King’s Property by Morgan Howell
King’s Property is the first book in the Queen of the Orcs series, and Morgan Howell’s first novel. For a story in which the author does such a good job of depicting the harsh realities of the setting, he sure lets the main character, Dar, skate out of bad situation after bad situation to a point where it’s just a bit too much. The explanations for each magic escape work, but it needs to change to a point where Dar takes fewer risks,
September 26th, 2007. John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Morgan Howell | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Feast of Souls by C.S. Friedman
There is only one way to do magic, and that is to expend life force to power it. Witches spend their own life force, and die young. Magisters have discovered how to spend the life force of another, and are nearly immortal, burning through consort after consort, while keeping the source of their magic a tightly guarded secret. No woman has ever become a Magister because they are unwilling to sacrifice others. No woman until Kamala, steeled by a life of child prostitution, secretly becomes a Magister.
August 24th, 2007. Ruth Arnell and John Hulet´s rating: 3.5, 4 | C.S. Friedman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The House of Power by Patrick Carman
The House of Power is the first installment in Patrick Carman’s ATHERTON trilogy. As such, it is expected that there be some ‘setting up’ for the next book. These expectations are surpassed, as there is little else but setting up for most of this book.
Halfway through The House of Power all that was still happening was the suggestion of more problems, and it seemed that I would have to read the rest of the trilogy to get any answers at all.
August 14th, 2007. Skye Walker´s rating: 3.5 | Patrick Carman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg
With the second book of The Lighthouse Duet, Breath and Bone, now out, I decided to refresh my memory, as it’s been a full year since I last read this one. I can remember being distinctly disappointed with it. Yet after some of what I’ve read this year (some of it being absolutely awful) I’d have to say my mind has changed somewhat.
This year my poor eyes have suffered so much awkward prose and poorly placed punctuation that Carol Berg’s elegant,
July 31st, 2007. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4 | Carol Berg | Mythopoeic Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
It seems lately that a lot of books have come out where setting plays as large a role as character. I’m thinking of Jeff VanderMeer’s Ambergris, China Miéville’s New Crobuzon, Gregory Frost’s Shadowbridge, and Jay Lake’s Mainspring. Books that haven’t simply created a new world, but whose world itself is an integral part of the story, rather than just the physical part the story moves across.
Felix Gilman’s Thunderer certainly falls into that category — more successfully than some and less so than others.
July 25th, 2007. Bill Capossere and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4 | Felix Gilman | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin
The Summoner is the first book that I have read by Gail Martin, but I was happily impressed with this first installment of The Chronicles of the Necromancer. I didn’t love it, and there seemed to be some rough patches throughout the book, but on the whole it was interesting.
Central to this story is a lust for power and what happens as a result. The main character, Martris “Tris” Drayke, is not very unique,
July 21st, 2007. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Gail Z. Martin | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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It's discouraging that even somewhat successful authors rarely seem to be able to keep publishing for more than about 10-12…
Fly Fishing is the Answer!
I guess I'll have to read these.
I'd IMAGINE so, never having read that other book or seen the film....
So, more in the territory of A River Runs Through It than Siddhartha? ;-)