Don DeLillo, I’ve found, is one of those authors that splits readers down the middle. For myself, I definitely and whole-heartedly fall into the fan camp, with White Noise and Underworld being two of my favorite all-time novels, and Mao II and Libra not far behind. His newest, Zero K, doesn’t rise to their level (most novels don’t), but it is still classic DeLillo,
May 23rd, 2016. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Don DeLillo | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
Ken Liu is a writer of many talents, all of which are on full display in his first short story collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. Each of the fifteen pieces presented here is well-executed; many don’t have happy endings (as much as I would like them to), though Liu makes the best choices possible for the tales he’s telling, and I will admit that the end results frequently left me crying or stunned.
May 18th, 2016. Jana Nyman and Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Ken Liu | Hugo Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
First of all, Joe Hill‘s The Fireman is no horror story. It’s apocalypse-lit through and through but without the hackneyed zombies and vampires. Second of all, The Fireman is thoroughly infected with the ‘King’ family genetics. If there were any doubt about a connection between Joe and his old man, Stephen King, put those doubts aside. Actually, put them in the way-back storage room in the furthest, darkest corner of your basement.
May 10th, 2016. Jason Golomb´s rating: 4 | Joe Hill | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
How Great Science Fiction Works by Gary K. Wolfe
For years I’ve been a fan of the GREAT COURSES audiobooks, which I usually pick up at my library or at Audible. These are a series of college-level lectures devoted to a specific topic and delivered by an expert in the field. A couple of months ago they released a set called How Great Science Fiction Works. Our teacher is Gary K. Wolfe, a professor of Humanities who received a BA in English from the University of Kansas under the tutelage of science fiction writer James E.
May 6th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Audio, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Grimm’s Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, popularly knows as The Brothers Grimm, were German academics who, in the early 19th century, studied, compiled and published hundreds of folklore tales that have become an integral part of Western culture. They published their first edition of tales, titled Children’s and Household Tales, or just Grimm’s Fairy Tales, in 1812 and many editions have been published since.
Listening Library has just released a new audio version of 21 of the Grimm Brothers’ original fairy tales (not to be confused with the cleaned-up versions they later published as more suitable for civilized children).
May 4th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | The Brothers Grimm | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Strange Monsters by Peter Brewer & Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
I’ve been a fan of Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam’s short fiction for a few years. She captures a lovely intersection between the mundane and the mythic in her stories, so when she asked if I’d like to review her newest collection, I jumped at the chance. Strange Monsters (2016) is a music-and-words collaboration between Stufflebeam and Peter Brewer, a jazz musician and Stufflebeam’s partner. Over melodies both slow and easy, and chaotic and exciting, a cast of actors reads five short stories and five poems by Stufflebeam.
April 28th, 2016. Kate Lechler´s rating: 4 | Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I picked up Adrian Selby’s debut novel, Snakewood, after hearing a lot of good things about the book. Promising a dark world of realpolitik in the tradition of Glen Cook, Snakewood tells the story of the company once known as Kailen’s Twenty. While the company is long disbanded, many of its members still live and thrive in various occupations, until they turn up with throats slit and a black, stone coin on their bodies — the mark of a traitor.
April 26th, 2016. Kevin Wei´s rating: 0.1 | Adrian Selby | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Masks and Shadows by Stephanie Burgis
A selfish prince, a bitter royal wife, a frivolous royal mistress; a lonely widow, a plucky servant girl, a cynical singer; a dastardly plot, a dangerous elemental, a spy, an alchemist (or maybe two); royal banquets, fraught performance rehearsals, and even a bit of cross-dressing at a masquerade ball. Stephanie Burgis’s Masks and Shadows packs in all that and more; there’s Hadyn and the Enlightenment as well.
Carlo Morelli is a castrato, famed throughout Europe for his ethereal voice.
April 5th, 2016. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Stephanie Burgis | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
In the late 1920s, H.P. Lovecraft went to visit New York City. He was appalled — appalled! — to discover that the city, especially certain neighborhoods, was crowded with immigrants and people with dark skin. Don’t take my word for it; here are his own in a letter to his friend Clark Ashton Smith, and from a Lovecraft story:
… young loafers and herds of evil-looking foreigners that one sees everywhere in New York.
(Letter to Clark Ashton Smith)
From this tangle of material and spiritual putrescence the blasphemies of a hundred dialects assail the sky.
March 25th, 2016. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Victor Lavalle | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
This Census Taker by China Miéville
This Census Taker is a short novel by China Miéville. It’s almost a novella. The story could be psychological horror, but it’s stranger than that. I just finished rereading some Gene Wolfe, so I may be forgiven for interpreting This Census Taker as “China Miéville does Gene Wolfe.” Even the front flap describes the book as a “poignant and riveting exploration of memory and identity.” Buckle up, people, and keep your head and arms inside the vehicle at all times.
March 17th, 2016. Marion Deeds and Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | China Mieville | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.