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]: 2002

Stealing Alabama: U.S. history in S.F. context

Stealing Alabama by Allen Steele

It’s the year 2070 and the United States is a mess. There’s civil war and, while people are suffering, the totalitarian government chooses to spend its money on a massive space program. In fact, the countdown has begun for the launch of the starship Alabama which will establish humanity’s first interstellar space colony. The “Intellectual Dissidents” who disagree with the government’s actions are rounded up for “re-education” and are never seen again, but many have been undetected and they’ve got a vast conspiracy going on.

Bones of the Earth: Revels in paleontology and paradoxes

Bones of the Earth by Michael Swanwick

Paleontologist Richard Leyster works for the Smithsonian. It’s his dream job, so naturally he scoffs when a strange man named Harry Griffin offers him a new job whose description and benefits are vague. But when Griffin leaves an Igloo cooler containing the head of a real dinosaur on Leyster’s desk, Leyster is definitely intrigued. A couple of years later, when Griffin finally contacts him again, Leyster is ready to sign on to Griffin’s crazy project. He and a team of scientists are sent back to the Mesozoic era to study,

Lost in the Labyrinth: Young readers will be delighted

Lost in the Labyrinth by Patrice Kindl

In recent years there has been a massive increase in the publication of re-told fairytales and myths, usually with the author twisting the known facts and meanings of the original source material into something more contemporary: villains become sympathetic characters, we see the proceedings through the eyes of a minority character such as a slave or a woman, or hidden agendas and meanings are revealed behind the bare bones of the story.

Famous examples of this have been Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon,

The Speed of Dark: Stays with you forever

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

In The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon blends science fiction, neuroscience, and her own experience to speculate about a future in which scientists have nearly eliminated the symptoms of autism.

Lou Arrendale’s cohort is the last of the impaired autistics. Thanks to early intervention programs, Lou and his colleagues are verbal, take care of themselves, and work for a pharmaceutical company that makes use of their savant abilities, yet they lack the social understanding needed to integrate into “normal” society.

The Portrait of Mrs Charbuque: Couldn’t put it down

The Portrait of Mrs Charbuque by Jeffrey Ford

The best thing about being my own master when it comes to choosing what I want to read is that when I read a book I really want to talk about I can without feeling like I have to put aside any other obligations, and I really want to talk about The Portrait of Mrs Charbuque.

Piero Piambo, a portrait artist in New York in 1893, is currently in fashion and as a result also in high demand.

Coraline: For brave children who like to squirm

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline’s family has just moved into a new flat. Her parents are always busy with their own work and Coraline (please don’t call her Caroline) has no friends or siblings to play with. She spends her time exploring her new apartment complex and the surrounding grounds. She’s got some eccentric neighbors: two little old ladies who love to reminisce about their time on the stage and an old man who trains mice to sing and dance.

But what’s really strange is the extra door in Coraline’s flat.

Monument: It took guts to write this story

Monument by Ian Graham

When Ballas is nearly beaten to death, kind strangers give him life-saving medical attention. He repays their charity by robbing them. But there’s more to the stolen artifact then just priceless gemstones. It holds ancient secrets the ruling religious leaders will stop at nothing to keep hidden. Ballas quickly becomes the most hated and feared man in the empire. He is hunted with a brutal relentlessness that equals only that of Ballas himself. His only chance for survival is escape to a mythical land on the far side of an impassable mountain range — the only place beyond the power of the Church of the Four Pilgrims.

Fitcher’s Brides: Unforgettable rendition of Bluebeard

Fitcher’s Brides by Gregory Frost

A widower, with a little help from his cold-hearted new wife, has fallen under the spell of Elias Fitcher, an apocalyptic preacher who predicts the world will end within the year. Packing up all his earthly belongings, and his three daughters — romantic Vernelia, neurotic Amy, and practical, skeptical Kate — he and his wife move to a tiny village in upstate New York to await the end of days. There, the charming, charismatic, and utterly horrifying Fitcher takes a shine to Vernelia, and sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind courtship.

To Ride Hell’s Chasm: One heck of a ride!

To Ride Hell’s Chasm by Janny Wurts

At the start of To Ride Hell’s Chasm, an outstanding standalone fantasy by Janny Wurts, Princess Anja of the tiny isolated kingdom of Sessalie has gone missing on the eve of the ceremony for her betrothal to the Crown Prince of Devall. Since Anja is beloved by her people, and the alliance with Devall represents potentially big trade increases, it doesn’t take long for many people to be involved in the search, from Mykkael, a foreign-born former mercenary now in charge of the city’s garrison,

A Fistful of Sky: Too mature for YA, too shallow for adults

A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

A Fistful of Sky is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, who comes from a magical family. Each child goes through transition in their early teens and receives the ability to do magic. However, Gypsum doesn’t go through transition. After several years of adjusting to her life as the mundane member of her family, she unexpectedly goes through transition, and receives the power of cursing. The only magic she can do is to perform curses, and if she doesn’t use her power regularly,

April 29th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | Nina Kiriki Hoffman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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