Previous SFF Author: Lyn McConchie
Kelly McCullough was a Writers of the Future winner in 2000 and his short stories and poems have appeared in Weird Tales, Absolute Magnitude, Tales of the Unanticipated, The DNA Helix, Cosmic SF, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol. XVII, Tales from the Black Dog, and other publications. Here’s Kelly McCullough’s website.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE BY KELLY MCCULLOUGH.
It’s time for another round of Beth vs. The Urban Fantasy Genre. Today’s contender is WebMage by Kelly McCullough. Mind, the quote on the cover has it right: Science fantasy is really a better term for it. But Webmage can and does fit into the urban fantasy genre as well. Only there’s a distinctive lack of vampires, werewolves, and love dodecagons. In fact, WebMage is kind of like the illegitimate lovechild of The Dresden Files,
Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Kelly McCullough | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough
Broken Blade, the first book in Kelly McCullough‘s FALLEN BLADE series is a fun little fantasy novel. I picked it up as something to fill in space between “serious” series. In that role, Broken Blade exceeded my expectations because it was refreshingly simple and interesting all in one.
In the City of Tien we are introduced to Aral. As member of a cult of assassins, called Blades, Aral was a rising star with great promise and great skills.
John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Kelly McCullough | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Bared Blade by Kelly McCullough
Bared Blade is the second book in the FALLEN BLADE series. Kelly McCullough continues the story of Aral Kingslayer, survivor of the destruction of the Goddess Namara turned petty thief and spy.
Aral is still struggling with the revelation that other members of his cult survived the fall of his goddess. His experiences in Broken Blade have started to give him an inkling that there may be more to look forward to than alcoholic oblivion.
John Hulet´s rating: 2.5 | Kelly McCullough | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Crossed Blades by Kelly McCullough
Kelly McCullough’s FALLEN BLADE saga is a fun and fast moving fantasy series. I love a series that can incorporate humor along with the requisite action, magic and evil bad guys who need to be defeated. McCullough keeps things mockingly amusing by never letting the hero’s head get too big.
Crossed Blades tells the story of Aral, one time Blade of Namara before her fall. Since the death of his goddess, Aral’s life has been sad and dark, but the arrival of certain people and events are forcing him to drag himself out of the low life he has sunk to.
John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Kelly McCullough | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Blade Reforged by Kelly McCullough
Kelly McCullough’s FALLEN BLADE series has been a lot of fun to read. For fans of cloak and dagger fantasy, it’s been a welcome, easy to read morsel. You really don’t need to pay close attention because the story is about humor, a little danger, long lost romance and loyalty to ideals that have been lost. It’s not complex, but it’s good.
Blade Reforged follows Aral Kingslayer through his final transformation back from dissolute, amoral thug-for-hire to someone who at least resembles the rising star of the Order of Namara before her death at the hands of the Son of Heaven.
John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Kelly McCullough | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Drawn Blades by Kelly McCullough
Drawn Blades is the fifth book in Kelly McCullough’s FALLEN BLADE series. This review will contain spoilers for the previous books.
Aral Kingslayer has finally emerged from his mental paralysis after the death of his Goddess, Namara. It has taken eight years, a lot of alcohol and the death of some friends for Aral to reach this point. With a new-found set of ideals, Aral is ready to start making a difference.
Siri Mythkiller was the First Blade of the order of Namara before its fall.
John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Kelly McCullough | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Previous SFF Author: Lyn McConchie
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…
this sounds like a fun one