Search Results for: the strand

Shroud of Shadow: Ugh

Shroud of Shadow by Gael Baudino

Natil is the last of the Elven race, and in this novel she takes a runaway nun, Omelda, under her wing during the time of the Inquisition. Natil’s powers are mostly gone, except for her miraculous harp playing, which is the only thing that saves Omelda from suicide. Natil herself is suicidal, and wants nothing more than to crawl under a rock and cease to exist. Obsessed with this goal, she doesn’t do much for Omelda except get the two of them indentured to a selfish rich man,

February 4th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 1.5 | Gael Baudino | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Leviathan: A wonderful mix of the utterly original and the familiar

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan is the beginning of a new steampunk YA series by Scott Westerfeld, author of other well-known (and highly recommended) YA series such as Uglies and Midnighters, along with one of my favorite non-YA science fiction works of recent memory, The Risen Empire (even more highly recommended). As is usual with good YA, don’t let the label turn you away; Westerfeld knows how to write for a younger audience without dumbing things down and without excluding older readers.

Palimpsest: Gorgeous

Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente

The first thing that strikes you about Palimpsest is the gorgeous prose. Every sentence is crafted with the utmost care, resulting in a novel that almost reads like poetry. It simply begs to be read out loud. I’ve read many books that attempt this kind of lush prose, but Palimpsest is one of the most successful and most beautiful.

Palimpsest is a sexually transmitted city. People who have been there have a small tattoo — a piece of the city’s map — somewhere on their body.

Fire: An excellent sequel to Graceling

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire follows Kristin Cashore’s debut novel Graceling, which garnered quite a lot of praise from reviewers, including this one. A coming-of-age tale set in the Seven Kingdoms, where some are born with a particular “grace” or talent, Graceling focused on Katsa, whose grace seemingly is death. Many readers loved Katsa’s fiercely strong and independent character, as well her compatriots Po and Princess Bitterblue; loved to hate the creepy villain;

Hunter’s Run: A fast but sophisticated read

Hunter’s Run by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Daniel Abraham

Hunter’s Run is somewhat interesting in that it’s a collaboration novel that you can’t really tell is a collaboration and a science-fiction novel that relies surprisingly little on science fiction. And these are by no means complaints. The collaboration’s seamlessness speaks to the craft and professionalism of the three writers while the lack of reliance on science fiction allows for a fine mix of quick-paced adventure and character introspection.

Don’t get me wrong — the science fiction elements are essential to the plot: space-faring races,

Iron Angel: Hell is especially vivid and original

Iron Angel by Alan Campbell

I thought Scar Night, the first book in Alan Campbell’s Deepgate Codex, never really reached its potential in terms of story, character, or richness of imagination and detail. It had enough to keep my interest piqued in the series, but I can’t say I was holding my breath for book two.

Iron Angel picks up slightly after the events of Scar Night and continues the major story arc.

May 11th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Alan Campbell | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Nights of Villjamur: I liked what Newton was going for

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Newton is the first in a series entitled Legends of the Red Sun. The setting is the Boreal Archipelago, though the vast majority of the action takes place in the capital of the Jamur Empire — the eponymous city of Villjamur. The empire is built on its military and the remnants of ancient technology scavenged, studied, and used or modified (not always as the original technology was intended) by a group of Cultists (who are subdivided into sects).

April 8th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Mark Charan Newton | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Lord of the Silent Kingdom: Hugely complex

Lord of the Silent Kingdom by Glen Cook

In my review of Glen Cook’s first book in the Instrumentalities of the Night series, I bemoaned the lack of a map. Somehow, my opinion managed to go unheard and/or unheeded and so I’ll start again by asking if it would be too much to include a map in a book that jumps among a slew of kingdoms, countries, islands, and petty territories.

As a long-time fan of “epic” fantasy, I consider myself pretty well-versed in how to handle sweeping geography,

November 14th, 2008. Bill Capossere, John Hulet and Robert Thompson´s rating: 3, 4 | Glen Cook | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Kelly chats with Louise Hawes

Kelly recently interviewed Louise Hawes after reading and enjoying her book Black Pearls: A Faerie Strand (2008). You can read Kelly’s review here and learn more about Louise Hawes and her works in other genres at her website.

Kelly: Did you have a favorite fairy tale as a child? Do you have a favorite now? If so, what made/makes that particular story resonate with you?

Louise Hawes: Snow White was always a very special story for me. I think, even then, the idea of a large young girl and tiny men,

November 3rd, 2008. Kelly Lasiter | Louise Hawes | Author Interviews | no comments |

The Shadow Roads: Decent but anticlimactic close to trilogy

The Shadow Roads by Sean Russell

The Shadow Roads brings The Swans’ War to a somewhat satisfying close, but its many weaknesses lessen the impact it might have had. The strength is the backstory — the sense of myth surrounding the three children of Wyrr, Death walled away into his own world, stories of loss and transformation. When Sean Russell spends time in this area, whether in detail or just tangentially, it lends a sad sense of grandeur and depth to the work as a whole.

October 7th, 2008. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Sean Russell | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

We have reviewed 8298 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Support FanLit

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:

You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US UK CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!

SFF Deals

Recent Discussion:

Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders on Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All LifeMay 17, 2024
It seems to me that anyone who thinks of nature as "unchanging" isn't paying attention. This book sounds amazing and…
Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders on Ghost Station: A dead-planet creepfestMay 17, 2024
I've been debating whether I want to try this author as someone who likes Sci-Fi and wants to try horror…
Marion Deeds on WWWednesday: Lost, Season 1: By the NumbersMay 16, 2024
Mine too, but to be fair, he's the only Iraqi torturer I know, fictional or otherwise. He has a great…
Sandy Ferber on WWWednesday: Lost, Season 1: By the NumbersMay 16, 2024
COMMENT Sayid ... my favorite Iraqi torturer!
Sandy Ferber on The Worlds of Clifford Simak: Finely wrought tales from a future grand masterMay 14, 2024
Would you believe that this was the first time that I ever read it? SO glad that I finally caught…

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31