Stefan Raets | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

Shadow Prowler: Every fantasy cliché in the book

Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov

Shadow Prowler, the first fantasy novel by Russian author Alexey Pehov to be translated to English, pulls out every fantasy cliché in the book: elves, dwarves, orcs, ogres, goblins, guilds of thieves and assassins, and an evil overlord (the “Nameless One”) who is about to awaken and take over the land with an army of evil beasties. Shadow Harold (yes, that’s his name) is a master thief who, against his will, gets involved in rescuing the world from said Nameless One.

February 12th, 2010. Stefan Raets and Justin Blazier´s rating: 1 | Alexey Pehov | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Haze: An excellent stand-alone SF

Haze by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Major Keir Roget, an agent for the Chinese-dominated Federation government, is sent to investigate a mysterious world — mysterious because it is entirely enveloped by a “haze” of shielding particles. When he arrives on Haze, he finds a friendly and seemingly very advanced civilization of humans who give him such complete access to their society that it almost seems as if his perceptions or thoughts are somehow being controlled.

Roget’s story is told in alternating chapters, going back and forth from the Haze mission to the events leading up to it,

The Extra: A fast action-packed read

The Extra by Michael Shea

In The Extra, a near-future science fiction novel set in a dystopian version of Los Angeles, Val Margolian is the creator and most successful director of a new genre of action movies, in which crowds of real people are cast as extras and have to defend themselves against movie monsters. The action is real, and so are the deaths. Whoever manages to kill one of the monsters, and anyone who survives the shoot, gets a huge cash reward. Naturally, with rampant poverty in LA,

February 1st, 2010. Stefan Raets and Robert Thompson´s rating: 1.5 | Michael Shea | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Unseen Academicals: Comfort food

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

Many Terry Pratchett fans will tell you that his DISCWORLD novels are really social satire masquerading as fantasy. With the more recent installments, this has become even more apparent, as they have often taken on a very specific subject or theme. The Truth: Terry Pratchett about journalism. Making Money: banking. Going Postal: well… the postal service. The most recent addition to the series, Unseen Academicals,

January 23rd, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 2.5 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Always Forever: Worthy finale

Always Forever by Mark Chadbourn

Always Forever is the third novel in the AGE OF MISRULE trilogy by Mark Chadbourn, and at the start of this final installment, things definitely aren’t looking up. As Darkest Hour ends, the five Brothers and Sisters of Dragons are scattered and broken, and the dark god Balor is loose in the land again. If the five heroes can’t somehow stop Balor by the festival of Samhain, when he comes into his full powers,

January 17th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3 | Mark Chadbourn | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

The Swordbearer: Read The Black Company instead

The Swordbearer by Glen Cook

The Swordbearer is an early standalone novel by Glen Cook, originally published in 1982 and re-released by Nightshade Books in 2009. If you’re a fan of Glen Cook, whose CHRONICLES OF THE BLACK COMPANY are classics of the genre, this would probably be an interesting read, as you’ll be able to see some of the author’s themes and quirks taking shape. However, taken on its own, The Swordbearer isn’t anywhere near as good as some of Glen Cook’s other works.

Gathrid, the main character,

The Book of Dreams: A small but satisfying collection

The Book of Dreams edited by Nick Gevers

The Book of Dreams is a small but satisfying collection of short stories that are thematically, albeit loosely, connected by the theme of “dreams.” The book features original stories by Robert Silverberg, Lucius Shepard, Jay Lake, Kage Baker and Jeffrey Ford, and was edited by Nick Gevers for Subterranean Press.

Somewhat surprisingly,

Diving into the Wreck: Fast and entertaining

Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Diving into the Wreck is a short but excellent science fiction novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, who has also written extensively in fantasy, mystery and romance, and is the former editor of the prestigious Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

The main character of Diving into the Wreck (2009), who goes by the name “Boss,” is a specialist in the exploration of derelict space ships. Accompanied by a team of specialists,

Darkest Hour: Dark and thrilling

Darkest Hour by Mark Chadbourn

Darkest Hour is the second book in Mark Chadbourn‘s AGE OF MISRULE trilogy. As often is the case, the middle book in the trilogy is the darkest one, and if the title didn’t give it away, Darkest Hour is no exception. Thankfully, the novel contains enough excitement to make it a thrilling read that should please fans of the first book.

At the conclusion of World’s End,

January 12th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3 | Mark Chadbourn | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

The Best of Michael Moorcock: Excellent short stories

The Best of Michael Moorcock by Michael Moorcock

The Best of Michael Moorcock is a collection of the legendary author’s best short fiction, containing several of his classic stories, as well as one previously unreleased story.

The collection, lovingly edited by John Davey with Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, is nothing short of excellent. There are really no bad stories here, and some that are simply stunning. As someone who has read many of Michael Moorcock‘s novels but barely any of his shorter work,

Author: Stefan Raets

Shadow Prowler: Every fantasy cliché in the book

Haze: An excellent stand-alone SF

The Extra: A fast action-packed read

Unseen Academicals: Comfort food

Always Forever: Worthy finale

The Swordbearer: Read The Black Company instead

The Book of Dreams: A small but satisfying collection

Diving into the Wreck: Fast and entertaining

Darkest Hour: Dark and thrilling

The Best of Michael Moorcock: Excellent short stories

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