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]: 2011.01

Ghosts of Rockville: Search for the Dominion Glass

Ghosts of Rockville: Search for the Dominion Glass by Justin Heimberg

Ghosts of Rockville: Search for the Dominion Glass, by Justin Heimberg, is a middle-grade paranormal mystery with a reading twist: a “magic-view” bit of square plastic which, when placed over most of the illustrations in the text, reveals hidden messages or images. It’s an interesting idea, and one which probably will enhance the reading experience for young readers, but to be honest, it doesn’t enhance it enough because the underlying story and characters are relatively weak.

Trance: Good mix of emotional impact, mystery, and derring-do

Trance by Kelly Meding

Kelly Meding, known for her DREG CITY urban fantasies, kicks off her new superhero-based series with Trance. The setting is the future of an alternate past and present. Metas (people with superpowers) were out in the open and known to all. The good guys were “Rangers” and the bad guys “Banes.” Then, during a violent showdown in a devastated Manhattan, all of the Metas lost their powers for reasons unknown. Public opinion had been souring on Metas anyway,

November 10th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Kelly Meding | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Bloodlines: Remarkably enjoyable spinoff

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

When I first picked Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy off the shelf back in March, I kind of figured it wasn’t going to go well. I’m not exactly the biggest vampire fan in the world. Imagine my surprise when five months later I find myself reading the start of the spinoff series, Bloodlines. VAMPIRE ACADEMY was full of action and romance and was a blast to read, which meant Bloodlines had a lot to live up to.

Eve: World-building doesn’t make sense

Eve by Anna Carey

Eve by Anna Carey is light on the world-building as dystopias go. It’s not one of those books that offer an incisive commentary on some aspect of our existing culture. It’s more, “here’s a setting where things suck; now we have a backdrop for a romance/adventure story.” That’s not inherently bad. It just makes it a fluffy read, rather than a chilling one. Eve doesn’t possess the depth of books like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (which Carey quotes in the front matter) or George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World or Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games.

The Hum and the Shiver: Demonstrates Bledsoe’s versatility

The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe

The Tufa are a clan of black-haired natives who live in the Smoky Mountains. They keep to themselves, stay close to home, and have some strange beliefs and mysterious habits. Much to the disappointment of Craig Chess, the enthusiastic young Methodist preacher, every single one of them refuses to come to church.

Chess gets to know the Tufa a little better when Private Bronwyn Hyatt returns to Cloud County as a war hero. She was captured and tortured in Iraq and has come home to recover.

The Shadow Reader: Kept me turning pages frantically

The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

The Shadow Reader is Sandy Williams’ debut novel and the first in the new McKenzie Lewis series. If this book is any indication, I anticipate great things from Williams and this series in the future. I enjoyed The Shadow Reader immensely.

McKenzie is a human woman with a talent that makes her invaluable to the fae. She is a shadow reader, which means that when a fae teleports, she can map where that fae has traveled to.

October 27th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Sandy Williams | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

This Dark Endeavor: A Frankenstein prequel

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

This Dark Endeavor is the first in a YA series of Frankenstein prequel books by Kenneth Oppel. To be honest, when I first heard of the book, I was a bit skeptical of the concept, unsure of what a prequel would offer that wouldn’t either be simply Frankenstein retold (“see the first time Victor creates life and how it goes bad!”) or wouldn’t trivialize Frankenstein’s characters and themes (“see young Victor try to resuscitate a beetle!”) But when I learned Oppel was the author,

Dead of Night: One of the best zombie novels I’ve ever read

Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry

CLASSIFICATION: Dead of Night is a zombie/horror/techno-thriller hybrid that combines the relentless pacing and action of Dean Koontz and James Rollins with the characterization of Stephen King and the gore and terror of George A. Romero and The Walking Dead.

FORMAT/INFO: Dead of Night is 368 pages long divided over 105 chapters, with each chapter denoted by location. Narration is in the third-person via numerous POVs, but mainly follows two characters in Officer Dez Fox and reporter Billy Trout.

The Falling Machine: A shiny surface but almost no support structure

The Falling Machine by Andrew P. Mayer

It’s hard for me to grasp just what Andrew P. Mayer is trying to do in his 1880’s Society of Steam debut, The Falling Machine. Mayer sets his book in New York City during the Gilded Age. The book, first of a trilogy, appears to be a fable or a parable about the transition of power, or the dangers of privilege, or something. I can’t quite tell what. I can’t tell who I am supposed to cheer for,

October 14th, 2011. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Andrew P. Mayer | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Eyes to See: Solidly entertaining

Eyes to See by Joseph Nassise

FORMAT/INFO: Eyes to See is 320 pages long divided over 56 numbered chapters. Each chapter is subtitled either ‘Now’ to represent the present, or ‘Then’ to represent the past. For the most part, narration is in the first person via Jeremiah Hunt, but the narrative switches to various third-person POVs (hedge witch Denise Clearwater, an unnamed creature, etc.) throughout the novel. Eyes to See wraps up some of the book’s main storylines, but it is the first volume in the Jeremiah Hunt Chronicle and will be followed by King of the Dead in 2012.

October 11th, 2011. Robert Thompson and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3.5 | Joseph Nassise | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

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