Song of the Dragon by Tracy Hickman
Song of the Dragon is the first book of the Annals of Drakis, a new series by Tracy Hickman, an author who most fans will remember for his work with Margaret Weis writing the Dragonlance books. This solo effort left me feeling like he shouldn’t have been let out on his own.
The story starts with Drakis, a human warrior-slave, deep underground with his brother-soldiers, an odd conglomeration of warriors from the slave races — chimera,
September 29th, 2010. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 0.1 | Tracy Hickman | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lavie Tidhar’s new novel The Bookman is an alternate history of Victorian England that focuses on the authors of the era, as well as many of their fictional creations. For some, this clever premise may strongly recall Alan Moore’s graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Is that a problem? Most will argue not since, like Moore, Tidhar has a great deal of fun stirring up trouble in the Victorian Era and then setting his poets and canonical characters on the trail of a mysterious villain.
September 20th, 2010. Ryan Skardal and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3 | Lavie Tidhar | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe
If Night falls, all falls.
Helen Lowe’s début novel Thornspell was a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story from the Prince’s point of view. The Wall of Night trilogy is a more traditional epic fantasy, though it contains a dash of science fiction and a unique setting that sets it apart from the usual swords-and-sorcery fare.
Set in the world of Haarth, the titular Wall of Night refers to a mountain range that is garrisoned by the warlike Derai clans.
September 16th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Helen Lowe | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder
I’ve had some mixed success with the steampunk trend the past few years, thoroughly enjoying it when the authors pay as much attention to story and character as they do in coming up with new ways to mash-up old and new technologies, but finding it dully disappointing when the basic steampunk premise is the high point of creativity (Look! Airships flying over horse-drawn carriages while Dickens is walking through the streets!). Mark Hodder’s new book, The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack,
September 16th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Mark Hodder | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich
Janet Evanovich is the well-known author of the Stephanie Plum mystery series, and here she begins another series that edges firmly into the paranormal arena. Elizabeth Tucker lives in Marblehead, just north of Boston, and makes cupcakes for a living while living in the house bequeathed to her by Great Aunt Ophelia. Her life is perfectly pleasant but very ordinary when two men walk into it and proceed to turn it upside down. One is Wulf and he is a Bad Man. The other is Diesel,
September 14th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 1 | Janet Evanovich | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Unholy Ghosts is the first book in the Downside Ghosts sequence and introduces us to Chess Putnam. She lives in a world where Church and religion has been pushed aside in favour of the Church of Real Truth, because of an uprising by the undead in the form of ghosts. Chess is in the employ of the new Church, helping to judge whether complaints about haunting are true or not, since it has become lucrative business to try and con the Church.
September 11th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 5 | Stacia Kane | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep
The atmosphere of Spider’s Bite might be described as “Southern-fried noir.” The setting is Ashland, an Appalachian city where magic is openly known and a ruthless magical mobster has her fingers in every pie. Most of the cops are corrupt. The hair is big and the food is gloriously unhealthy.
Gin Blanco is an assassin. She takes pride in her skill and doesn’t waste a lot of time brooding about her chosen career. Her profession makes her an unlikely heroine, but her tough,
September 2nd, 2010. Kelly Lasiter, Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds | Jennifer Estep | Audio | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Here we go, folks: The Way of Kings, at over 1000 pages, is the first volume of Brandon Sanderson’s projected ten-book series, THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE. At one book per year, we probably won’t see the end of this series before 2020, especially given that Sanderson is first planning to finish up Robert Jordan’s WHEEL OF TIME. So, if you’re looking for a new series to read, this one has some advantages and disadvantages: on the plus side,
August 31st, 2010. Stefan Raets and Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Brandon Sanderson | SFF Reviews | 21 comments |
Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan
Having enjoyed Dianne Sylvan’s nonfiction in the past, I was thrilled to see she had an urban fantasy coming out. I wasn’t sure if Queen of Shadows would live up to the high expectations I’d set up in my head, but I was definitely curious to find out. My expectations were met and then some. Queen of Shadows is my favorite book of 2010 so far.
Ironically, this makes it a little hard to review. When a book reaches in and grabs me emotionally the way this one did,
August 30th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Dianne Sylvan | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Last Page by Anthony Huso is an exciting debut novel that, despite some rough spots here and there, delivers thrills and originality in spades, and promises great things for the future.
Caliph Howl, the main character, is described on the book’s cover as Stonehold’s “reluctant High King,” but when The Last Page starts off, Caliph is actually still the crown prince and a student of holomorphy (blood-fueled magic) at the High College of Desdae.
August 17th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5 | Anthony Huso | SFF Reviews | no comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
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…