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]: 2006.01

The Fledging of Az Gabrielson: A YA page turner

The Fledging of Az Gabrielson by Jay Amory

In the wake of a global apocalypse, humans take to the skies, building enormous cities above the encroaching cloud cover, connected to the earth by slender columns. The columns enclose supply elevators that bring essential resources up from the surface to the earth to the Airborn , who are so named because of these cities and because of their giant wings that allow them to fly like angels. All the Airborn have wings, except for the teenager Az Gabrielson, born without the wings that mark everyone else in his society.

Blue Bloods: Like a trashy gossip magazine

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods is the first book in a series by Melissa De La Cruz about the upper-class students at a prestigious school in New York who enjoy fashion and gossip, and just happen to be turning into vampires. We follow Schuyler Van Alen, a 15 year old girl who has never fit in with the other students at Duchesne — preferring to wear charity shop vintage clothes and hanging out with Oliver Hazard-Perry. Little does she realise that her life is about to change forever,

March 19th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 2 | Melissa De-La-Cruz | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Don of the Dead: Fun, fluffy, forgettable

Don of the Dead by Casey Daniels

Former rich girl Pepper Martin, reduced to dire financial straits, takes a job as a cemetery tour guide. When she falls and hits her head on late mobster Gus Scarpetti’s mausoleum, she gains the (rather inconvenient) ability to see Gus’s ghost. Gus enlists Pepper to solve the decades-old mystery of his murder. While trying to get to the bottom of the case, Pepper learns that a ghostly “boss” can be hazardous to a girl’s love life and job prospects, and maybe even her life itself.

February 21st, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Casey Daniels | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Airs Beneath the Moon: Not the best school fantasy

Airs Beneath the Moon by Toby Bishop

Ever encounter one of those books that you really wished you’d enjoyed more than you had? For me, Toby Bishop‘s Airs Beneath the Moon was one of those books.

There’s something truly solid here, a pretty good foundation with some strong writing structurally speaking, with the exception of the fact that Bishop seems to think that a comma can always replace the word ‘and’. It can’t.

There’s also some fun support characters, like Hester Golden,

February 16th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 3 | Toby Bishop | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Mirror Prince: Couldn’t see the forest for all the Trees

The Mirror Prince by Violette Malan

As a result of losing a civil war in the Elven Kingdom, the Guardian Prince has been exiled to the human lands and stripped of his memories, with only a small band of Riders to protect him. Now, as the exile is coming to a close, the Hunt has appeared, set upon destroying him before he can return to reclaim his place. The Guardian Prince has to regain his memories to save himself and the Elven Kingdoms, but how?

I was excited when I opened The Mirror Prince.

Rogue Angel: Destiny

Rogue Angel: Destiny by Alex Archer

I have a soft spot for archaeological/historical mysteries and thrillers. The subgenre is extremely glutted with dreck, though, as a result of the huge popularity of The Da Vinci Code. I’m not much of a Da Vinci Code fan, but I’ve liked some of the novels that followed in its wake, so I’m often willing to give this type of book a chance even though I’m seldom satisfied. I ordered Destiny in the hopes that it would be one of the good ones.

February 9th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 0.1 | Alex Archer, Mel Odom | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Heir of Autumn: Flawed but compelling debut

Heir of Autumn by Giles Carwyn & Todd Fahnestock

I started Heir of Autumn with skepticism because (1) it’s a first novel (2) by two guys who’ve been friends since high school (3) that begins with a nubile young woman fondling herself as part of her sorcerous training. A few times during the first few chapters, I considered returning it to the library and writing it off as another botched heroic fantasy epic.

Fortunately, I read on.

The bulk of the story occurs in the fabled city-state of Ohndarien,

January 16th, 2010. Rob Rhodes´s rating: 4 | Giles Carwyn | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Dressed to Slay: No delusions of grandeur

Dressed to Slay by Harper Allen

I’ve got a theory. I think Dressed to Slay (2006) is actually a long-lost episode of Buffy. The Scooby Gang has been hit by another demonic curse. This time, instead of falling silent or bursting into song, they’ve all been turned into Cordelia, and I mean first-season Cordelia. (All but Giles, that is. He miraculously escapes the Cordelia curse, but picks up a Russian accent.)

The comparison breaks down pretty quickly, though, because if Joss Whedon had written Dressed to Slay,

January 5th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 1.5 | Harper Allen | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Touch of Evil: Interesting but uneven

Touch of Evil by C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp

Touch of Evil (2006) is a mixed bag. There were aspects of it that I liked a great deal, and aspects that didn’t work for me.

First, the good: C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s vampires and werewolves are different from the usual fare. The vampires in Touch of Evil are victims of a parasite and ruled by a hive mind; the werewolves are matriarchal and not tied to the lunar cycle.

January 2nd, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | C.T. (Cat) Adams | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Morganville Vampires: The omnibus is a worthy purchase

The Morganville Vampires (Glass Houses & The Dead Girl’s Dance) by Rachel Caine

I pretty much avoid sparkly vampire stories. I’ve never read Twilight, and have not seen the movies. I am only vaguely familiar with Anne Rice’s stuff. I have been “self-sheltered” from vampire fantasy fiction. But when I saw that Penguin Books was re-releasing Rachel Caine’s The Morganville Vampires in omnibus editions, I asked for a copy of the first one (Glass Houses and The Dead Girl’s Dance).

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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