The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
There is a lot to be said in praise of Stephen King, but one of his most admirable talents is his ability to vest his heroes with such unlikely and frustrating vulnerabilities. King certainly wastes no time castrating the recently victorious Roland Deschain in The Drawing of the Three, the second of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower novels.
We barely have time to blink at the mountains and the ocean before we find Roland,
October 9th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Stephen King | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
An urban fantasy set in London, China Miéville’s debut novel King Rat tells the story of Saul Garamond, the Prince of Rats. Unfortunately for London’s rats, the Pied Piper of Hamelin has recently come to town.
Saul returns home from a camping trip to find his stepfather murdered. Before he knows what’s happening, Saul meets the King of Rats and is inducted into the seedy underbelly of London — an underbelly fit for a king of rats.
October 7th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | China Mieville | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
Rick Yancey’s The Curse of the Wendigo is an amusing and well-written sequel to his award winning young adult horror novel The Monstrumologist. Set at the close of the 19th century, Dr. Pellinore Warthrop’s latest adventure takes him deep into the Canadian wilderness as he and his assistant Will Henry attempt to disprove the existence of the wendigo in the face of a series of seemingly monstrous murders.
Though commonly considered a “monstrumologist,” Dr.
October 6th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Rick Yancey | Horror, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Guards! Guards! is Terry Pratchett’s eighth Discworld novel and the first to feature the Anhk-Morpork City Watch. Guards! Guards! is among the best of the Discworld novels and is a possible entry point for readers new to Pratchett’s body of work.
Underfunded and disrespected, Captain Vimes’ City Watch has seen better days, but new recruit Carrot Ironfoundersson is about to change all of that. Raised by dwarves, Carrot hopes to make a difference in Discworld’s corrupt city,
October 2nd, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 5 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Litany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
Though not essential, it wouldn’t hurt to do some homework before reading Litany of the Long Sun, Gene Wolfe’s omnibus edition of two novels: Nightside the Long Sun and Lake of the Long Sun. Litany and its companion omnibus Epiphany of the Long Sun make up the Book of the Long Sun series, which is itself an independent part of Gene Wolfe’s Solar Cycle.
September 30th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 5 | Gene Wolfe | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Looking for Jake by China Miéville
Looking for Jake is a collection of short stories by China Miéville, who has emerged as one of the most highly acclaimed fantasy authors of the 21st century. In Looking for Jake, Miéville freely explores whatever ideas take his fancy, without the burden of smoothing everything into a sensible narrative.
Not surprisingly, many of the stories in Looking for Jake therefore have a sort of experimental flavor. For example,
September 26th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | China Mieville | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lavie Tidhar’s new novel The Bookman is an alternate history of Victorian England that focuses on the authors of the era, as well as many of their fictional creations. For some, this clever premise may strongly recall Alan Moore’s graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Is that a problem? Most will argue not since, like Moore, Tidhar has a great deal of fun stirring up trouble in the Victorian Era and then setting his poets and canonical characters on the trail of a mysterious villain.
September 20th, 2010. Ryan Skardal and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3 | Lavie Tidhar | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
China Miéville has become known for his genre-defying work, but to some extent many of his novels embrace a specific genre. As much as Iron Council is a western and The City & The City is a police procedural, Un Lun Dun is a young adult urban fantasy. Of course, with Miéville, these sorts of distinctions are usually just amusing starting points before readers revel in genre twists and unusual monsters.
September 16th, 2010. Ryan Skardal and Ray McKenzie´s rating: 3, 3.5 | China Mieville | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Scar is the second of China Miéville’s critically acclaimed Bas-Lag novels, which are sometimes called “the anti trilogy” because the books follow different characters and conflicts. Ostensibly, each of the three novels bears some relationship to New Crobuzon, the greatest city in Bas-Lag. Miéville catapulted to fame amongst fantasy readers with his first Bas-Lag book, Perdido Street Station and has done something even more amazing in its sequel, The Scar.
September 14th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4.5 | China Mieville | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station is the first of three novels set in the Miéville’s Bas-Lag universe. First released in 2000, Perdido Street Station and its sequels have made China Miéville one of the most acclaimed fantasy writers of the 21st century. Perdido Street Station is an outstanding urban fantasy full of unconventional plot twists and the most unlikely of heroes.
Yagharek is a “Garuda,” or a humanoid bird. However,
September 9th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 5 | China Mieville | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
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…
this sounds like a fun one