In some ways there are superficial resemblances between Fledgling and the last vampire book I read, Let the Right One In: both books have as their star apparently pre-pubescent vampires who have ‘complicated’ relationships with their human companions. In John Ajvide Lindqvist’s case it was a Renfield-like adult who was enamoured of the vampire-child for whom he obtained blood and the young boy who becomes a part of her life. In the case of Butler’s book the vampire in question,
April 24th, 2015. Terry Lago´s rating: 3.5 | Octavia Butler | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The DC Infinite Crisis and the “Old” 52 (part 4): Villains United by Gail Simone
I just reread Gail Simone’s Villains United for what must be the third time, and it wasn’t as good as I remembered it being. I think there are several reasons for this reaction. When I first read it, I was still fairly new to comics and was learning something new from almost everything I read. But with at least a thousand more comics read between then and now,
November 1st, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Infinite Crisis and the “Old” 52 (Part 3): Day of Vengeance by Bill Willingham
In this third review, I will cover the rest of the issues included in the Day of Vengeance trade paperback. This story is written by Bill Willingham, well-known for Fables, his excellent Vertigo series at DC. These issues are also available on Comixology as Day of Vengeance Issues #1-6. However, as confusing as this sounds,
October 11th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Bill Willingham | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The DC Infinite Crisis and the “Old” 52 (Part 2): “Lightning Strikes Twice” by Judd Winick
In Part One, I gave an introduction to this series and discussed Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 (it’s available on Comixology or in the trade paperback The OMAC Project). This second review is about the first three issues included in the trade paperback Day of Vengeance. These issues, by Judd Winick, tell the three-part “Lightning Strikes Twice”
September 26th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Stonehenge Gate by Jack Williamson
What do you plan to do when you’re 97 years old? Me? If I’m fortunate enough to attain to that ripe old age, I suppose I will be eating pureed Gerber peaches and watching Emma Peel reruns on my TV set in the nursing home … IF I’m lucky. For sci-fi Grand Master Jack Williamson, the age of 97 meant another novel, his 50th or so, in a writing career that stretched back 77 years (!), to his first published story, “The Metal Man,”
September 23rd, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Jack Williamson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
Kelly Link’s short story collection, Magic for Beginners, is a great piece of work. In a bit of a departure from her earlier collection Stranger Things Happen, the stories in it don’t follow normative narrative structures; they draw from sources as various as fairy tales, kitchen sink realism, heist stories, TV fandom, and Link’s own surrealist vision. These nine stories don’t share overt connections, but they do provide a window into modern American life, complete with bland marriages,
August 12th, 2014. Kate Lechler´s rating: 4 | Kelly Link | Audio, BSFA Award, Nebula Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Malvolio’s Revenge by Sophie Masson
I’ve read plenty of Sophie Masson’s novels and enjoyed them all, but I’m fairly certain that Malvolio’s Revenge may end up being my favourite. Though Masson usually writes straight-out fantasy stories, this is a more of a mystery with a few supernatural trappings thrown in.
The book’s title is a bit misleading, for this book isn’t a sequel to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Instead it refers to the title of a play that the travelling troupe of actors who comprise our main characters are performing all around Louisiana.
April 17th, 2014. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Sophie Masson | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Numbers Don’t Lie by Terry Bisson
In 2005, Tachyon Press published three of Terry Bisson linked novellas in one volume, called Numbers Don’t Lie. This short, fun book follows Irving, a Brooklynite lawyer, and his genius best friend Wilson Wu on a series of adventures.
Wilson is a six-foot-tall Chinese American polymath; he is a math genius, he’s studied meteorology, botany, Chinese herbs, pastry-making, law and the care of camels at a caravansari in the Gobi. The three stories collected in Numbers Don’t Lie were published separately in Asimov’s.
July 10th, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Terry Bisson | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
Tom Stein is a young Hollywood agent who used to think that his clients were hard to handle. That was before Tom’s boss assigned him to represent the most important client any agent has ever had to deal with — the first aliens to contact the human race.
These aliens — the Yherajk — have been watching our TV broadcasts for years, so they know a lot about humans. They are peaceful and want to make a good impression, but they know it’ll be a hard sell.
June 4th, 2013. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | John Scalzi | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
John Constantine, Hellblazer: All His Engines by Mike Carey (writer) & Leonardo Manco (artist)
There are so many options available to the reader who wants to meet John Constantine for the first time. He was created by Alan Moore in his groundbreaking run on Swamp Thing (Moore’s entry into American comics). Another good place to start is with Jamie Delano’s Hellblazer: Original Sins, the volume collecting the first issues of Constantine’s solo title Hellblazer — the longest running title in the history of Vertigo,
May 17th, 2013. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Mike (M.R.) Carey | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 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…