Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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]: 1987.01


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In Conquest Born: Impressive world building

In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman

If you like epic space opera with imaginatively detailed world-building and a focus on characters rather than gadgets, try In Conquest Born, C.S. Friedman’s extremely impressive first novel. This complex, sprawling story begins with the births of two enemies-to-be from two different worlds that have been fighting each other for generations:

Zatar, a Braxin, is bred for beauty and aggression because those are the qualities his brutal, elitist, and misogynist culture admires. Ruthless, clever, and perfectly poised, he is preparing himself and his world for his ascendancy to a throne that does not yet exist in his oligarchic government.


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Infernal Devices: A Mad Victorian Fantasy

Infernal Devices: A Mad Victorian Fantasy by K.W. Jeter

George Dower’s father was a watchmaker, but he didn’t just make watches. Some of his special customers knew he was a genius with all sorts of gear work. When his father died, George inherited the watch shop. Unfortunately, he didn’t inherit his father’s genius. He can sometimes manage to fix a customer’s watch if he sees that a part has worn out, or something else obvious is wrong, but that’s about it. He’s completely flummoxed when a strange brown man brings in something he’s never seen before — something George’s father made.


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Child of the Northern Spring: Guinevere’s early life

Child of the Northern Spring by Persia Woolley

Child of the Northern Spring is not, strictly speaking, a retelling of the Arthurian legend. I discovered it on a used-bookstore shelf and didn’t realize that it was the first book in a trilogy, and that it only dealt with Guinevere’s early life, up until her marriage to Arthur.

Persia Woolley’s Guinevere isn’t the annoying, preachy character you might recall from Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon,


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Bones of the Moon: Got sent back

Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll

I know Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll has gotten really good reviews, and is supposed to be the source material for the Sandman graphic novels by Neil Gaiman, but 50 pages in to the story, I didn’t care about any of the characters and the only fantastical thing that had happened was the main character, a self-involved woman named Cullen, started having weird serial dreams about a talking dog and a young boy named Pepsi.


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The Tale of Krispos: Fairly enjoyable alternate history

THE TALE OF KRISPOS by Harry Turtledove

The opening chapter of The Tale of Krispos really sucked me in. There is realism, which I’m always a fan of, and there are hardly any wasted words. At least that’s how it is at first — but more on that later. Harry Turtledove does a great job of describing what is going on by working the information you need into the narrative in natural ways rather than just straight-out telling you certain facts.

The three books that make up The Tale of KrisposKrispos Rising,


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The Malloreon: Strangely familiar

THE MALLOREON by David Eddings

Take the plot from The Belgariad, add in the same characters, plus a couple of new ones that look strangely similar to ones in The Belgariad, and you have The Malloreon. Instead of chasing the Orb, the gang is chasing Garion and Ce’Nedra’s son.

This is a quest type of fantasy, and the same things that made The Belgariad so enjoyable are here: interesting characters and a humourous banter that makes for a quick read. The pace is fast. 


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Stalking the Unicorn: A complete blast!

Stalking the Unicorn by Mike Resnick

I had a complete blast reading Mike Resnick’s Stalking the Unicorn.

It was smart, highly inventive, outrageously funny — led by hilariously wry dialogue — and fun.

It was also immensely rewarding, especially getting to see how John Justin Mallory ended up in the other Manhattan, how he became partners with Winnifred Carruthers, his first meeting with the cat-girl Felina and Grundy — “the most powerful demon in New York” — and the clever manner in which he solved the case.


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The Night of the Solstice: A passable children’s fantasy

The Night of the Solstice by L.J. Smith

The Night of the Solstice, followed by its sequel Heart of Valor, were Lisa Jane Smith‘s first novels, targeted at younger readers, unlike her later (and more popular) horror/teen romance novels surrounding the lives of vampires, witches, shapeshifters and the like.

In her delving into the fantasy world, L.J. Smith introduces us to the four siblings, responsible Alys, normal Charles, kooky Janie and dreamy Claudia who have absolutely nothing to do with each other.


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Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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