Order [book in series=yearoffirstbook.book# (eg 2014.01), stand-alone or one-author collection=3333.pubyear, multi-author anthology=5555.pubyear, SFM/MM=5000, interview=1111]: 1984.02

testing

Yarrow: Very early de Lint

Yarrow by Charles de Lint I’d been meaning to read Yarrow (1986) for years. I loved Charles de Lint’s Memory and Dream, in which he tells the story of a painter touched by the Otherworld. And I’m a writer (or at least a wannabe one), not a visual artist, so I figured, “if I liked […]

Read More
testing

The Gold Coast: More interesting than exciting

The Gold Coast by Kim Stanley Robinson Jim McPherson is unsatisfied with the future. Unable to find steady, well-paid work, Jim mostly spends his time partying and casually hooking up with random women. Jim’s family is of small comfort to him since he spends most family dinners enduring his father’s many complaints about how Jim […]

Read More
testing

Damiano’s Lute: Failed to engage me

Damiano’s Lute by R.A. MacAvoy Damiano’s Lute is the second book in R.A. MacAvoy’s DAMIANO trilogy, which takes place in Renaissance Italy. In the first book, Damiano, we met a young man named Damiano Delstrego who was feeling befuddled because he was both a witch and a Christian. He had left his village with his […]

Read More
testing

Homunculus: Try this zany story on audio

Homunculus by James P. Blaylock “Does the night seem uncommonly full of dead men and severed heads to you?” Langdon St. Ives is a man of science and a member of the Royal Society. With the help of his dependable and discreet manservant, St. Ives prefers to spend his time secretly building a spaceship in […]

Read More
testing

The Wandering Fire: Conventional high fantasy

The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay It’s been 1½ years since I read The Summer Tree, Guy Gavriel Kay’s first novel and the first in his Fionavar Tapestry. I mentioned in the review for that book that I’m an adoring fan of Kay’s later stand-alone novels but that I found The Summer Tree derivative […]

Read More
testing

Count Zero: Neuromancer’s been busy

Count Zero by William Gibson They plot with men, my other selves, and men imagine they are gods. Several years have passed since Molly and Case freed the AI who calls himself Neuromancer. Neuromancer’s been busy and now his plots have widened to involve several people whom we meet in Count Zero: Turner is a […]

Read More
testing

Shadows Linger: Hard boiled fantasy

Shadows Linger by Glen Cook “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, […]

Read More
testing

Keeper of the Keys: I’m expecting an exciting finale

Keeper of the Keys by Janny Wurts In this second episode of THE CYCLE OF FIRE, Ivainson Jaric witnesses some crucial history: how his father the Firelord and Anskiere the Stormwarden, both Vaere-trained sorcerers, bound the demons at Elrinfaer; how his father went mad and betrayed Anskiere; and how, though the demons were eventually bound, […]

Read More
testing

Lavondyss: Will stay in my mind forever

Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock The wood sucks at the mind, it sucks out the dreams. Many times I don’t like sequels because there’s nothing new to learn. Authors tend to give us all of their world-building in the first novel, so I’m often bored by a sequel. But Lavondyss blew my mind. It is, I […]

Read More
We have reviewed 8040 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Under ConstructionWe’re updating our theme, so things may be a little messy or slow until we’re finished. Thank you for being patient with us!

SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS

You can subscribe to our posts via email, email digest, browser notifications, Twitter, RSS, etc. You can filter by tag (e.g. Giveaway), keyword, author. We won't give your email address to anyone. Enter email to subscribe:

SUPPORT FANLIT

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:
You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US   UK    CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!