Gregory Frost graduated from Clarion Workshop, authored five novels and the critically-acclaimed short story collection Attack of the Jazz Giants & Other Stories, and has been a finalist for nearly every major award in the fantasy field including the Hugo, the Nebula, the James Tiptree, and the World Fantasy Award.
Impressive, but what did I think of Shadowbridge? Well, for the most part I enjoyed reading Shadowbridge and while I may have liked the novel,
March 16th, 2013. Robert Thompson and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Gregory Frost | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
Consider Phlebas, the first of Iain M. Banks’s CULTURE novels, introduces readers to the Culture, a machine-led intergalactic civilization that offers its biological humanoids a carefree, utopian lifestyle. Though most centuries are free from worry, Consider Phlebas takes place in the middle of the Idiran-Culture War.
The Culture is an intergalactic utopia, but readers should not come to Consider Phlebas expecting dystopian narrative. The machines, led by their brilliant and sentient Minds,
December 28th, 2012. Ryan Skardal, Stuart Starosta and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Iain M. Banks | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Stone Mage & The Sea by Sean Williams
Sal and his father have been on the run from something for as long as Sal can remember. Now they’ve come to the seaside town of Fundelry and it seems like Sal’s father may finally be giving up. Sal doesn’t know what they’ve been running from, or what happened to his mother, who left them when he was young. Most of the townsfolk are suspicious of the newcomers, but Lodo the hermit and his young apprentice Shilly take an interest in Sal. Under their tutelage,
April 27th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Sean Williams | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Stonewielder by Ian C. Esslemont
Stonewielder is Ian C. Esslemont’s third book in the Malazan series co-created with Steven Erikson, and which Erikson has been exploring for years with his own series. If you look over my reviews for Esslemont’s first two Malazan books, Night of Knives and Return of the Crimson Guard, you’ll see I’ve given them mixed reviews, though I thought Return of the Crimson Guard was an improvement on Night of Knives and boded well for the next book in the series.
January 7th, 2011. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Ian C. Esslemont | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I’m hip deep in Christmas cheer over here. The cookies are baked, I’m waiting on one more present to arrive, the dead bulb on the strand of lights has been replaced. I need to find the baby Jesus for the nativity scene (it’s got to be around here somewhere) and family are gathering from near and far.
We’ve gone through Hanukkah, Solstice, Kwanzaa, and today is Festivus – hint, if you ever need to wrestle Kat to the floor, just knock her TBR pile over on her. It makes the job much easier – and Christmas is just around the corner.
December 23rd, 2010. Ruth Arnell | Thoughtful Thursday | 1 comment |
Creatively Shadowbridge is a marvelous work of invention, embodied by the imaginative Shadowbridge setting — a world of linked spiraling spans of bridges on which all impossibilities can happen — the intriguing art of shadow play, and the many enchanting tales and fables that are interwoven into the main narrative. Yet because of issues that I had with not being able to emotionally connect with the characters, worldbuilding that I felt could have been more penetrating, uneven pacing and narrative structure, and an unsatisfying cliffhanger,
July 5th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Gregory Frost | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Elfhome (2012) is the third book in Wen Spencer’s ELFHOME series, and it’s definitely not where you want to start if you’re new to the series. You’ll need to have read Tinker and Wolf Who Rules first to fully grasp what’s going on and why the stakes are so high.
The story kicks off with Tinker recovering from a broken arm and being cornered by a persistent reporter who,
January 24th, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Wen Spencer | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear
Lauren J.A. Bear’s first novel, Medusa’s Sisters, was a sharp feminist retelling of the well-known Greek tale. For her second book, Bear has left the Greeks behind and moved on to the Romans, giving us in Mother of Rome a sort of prequel to the Romulus and Remus Found Rome story. Though I found Mother of Rome to be more uneven than Medusa’s Sisters,
January 17th, 2025. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Lauren J.A. Bear | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
Caitlin Starling’s 2022 novel The Death of Jane Lawrence got enthusiastic critical reviews and was nominated for a Stoker Award, so clearly people loved it. In spite of an interesting premise, the book was a disconnect for me. Your mileage may vary.
Jane Shoringfield is an orphan raised by a kind couple after her parents were killed in a war. She is impoverished, and no longer willing to be a drain on the resources of her guardians, she decides to arrange a marriage.
July 18th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Caitlin Starling | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Land of the Changing Sun by Will N. Harben
Released seven years after English author H. Rider Haggard sensationally jump-started the “lost world” craze in fiction with his seminal novels King Solomon’s Mines (1885), She (1887) and Allan Quatermain (also 1887), American author Will N. Harben’s only contribution to the genre, The Land of the Changing Sun, is a decidedly second-rate affair that yet manages to somehow entertain.
July 11th, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 2.5 | Will N. Harben | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
I might say "formulaic" actually.
Your review made me curious, so I looked this book up. Sure enough: Tor. Tor seems to specialize in these…
It's a tightrope act for sure.
[…] Stuart (2 December 2015). “Roadside Picnic: Russian SF classic with parallels to Vandermeer’s Area X | Fantasy Lit…. fantasyliterature.com. Retrieved 8 […]
yes, I mean, there are certainly lots of good sci-fi/fantasy novellas out there, so they aren't impossible to do, but…