The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie
To my surprise and delight, Joe Abercrombie’s A Little Hatred, the first book in his THE AGE OF MADNESS series, was one of the best books I read last year. As I said in my review, “it’s got everything I’m looking for in a fantasy novel,” including a large cast of interesting and multi-faceted characters, a fascinating setting (a world on the brink of an industrial revolution), and an exciting,
October 30th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Joe Abercrombie | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Drowned Country (2020) is the second and concluding novella in Emily Tesh’s GREENHOLLOW DUOLOGY, following 2019’s Silver in the Wood. This review will contain some spoilers for Silver in the Wood.
When we last saw Tobias and Henry Silver, Tobias had become an ordinary mortal man, and had been reunited with Silver — who had been presumed dead, but instead had been saved by the Wood itself,
September 4th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Emily Tesh | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Last year’s Gideon the Ninth was a delightfully over-the-top space fantasy that ended with a gut punch that had readers shouting “Damn you, Tamsyn Muir!” and clamoring for the sequel. The sequel, Harrow the Ninth (2020) is here, and I enjoyed it a lot, though there are a few things you’ll want to know going in.
One is that there is a lot going on, much of it cryptic,
August 18th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter, Tadiana Jones, Jana Nyman, Bill Capossere and Marion Deeds´s rating: 1.5, 3.5, 4.5 | Tamsyn Muir | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
The Damned (2020) is the sequel to Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful, a young adult vampire novel set in 19th century New Orleans. You’ll need to read The Beautiful first, and this review will have a few spoilers for that novel.
The Damned begins where The Beautiful left off. (Spoilers for The Beautiful are starting here!) Sébastien Saint Germain had been betrayed and murdered by his friend.
August 11th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Renee Ahdieh | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Aurora Burning (2020), the second book in Amie Kaufman’s and Jay Kristoff’s young adult SF AURORA CYCLE series, follows the tension-filled, nonstop space adventures of the teenage crew of Squad 312, recent graduates of the Aurora Academy. In the first book, Aurora Rising, the crew visited the forbidden planet of Octavia III and discovered, to their horror, that an alien hivemind, called the Ra’haam, has taken over the planet and is bent,
May 26th, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
Readers who enjoyed Carlos Hernandez’s Nebula-nominated Sal and Gabi Break the Universe are likely to also enjoy the sequel, Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe (2020). The story picks up where the previous one left off. Sal’s “magical” abilities have left holes in the universe and his father (Papi) is building a machine (in the living room) that he hopes will fix the holes. But Sal notices that the machine makes him feel sad when he’s around it… and it might be developing consciousness.
May 15th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Carlos Hernandez | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Time of Daughters by Sherwood Smith
In Time of Daughters, Book One (2019), Sherwood Smith returns to the world of Sartorias-Deles, the setting for most of her fantasy novels. This epic tale, broken into two volumes, begins about a century after the INDA quartet of books about the historic Marlovan military commander. The country of Marlovan Iasca (later called Marloven Hess) is particularly noteworthy for the huge influence of the military in its society, amped up with a healthy side of political intriguing — including,
April 17th, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4.5 | Sherwood Smith | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Watch Hollow: The Alchemist’s Shadow by Gregory Funaro
The spooky adventures of Lucy and Oliver Tinker continue in The Alchemist’s Shadow (2020), a sequel to last year’s middle-grade haunted house novel by Gregory Funaro, Watch Hollow. The Tinker family — 11-year-old Lucy, 12-year-old Oliver, and their father — are settling in at the rural Rhode Island mansion, Blackford House, where they vanquished a supernatural foe in Watch Hollow. The Tinkers, originally the caretakers of Blackford House,
March 11th, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Gregory Funaro | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Knight of the Silver Circle by Duncan M. Hamilton
I gave a “didn’t recommend” to Duncan M. Hamilton’s Dragonslayer, noting that while it had some good pacing and a smooth, easy flow to it, that the story and characters were both a bit overly familiar and flat. Despite my rating though, when the sequel, Knight of the Silver Circle (2019) appeared, I picked it up, figuring it would be a pretty quick read and somewhat curious as to whether there had been any improvement.
November 26th, 2019. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5 | Duncan M. Hamilton | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
The Name of All Things (2019) follows up Jenn Lyons’ debut novel The Ruin of Kings, though “follows” is a bit of a misnomer since the vast majority of the book actually takes place concurrent with its predecessor’s action. I had some issues with book one, mostly with the structure, and while some of that carries over, albeit in different fashion, I found The Name of All Things to be an improvement overall.
November 18th, 2019. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Jenn Lyons | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
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…