Sourcery begins as Ipslore the Red is about to die — or, more accurately — it begins as Death is coming to collect Ipslore’s soul. Wizards can see Death, so some plan to negotiate terms before departing.
Ipslore is an eighth son and a wizard. Banished from Unseen University for marrying and having children, Ipslore manages to create a magic staff for his own eighth son, a newborn he has named Coin, just before he dies. Coin, being the eighth son of an eighth son,
January 21st, 2015. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau
Nickie is eleven years old when her aunt Crystal takes her to Yonwood, North Carolina. Their family has inherited a mansion, Greenhaven, from Nickie’s great-grandfather, and while Nickie loves the old building, Crystal is determined to sell it and get back to Philadelphia as soon as possible.
We see the house through Nickie’s eyes, and it is full of neat things, including her great-grandfather’s journals. Nickie also finds Amanda Stokes, who had cared for Nickie’s great-grandfather but who now has nowhere else to go.
January 16th, 2015. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 2 | Jeanne DuPrau | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
Up, Gouger! Up, Rooter! Up, Tusker! Up, Snouter!
Apparently they celebrate something like Christmas – Hogswatch – on the Disc. Why not? Children write letters to the Hogfather, who travels around the world delivering presents in a sleigh pulled by hogs. But no one really believes in the Hogfather, right?
Sadly, the Auditors have decided to hire Ankh-Morpork’s Assassins Guild to delete Discworld’s Hogfather, or the Fat Man, as they call him. It’s an unusual assignment, thinks Lord Downey, since the assassins don’t believe that the Hogfather exists.
December 25th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”
Lina and Doon have led their people out from the subterranean city of Ember. Now, they encounter a world full of dazzling new things like birds, sunlight, and trees. For all its wonder, Lina and Doon have not entered a world of plenty. The humans before largely destroyed the world with their weapons and their insatiable need for revenge. Doon and Lina lead the wandering Emberites in search of a new home.
December 9th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Jeanne DuPrau | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
David and the Reckoners have freed Newcago from Steelheart’s dictatorship, but the people are slow to believe in themselves. Epics have divided and dominated America for so long that many people are leaving before another Epic arrives to take over Steelheart’s domain. David takes comfort in the return of Chicago style hotdogs and in the steady trickle of people that choose to enter the city each day in search of freedom and a better life.
However, a new Epic does attempt to take over Newcago in Brandon Sanderson’s short story,
November 4th, 2014. Ryan Skardal and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Brandon Sanderson | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Long ago, the Builders created Ember, an underground city. The Builders only intended for the people of Ember to stay underground for two hundred years, but, due to a slight wrinkle in the Builders’ plans, the people of Ember have stayed underground far longer than two hundred years. Now, supplies are running out. In fact, there soon won’t even be light bulbs left, and the people will be left in darkness.
Jeanne DuPrau’s City of Ember is a children’s post-apocalyptic novel that follows the adventures of Lina and Doon.
October 24th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Jeanne DuPrau | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Wisdom of the Shire by Noble Smith
Hobbits constantly surprise Elf kings, dragons, and Dark Lords with their courage and valiant spirit, but we rarely associate them with wisdom. Thankfully, Noble Smith’s The Wisdom of the Shire: A Short Guide to a Long and Happy Life exists to correct our mistake. Wisdom of the Shire is one part self-help book and one part homage to Hobbit wisdom.
Smith divides his work into a series of essays,
September 24th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | J.R.R. Tolkien | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
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.
Haruki Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart is narrated by an elementary school teacher we know as “K.” K is in love with Sumire, an aspiring young writer who never feels sexual attraction for others until she meets Miu,
September 5th, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | Haruki Murakami | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
The Magician’s Land, by Lev Grossman, is a superb finish to what is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. I read it elated, skin tingling and brain buzzing, savoring every word to make it last longer. When I finished, I wanted to read it again immediately. And yet, I also finished the book feeling a persistent ambivalence about the conclusion Grossman has created for his characters.
In The Magician’s Land,
August 5th, 2014. Kate Lechler, Bill Capossere, Ryan Skardal and Ray McKenzie´s rating: 5 | Lev Grossman | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis by Jack Whyte
Merlyn does not want to return to Camulod. He has found happiness in Mediobogdum with his wife, Tressa, and his charge, Arthur Pendragon. However, war is coming. Merlyn’s enemy, Peter Ironhair, has hired mercenaries to attack the Pendragon lands in order to advance the claim of Carthac, a distant relative of Uther Pendragon and a monstrous — some say invincible — psychopath. Meanwhile, the Saxons continue to invade along the southeast coast and there are also rumors of an invasion from the northeast.
Clearly,
July 23rd, 2014. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3.5 | Jack Whyte | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…