Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt
[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.]
An historical mystery, a bittersweet love story, an exploration of myths and fairytales, a tribute to the power of books, and a beautiful, delicate style of prose all makes A.S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance an intriguing,
June 17th, 2011. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | A.S. Byatt | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones is set in Westeros, a continent that was divided into Seven Kingdoms until the Targaryens and their dragons conquered it. Fourteen years before the story begins, Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon, and Jon Arryn led a rebellion against the mad king Aerys Targaryen. Robert became king, Jon became the King’s Hand, and Ned returned north to govern his lands. Now, Jon has died and Robert demands that Ned come south to help rule the realm.
June 11th, 2011. Ryan Skardal, Rebecca Fisher and Jason Golomb´s rating: 5 | George R.R. Martin | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Goliath is the concluding third book in Scott Westerfeld’s LEVIATHAN trilogy (imagine that — a trilogy with only three books) and it brings a wonderfully entertaining YA steampunk/alternate WWI series to a suitably strong close. I won’t bother recapping the world or background since you really need to read books one and two first, so read my review of Leviathan (above) to catch up on the backstory if you’d like.
Goliath picks up shortly after the events of Behemoth,
June 3rd, 2011. Bill Capossere, Rebecca Fisher and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Scott Westerfeld | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Mackie Doyle is a Replacement — a changeling. When he was a baby, the fairies left him in the crib when they took the real Malcolm Doyle away. His family knows this, but he needs to keep it a secret from the rest of Gentry, his hometown. Mackie tries to be a normal teenager — he goes to school, the teenage night club, and to parties. But he can’t go to church where his father is the pastor because it’s painful to stand on the consecrated land.
May 26th, 2011. Kat Hooper and Rebecca Fisher | Brenna Yovanoff | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
September’s father has gone off to war and her mother works all day building airplane engines while September stays home and washes the china teacups. Life in Omaha is disappointingly dull for such an imaginative and adventurous (and heartless!) 12-year old girl… until the day September looks out the kitchen window to see the Green Wind perched on his flying leopard and beckoning her to Fairyland.
There are many wonders to see in Fairyland: witches,
May 22nd, 2011. Kat Hooper, Bill Capossere, Tadiana Jones and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4, 5 | Catherynne M. Valente | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
You Can’t Murder the Truth!
The second of the prequel trilogy to Philip Reeve’s wonderful Hungry Cities series continues Reeve’s imaginative, exhilarating, unpredictable story of life in a post-apocalyptic world where seagulls have rudimentary communication skills, people live in houses that can be hoisted up and down hillsides, and an ominous event known as the Downsizing has left technology beyond the understanding of the human population.
In this brave new world lives Fever Crumb, an engineer who has left the city of London in order to join the traveling theatre known as the Lyceum,
May 4th, 2011. Rebecca Fisher and Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5, 5 | Philip Reeve | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green
If you’re in search of a King Arthur retelling for young readers that stretches from his birth to his death and includes everything that happens in between, I would personally recommend Rosemary Sutcliff’s Legends of King Arthur trilogy. To me, it is the quintessential compendium of Arthurian lore, taken from a variety of sources, and retold in Sutcliff’s beautiful poetic-prose. Variations of the legend are a dime a dozen these days, but to me,
April 23rd, 2011. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Roger Lancelyn Green | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Australian author Pamela Freeman has written for both adults and children. She is best known in children’s literature for her FLORAMONDE trilogy and its award-winning spin-offs Victor’s Quest and Victor’s Challenge. Her books for adults include the CASTINGS TRILOGY and the upcoming Ash and Ember which will be released on April 26 in the US. (Read my reviews.) Leave a comment below for a chance to win a book from our stacks.
Rebecca: I’ve heard it said by some authors that readers mistakenly think that it’s easier to write for children than it is for adults.
April 19th, 2011. Rebecca Fisher | Pamela Freeman | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 4 comments |
As one might expect from Neil Gaiman, Instructions is an unusual little book, and despite technically being a picture book, isn’t necessarily something you would give to a child. Not that the content is objectionable — just a tad incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t well versed in the rules and patterns of fairytales. With that in mind, a child might be the perfect audience! I think what I’m trying to say is thatInstructions is a story for those who love stories,
April 13th, 2011. Rebecca Fisher and Ruth Arnell´s rating: 5 | Neil Gaiman | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley
It’s hard to muster up any particularly strong feelings for The Seer and the Sword. It is your standard medieval-adventure-fantasy, with every plot development and character arc foreseeable far in advance, told in sparse and simple prose. It’s hard to be too enthusiastic about it, yet at the same time I can’t be too dismissive either.
The story revolves around two young royals: red-headed Princess Torina of Archeld, and Prince Landen, whose country of Bellandra has just been defeated by Torina’s father.
April 5th, 2011. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Victoria Hanley | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.