I keep picking up Gail Carriger’s books because I really loved her FINISHING SCHOOL series, so I know it’s possible for me to connect with her work, but Competence (2018) is the third CUSTARD PROTOCOL book I’ve tried (after giving up on THE PARASOL PROTECTORATE from which this series spun off) and I’m realizing that it’s just not working for me. So, take my review with the proverbial grain of salt. If you’re a fan of THE PARASOL PROTECTORATE and THE CUSTARD PROTOCOL,
August 16th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | Gail Carriger | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jupiter’s Circle (Volumes 1 & 2) by Mark Millar, Frank Quitely, Wilfredo Torres
Jupiter’s Circle (Volumes 1 & 2) by Mark Millar, a prequel to Jupiter’s Legacy, is an excellent retelling and critique of the golden age of superheroes. There’s plenty of action, but it is sidelined for the primary purpose of telling the private lives of the heroes. Their trials and tribulations behind the scenes are what make this comic so good. We see what the public in the comic does not,
April 21st, 2018. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Mark Millar | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Emma Newman has done it again with her third PLANETFALL novel, Before Mars (2018). I ignored my usual daily reading goals and limits, I ignored a growing stack of paperwork, and I even ignored dinner because I was far more invested in Dr. Anna Kubrin’s declining mental state. What other reason could there be for her growing distance from reality? Why else would she be convinced that something nefarious is going on at her tiny, isolated Mars research station,
April 17th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Emma Newman | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A War in Crimson Embers by Alex Marshall
Fair warning: if you haven’t read the previous two novels in Alex Marshall’s CRIMSON EMPIRE trilogy, A Crown for Cold Silver and A Blade of Black Steel, you aren’t going to have any understanding for what’s happening in A War in Crimson Embers (2017). It’s vitally important that these books are read in order!
At the close of A Blade of Black Steel,
January 29th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Alex Marshall | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Kill All Angels by Robert Brockway
Space whales. Inter-dimensional parasites. A Hollywood stuntwoman who exploded an angel and now must do something even harder and greater. An aging punk who would rather die than stop fighting. All of this and much more await readers in Kill All Angels (2017), the final volume in Robert Brockway’s VICIOUS CIRCUIT trilogy. As is to be expected, the books need to be read in order, beginning with The Unnoticeables and continuing on to The Empty Ones before getting here.
December 29th, 2017. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Robert Brockway | Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Abounding Might by Melissa McShane
In Abounding Might (2017), the third book in Melissa McShane’s EXTRAORDINARIES fantasy series about Regency-era women with diverse magical skills, the setting shifts to British-controlled India in 1813, and to a new main character, Lady Daphne St. Clair. Daphne, who was a minor character in the previous book, Wondering Sight, is gifted with the magical power of Bounding, teleporting instantly from place to place. It’s a highly useful skill to the British army,
November 3rd, 2017. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Melissa McShane | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Piper’s Apprentice by Matthew Cody
The Piper’s Apprentice concludes Matthew Cody’s THE SECRETS OF THE PIED PIPER series, which began with The Peddler’s Road, followed by The Magician’s Key. I haven’t read book one, but I found the second book to be an enjoyable enough story aimed squarely, and successfully I’d imagine, at its middle grade audience. Book three has its issues, but is mostly a solid and satisfying conclusion.
October 24th, 2017. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Matthew Cody | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The climactic conclusion to N.K. Jemisin’s THE BROKEN EARTH trilogy, The Stone Sky (2017), has expectations erupting into the stratosphere since both the previous books, The Fifth Season (2015) and The Obelisk Gate (2016), captured the Hugo Awards for Best SF Novels of 2015 and 2016, and these wins were well deserved. Having just finished it, I think THE BROKEN EARTH trilogy is one of the most intelligent,
October 20th, 2017. Stuart Starosta, Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | N.K. Jemisin | Audio, Locus Award, Nebula Award | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan
When Naglfar ― a ship made out of the fingernails and toenails of the dead, eek! ― sets sail, carrying hordes of giants and zombies warriors to fight the gods of Asgard, Ragnarok and a world-ending battle aren’t far behind. Ragnarok can’t be entirely avoided (unfortunately, it’s an inevitable prophecy), but perhaps it can be delayed for a while longer?
As The Ship of the Dead (2017), the third and final book in Rick Riordan‘s MAGNUS CHASE AND THE GODS OF ASGARD series,
October 16th, 2017. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Rick Riordan | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Fran Wilde has had me on the fence throughout her Bone Cities trilogy — book one (Updraft) had some issues but I thought it just tipped the needle over into the positive. Book two (Cloudbound) had more issues, which sent the needle just over the line in the other direction, leaving me wondering at the end if the third time (Horizon) would be the charm that saves the series.
September 21st, 2017. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2 | Fran Wilde | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…