Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Author: Rebecca Fisher

The Lost Hero: A fresh new adventure from the world of Percy Jackson

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan’s The Lost Hero picks up shortly after his Percy Jackson & The Olympians series ended and continues onward in the same universe with both new and familiar characters. Actually, I should say “mostly” the same universe, as Riordan has broadened his Greek mythology premise to include the Roman gods as well (or as is often the case, the familiar Greek gods in their less-familiar Roman aspects).

Percy literally isn’t around for this one (don’t worry — he appears to play a major role in the next);

Rebecca chats with New Zealand author Helen Lowe

Rebecca, who lives in New Zealand, recently met with NZ author Helen Lowe to discuss the release of Ms. Lowe’s second novel The Heir of Night (first novel in her series The Wall of Night). Read Rebecca’s reviews of The Heir of Night and Helen Lowe’s children’s novel, Thornspell.

REBECCA: What was the first glimmer of inspiration that you had that eventually led to The Wall of Night? To be more specific,

October 5th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher | Helen Lowe | Author Interviews | 3 comments |

The Heir of Night: A carefully plotted story in a complex world

The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe

If Night falls, all falls.

Helen Lowe’s début novel Thornspell was a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story from the Prince’s point of view. The Wall of Night trilogy is a more traditional epic fantasy, though it contains a dash of science fiction and a unique setting that sets it apart from the usual swords-and-sorcery fare.

Set in the world of Haarth, the titular Wall of Night refers to a mountain range that is garrisoned by the warlike Derai clans.

September 16th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Helen Lowe | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Little, Big: Bittersweet and unforgettable

Little, Big: or, The Fairies’ Parliament by John Crowley

“All Part of the Tale. Don’t Ask Me How…”

This review is going to be well-nigh impossible to write, as the subject matter is so impossible to describe. Well, John Crowley’s Little, Big is definitely a book. That’s a good start. But the second I try to narrow down rudimentary elements like plot and character, my brain gets a bit fuzzy. It’s about a family. And a house. And how this family lives in the house which is situated on the borders of another world which sometimes intrudes upon their own,

Shatterglass: As always, Tamora Pierce delivers a great story

Shatterglass by Tamora Pierce

This, the fourth and final installment in the THE CIRCLE OPENS quartet is itself a sequel to Tris’s Book in the original CIRCLE OF MAGIC series. There, the reader was introduced to four immensely powerful but untrained young mages: aristocratic Sandry, stoic Daja, street-rat Briar and outcast Trisana, called “Tris” for short. In a departure from her usual action-adventure stories, Tamora Pierce concentrated on character for this particular series, describing how this disparate group of youngsters was brought to the safety of the Winding Circle temple in order to learn how to control their abilities.

A Darkling Plain: Raw creativity and rich world-building

A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve

Whatever becomes of us, we’ll be together…

I read the first installment of THE HUNGRY CITY CHRONICLES back in 2003 with Mortal Engines and now I finally come to the end of the four-part story with A Darkling Plain. There is still a prequel to enjoy, but for all intents and purposes, this is the last chapter of Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw’s adventures in a world filled with airships, traction cities,

Ever: Humdrum

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Gail Carson Levine is best known for her retellings of traditional fairytales, (most famously Ella Enchanted) but here she draws on a mythological setting for her inspiration. Despite the fairytale-ish title, Ever takes place in an imaginary world that bears a resemblance to Greek or Middle-Eastern culture, particularly in regard to its climate, customs, clothing and food.

Kezi is a girl nearing her sixteenth birthday, living the simple life with her beloved mother and father,

The Historian: You need to know what to expect

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

… Knowing what to expect, especially in a novel like this one, may make all the difference as to how much you enjoy it (or This is going to be a tricky book to review, particularly since I’ve never seen reviews for a book on Amazon.com so evenly divided as they are for Elizabeth Kostova’s debut novel The Historian. The people who love it seem to really love it, and those that don’t…really don’t. I think it all comes down to what your expectations are,

Infernal Devices: You don’t know what you’re missing

Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve

It has been sixteen years since the events of Predator’s Gold, and the Traction City of Anchorage has been peacefully settled on the Dead Continent for years, undisturbed by the war that rages throughout the rest of the world between the adherents of Municipal Darwinism and a terrorist faction of the Anti-Tractionist League.

Okay, if you haven’t read the previous two books in THE HUNGRY CITY CHRONICLES, then you probably didn’t understand a word of that sentence.

Tymon’s Flight: I’ll be first in line to pick up the sequel

Tymon’s Flight by Mary Victoria

“I Don’t Know What’s Out There, But It Knows Me…”

Tymon is a young man growing up amongst strict priests in a seminary, an indentured orphan whose life and future have been organized in full by his guardians. Only occasionally is he able to escape his chores to visit an exiled heretic and dabble in the work of science that has been all but banned by the priests. Life for Tymon is made up of routine and dreaming, but when his friend Galliano constructs a new flying device,

August 2nd, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Mary Victoria | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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