Ian Whates is a manically busy man. He has written dozens of short stories, published several novels, and has edited several anthologies. He runs his own publishing company, NewConn Press, though his work has also been published by Angry Robot and Solaris. As if that’s not enough, he is also a director and Chairman of the British Science Fiction Association. Ian’s novel City of Dreams & Nightmare was included in FanLit’s Best of 2010 list (read my review),
March 15th, 2011. Ryan Skardal | Ian Whates | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 10 comments |
City of Hope and Despair by Ian Whates
In City of Dreams and Nightmares, Ian Whates introduced us to Thaiburley, a mountain city where the rich literally live at the top of the mountain and the poor make do in the City Below. When Tom, a street-nick with a burgeoning gift for magic, ran afoul of a scheming arkademic, Magnus, he only just managed to escape being killed at the hands of Magnus’ versatile assassin, Dewar. Give credit where it’s due, Tom survived thanks to Kat,
March 15th, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Ian Whates | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
If, like me, you were so impressed with The Name of the Wind that you neglected all but the most pressing business until you turned the final page, you may have decided to give it a quick re-read in anticipation of the sequel. If you did, you probably spotted this quote in Chapter 43:
There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.
After a long but worthwhile wait,
March 1st, 2011. Stefan Raets, Robert Thompson, Justin Blazier, Kat Hooper, Greg Hersom, Ryan Skardal and Tadiana Jones | Patrick Rothfuss | Audio | SFF Reviews | 23 comments |
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt
Polly is pretty sure she’s going crazy, or, at the least, senile. Not only has she agreed to attend a game of darts with her boss and coworkers, but also she has begun to find finished work that she could have sworn she hadn’t done. Worse, for any nine-to-fiver, weird things are happening with the coffee.
It may not sound like your run of the mill epic or urban fantasy, but Tom Holt is going to work magic into the plot of Life,
February 27th, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | Tom Holt | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
[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.]
Slake-moth, Uruk-hai, or vampire, the mark of great SFF authors is often their ability to describe monsters and horrors. They say that children are desensitized to violence, but I submit that many SFF readers have become desensitized to monsters. I have read about many SFF monsters before bed,
February 18th, 2011. Ryan Skardal, João Eira and Kat Hooper | Cormac McCarthy | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 17 comments |
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
[In our “The Edge of the Universe” column we review 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 is well documented that SFF readers love trilogies, prequel trilogies, tetralogies, and “cycles.” Some authors describe settings, but SFF authors “build” worlds and universes. For many SFF readers, the standard of a well-built world is whether or not it warrants a series.
February 11th, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Margaret Atwood | Edge | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe
Soldier of Sidon is the third book in Gene Wolfe’s Soldier series. Latro is a Roman mercenary who fought against the Greeks at Thermopylae. In spite of his battle prowess, he now wakes every morning with no memory of his past ever since receiving a blow to the head. Will Latro ever recover?
Gene Wolfe originally told Latro’s story in Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete,
January 23rd, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Gene Wolfe | World Fantasy Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson
In The Diamond Age, anything, no matter how trivial, could be made from diamonds drawn from molecular feeds. This will be the era in which humanity masters nanotechnology. On the one hand, this is a time of plenty and technological progress, but it is also a time of great illiteracy as well. With the rise of universal access to the molecular feed, the governments and nations that we know today will lose their purpose and become supplanted by culture-based societies that have territory around the world.
January 21st, 2011. Ryan Skardal, Stuart Starosta and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3, 4 | Neal Stephenson | Audio, Hugo Award, Locus Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
The Heroes is another story set in the same world as Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy. Veteran readers will be happy to be reacquainted with several characters from earlier books: the wizard Bayaz; the dishonored warrior Bremer dan Gorst; Finree dan Brock, Union Commander Marshal Kroy’s ambitious daughter; Black Dow, the ruthless leader of the Northmen. But if you haven’t read any of Abercrombie’s books yet, don’t worry — you don’t need to have read them in order to fully enjoy The Heroes.
January 19th, 2011. John Hulet, Justin Blazier, Greg Hersom and Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3, 5 | Joe Abercrombie | Audio | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
“Hard science fiction” focuses on the science of the story, often at the cost of character and plot. “Hard-boiled fiction” often features a cynical, jaded protagonist steadily battling against the forces of evil, but making little overall progress. The Black Company books are often categorized as military or dark fantasy, but perhaps “hard fantasy” would be more accurate, as Glen Cook combines the hard-boiled voice with classic fantasy tropes that we might expect to see in a board game.
The setting could not be any more “sword and sorcery” if it tried.
January 16th, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Glen Cook | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Oh, Marion, you say "but dark" as if it were a bad thing! 😂
Hammer Studios is... reborn? I only ever read the "Kane" stories, which I found good but dark. It's a little…
Oh...and the men used the name "The Great Northern Expedition" to throw people off as to their actual destination, even…
Oh, it IS, Marion! It is!
Sorry if I mislead you in this detail, Paul...the voyage by ship was only the first leg of the quintet's…