Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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]: 2012

Alexander Outland: Space Pirate

Alexander Outland: Space Pirate by G.J. Koch

Science fiction is, at times, pretty serious stuff. We try, as readers, to wrap our minds around the evolution of history in terms of how we live and how technology has changed. At times this can be deep and thought-provoking material that challenges us to work with ideas and concepts that are radically different from what we are used to. G.J. Koch, in contrast, takes a much easier path to tell the story of roguish hero Alexander Outland and his spaceship crew.

July 5th, 2012. John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Gini (G.J.) Koch | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

A Stark and Wormy Knight: A nice eclectic mix

A Stark and Wormy Knight by Tad Williams

I’ve been a fan of Tad Williams since I read MEMORY, SORROW AND THORN many years ago — a series I loved back then and need to revisit soon to see if it’s as wonderful as I remember. I’ve also enjoyed a few of Williams’ short stories that I’ve come across in anthologies — especially one that was one of my favorites in my very favorite anthology: Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance.

I, Lucifer: On the Edge

I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan

“… (Hasn’t it bothered you, this part of the story, my being there, I mean? What was I doing there? ‘Presume not the ways of God to scan,’ you’re been told in umpteen variations, ‘the proper study of Mankind is Man.’ Maybe so, but, what, excuse me, was the Devil doing in Eden?)”

In Glen Duncan’s bitter, darkly comic novel I, Lucifer, a gifted son struggles to win the attention of his emotionally absent father.

The 2012 Short Story Nominees for the Shirley Jackson Award

These horror stories are so good that they’ve been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. Read all about them, then try to find them for yourself and figure out which one will be the winner before the awards are handed out at Readercon, July 12-15, 2012.

The Shirley Jackson Awards are awarded “for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.” They are one of my favorite awards each year, along with the World Fantasy Awards. The Shirley Jackson Awards single out the Weird fiction that I enjoy most: the fiction that straddles boundaries,

Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero

Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero by Larry Tye

It’s hard to imagine that there is anything more to say about Superman than has already been covered in the slew of books published on the topic. But, since I’ve not read many of those books (though I have read a lot dealing with superheroes in general), I’m not the one to say how much new material Larry Tye covers in his retrospective entitled Superman: The High-Flying History of America’s Most Enduring Hero (2012).

June 8th, 2012. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Comics, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Battle of Blood and Ink

The Battle of Blood and Ink by Jared Axelrod (author), Steve Walker (illustrator)

The Battle of Blood and Ink: A Fable of the Flying City (2012) is a graphic novel by author Jared Axelrod and illustrator Steve Walker set on the flying city of Amperstam. What keeps the city flying is a bit of a mystery, and one girl who hates mysteries is Ashe, who does her own investigating, writing, and publishing for her broadsheet The Lurker’s Guide. As one might expect,

June 1st, 2012. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Three A.M.: Steven John has talent and imagination

Three A.M. by Steven John

The first half of Three A.M. (2012) is dystopian noir, and the second half wants to be a thriller. This is Steven John’s first novel, and even though it has glitches, it’s successful overall. John creates an interesting premise and an eerie, atmospheric setting in the fog-filled city that is the main location for this story.

For fifteen years, Tom Vale hasn’t seen sunlight. He hasn’t seen stars, or green grass, or a tree. On a good day, when the fog lifts slightly,

May 28th, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Steven John | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Lost Everything: A quiet post-apocalyptic novel

Lost Everything by Brian Francis Slattery

Lost Everything, by Brian Francis Slattery, is a surprisingly small-bore and quiet post-apocalyptic novel. Where many deal with destruction on a country-wide or global scale and follow near-epic quests by some doomed or maybe-doomed survivors, Slattery takes his characters through a just-as-ravaged countryside but it all seems a little more domestic than the usual sort of end-of-the-world tale, a twist that is both the book’s strength and its weakness.

The world has seemingly been in the grips of ecological disaster,

May 25th, 2012. Bill Capossere and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3, 4 | Brian Francis Slattery | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Black-Winged Tuesday: Interesting moral questions

Black-Winged Tuesday by Alicia Ryan

I read Alicia Ryan’s previous novel The First Vampire, about Samson and Delilah, and was impressed. Ryan is a competent story teller and an above-average world builder. In Black-Winged Tuesday (2012), I was not sure what to expect because it’s quite a departure from The First Vampire.

Herman Morrie is an unlucky guy, and Tuesdays in particular are often filled with disaster. When Herman dies from a jet engine dropping from the sky onto his home,

May 24th, 2012. John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Alicia Ryan | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Against the Light: Promising premise, slow plot

Against the Light by Dave Duncan

The forces of the Earth Mother are being oppressed by the Hierarchy, which is guided by the light, in Dave Duncan’s Against the Light. The Children of the Mother are being hunted down and taken into custody where they are tortured by dungeon masters that recall the Spanish Inquisition. Sadly, as Rollo Woodbridge finds out, the Hierarchy has many weapons in addition to surprise in their arsenal. Against such determined zealots, how can Children of the Mother survive?

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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