The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson
With the title, you figure out pretty quickly that 2016’s The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, by Kij Johnson, is a Lovecraft pastiche, modeled on The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. If you’re like me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find out that the beginning at least is a gentle send-up — or, to be polite, a “nod” — to academic novels.
Vellitt Boe,
December 14th, 2021. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Kij Johnson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
If ghosts exist, we don’t know why, but ghost stories exist because the living make them up; and the living make them up because we need them. Colin Dickey’s book Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places (2016) explores the US’s social conflicts and hidden histories as they play out in places that are publicly advertised as “haunted.” In the first chapter, Dickey says, “If you want to understand a place, ignore the boastful monuments and landmarks,
October 31st, 2019. Marion Deeds and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Horror, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin
A war is raging, and a young boy is sent to spend the summer with his grandmother in her small country village. His life changes forever when she decides to rescue a downed enemy pilot and nurse him back to health. While helping her tend to the injured man, the boy also meets Mr. Girandole, a faun, who was once his grandmother’s love and is still her dear friend.
She knows just the place to conceal the pilot while he convalesces: a crooked little tower in an overgrown sculpture garden in the woods.
August 14th, 2019. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Frederic S. Durbin | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Thanos: Thanos Winsby Donny Cates (writer), Geoff Shaw (artist), and Antonio Fabela (colorist)
Donny Cates tells one of the best stories of Thanos in Thanos Wins. The book collects Thanosissues #13-18 and Thanos Annual#1, and because it starts at issue #13, I have avoided the book, not having read issues #1-12 (though I mean to since they are by one of my favorite writers, Jeff Lemire). However, a friend recommended I skip #1-12 and jump straight to this collection because it is a standalone,
June 1st, 2019. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime by Toshio Ban & Tezuka Productions & translated into English by Frederik L. Schodt
“They say if you try making anime for 3 days, you’ll never be able to quit and that in 3 days you’ll also be broke. But even if I were to go broke, I still don’t think I’d be able to quit.” These words from Tezuka, upon receiving an award late in life, express his passion for his work in anime, but he had an equal passion for manga.
March 9th, 2019. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A Shadow All of Light by Fred Chappell
A Shadow All of Light (2016) is a collection of linked, chronological stories by Fred Chappell that add up to a full-length narrative if not a seamless novel. Some individual stories are stronger than others, and I would have liked more of a full sense of place, character, and culture, but I enjoyed the underlying magic system, the main character, and how the structure built up over time to a decent climax.
Our narrator is Falco,
June 20th, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Fred Chappell | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Will Do Magic For Small Change by Andrea Hairston
Andrea Hairston’s 2016 novel Will Do Magic for Small Change spills out across traditional fantasy subcategories like the foamy head of a beer. There are urban fantasy elements, historical fantasy, science fiction and coming-of-age themes in this tale, which is set alternately in 1987 and the turn of the 20th century. And while I don’t think there is a subgenre called “performance magic” or “theater magic” yet, when there is, this book will be a seminal example because the love of the theater and performance runs all the way through it.
April 13th, 2018. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Andrea Hairston | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A City Dreaming by Daniel Polansky
First things first: A City Dreaming (2016) is not really a novel (as its cover claims). It’s more like a collection of connected short stories that all feature the same protagonist (an adept named M) in the same setting (a supernatural New York City). The stories progress chronologically and have a cast of recurring characters. I liked this set-up quite well, but I suspect that some readers will want to be warned about this straight off so they can choose to approach A City Dreaming when they’re in the mood for a more episodic adventure.
February 12th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Daniel Polansky | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation by Carolyn Cocca
In Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation, Carolyn Cocca turns a sharp eye on gender (along with race and class) in the world of superheroes, looking through the lens of several female heroes in particular. These are, in order:
January 16th, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
A Taste of Honey by Kai Ashante Wilson
Another 2016 Nebula nominee today, this time for best Novella. A Taste of Honey (2016) is set in the same world as a previous work by Kai Ashante Wilson, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, which I confess I have not read (it’s not necessary for the understanding of this story, though it may provide some useful background to the setting and its institutions).
At its heart,
January 16th, 2018. Katie Burton and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3, 4.5 | Kai Ashante Wilson | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The black, white and blue is VERY striking, and carries the sense of a night sky and mystery.
Thanks, Kat, great input!
Marion, thanks for the audiobook article! Interestingly, they list All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Here's part of my review…
And, oh...as to that 2.5-star rating: I think I gave Damon Knight's "Beyond the Barrier" a similar halfhearted rating earlier…
And speaking of mixed, that's how the book left me...mixed! As in MIXED UP!