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]: 2003.01

Trading in Danger: Appealing space opera

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon

“Of course we didn’t do autopsies. We know exactly what killed them — I killed them!”

Kylara Vatta, daughter of the head of the most prestigious shipping empire in the universe, didn’t want to follow in her family’s footsteps — trading is boring and Ky wants adventure and her own life outside of her family’s control. So she opted for a military career. But with only a few months left in the officer’s academy, she was set-up, betrayed, kicked out, and publicly shamed. When she returns home in disgrace,

There Will be Dragons: Standard

There will be Dragons by John Ringo

The premise of There Will Be Dragons is interesting, the kind of premise that made me want to read the book just to see where John Ringo would go with it. Ringo paints a unique, utopian world with a nearly perfect society. Then, in this perfect world, an apocalypse happens and forces these individuals to live in pre-industrial style. I would consider There Will Be Dragons a science fiction/fantasy hybrid.

This is a broad undertaking for any author,

January 22nd, 2013. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 3 | John Ringo | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Fall of a Kingdom: Nice change of pace

Fall of a Kingdom by Hilari Bell

Let the two of us end this war…

Fall of a Kingdomis the first book in the FARSALA trilogy, followed by Rise of a Hero and Forging the Sword, all set in a pseudo-Arabian land called Farsala which is attempting to resist the invasion of an ever-growing empire that bears more than a few similarities to the Roman Empire. Known as the Hrum, these invaders are committed to fighting any conquerable land for a year before negotiating for peace;

Prince of Ayodhya: Fails to satisfy

Prince of Ayodhya by Ashok K. Banker

I don’t know exactly why Prince of Ayodhya failed to satisfy me. Ashok K. Banker has achieved a modern retelling of the Hindu mythic cycle, the Ramayana. I’m a sucker for mythology. Banker is a competent writer and some of his descriptions are beautiful. He clearly knows his source material and wants to share it with a wider audience.

The Ramayana follows the adventures of Prince Rama Chandra, his wife Sita, brother Lakshman and Hanuman the Monkey King as they battle against the powerful arch-demon Ravana.

June 1st, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Ashok K. Banker | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Dragon of Doom: An hour’s worth of delightful entertainment

The Dragon of Doom by Bruce Coville

When Moongobble the magician moves to town, Edward is eager to become his new apprentice. It turns out, though, that Moongobble isn’t much of a magician after all — every time he tries a spell, he ends up turning something into cheese. In fact, he’s about to lose his authority to practice magic if he can’t prove himself proficient by completing three difficult tasks. The first task is to steal some special acorns from the Dragon of Doom, so Moongobble and Edward set off with Urk,

Holder of Lightning: Solid Celtic fantasy

Holder of Lightning by S.L. Farrell

Holder of Lightning is the first book of S.L. Farrell’s Cloudmages trilogy. The story takes place in a well-imagined Celtic world and there is plenty of action, particularly in the last third, where Farrell is putting things in place for a multi-generational saga.

Jenna Aoire is a simple village girl, daughter of the widow Maeve, content to herd the sheep and listen to music at Tara’s tavern. One night, when she is late getting the sheep down from Knobtop,

October 18th, 2011. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | S.L. Farrell | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Warriors, Into the Wild: May win over reluctant readers

Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

There have been some great animal stories written for children. Brian Jacques’s Redwall series invested woodland creatures with a valor and camaraderie straight out of Tolkien, and Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows charmed with its odd blend of comedy and bittersweet nostalgia. E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and Robert C. O’Brien’s Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh are in many ways beautiful little stories of life and loss.

A Great and Terrible Beauty: Neither great nor terrible

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Gemma Doyle grew up in India, but after her mother commits suicide and her father becomes a laudanum addict, she’s sent to a finishing school in England. This is Victorian England, so at Spence Academy Gemma will be instilled with “grace, charm, and beauty” as she learns how to be a proper wife, mother, and hostess. Virtue, virginity, and the avoidance of scandal are of the utmost importance so that the ladies of Spence Academy will, upon graduation, reach their highest potential: to make a good marriage.

The Goose Girl: Sweet and irresistible

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

As the oldest child of the King and Queen, Crown Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee (Ani) is being groomed for the throne of Kildenree. Much to her mother’s disappointment, though, Ani doesn’t seem to be leadership material. She doesn’t have the ability to persuade and motivate people like her mother does and, oddly, she seems to communicate better with animals than people.

Nonetheless, Ani is shocked when her mother declares her little brother to be heir and sends Ani off as a bride to the prince of Bayern,

The Book of Dead Days: Marvelously atmospheric

The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick

The “Dead Days” are what author Marcus Sedgwick calls the time between Christmas and New Year’s Day, on account of their quiet, mysterious atmosphere; an idea drawn from various mythologies that hold that certain days of the year mark the time when doors to the spirit world open to those of the living. The Book of Dead Days is set entirely within the five-day period between December 27th and December 31st in a sprawling turn-of-the-century city where experiments in electricity and magnetism are indistinguishable from magic and superstition for most of the populace.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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