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]: 2013.01

Etiquette & Espionage: Charming YA steampunk adventure

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

When we meet 14-year-old Sophronia in the first scene of Etiquette & Espionage, she’s diving out of a runaway dumbwaiter after attempting to use it to spy on the mysterious woman sitting in her mother’s parlor. Despite Sophronia’s inglorious entry and introduction, the lady invites her to attend Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. Sephronia does not want to be reformed, but she is sent nonetheless.

Fortunately for Sophronia (and unknown to her mother or to headmistress Mademoiselle Geraldine),

Drakenfeld: “Crime fantasy”

Drakenfeld by Mark Charan Newton

Lucan Drakenfeld is a member of the Sun Chamber, the CSI unit of the Royal Vispasian Union. Drakenfeld is given a letter that tells him of the death of his father, and he must return to his home after ten years abroad. He and his partner, Leana, are soon tasked to investigate the murder of the sister of King Licintius of Tryum in what would prove to be the biggest case of Drakenfeld’s career, and he soon finds himself fighting off thugs and other unpleasant characters as the conspiracy unravels.

November 12th, 2013. Pat Doherty´s rating: 4 | Mark Charan Newton | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Masks: An inventive adventure with a few flaws

Masks by E.C. Blake

Like The Hunger Games, E.C. Blake’s Masks is the beginning of a “young adult friendly” trilogy about a young female protagonist who must overcome an oppressive system and defeat an evil dictator. In the isolated island-world of Aygrima, every adult must wear a magical Mask. Should the Mask-wearer think any disloyal or rebellious thoughts about the Autarch, then the Mask will reveal their crimes to the emperor’s private police force. Our heroine, a fifteen-year-old girl named Mara,

Parasite: Different opinions

Parasite by Mira Grant

Mira Grant is the science fiction side of Seanan McGuire, the fantasy writer responsible for the OCTOBER DAYE and INCRYPTID fantasy series. Her last outing was the NEWSFLESH trilogy, which I loved (especially the first book, Feed). Now she’s published the first novel in the PARASITOLOGY duology, Parasite. And it’s a doozy.

Parasitology opens with the transcription of a video recording.

Steelheart: Trigger-happy YA

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart is a young adult novel, it has a post-apocalyptic setting, and it’s about superheroes (super villains, actually). It’s like Sanderson collected the last five years of blockbuster movies and novels and condensed them into one work that could be adapted into a newer, even bigger blockbuster movie. I also think there’s video game potential.

Steelheart is not adapted from a specific comic series, though Sanderson does appear to have been inspired by some of the genre’s most popular titles.

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl: A paean to the pulp adventure novels of yore

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

As one might perhaps be able to tell from the title, Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl (2013), by David Barnett, is a paean to the pulp adventure novels of yore a la Frank Reade and His New Steam Man. This sort of thing can be a bit tricky to pull off, as it is a fine line between keeping the spirit of the source material in terms of characters, dialogue,

October 8th, 2013. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | David Barnett | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Three: As a novel, it’s a heck of a video game

Three by Jay Posey

Three is Jay Posey’s first novel and Book One of the LEGENDS OF THE DUSKWALKER series. “Three” is also the name of the main character, which made reading the book a little confusing, and will probably make this review confusing, too.

I enjoyed Three up until the last forty pages, where Posey tried to wrap everything up, and filling in the things he hadn’t seeded earlier in the book, creating the effect of a deus ex machina.

October 3rd, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Jay Posey | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Scroll of Years: A lovely gift to give yourself

The Scroll of Years by Chris Willrich

In The Scroll of Years, Chris Willrich’s short story characters, Persimmon Gaunt and Imago Bone make the jump to their first novel. Gaunt, who comes from one of the city of Palmary’s “better” families, is a rebellious poet, and Bone is a thief. They are lovers, and as the book opens they are expecting their first child. In their time together, Bone has taught Gaunt quite a bit about fighting, fleeing and breaking and entering; Gaunt has help Bone develop his gift for language.

September 25th, 2013. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Chris Willrich | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |

The Grim Company: Familiar stories told so well

The Grim Company by Luke Scull

The Grim Company, by Luke Scull, will not, at least at first, stun you with originality. You’ve got your basic world-weary, gruff, aging Northern warrior still good with a blade but feeling the aches and pains accumulating as never before and his typical Northern warrior buddy who is more gruff, more taciturn, and even less cultured. The destined-for-greatness callow-yet-boastful youth with a magic sword (well, dagger, but still). A tyrannical Dark Lord (several, actually, known as Magelords). A bitter,

September 12th, 2013. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Luke Scull | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

New Monthly Comics: TEN GRAND by J. Michael Straczynski

New Monthly Comics: TEN GRAND by J. Michael Straczynski

In my previous two columns, I’ve talked about the advantages of having a “pull list” and buying comics on a monthly basis instead of merely waiting for a collection to come out as a trade edition. I also suggested a few titles that are good ones to start with right now since they are just beginning. In the first column on monthly comics, I recommended VELVET by Ed Brubaker and THE DREAM MERCHANT by Nathan Edmondson.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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