The Nightmare and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy by Francis Stevens
Up until recently, Minneapolis-born author Francis Stevens had been a very solid 3 for 3 with this reader. Her first novel, 1918’s The Citadel of Fear, had proved to be a mindblower, dealing as it did with the lost city of Tlapallan, nightmarish creatures, and battling Aztec gods. Her second novel, 1919’s The Heads of Cerberus,
February 12th, 2020. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Francis Stevens | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
It’s always fascinating to read short stories written by your favourite author. Without the luxury of a longer page-count, they’re forced to hone their craft and get out of their comfort zone, and often some of their best work can be found in the short story format. Besides which, a lot can be said with just a few words. As Joanne Harris herself points out in her foreword, short stories: “provoke questions, whereas most novels tend to try and answer them.”
Harris is perhaps best known for Chocolat,
September 18th, 2019. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Joanne Harris | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
In the Land of Time: And Other Fantasy Tales by Lord Dunsany
In In the Land of Time: And Other Fantasy Tales (1986), literary critic and editor S.T. Joshi has compiled a large collection of Lord Dunsany’s short fiction that spans fifty years and is representative of his entire oeuvre. As someone who is not well-acquainted with the writings of Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th Baron of Dunsany (1878-1957), I found this collection to be both an excellent resource and an enjoyable read.
April 15th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Lord Dunsany | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Dead Man’s Hand, Pieces of Hate, A Whisper of Southern Lights by Tim Lebbon
The three novellas Dead Man’s Hand, Pieces of Hate, and A Whisper of Southern Lights make up Tim Lebbon’s ASSASSIN series. They were originally published in 2004, 2005, and 2008 by Necessary Evil Press but were reprinted by Tor.com in 2016. Tor packaged the first two stories together under the name Pieces of Hate.
August 16th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Tim Lebbon | Audio, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds
Century Rain (2004) is the first novel Alastair Reynolds published outside of his REVELATION SPACE setting. It combines elements of noir, hard science fiction and time travel with a dash of romance. Reynolds also experimented with noir elements in Chasm City and The Prefect (which I think is one of his best novels). The melding of noir and science fiction doesn’t work as well in Century Rain; this book is not one of Reynold’s stronger novels.
July 22nd, 2016. Rob Weber´s rating: 3.5 | Alastair Reynolds | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
How did Joe Haldeman’s Camouflage beat Susanna Clarke’s monumental work Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for the Nebula Award in 2005? Granted, I haven’t read that book, but I have read many glowing reviews from my fellow FanLit reviewers and Goodreads friends. It was also made into a major BBC miniseries and received many accolades. Clarke’s book is incredibly long and filled with dense footnotes that show the depth of research and creative energy,
May 23rd, 2016. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 2 | Joe Haldeman | Audio, Nebula Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Minority Report and Other Stories by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick is the classic case of a brilliant but struggling artist who only got full recognition after he passed away. Despite publishing an incredible 44 novels and 121 stories during his lifetime, it was not until the Ridley Scott film Blade Runner was released in 1982 that PKD gained more mainstream attention, and sadly he died before being able to see the final theatrical release.
A number of his short stories were adapted into feature-length films,
November 12th, 2015. Stuart Starosta and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Philip K. Dick | Audio, Film / TV, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
There are disadvantages to finding a trilogy you really love, and they usually surface somewhere between the second and final book. I discovered this whilst waiting for The Magician’s Land to be released, after devouring the first two novels of Grossman’s Magicians series. It was at this point I turned my attention to the rest of Grossman’s literary corpus and discovered a stand-alone novel published five years previously to The Magicians: Codex.
January 13th, 2015. Ray McKenzie´s rating: 4 | Lev Grossman | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Secret Sharer and Other Stories by Robert Silverberg
The Secret Sharer and Other Stories by Robert Silverberg is available on Audible and offers a top-notch performance by Robertson Dean. The title is a little misleading, I think. There are only three selections included, and only one is a short story. The other two seem to be novellas. However, based on the way Silverberg’s works have been repackaged and republished over the years, even those distinctions are difficult to make: For example, We Are for the Dark is included in both his collected short stories volume seven,
June 11th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Robert Silverberg | Audio, Nebula Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Marvel 1602: 10th Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman (story), Andy Kubert (illustrations), Richard Isanove (color)
In 2001, Marvel gave Neil Gaiman the chance to write in the Marvel universe. Being Gaiman, he didn’t come up with a traditional superhero story at all. There are no tall buildings to be leaped at a single bound, no airplanes or guns, no fancy particle beam weapons. Instead, Gaiman went sideways, developing a story with Marvel characters — many Marvel characters — in Europe and the New World just at the transition from Queen Elizabeth I’s reign to that of James I of England.
November 8th, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Neil Gaiman | Comics | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…