Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
I confess, I’ve been put off by YA books a lot lately. The trends seem to lean towards dark and “edgy” books (many of which sound depressing) and Twilight clones and wannabes. I can deal with the former, but the latter isn’t my thing. But while I was browsing one day, the cover of Eyes Likes Stars caught my attention (not surprising, since it’s gorgeous). I read the blurb and decided I had to get it; it sounded fresh,
October 26th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Lisa Mantchev | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Cardinal’s Blades by Pierre Pevel
PLOT SUMMARY: Paris, 1633. Louis XIII reigns over France… and Cardinal Richelieu governs the country. One of the most dangerous and most powerful men in Europe, Richelieu keeps a constant, sharp eye on the enemies of the Crown to avoid their assassination attempts, thwart their spies and avert their warmongering. But he’s up against people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, even going so far as to forge alliances with France’s oldest and deadliest enemies: Spain, and the Court of Dragons.
Faced with the growing threat from Spain,
October 23rd, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Pierre Pevel | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Imagine what would happen if P.G. Wodehouse and Jane Austen got together and wrote an urban fantasy novel. Gail Carriger did (that’s how she describes this novel) and the result is a delightfully amusing paranormal romance. Soulless is the story of Alexia Tarabotti, who has the social misfortune of being a spinster with a dead Italian father; not having a soul is just an additional burden to bear. Then she gets attacked by an ill-mannered vampire. That’s when Lord Maccon gets involved.
October 9th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Gail Carriger | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A.J. Hartley is best known as a writer of best-selling mystery-thriller novels, as a distinguished professor of Shakespeare in the English Department at University of North Carolina, and as editor of the Shakespeare Bulletin published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Dr. Hartley’s theater expertise is readily apparent in Act of Will, the first book of his first fantasy series.
It’s Will Hawthorne’s 18th birthday and he is finally a man. Today he hopes to be promoted to playing male parts and penning plays for his acting company.
October 2nd, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | A.J. Hartley | SFF Reviews | no comments |
As I started reading On the Edge, my biggest question was, would lightning — or magic — strike twice? Could Ilona Andrews write something just as great as her Kate Daniels series, in a completely different universe? The answer, it turns out, is yes!
The world-building is a little more familiar, but Andrews puts an original spin on it. There’s an Otherworld full of magical beings, called the Weird, and there’s our mundane world,
September 30th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter and John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | Ilona Andrews | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
CLASSIFICATION: Set in an alternate history Seattle, sometime around the year 1880, Boneshaker is a steampunk-flavored adventure that incorporates elements of zombie horror, pulp fiction and post-apocalyptic retrofuturism. Think The Wild Wild West meets Fallout (a videogame series) meets George Romero…
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 416 pages divided over 28 numbered chapters, an Epilogue, and an excerpt from Unlikely Episodes in Western History which serves as the prologue. The book also includes a map and an Author’s Note regarding the historical and geographical liberties taken in the novel.
September 25th, 2009. Robert Thompson, Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Cherie Priest | SFF Reviews | no comments |
City of Fire is the opening book in a new YA fantasy trilogy by Laurence Yep, set in an alternate version of 1941 where humans and magical creatures (trolls, lap griffins, shapeshifters, dragons, etc.) freely intermingle and society employs a mix of magic and technology. The novel opens in San Francisco with a tense and mysterious pov, as the assassin narrator Bayang observes her target — a young boy named Leech who somehow poses a threat to Bayang’s “people” and who has yet to come into his “true power.” The scene then shifts to another pov,
September 23rd, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Laurence Yep | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Imager is the first book in the IMAGER PORTFOLIO, the newest fantasy series by the incredibly prolific L. E. Modesitt Jr. I usually enjoy the author’s work very much, and Imager was no exception, despite the fact that it’s so recognizably L. E. Modesitt Jr.’s work that it verges on the predictable. I’m actually sure that some Modesitt fans could predict the early part of this novel’s plot just by looking at the included map: hmmm…
September 21st, 2009. Stefan Raets and John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Night’s Cold Kiss by Tracey O’Hara
I have a love-hate relationship with vampires. There have been vampire novels that I’ve absolutely adored. There have been others that have flown from my hand into the wall with frightening velocity. Mostly, I just wish there weren’t so darn many vampire novels. My favorite urban fantasies, lately, have been the ones where there aren’t any vampires, or the ones where vampires play a very minor role. When an urban fantasy does feature vampires, my favorite aspects of the book tend to be the places where the author departs from the standard vampire “canon.”
September 18th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Tracey O'Hara | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Queene of Light by Jennifer Armintrout
Many urban fantasy authors have written about supernatural races coming out of the shadows and living among humans. Few have done anything like this: The supernatural races crossed the Veil to live among humans, but war broke out, and the humans won. The otherworldly beings, along with any humans found to have paranormal abilities, have been banished to an underworld of sewers and subway tunnels, while the humans rule the world above. I love this idea. Jennifer Armintrout gives the reader a setting that feels both archetypal (because the fae have often been said to live underground) and fresh (because I’ve never seen it done quite like this).
September 18th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Jennifer Armintrout | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.