Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Marion Deeds

The Geomancer’s Compass: A charming Young Adult adventure

The Geomancer’s Compass by Melissa Hardy

Melissa Hardy’s YA fantasy novel, The Geomancer’s Compass, is a nice blend of Canadian history and Chinese mythology. The short book follows two inventive Chinese-Canadian cousins on a quest to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan to recover something that is lost, and break the curse of bad luck that haunts their wealthy family.

Miranda Liu is a brilliant computer whiz and a bundle of nervous tics. At sixteen, she is on her way to making a name for herself in the world of computer generated Augmented Reality,

The Emperor’s Soul: Good intro to Sanderson

The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson

Set in the same world as Elantris, The Emperor’s Soul tells the story of a Forger named Shai who is called upon by the ranking bureaucrats of the Empire. The Emperor has suffered a traumatic brain injury in an assassination attempt, and rather than have him step down, which would mean a demotion in their own power, the Guardians decide that they will call on the power of a Forger, someone who can magically imprint upon objects a new identity with their magically carved seals,

The Creative Fire: Only partially successful

The Creative Fire by Brenda Cooper

The Creative Fire (2012) is the first book in Brenda Cooper’s series RUBY’S SONG, a sociological YA science fiction story set on the generation ship The Creative Fire. Ruby Martin lives in the outer/lower levels of the ship, repairing robots. She is a “gray,” one of those who maintain the machines, cleanse the water, grow the food and keep the ship clean. The grays (the color refers to their clothes or uniforms) are brutally oppressed by the reds,

Days of Blood & Starlight: Paradise Lost meets Romeo and Juliet

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone was one of my favorite books last year, a sparkling, quirky gem of a fantasy. Karou, with her blue silk hair and the eyes on her palms, captivated me. The mysterious story ended darkly, but it was filled with humor and whimsy.

Days of Blood & Starlight has plenty of darkness, at least at the beginning. Karou has left Prague and her art student life and fled to Marrakesh,

AMULET: Prince of the Elves by Kazu Kibuishi

Amulet: Prince of the Elves by Kazu Kibuishi

Prince of the Elves is the fifth book in Kazu Kibuishi’s AMULET series. The war with the Elf King has heated up, and in this book Emily, the newest Stonekeeper, learns more about the true nature of the enemy they all face.

Prince of the Elves provides the back-story for two major characters; Trellis, the prince of the elves and Max, the mysterious boy Emily met in Cieilis. We discover that Max is much older than we originally thought.

Cuttlefish: Interesting world-building carries this submarine adventure

Cuttlefish by Dave Freer

It’s 1953 in a world where the British Empire never collapsed, the first World War lasted one year, and the second never happened. England commands a global, coal-fueled empire and has hastened rapid global warming. London, like Venice, is a city of canals. Irish rebels and “London undergrounders” wage a guerilla revolution against the crown. This is the world of Dave Freer’s YA submarine adventure Cuttlefish.

Tim Barnabas is a young crewman on the coal-powered submarine Cuttlefish. Clara Calland is the daughter of an imprisoned Irish rebel and a prominent chemist.

Ironskin: Part gothic novel, part fairytale, all intriguing

Ironskin by Tina Connolly

The cover of Tina Connolly’s debut fantasy novel Ironskin describes it as a “… beauty and the beast tale, beautifully and cleverly reversed.” Is it Beauty and the Beast? Not really. Is it a re-telling of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre? No, not really. Is it good? Heck, yeah.

Jane Eliot comes to Silver Birches, a war-damaged house on the moors, at the edge of a sinister, fey-filled wood. She has accepted a position as governess to a little girl who has a “delicate situation.” Jane understands the nature of this situation better than most.

October 22nd, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Tina Connolly | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Fire on the Mountain: Alternate history with a political flavor

Fire on the Mountain by Terry Bisson

What if America’s Civil War had been, not a war of unification, but a war to end slavery? What if John Brown had succeeded at Harper’s Ferry?

In his short utopian novel Fire on the Mountain, Terry Bisson contemplates those questions.
Bisson’s story is simple and human, but he uses it to muse on how the Civil War could have gone differently. Yasmin Abraham Martin Odinga is an archeologist recently back from a dig in Olduvai,

October 17th, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Terry Bisson | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Seawitch: Trouble by land and sea for Harper Blaine

Seawitch by Kat Richardson

Kat Richardson’s GREYWALKER series perfectly unites the classic private investigator mystery with the paranormal fantasy. The mysteries are rigorous within the rules of the paranormal realm Richardson has invented; her background research is broad and utilized well; and her characters become deeper and more interesting with every new novel. The latest in the series, Seawitch, gives us insight into the character of Detective Rey Solis of the Seattle Police Department, who has been a pain in the side for PI Harper Blaine in the past,

October 16th, 2012. Terry Weyna and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Kat Richardson | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Bethany’s Sin: Dated but emotionally compelling

Bethany’s Sin by Robert McCammon

Robert McCammon originally published Bethany’s Sin in 1980. Subterranean Press is reissuing it just in time for Halloween. This horror novel covered familiar territory even in 1980, with its “perfect little village with a dark secret,” but McCammon’s good characterization managed to make it fresh, and there are a few twists along the way.

The book opens with an archeological dig in Turkey, where an unnamed woman makes an extraordinary discovery. The next section deals with an American soldier,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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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.
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