This is a difficult review for me to write. Nancy Werlin makes several plotting decisions that don’t quite work for me, even though I can see the ways these decisions serve the narrative.
Impossible is a book I should have loved. I adore plots that hinge on the exact wording of curses and prophecies: “none of woman born,” “when two Mondays come together,” that sort of thing. Here is a whole novel based on that concept. Our heroine,
March 11th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Nancy Werlin | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Eyes of a King by Catherine Banner
“All those years, I thought I was unhappy. I don’t think anymore that I was,” Leo reflects early in The Eyes of a King, looking back on his teenage self.
Now, after 250 pages of military dictatorship, abusive teachers, missing parents, Leo being sick, Leo’s little brother being sick, kids getting drafted into the army, and heavy-handed foreshadowing of a tragic event that happens around the 225-page mark, and Leo brooding about all of these things? If this is Leo North when he’s happy,
January 21st, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 0.1 | Catherine Banner | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold
The folklore of the British Isles, and of Western Europe in general, is well-trodden ground in fantasy fiction. So, when I heard that Jane Lindskold had begun a series based on Chinese mythology, I was eager to read it. It would be something fresh and unusual, and I’ve greatly enjoyed Lindskold’s writing in the past.
Thirteen Orphans is the first novel in the Breaking the Wall series, which I would classify as “old-school urban fantasy.” The phrase “breaking the wall” comes from the game of mah-jong,
December 16th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | Jane Lindskold | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
When I first opened Kin by Holly Black, I was surprised to find it was a graphic novel. Once I started reading, I was absorbed in the story of Rue Silver, a slightly punk college student who is facing an unexpected crisis in her life. Her mother has disappeared, and her father has been arrested for her murder, and the murder of one of his grad students. And to make matters worse, Rue has started seeing people — or more precisely things — that shouldn’t be able to exist.
October 9th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | Holly Black | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski
The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski is perhaps not itself a “wonder” (that sort of praise is a bit too breathlessly over the top), but it comes close enough to deserve an enthusiastic recommendation and a preeminent place on any child’s shelf. Start with several appealing and richly drawn characters; add an inventive mix of history, folk tales, and the author’s own plotting; toss in an original blend of various magics and technologies, sprinkle a few grim moments about and several more whimsical ones;
September 9th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Marie Rutkoski | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle
Persephone and Penelope Leland are excited to start their first season as eligible women in London. At least Penelope is. Persephone is nervous, and besides, she’d much rather continue her studies in magic with their governess Ally.
The twin girls are witches — as is their governess — and in addition to their book and finishing training, Ally helps them to learn magic and how to use it responsibly. Things go horribly wrong however when Ally comes up missing a few short days before their coming out.
August 22nd, 2009. Guest´s rating: 5 | Marissa Doyle | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Ten Thousand by Paul Kearney
The Ten Thousand is a historical fantasy which follows the story of two young men growing up in a very close approximation of the Greek City States known as the Macht. One has just lost his family due to war and the other has set off to find adventure as a soldier. Both of them end up enlisting in a large force of mercenaries bound for a larger empire. Their story is interesting; we follow them on their campaign through a foreign land peopled with races who aren’t human,
July 27th, 2009. John Hulet and Guest | Paul Kearney | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Personal Demons by Stacia Kane
The beginning chapters of Stacia Kane’s Personal Demons is a bit choppy. There are some strange cuts and splices. In particular, there are several instances where important, plot-relevant conversations occur offscreen and are only mentioned in retrospect as Megan muses about them. (I think it would have been more effective to show these conversations rather than narrate about them after the fact.) I also had trouble getting a feel for the passage of time in these early chapters. I would think days passed,
July 25th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Stacia Kane | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Heart of Light by Sarah A. Hoyt
Known for her diversity, the Portugal-born Sarah A. Hoyt has written dozens of short stories and several novels including the Shakespearean Fantasies series, the Musketeer Mystery books, and the Shifters urban fantasy series. She has also written a historical romance under the pseudonym Laurien Gardner, a collaborative novel with SF author Eric Flint, and co-edits the forthcoming anthology Something Magic This Way Comes (below).
In Ms. Hoyt’s Magical British Empire series,
July 10th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3 | Sarah A. Hoyt | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans
“Mountains shouldn’t scream, but this one did.” Those words start the first volume in The Iron Elves series by Chris Evans, a first time author. A Darkness Forged in Fire is one of the best new fantasies that I’ve read in a long time. Evans has a visceral writing style that makes the world come alive, interesting takes on standard fantasy races such as elves and dwarves, and one of the most terrifying landscapes I can remember.
July 9th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5, 5 | Chris Evans | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…