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]: 2009.01

Ravenous: The epitome of a middle-of-the-road book

Ravenous by Sharon Ashwood

Ravenous is the epitome of a middle-of-the-road book. It’s an entertaining read, but not one I’d jump to recommend.

Classified as paranormal romance, Ravenous follows the structure of that genre, but also includes plenty of urban fantasy elements and will probably appeal to readers on that side of the subgenre divide. The central characters, Holly (a witch) and Alessandro (a vampire), fall in love while trying to prevent a demon from wreaking havoc in their city. Sharon Ashwood tells the story in third person,

December 21st, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Sharon Ashwood | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Angel Time: Lacks the spark that would overcome the flaws

Angel Time by Anne Rice

Anne Rice’s body of work plays a huge role in my history as a reader, and in fact was one of the “gateway drugs” that led me to fantasy. I discovered her books the summer before I left for college and spent the next several years procrastinating my studies all too often in favor of devouring her backlist. And a hefty backlist it was; her old books kept me busy for several years. The first one I read “new” was Pandora. Then,

December 11th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | Anne Rice | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Prospero Lost: Intriguing, but not Amber

Prospero Lost by L. Jagi Lamplighter

Shakespeare didn’t give us the whole story of Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, Ariel, et al. If you want to find out what really happened to the characters from The Tempest, pick up L. Jagi Lamplighter’s Prospero Lost. It turns out that Miranda and Ferdinand didn’t get married, Ariel wasn’t freed, and Prospero didn’t get rid of his staff and books. Instead, Miranda found The Well at the World’s End and brought back the life-preserving water for her father and her siblings.

December 2nd, 2010. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | L. Jagi Lamplighter | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

The Enchantment Emporium: Mixed opinions

The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff

Alysh Gale is 24 and jobless. Lack of funds ended the museum job she loved and has forced her to return back home. It is during this time she receives a mysterious letter from her estranged grandmother. The letter tells her she has inherited a store in Calgary, and must go and maintain it at once. The disappearance of the grandmother needs to be looked into, so the family agrees to let Alysha go and mind the store in order to solve the mystery.

There is a thing writers do to explain the world in which their story takes place,

A Young Man Without Magic: I feel like I have been punished

A Young Man Without Magic by Lawrence Watt-Evans

A Young Man Without Magic seems to be set in 17th century Europe with characters who could have fallen right out of an Alexandre Dumas novel. So, if you liked The Count of Monte Cristo and think a novel like that with magic added would be great, then A Young Man Without Magic would seem to be a good choice. There is a problem, though… there is no Edmond in this book.

November 9th, 2010. John Hulet´s rating: 1.5 | Lawrence Watt_Evans | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Sandman Slim: Urban fantasy with a kick to the head

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

I’m not sure what’s wrong with me lately. I keep finding myself reading some gloriously blasphemous works of fantasy literature. I reviewed Jesse Bullington’s The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart and accepted that it could very well show up as a stain on my soul’s credit report. Now, having just finished Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim, I might as well file eternal bankruptcy.

James Stark was betrayed and sent to hell for 11 years.

November 3rd, 2010. Justin Blazier, Kat Hooper, Greg Hersom, Terry Weyna and Marion Deeds | Richard Kadrey | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Angel’s Blood: I’ll try anything once

Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh

I have to admit that I don’t normally seek out these types of books — not so much the paranormal romance genre, but the erotica aspect. Still, I’ll try anything once and after begin lent Angels’ Blood by a friend, I settled down for my first taste of what I knew would be a somewhat Mills+Boon-esque novel, at least with regard to the relationship between the protagonists. From the first page I knew that I was in for a heroine who would fail the Mary Sue litmus test: if the name Elena Deveraux wasn’t enough of a giveaway,

October 31st, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Nalini Singh | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Cursed: Ultra-realistic werewolves

Cursed (UK) or Frostbite (US) by David Wellington

Cursed (Frostbite in the US) is the tale of Cheyenne Clark, a twenty-something we meet while she is struggling through the Northwest Territories of the Canadian Arctic. “Most people’s lives change very slowly, more slowly than the seasons. Some people are born into the life they’re going to lead and nothing much ever comes along to force them to change. For Cheyenne Clark, change came about in the space of thirty very bad seconds.

August 27th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 4 | David Wellington | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Mark of the Demon: Everything urban fantasy CAN be

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

I’ve been having some difficulty reviewing Diana Rowland’s Mark of the Demon. Not because I didn’t like it; on the contrary, I thought it was fantastic. The problem is, every time I start to think about it, my brain goes on a tirade. Mark of the Demon leaves me frustrated with the urban fantasy genre as a whole, because it is everything UF can be. And inevitably, when I try to think about what I love about Mark of the Demon,

August 16th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 5 | Diana Rowland | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Swoon: Strangely addictive

Swoon by Nina Malkin

Some books are like candy. You know they’re not good for you. You feel compelled to keep reading them anyway. Maybe, after a while, they start leaving an “off” taste in your mouth. Still, you keep reading. This is what Nina Malkin’s Swoon was like for me.

The plot is sort of Twilight-meets-Heathers. The protagonist, Dice (everyone has a cheesy nickname, you get used to it after a while), is a misfit in moneyed, WASPy Swoon,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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