythos, steampunk, a re-examination of Christian creation myth, romance, Mormonism, Civil War stories, horror, ghosts, pirates (OK, only briefly mentioned,

January 23rd, 2013. Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | R.S. (Rod) Belcher | SFF Reviews | 12 comments |

The Merchant of Dreams: Still interesting, but not as good as the first book

The Merchant of Dreams by Anne Lyle

Anne Lyle continues her Elizabethan sword-and-cipher fantasy series NIGHT’S MASQUE with Book Two, The Merchant of Dreams. This book picks up almost a year after the end of The Alchemist of Souls, and follows Mal Catlyn and his friends on their adventures, which take place mostly on the ocean or in the city of Venice.

In Lyle’s universe, the New World is populated by skraylings, a non-human race who reincarnate and who use magic.

January 16th, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Anne Lyle | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: We love it

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

I’m pretty sure every person in the western world knows who Harry Potter is and knows the basic story line. Harry Potter was The Boy Who Lived. Both his parents were killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the evil Lord Voldemort, but he survived the attack, somehow causing Voldemort to disappear. Now Harry is eleven, and off to his first year at Hogwarts wizarding school. But it seems like Voldemort is making a resurgence. Is Harry safe, even under the watchful eye of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore?

Untimed: Like science class in Las Vegas

Untimed by Andy Gavin

Charlie Horologe’s mother can’t remember his name. People often forget him seconds after they’ve seen him. When he scores the highest in the high jump on the track and field team, they give the medal to the kid who came in second. The only people who seem to remember him consistently are his dad and his aunt Sophie, who travel together for their work and only show up about twice a year, usually with an armload of history books for Charlie and a quiz on the contents.

This is the opening of Andy Gavin’s YA time-travel fantasy Untimed.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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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.