The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán
It takes no effort at all to imagine what the “elevator mash-up pitch” for Victor Milán’s The Dinosaur Lords was: “It’s Jurassic Park meets Game of Thrones!” And darned if that wholly predictable selling phrase isn’t the main blurb (provided by none other than George R.R. Martin himself) sitting right above the title of my copy. And herein lie two of the problems with The Dinosaur Lords.
August 4th, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Victor Milan | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Unnoticeables by Robert Brockway
There was a lot I liked in Robert Brockway’s urban fantasy novel The Unnoticeables. Starting with the most superficial elements first, I loved this cover. Tor went ironic, giving The Unnoticeables a highly noticeable cover. It’s venom green, a mashup of gearwheel-eyed killer clowns, fractals, figure-ground images and spiky-Mohawked punks. It’s disturbing and kind of funny, thus the perfect cover for Brockways’s novel. The Unnoticeables is the first in a series.
The core idea of The Unnoticeables is inventive and scary.
July 27th, 2015. Marion Deeds and Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Robert Brockway | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep
In Jennifer Estep’s Cold Burn of Magic, a 2015 young adult fantasy novel and the first book in her BLACK BLADE urban fantasy series, the world is divided into mortals and magicks, humans who have some type of magical power. The southern U.S. town of Cloudburst Falls, a hotbed of magical power, caters to tourists who want to see magical people and creatures. It’s reminiscent of Harry Potter World, except that it contains real magic,
July 23rd, 2015. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Jennifer Estep | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
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.
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley is a charming character-driven novel that is just the sort I often love. I didn’t quite fall all the way for this one, but I absolutely enjoyed it despite a few niggling complaints and happily recommend it.
July 10th, 2015. Bill Capossere, Kate Lechler and Ray McKenzie´s rating: 4 | Natasha Pulley | Edge | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
Serafina and the Black Cloak, a Middle Grade book by Robert Beatty, has its moments, but a thin plot, a meandering middle segment, and several gaps of logic/plausibility come close to outweighing its positives, and probably will outweigh them for any readers older than middle grade.
Set at the opulent Biltmore Estate in 1899 (and having been there, oh my, is it opulent), the story is centered on a sudden rash of disappearances amongst the children at the Estate.
July 3rd, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2 | Robert Beatty | Children | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
Justice, Inc. by Michael Uslan (Author), Giovanni Timpano (Illustrator), Alex Ross (Illustrator)
Justice, Inc. is a complete storyline mashup of three pulp heroes: Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Avenger. Written by Michael Uslan and drawn by Giovanni Timpano, the end result is a bit mixed, and some of one’s enjoyment will probably be based on one’s awareness of those three in their original incarnations, as well as the ability to pick up on some inside jokes in the text/artwork.
The three are brought together by a major threat from several pulp villains whom I won’t name as one of them is (I think) meant to be a behind-the-curtain “big reveal”
June 27th, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Arctic Code by Matthew Kirby
Matthew Kirby’s newest release, The Arctic Code, is the first book in a new MG/YA science fiction series entitled THE DARK GRAVITY SEQUENCE. Unlike some of his prior books, like The Clockwork Three and Icefall (two of my favorite reads those respective years), this one is more fully an MG work, in that it lacks that adult crossover appeal and even older, more sophisticated younger readers will find themselves questioning some of the logic of events or wishing for some more depth of character.
June 8th, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Matthew Kirby | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Iron Ship by K.M. McKinley
K.M. McKinley’s The Iron Ship is a sprawling, slow build of a story that mostly follows the POV exploits of five siblings whose stories generally wend their own way, though each intersects with the others in varying ways and to varying degrees. With its large cast, leisurely characterization, separate plots, unhurried approach to worldbuilding, and focus on an accretion of detail (admittedly, sometimes to a somewhat befuddling amount), I can’t say McKinley’s debut is particularly energetic or compelling. But it does suck you in even as it acts as mostly prelude to what is to come.
June 2nd, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | K.M. McKinley | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
When the Heavens Fall by Marc Turner
I was once in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign where the Dungeon Master, a good friend of mine, had grown weary of my bard’s prowess and so decided to try his damnedest to kill him. And so my group eventually ended up inside a large spinning room with a multitude of doors, through which exited a succession of various angry creatures, singly or in large groups. It was fight, momentary rest, fight, momentary rest, fight, mome-, well, you get the idea. That night came back to me while reading Marc Turner’s When the Heavens Fall,
May 13th, 2015. Bill Capossere and John Hulet | Marc Turner | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall (pseudonym of Jesse Bullington)
A Crown for Cold Silver is a big, brassy, gut-buster of a fantasy, weighing in at over 650 pages. Alex Marshall has crafted a multi-layered tale (or song, if you prefer the parlance of The Star) of bloody vengeance, personal glory, and the unimaginable consequences of a single careless wish. Clear your calendar, stock up on snacks, and silence the phone — this is a serious investment of time,
May 7th, 2015. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Alex Marshall | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
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
These weird westerns are always interesting and have been popping up more in recent times (it seemed like there was…
Looking forward to reading the review.
Always my pleasure, Marion! I'm almost finished with Book #3 now, and hope to be reporting on it very shortly....