Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
Drink, Slay, Love is a good example of what young adult urban fantasy can be. It’s funny, it’s light, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and most importantly, there is actually more to the story than just how handsome everyone is. Sarah Beth Durst strikes a good balance between adventure and emotional angst.
Pearl is a young vampire. Sounds kind of funny to think that someone who is undead could be young, but in the world of Drink,
October 10th, 2011. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Sarah Beth Durst | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood
I confess to being somewhat disappointed by In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination, Margaret Atwood’s collection of essays (along with a handful of fiction shorts) dealing with science fiction. She has long been a favorite author of mine, and her science fiction (or speculative fiction as she’d prefer) works are my favorites among her books: The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake,
October 8th, 2011. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Margaret Atwood | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magebane by Lee Arthur Chane is a stand-alone fantasy novel that… Wait. I’m going to stop there and let you read that sentence again. Yes, you read correctly — “a stand-alone fantasy novel.” Magebane is not part of a duology, quartet, or trilogy-to-eventually-be-expanded-into-a-number-to-be-named-later. So good for him. I almost want to just leave it at that — praise for the simple concept that an entire story can be told in the scope of a few hundred (well,
October 4th, 2011. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Lee Arthur Chane | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
[In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.]
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Thomas Mullen is the author of The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers and The Last Town on Earth, which was named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today,
September 30th, 2011. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Thomas Mullen | Edge | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Icefall by Matthew Kirby
Last year I wrote this about Matthew Kirby’s novel The Clockwork Three:
“Amid the several highly anticipated children’s and YA works this year by big names such as Suzanne Collins and Rick Riordan, one can be forgiven for missing the entry onto the stage of Matthew Kirby’s first novel, The Clockwork Three. Forgiven, but no longer excused, for among all those much more hyped releases (though they are often justifiably hyped), this stands out as among the best.
September 27th, 2011. Bill Capossere, Kelly Lasiter and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Matthew Kirby | Audio, Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 13 comments |
After a decade of novels set in 18th century Europe and in alternate universes, Neal Stephenson triumphantly returns as a bestselling author to contemporary America.
But he doesn’t stay in Seattle for long. Reamde wastes no time crossing borders, taking us — usually illegally — to Xiamen, the Philippines, and British Columbia. Chronologically, our first border crossing is Richard Forthrast’s decision to move to Canada to dodge the draft. Working as a wilderness guide, Richard discovers a smugglers’ route from the prohibition days,
September 20th, 2011. Ryan Skardal, Stefan Raets and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4, 4.5 | Neal Stephenson | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Erin Morgenstern studied theatre & studio art at Smith College. She is a writer and artist whose work is described as “fairy tales in one way or another.” The Night Circus is her first novel.
PLOT SUMMARY: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves,
September 16th, 2011. Robert Thompson and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Erin Morgenstern | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs
Bull Ingram is a very big fellow. He’s a former Marine who is still a little raw from the war like most men in the early 1950s. Bull works as paid muscle and his primary job is finding people who owe his employers money. When he finds them, he “convinces” them to pay back their debts. He is very good at his job. A folk music dealer wants Bull to locate a mysterious blues man by the name of Ramblin’ John Hastur. Hastur’s music has strange effects on those who listen to it,
September 7th, 2011. Justin Blazier´s rating: 4.5 | John Hornor Jacobs | Audio, Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
“There are no strangers in the town of Near.” That is, until the night Lexi sees a strange boy outside her window — one who seems to have uncanny abilities. Then, Pied-Piper-style, the children of Near begin to disappear, lured away by a song. Lexi, as an adolescent, can only hear broken snatches of the song. But her little sister is vulnerable to it. The whole town seems convinced that the strange boy is the kidnapper, but Lexi thinks the disappearances are tied to the legend of the Near Witch,
September 5th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Victoria (V.E.) Schwab | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan
Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan is a collection of Caitlín R. Kiernan’s works which span the years 1993-2004. In this collection there are 24 short stories, one poem, one novella, an introduction by the author, and a short afterword for each work. The stories are arranged in chronological order, letting the reader watch the progression of Kiernan’s style and the noticeable changes in her stories’ subject matter as she matures. Some of these stories are award winners and all have been published previously (though some have undergone extensive revisions since their original publication).
August 25th, 2011. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Caitlín R. Kiernan | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 5 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…