2009.02 | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

Hellforged: The total package

Hellforged by Nancy Holzner

After saving the world from the clutches of the Destroyer Demon and its evil puppeteer, Victory Vaughn is finally falling back into the routine of professional demon hunting. Victory pays the bills by exterminating the myriad of demons that inhabit the Deadtown world. While on a routine case Victory is paid a visit in a dream by the Destroyer she thought she had banished. She might have been able to handle the fact that the Destroyer has returned, but that’s not quite all… Every time the demon stops by to say hello and deliver an evil message,

December 27th, 2010. Justin Blazier´s rating: 4.5 | Nancy Holzner | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

City of Ruin: Newton has hit his literary stride

City of Ruin by Mark Charan Newton

I loved Nights of Villjamur. It’s one of the rare books I actually allotted five out of five stars, so City of Ruin was both highly anticipated and had quite a few expectations to live up to. It’s always hard for me to read a book I anticipate as much as I anticipated this one because the fear that it will fail miserably to live up to the hype seems to be doubled.

Nights of Villjamur was dark,

December 18th, 2010. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 5 | Mark Charan Newton | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Of Love and Evil: I was pleasantly surprised

Of Love and Evil by Anne Rice

I started Of Love and Evil with modest expectations. I’d been underwhelmed with the previous Songs of the Seraphim novel, Angel Time. I’m also increasingly annoyed with the trend toward publishing extremely slender books in hardcover. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised by Of Love and Evil. (I still think it makes a pretty skinny hardcover, though, at 192 pages.)

When we last saw Toby O’Dare, he had just learned that,

December 15th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Anne Rice | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

The Gift: Dystopian urban fantasy for YAs

The Witch and the Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson & Ned Rust

A dystopian urban fantasy written for young adults, The Gift is the second novel in James Patterson’s Witch & Wizard series. Co-writing with Ned Rust, Patterson wastes no time opening The Gift, starting his story with the public execution of a resistance leader and follows up with a face-off between our teenage heroes and their villainous foe, The One Who Is The One.

Demon Underground: Falls short of its predecessor

Demon Underground by S.L. Wright

Demon Underground is S.L. Wright’s sequel to Confessions of a Demon. Wright begins pretty much right at the end of Confessions with the life and times of Allay, a human girl turned demon. Demon Underground is a straightforward urban fantasy novel with a nice blend of action, social interaction and lots and lots of romantic angst.

In Demon Underground, Allay is dealing with the aftereffects of having taken down one of the most powerful demons in New York City.

December 10th, 2010. John Hulet´s rating: 2.5 | S.L. Wright | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Midsummer Night: One of the most enchanting fantasies I’ve read in years

Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington

When you love a book as much as I do Freda Warrington’s Elfland, there’s always a little bit of fear mixed in with the anticipation for its sequel. Finding a book that resonates with you on many levels at once is like falling under a spell. What if the second book isn’t as good; what if it breaks the spell? Now that I’ve read Midsummer Night, though, I can report that I’m still happily ensorcelled.

November 15th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Freda Warrington | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Kill the Dead: When working for the devil, there’s going to be a catch

Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey

Richard Kadrey’s Kill the Dead is the sequel to Sandman Slim, and James Stark has been keeping himself busy working for various entities in order to pay the rent. The Devil is one of the entities that makes use of Stark’s services, and he wants Stark to serve as his bodyguard while he’s in town on business. Stark is forced to juggle the obligations of both Heaven and Hell, and manages to place himself in the middle of a conflict that started at the dawn of time.

Bayou Moon: Has a little bit of everything

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

William Wolf didn’t get the girl in last year’s On the Edge, but he certainly won over plenty of us readers. In Bayou Moon, the second Edge paranormal romance by the husband-and-wife team that makes up Ilona Andrews, William gets his turn to shine and to meet his match in a scrappy Edge woman.

Cerise Mar has just become de facto head of her wild but tight-knit family after the disappearance of her parents.

October 11th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Ilona Andrews | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Weight of Stone: Magic for readers to drink up

Weight of Stone: by Laura Anne Gilman

For two thousands years, the Lands Vin have enjoyed peace and prosperity thanks to Sin Washer’s strict separation of magic and politics, but it seems that someone’s been tasting forbidden fruits. When Master Vineart Malech and his student Jerzy set out to solve this nebulous threat to the peace, they soon become caught up in the forbidden currents of politics.

Laura Anne Gilman’s Weight of Stone, the second novel in The Vineart War,

October 11th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 2.5 | Laura Anne Gilman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Curse of the Wendigo: A joy to read

The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey

Rick Yancey’s The Curse of the Wendigo is an amusing and well-written sequel to his award winning young adult horror novel The Monstrumologist. Set at the close of the 19th century, Dr. Pellinore Warthrop’s latest adventure takes him deep into the Canadian wilderness as he and his assistant Will Henry attempt to disprove the existence of the wendigo in the face of a series of seemingly monstrous murders.

Though commonly considered a “monstrumologist,” Dr.

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]: 2009.02

Hellforged: The total package

City of Ruin: Newton has hit his literary stride

Of Love and Evil: I was pleasantly surprised

The Gift: Dystopian urban fantasy for YAs

Demon Underground: Falls short of its predecessor

Midsummer Night: One of the most enchanting fantasies I’ve read in years

Kill the Dead: When working for the devil, there’s going to be a catch

Bayou Moon: Has a little bit of everything

Weight of Stone: Magic for readers to drink up

The Curse of the Wendigo: A joy to read

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