Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Marion Deeds

The Affinity Bridge: Clever idea, poor execution

The Affinity Bridge by George Mann

I did not have any expectations for George Mann’s The Affinity Bridge, and it managed to disappoint me anyway.

The book is beautifully presented. I must remember what they say about books and covers. Besides the beautiful cover, The Affinity Bridge has a clever idea: a Holmesian detective who is an Agent of the Crown, and his plucky female Dr Watson, in a steampunk world. Poor plotting, shallow characterization and bad prose stand between this idea and its execution.

September 17th, 2011. Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere | George Mann | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |

Hellbent: Has one of the best urban fantasy sidekicks

Hellbent by Cherie Priest

Cherie Priest gets Big Imagination points for the potent magical artifacts she conjures up in Hellbent, the second Cheshire Red Reports novel. I’m not going to spoil the fun for you by telling you what they are; you’ll know by the end of the first chapter.

Priest introduced vampire thief Raylene Pendle in Bloodshot, along with Raylene’s charges, two street kids who were squatting in one of her warehouses; and Ian, a vampire who has been mysteriously blinded and can control the weather.

September 13th, 2011. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Cherie Priest | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

On Basilisk Station: Honor Harrington is the biggest Mary Sue in space

On Basilisk Station by David Weber

Honor Harrington, newly-promoted Captain in the Queen’s Royal Manticoran Navy, has taken command of her first space cruiser, Fearless. Sadly, she and her crew have been deployed to Basilisk Station, a low-status drudge assignment that mostly involves checking cargoes for contraband. Morale aboard Fearless is low, but things are about to change. Unbeknownst to Manticore, The Republic of Haven, which hopes to better its economy by conquering resource-wealthy planets, plans to invade Manticore by way of the wormhole junction terminus at Basilisk Station.

War of the Witches: Poorly served by bad translation

War of the Witches by Maite Carranza

Maite Carranza is a Spanish writer, author of the War of the Witches trilogy, a YA contemporary fantasy. The first book, called Clan of the She-Wolf in Europe, was published in America as War of the Witches in 2005. I’ve checked Amazon and Amazon UK and I cannot find either of the other books, Desert of Ice or Curse of the Odi,

The Forever King: Poor characterization, clichéd writing

The Forever King by Molly Cochran & Warren Murphy

The Forever King, by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy, is almost two books blended together. One is an unusual take on the Grail legend, with some familiar characters like Merlin and Nimue. The other is a contemporary fantasy thriller about the reincarnation of King Arthur and a drunken ex-FBI agent who must help him. The Grail retelling has the most chance of being successful but ultimately both stories fail because of poor characterization and clichéd writing.

September 7th, 2011. Marion Deeds´s rating: 1.5 | Molly Cochran | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |

Dr. Franklin’s Island: A suspenseful story that isn’t preachy

Dr. Franklin’s Island by Ann Halam

Dr. Franklin’s Island, by Ann Halam (who also writes as Gwyneth Jones), is a YA updating of The Island of Dr. Moreau. In this version, three teenagers survive a plane crash and wash up on a tropical island.

It is not a spoiler to say that the two girls in the story, Miranda and Semirah, or “Semi” as she calls herself, become victims of genetic manipulation. That’s on the back cover of the book.

Forever Azathoth: Pastiches and Parodies

Forever Azathoth: Pastiches and Parodies by Peter Cannon

In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.

On the back cover of Forever Azathoth: Pastiches and Parodies, H.P. Lovecraft himself is quoted. “As a rule, I don’t think that a comic or flippant style — or one with much satire — mixes well with the weird.” Forever Azathoth sets out to dispute that statement,

Great Bookstores: Treehorn Books in Santa Rosa, California

One of my favorite bookstores is small but mighty. Treehorn Books, specializing in used, out of print, and antiquarian volumes, occupies a simple storefront at 625 4th Street, Santa Rosa, California, between a pizzeria and a taqueria.

Keith Hotaling and Michael Stephens opened Treehorn in Santa Rosa in 1979. Originally they were a few blocks farther west in an area called Railroad Square. In the 70s and 80s, the square was what you might call, tactfully, “un-gentrified.” In the late 80s they moved up to 4th Street. Keith doesn’t remember exactly when they moved, but he knows they were there on October 17,

August 30th, 2011. Marion Deeds | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

The Pillow Friend: Too much for one book

The Pillow Friend by Lisa Tuttle

The Pillow Friend, by Lisa Tuttle, straddles two categories of fiction, psychological horror and the more conventional quasi-literary “women’s fiction.” Tuttle’s prose is exquisite. She is able to describe the thoughts and impulses of a girl growing toward womanhood in an immediate, authentic way. Her ability to set mood and place cannot be doubted. The book is dark and disturbing, but at the end, it felt less like a horror story and more like a report on a woman’s descent into insanity.

The Dragon Waiting: Stands up through nearly three decades

The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford

Here is a fantasy novel that stands up through nearly three decades and still delivers. John M. Ford’s The Dragon Waiting won the World Fantasy Award in 1984, and 27 years later it still offers readers an intricate and compelling story with complex, believable characters.

Ford sets his alternate universe fantasy in what would have been our fifteenth-century Europe. Since Christianity never emerged as a world religion and the Byzantine Empire rules most of Europe and Asia,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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