Leviathan is the beginning of a new steampunk YA series by Scott Westerfeld, author of other well-known (and highly recommended) YA series such as Uglies and Midnighters, along with one of my favorite non-YA science fiction works of recent memory, The Risen Empire (even more highly recommended). As is usual with good YA, don’t let the label turn you away; Westerfeld knows how to write for a younger audience without dumbing things down and without excluding older readers.
January 1st, 2010. Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4, 5 | Scott Westerfeld | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson
Curse of the Spider King (2009) begins by introducing the reader, one at a time, to seven completely unrelated teens from around the world. Left to live out mortal lives on earth as humans, these seven teens are actually far from human. They are in fact the only living heirs to the thrones of a forgotten realm inhabited by elves and the Spider King. Once these seven turn thirteen, they are no longer protected by an ancient curse, and they become prey.
December 31st, 2009. Skye Walker´s rating: 4.5 | Wayne Thomas Batson | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Confessions of a Demon by S.L. Wright
Confessions of a Demon is what urban fantasy should be and so seldom is. It’s fun, it’s a bit sexy, and S.L. Wright knows how to balance those two prerequisites with enough action and world-building to make this more than just a relationship novel. That’s not such an easy task.
Allay, the main character, is caught up in a struggle for power between two rival factions of demons. She doesn’t realize it at first, but that’s really what it’s all about.
December 30th, 2009. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | S.L. Wright | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The blood sorcerers have been exterminated; The last one was killed almost two centuries ago. Her magical servant has spent the intervening years looking for a successor, and finally finds her — a young woman wounded by the world around her — and now has the unlucky task of trying to convince her to take up the forbidden power. As they struggle to make sense of the crumbling world around them, they are forced to draw closer together, and they may find the most magical thing of all: love.
December 27th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 0.1 | Gail Dayton | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Sometimes being unique is not a requirement for writing a good story. Jaye Wells’ Red-Headed Stepchild is not unique. In fact, it’s cookie-cutter urban fantasy with all the clichés. But, Wells uses all the same old urban fantasy elements to crank out a decent story.
Sabina Kane, a half-vampire / half-mage assassin for the vampire governing body, has been raised by her maternal grandmother after the ill-starred match of her vampire mother and mage father leaves her an orphan. Sabina is just as sassy,
December 20th, 2009. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Jaye Wells | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay
I thoroughly enjoyed The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay.
Charlie Madigan is a policewoman and a single mother in a dystopian Atlanta in which we share our world with beings from two magical realms that are vaguely reminiscent of heaven and hell. Shortly before the novel starts, Charlie is beaten to death and brought back to life with a new set of nightmares and supernatural powers she must come to terms with if she hopes to solve the mystery.
December 15th, 2009. Stephen B. Frank´s rating: 4 | Kelly Gay | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding
Evangeline Stone is a Dreg hunter, charged with protecting mundane humanity from the things that go bump in the night, until the night she is betrayed. Her teammates are killed, Evy is framed for their deaths and forced to run, and then somehow — she can’t remember just what happened — she ends up dead. She is resurrected, but in the body of a stranger, and with big holes in her memory. Now she must unravel the mystery of her own murder and how it ties into a larger conspiracy.
December 15th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Kelly Meding | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Halfway through Beautiful Creatures, I remember thinking, “Hey, this is like The Witching Hour, but for teenagers!” The Witching Hour is probably my favorite Anne Rice book of all time, so this is high praise coming from me. It’s different, of course — Beautiful Creatures is much more PG-rated and unfolds at a faster pace — but both are big, meaty books featuring antebellum mansions,
December 11th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Kami Garcia | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
In the crowded field of YA paranormal novels, the premise of Meridian stands out. Not content to give us yet another tale of angsty vampire love, Amber Kizer instead introduces us to the Fenestras, semi-angelic beings who are tasked with helping the dying cross over to the afterlife. Our heroine, Meridian, has always been different. Small animals burrow into her bed and die, and mysterious ailments have always plagued her. On her sixteenth birthday, she learns why. She is a Fenestra.
Meridian’s life changes overnight.
December 9th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Amber Kizer | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
CLASSIFICATION: Set in 1812 during the French invasion of Russia — specifically the Battle of Borodino, the capture and fires of Moscow, the retreat from Moscow, and the Battle of Berezina — with the primary antagonists being vampires, Twelve is much like the book describes itself… a vibrant blend of detailed historical fiction and heart-stopping supernatural horror. I was reminded of a cross between a Bernard Cornwell novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles,
November 28th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 5 | Jasper Kent | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thanks. I mentioned it on the last few Thoughtful Thursday giveaways, too. My family and I missed out on the…
None of your Business, if you live in the USA, you win a copy of GHOST STATION! Please contact me…
Thanks for letting me know. I've notified Kat. It seems like this all started with the large update several months…
Sawyer scavenges and scoops up all kinds of goods from the crashed plane. He hoards them and barters them for…
Thanks!