In Thunder Forged by Ari Marmell
To: Military Subcommittee, Colonial Council, Kingdom of Fantasy Literature
Month of Summer Solstice, in the Year of the Brazilian World Cup
Re: Codename In Thunder Forged, After Action Report
Honorable Council:
Herewith my report on the targeted objective, codename In Thunder Forged. In reviewing reports for this mission I noted that your intelligence analysts theorized that In Thunder Forged may have been based on a video game,
July 9th, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Ari Marmell | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Map of Days by Robert Hunter
I’ve recently become a fan of Nobrow Press: They put out unique, and often small, runs of graphic novels that stand out as special works of art because of the high level of paper, binding, and printing techniques. Each graphic novel is sized differently to suit best the artwork inside, and the printing technique reminds me of William Blake’s illuminated manuscripts. Each book stands out and looks and even feels unlike any comic book or graphic novel I’ve ever seen.
June 27th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Destination X by John Martz
I’ve recently become a fan of Nobrow Press: They put out unique, and often small, runs of graphic novels that stand out as special works of art because of the high level of paper, binding, and printing techniques. Each graphic novel is sized differently to suit best the artwork inside, and in the case of Destination X, the book is a small, square volume. Each book stands out and looks and even feels unlike any comic book or graphic novel I’ve ever seen.
June 27th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Stoker’s Manuscript by Royce Prouty
Royce Prouty received a 2013 Stoker Award nomination for superior achievement in a first novel for Stoker’s Manuscript. Because of the nomination and the fact that Prouty’s protagonist, Joseph Barkeley, is a rare book and manuscript expert, I couldn’t resist.
Joseph Barkeley has always had a knack for spotting rare editions in crowded used bookstores, and is able to tell if a manuscript is genuine without the need for any chemical testing. It’s an ability that makes him the subject of Arthur Ardelean’s search for the right man to verify the authenticity of the original draft of Bram Stoker’s Dracula,
June 16th, 2014. Terry Weyna´s rating: 2 | Royce Prouty | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
September Girls by Bennett Madison
[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.]
September Girls, by Bennett Madison was nominated for a 2014 Andre Norton Award for best YA fiction (it didn’t win; Nalo Hopkinson’s Sister Mine did).
June 13th, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Bennett Madison | Edge, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Children of No One by Nicole Cushing
Nicole Cushing has earned her first award nomination for Children of No One, a novella published by the exciting new (as of 2012) publisher, DarkFuse. It is one of the seven novellas nominated in a strong field for the Shirley Jackson Award, an award I consider most apt to give me good reading recommendations.
The theme of Children of No One I find especially fascinating: art can be abused to horrific effect.
May 26th, 2014. Terry Weyna´s rating: 4 | Nicole Cushing | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice
New Orleans may be the best setting for a horror novel ever invented. Cypress trees and the dark water of interminable swamps are a spooky background for Christopher Rice’s story about rape, snakes and mind control in The Heavens Rise, one of the nominees for this year’s Bram Stoker Award for best novel.
Niquette Delongpre — Nikki — is a gorgeous teenage girl, the toast of her high school. She and Anthem Landry have been an item for three years before Marshall Ferriot figures out a way to break them up and move in himself.
May 12th, 2014. Terry Weyna´s rating: 3 | Christopher Rice | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Neptune’s Brood by Charles Stross
Krina Alizond-114, a metahuman, is worried because Ana, one of her sibs, has gone missing. It’s not that Krina cares much about her sisters — they’re all just the spawn (and, anagrammatically, the pawns) of their scary overbearing mother and, besides, metahumans don’t have all that mushy emotional stuff that so frequently hijacked the thought processes of the “Fragile” race of homo sapiens that created them. The problem is that together Ana and Krina hold the key to a vast fortune and, if Ana disappears,
May 9th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Charles Stross | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Hild: A Novel by Nicola Griffith
[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.]
Hild, Nicola Griffith’s Nebula-nominated novel, takes us to seventh-century England, to the court of Overking Edwin of Northumbria, and into the heart and mind of the young girl who will become his seer, and later be canonized by the Christian church.
May 2nd, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Nicola Griffith | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
In A Stranger in Olondria, Sofia Samatar takes us on a journey that is as familiar and foreign as a land in a dream. It’s a study of two traditions, written and oral, and how they intersect. Samatar uses exquisite language and precise details to craft a believable world filled with sight, sound and scent.
The book follows Jevick, who journeys from Bain, the Harbor City of the land of Olondria to a distant valley, on a quest to settle the ghost that haunts him.
April 23rd, 2014. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Sofia Samatar | Stand-Alone, World Fantasy Award | SFF Reviews | no 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…