Mortality Bridge by Steven R. Boyett
Depressing. Disgusting. Brilliant.
When trying to think of words to describe Mortality Bridge, I keep coming back to variations on those three. Steven R. Boyett has written an unforgettable tale of one man’s journey to Hell, and I wish I liked it better than I did. Ordinarily I enjoy descents to the underworld, but we all have our limits, and with Mortality Bridge I think I’ve found some of mine.
August 24th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Steven R. Boyett | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Best of Stephen R. Donaldson by Stephen R. Donaldson
Stephen R. Donaldson will probably always be best known for his novels: the epic fantasy series THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT, the wonderful fantasy diptych MORDANT’S NEED, and — my personal favorite — the dark science fiction GAP CYCLE. However, Donaldson has also produced a number of great short stories and novellas throughout his career. So far, these could mainly be found in his two collections, Daughter of Regals and Other Tales (1984) and Reave the Just and Other Tales (1999),
August 5th, 2011. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | Stephen R. Donaldson | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Devil’s Diadem by Sara Douglass
The Devil’s Diadem, a brand new standalone novel by Australian author Sara Douglass, is set in a realistic but fictional version of early 12th century England. The Norman invasion is still recent history, French is the prevalent courtly language, and the Marcher Lords are powerful nobles who guard the border territory between England and Wales. Maeb Langtofte, an attractive young noblewoman whose family has recently fallen on hard times, is lucky enough to find a position as lady-in-waiting to the Lady Adelie, wife of the most powerful Marcher lord,
August 3rd, 2011. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3 | Sara Douglass | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein
The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein is the story of a family haunted by a long-ago pact with the fairies. Like all fairy tales, it’s also a story about human problems, so it’s easy to find yourself within these pages even if mysterious beings have never cleaned your house in the middle of the night.
In 1971, Berkeley students Will and Ben go to visit the eccentric Feierabend family who live in a rambling house in Napa Valley.
August 1st, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Lisa Goldstein | Mythopoeic Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Goblin Corps by Ari Marmell
FORMAT/INFO: The Goblin Corps is 552 pages long divided over a Prologue, eleven numbered/titled chapters, and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third-person omniscient via numerous characters including the seven members of the Demon Squad, the Charnel King Morthûl, his lieutenant Vigo Havarren, Ananias DuMark, King Dororam, etc. The Goblin Corps works well as a standalone novel, coming to a satisfying stopping point, but there is room for a sequel. July 2011 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of The Goblin Corps via Pyr.
July 21st, 2011. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Ari Marmell | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Small Persons With Wings by Ellen Booraem
Mellie Turpin has been suffering for her entire school career. Not only has she always been teased about being overweight, but she made the mistake of promising her kindergarten class that she’d bring in Fidius, her fairy friend, for show-and-tell. When Fidius disappeared the night before show-and-tell, Mellie was declared a liar and earned the sticky nickname “Fairy Fat.”
Now that she’s thirteen, Mellie has learned to suppress her imagination, but she’s still smart and overweight and she’s still being bullied and ostracized at school.
July 9th, 2011. Kat Hooper´s rating: 0.1 | Ellen Booraem | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout
The Boy at the End of the World is a new children’s fantasy by Greg van Eekhout, author of Kid vs. Squid. Like his first children’s book, The Boy at the End of the World is aimed squarely at the 9-12 age group. In that vein, it speeds quickly along a pretty straightforward plotline, with few twists or diversions into details of setting or character.
June 20th, 2011. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Greg Van_Eekhout | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
News coverage of military conflicts changed forever when journalists were allowed to travel along with combat units and report right from the front line, providing dramatic real life images of what life is like for soldiers and civilians in a war zone. Dan Abnett effectively takes this concept of the “embedded reporter” into futuristic territory with his new military science fiction novel, Embedded.
Lex Falk is an acclaimed but cynical and war-weary journalist who has visited and written about several newly colonized planets throughout his career.
June 3rd, 2011. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5 | Dan Abnett | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon
[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.]
Phoebe, a woman in her thirties, is having the first serious relationship of her life. She comes from a rough upbringing and sometimes feels out of place in Sam’s wholesome world, amid his organic diet, his intellectual friends,
May 27th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter and Ruth Arnell´s rating: 5 | Jennifer McMahon | Edge | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Embassytown by China Miéville
Embassytown, China Miéville’s latest, is a sharply honed science fiction tale of linguistics. Yes, linguistics. And skeptical as one may be, it more than works. Despite its science fiction trappings, I would place Embassytown very close to The City & The City rather than Perdido Street Station and its sequels or Kraken in terms of style. I say that because while the strange alien race,
May 12th, 2011. Bill Capossere, Ryan Skardal and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4, 4.5, 5 | China Mieville | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 8 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…