Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
Silver on the Tree is the fifth and final book in The Dark is Rising series, and if you have never picked up the previous installments, then don’t start here — you won’t have a clue what’s going on. If, however, you have read Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch and The Grey King, then here is the big finale you’ve been waiting for.
October 30th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Susan Cooper | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Once Upon a Time books are short but sweet retellings of old fairytales, written with the general plot of the original story in mind, but in such a way that there are a few surprises along the way (often the story is told in a contemporary setting that has no magical elements, or contains a twist on who the heroine eventually falls in love with). For their target audience they are a treat, and for everyone else, they are a pleasant way to kill a couple of hours.
October 29th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Cameron Dokey | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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);
October 26th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Rick Riordan | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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 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: 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,
September 8th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4, 4.5 | John Crowley | Audio, Mythopoeic Award, Stand-Alone, World Fantasy Award | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
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.
August 27th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Tamora Pierce | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
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,
August 18th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Philip Reeve | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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,
August 12th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 2.5 | Gail Carson Levine | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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,
August 10th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Elizabeth Kostova | Stand-Alone, 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.