Cleopatra In Space (Book 1): Target Practice by Mike Maihack
If you’ve read the excellent Zita books and are looking for a similar title, Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice is the graphic novel you’re looking for. Just like Zita, Cleopatra is a young, independent, intelligent girl who, though stuck in space, manages to enjoy the adventures that fate has set before her. Cleopatra is a fifteen-year-old girl in Ancient Egypt who goes exploring with her friend, a boy named Gozi.
August 8th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Editor, publisher, and essayist Lou Anders’ debut novel is a sweet Middle Grade story inspired by Norse legends. Frostborn, the first in a series, has two likeable heroines. The first is Karn, the son of a prosperous farmer who’s head of their clan. Karn is his father’s heir, which secretly infuriates Karn’s uncle, a twin who is only a few seconds younger than Karn’s father. However, Karn isn’t interested in running the family farm and being clan chief. He spends his time playing a strategy board game called Thrones &
August 5th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Lou Anders | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Buried Life by Carrie Patel
Carrie Patel’s The Buried Life is one of those amiable novels that you keep reading because, well, you picked it up, and if this bit here feels a bit clunky, and that bit there even more so, and sure, that’s a little implausible, and yes, wouldn’t it be nice if the prose were livelier, the world richer, but it’s, you know, nice enough, and maybe it’ll get better than nice — sharper, or edgier, or “grabbier” — but no,
July 31st, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Carrie Patel | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Letter 44 (vol one): Escape Velocity by Charles Soule and Alberto J. Alburquesque
I’ve just found a real gem in my stack of books to review: Letter 44: Escape Velocity by Charles Soule is a must-read for science-fiction fans. Saga by Vaughan is the first current comic title I usually recommend to fans of SF. Luckily, I now have another current title to recommend right along with Saga. Letter 44: Escape Velocity has equally compelling character development and perhaps even better suspense.
July 25th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Charles Soule | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Thorn Jack by Katherine Harbour
For us readers of a certain age, “Tam Lin” and “college” in the same sentence are going to remind us of Pamela Dean’s quirky retelling. But other than profuse quoting of poetry, Dean’s Tam Lin and Katherine Harbour’s Thorn Jack are not much alike and don’t really invite comparisons. You might also think of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight a time or two, as a few of the story’s bones are similar,
July 24th, 2014. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Katherine Harbour | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher
Charlie Fletcher, previously best known for his Middle Grade STONEHEART trilogy, makes his adult debut with The Oversight, the first book in his OVERSIGHT trilogy. I listened to Hachette Audio’s version read by the illustrious Simon Prebble, an Audie-winning narrator who always brings out the best in the books he reads.
The story is set in a supernatural Victorian London where five gifted people who call themselves The Oversight attempt to protect the world from the paranormal baddies that live in another dimension and are trying to break through.
July 12th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Charlie (C.A.) Fletcher | Audio | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
You never know what Sarah Beth Durst is going to do next. Fairy tales mixed with science? Vampires and unicorns? Gods taking over human bodies? Creepy carnivals? She’s done all of that and more, and with The Lost, Durst begins another story that, just like her previous novels, is completely different from what has gone before.
Lauren Chase took to the open road to get away, just for a little while, from the prospect of bad news about her mother’s health.
June 23rd, 2014. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Sarah Beth Durst | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Samurai Jack: The Threads of Time by Jim Zub
Samurai Jack: The Threads of Time is a fun comic book for kids. It is an episodic battle adventure with better-than-average art and excellent coloring. Samurai Jack was created by Grenndy Tartakovsky, so apparently The Threads of Time isn’t the first Samurai Jack story. However, he’s a new character to me. Author Jim Zub writes a good story for his primary audience of kids, but Andy Suriano’s artwork is appealing to any reader. It’s the part of the book I enjoyed the most.
June 19th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ben 10 by Jason Henderson (author) and Gordon Purcell (artist)
Ben 10 by Jason Henderson is a fun comic book for younger kids who like the TV show, but it’s not for older kids or adults, and I don’t think it would be that interesting to any children who aren’t already familiar with the show. This particular story takes place in the summer, while Ben and his fellow Plumbers are on a cruise ship for a vacation. The Plumbers, in case you don’t know, are a group that defends the earth.
June 9th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 2 | Children, Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Hellboy in Hell (Vol. 1): The Descent by Mike Mignola
I’m a huge fan of Hellboy. I love all the books and both movies. I think the character is funny and endearing and perfect in every way. I really like Mike Mignola’s art, too. So it was with great pleasure that I read Hellboy in Hell: The Descent, which is the first Hellboy book in many years both written and drawn by Mike Mignola. Though he’s continued to write many if not most of the Hellboy tales,
May 30th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
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…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one