Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Order [book in series=yearoffirstbook.book# (eg 2014.01), stand-alone or one-author collection=3333.pubyear, multi-author anthology=5555.pubyear, SFM/MM=5000, interview=1111]: 2018.01

Foundryside: Come for the action and characters, stay for the depth

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Bill: Robert Jackson Bennett hit the trifecta, as far as I was concerned, with his DIVINE CITIES trilogy. I placed each book pretty much immediately on my respective best-of-the-year lists as I finished them, and then, once the trilogy was completed, put the whole thing on my best-of-the-decade list. So it would be more than a little unfair to expect his newest novel, Foundryside (2018), to match that experience. But like a younger sibling following after a genius older sister or brother,

August 10th, 2018. Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Robert Jackson Bennett | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |

The Psychology of Time Travel: A very different take on time travel

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas

Note: Available on August 9, 2018 in the UK.
Available in the US in February 2019.

Any author who ventures forth into times unknown, or those gone by, must accept more than the usual scrutiny of their work. It was a brave move then, by new British author Kate Mascarenhas to not only write a debut novel about time travel but also to delve into the psychological implications on those who practice it.

August 7th, 2018. Katie Burton´s rating: 3 | Kate Mascarenhas | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

The Book of Secrets: Introducing a magical bookstore with oracle powers

The Book of Secrets by Melissa McShane

Helena Davies, a twenty-one year old who’s been living in her parents’ basement since dropping out of community college for lack of funds, is at loose ends and clueless about her future. She needs a job ― any job ― while she tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life. Surprisingly, the proprietor of Abernathy’s Bookstore immediately hires her, despite her sparse resume. But her new boss barely has time to have her sign an employment agreement (“I … swear to uphold the standards of Abernathy’s without fear or favor,

July 26th, 2018. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Melissa McShane | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Kill the Farm Boy: It’s “Bored of the Rings” for the 21st Century

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson & Kevin Hearne

Usually, any book that deals with cheese and has a talking goat will win me over. 2018’s Kill the Farm Boy has a talking goat, and it devotes many pages to thoughtful discussions of cheese. It looks deeply into the tropes of epic fantasy and fairy tales, then turns them upside down and inside out. Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne give us gonzo variations on conventional characters, lots of flatulence and poo jokes,

July 24th, 2018. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Iron and Magic: An exciting spin-off from the KATE DANIELS series

Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Since Magic Bites was first published in 2007, the husband-and-wife writing team known as Ilona Andrews has developed a devoted fan base in the urban fantasy genre with their KATE DANIELS series. But all good things must come to an end, and when Magic Triumphs, the tenth novel in that series, is published in August 2018, the Andrews team has announced that it will be the end of that series.

June 29th, 2018. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Ilona Andrews | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |

The Robots of Gotham: A rough couple of weeks in the Windy City

The Robots of Gotham by Todd McAulty

The Robots of Gotham (2018) is the debut novel from Todd McAulty, and though it’s chock-full of robots, only one of them seems to actually be from Gotham, and the entirety of the book’s nearly-700 pages take place in Chicago. So it’s a slightly misleading title, but there are more than enough explosions, stealth missions, and metal-clad behemoths to make up for it.

In a nutshell, there are humans — mostly part of the Venezuelan army,

June 22nd, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3 | Todd McAulty | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |

The Last Sun: Colorful, action-packed, slightly ragged

The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards

There is plenty to like in The Last Sun (2018), K.D. Edwards’ inaugural novel of THE TAROT SEQUENCE series. The story is set in New Atlantis, a city and an island in our world, but inhabited by the survivors of the original Atlantis. After a world-war with humans for reasons not given, the surviving Atlanteans settled in this spot. They interact with humans, but most of the action in this book takes place between feuding Atlantean family groups who name their clans or Houses after the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

June 11th, 2018. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | K.D. Edwards | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

LIFEL1K3: Star-crossed lovers in a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world

LIFEL1K3 by Jay Kristoff

Jay Kristoff’s YA post-apocalyptic novel LIFEL1K3 (2018) stars seventeen-year-old Eve as its tough, fauxhawk-sporting protagonist. Eve is a gifted mechanic who lives with her grandfather, her only relative, in a post-apocalyptic island version of “Kalifornya” called the Dregs. She has a cybernetic eye and a memory drive (“Memdrive”) implanted in the side of her head, with silicon chips behind her ear that give her fragmentary memories of her childhood and supply her with other useful life skills. Eve’s secret pastime ― at least it’s secret from Grandpa ― is engaging in robot deathmatches to fund Grandpa’s anticancer meds.

King of Ashes: Feels a bit too “been there, done that”

King of Ashes by Raymond E. Feist

Back in the 1980s, like a lot of people, I was eagerly consuming Raymond E. Feist’s RIFTWAR SAGA, which began with Magician: Apprentice and continued onward through a host of novels. I loved Magician, though I have little memory of it, and read the next few books in the series, though eventually I lost track, whether that was due to lack of interest or not,

May 30th, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Raymond E. Feist | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Children of Blood and Bone: A familiar story raised up by its theme and setting

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel, Children of Blood and Bone (2018) and the first of the LEGACY OF ORISHA series, is in many ways a typical debut YA novel that can feel a bit rote. On the other hand, its setting and stark presentation of theme make it stand out more than a little from the other such YA novels and add an importance to it that makes it well worth recommending.

Long ago in Orisha the maji wielded great power,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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