Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Marion Deeds

The Whisperers: A solid entry in the Charlie Parker series

The Whisperers by John Connolly

The Whisperers is Irish writer John Connolly’s eleventh CHARLIE PARKER thriller. The books are set for the most part in the USA, mostly in Maine, where Parker, the ex-cop turned private-eye turned something-more makes his home.

Underlying the plot of The Whisperers is a current theme, the question of how wounded soldiers returning home are treated by the government that put them in harm’s way. In this book, a group of Iraq war veterans is smuggling looted antiquities across the Canadian border.

The Magician King: Postmodernism meets Narnia

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

In Lev Grossman’s novel The Magicians, Quentin Coldwater — a geeky fantasy-loving high school senior — has his life turned upside down when he is invited to take an entrance exam for Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy. After spending years learning the craft, and some time outside of school in a Bret Easton Ellis novel kind of existence, life is turned around again when he and several of his newfound magician friends discover that Fillory — the magical setting of a series of beloved children’s books (think Narnia and you’ve got it) — is real.

August 11th, 2011. Bill Capossere, Stefan Raets, Ryan Skardal and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Lev Grossman | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

The Spirit Lens: Berg gives us a hero who is a true courtier

The Spirit Lens by Carol Berg

Courtiers are figures of contempt and fun in most fiction. They are craven lickspittles and influence peddlers, usually without honor. In The Spirit Lens, Carol Berg gives us a hero who is a true courtier. He is diplomatic, disciplined, strategic and loyal to his king at all costs — and the costs are great.

The Spirit Lens is the first book in the Collegia Magica series. Portier de Savin-Duplais is the librarian at the Camarilla Magica.

August 5th, 2011. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Carol Berg | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

The Wind From a Burning Woman: Dated

The Wind From a Burning Woman by Greg Bear

I don’t think early Greg Bear and I are a good match. I did not finish The Wind From a Burning Woman, a collection of short stories from the late 1970s and early 1980s. That may be part of the problem. Maybe these stories are just dated.

Bear seems to be a “writer of ideas,” and several of these tales feature fascinating “what-ifs” or technological wonders, like an asteroid shaped into a deep-space vessel, a surrealistic cathedral in a world where God has definitively Died,

The Astounding, The Amazing, and the Unknown: On the Edge

The Astounding, the Amazing and the Unknown by Paul Malmont

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.]

It’s 1943 and World War II is going strong. There are rumors that the Nazis and the Japanese may be about to unleash a deadly secret weapon against America and people are afraid. But America may be able to create some secret weapons of its own,

The Infinity Concerto: Fails to deliver

The Infinity Concerto by Greg Bear

I give myself credit for finishing The Infinity Concerto, the first book of Songs of Earth and Power, written by Greg Bear in 1986. The Infinity Concerto has a compelling opening chapter but fails to deliver on that chapter’s promise.

Michael Perrin, the book’s main character, is a sixteen-year-old boy living in southern California, an only child who wants to be a poet. At a family party his father introduces him to the composer Arno Waltiri.

July 18th, 2011. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2 | Greg Bear | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

The Last Werewolf: Powerful prose and viewpoint character

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

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.

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Glen Duncan is the author of seven previous novels including I, Lucifer, which was shortlisted for the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He was chosen by both Arena and The Times Literary Supplement as one of Britain’s best young novelists.

Komarr: A futuristic detective novel

Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold

This is Marion’s review of Memory, Komarr and A Civil Campaign. Kat’s thoughts about Komarr are at the bottom.

In Memory, Komarr and A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold turns the VORKOSIGAN SAGA from space opera to planetary politics.

Miles Vorkosigan has always been a risk-taker. Usually the person he puts at risk is himself,

July 9th, 2011. Marion Deeds and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Lois McMaster Bujold | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |

Ayesha, the Return of She: Slighter than the first

Ayesha, the Return of She by H. Rider Haggard

Free Kindle version.

H. Rider Haggard returns to his story of star-crossed lovers Ayesha and Leo Vincey in Ayesha, the Return of She. The sequel was published in 1905, nearly twenty years after the publication of She. The world has changed, and Haggard’s storytelling has changed to match.

Haggard remains best known for King Solomon’s Mines, and She is the book of most interest to literary scholars.

July 6th, 2011. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | H. Rider Haggard | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Map of Time: Exquisite, but too long

The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

PLOT SUMMARY: Privileged Andrew Harrington is a despondent young man who plans on killing himself. Eight years earlier, he had found the love of his life. It didn’t matter that their lives were vastly different — he born to a rich and entrepreneurial family and she a woman struggling to survive as a prostitute in London’s seedy Whitechapel section. He’s determined to declare his love for her and live happily ever after, even if it means leaving his privileged life behind. Everything changes however,

July 1st, 2011. Robert Thompson, Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere | Félix J. Palma | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |

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.