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Zachary Mason, who retold Homer’s story of the wanderings of Odysseus in his well-received 2007 debut novel, The Lost Books of the Odyssey, takes on Ovid‘s epic narrative poem Metamorphoses in his latest work, Metamorphica (2018). Mason distills Metamorphoses’ over 250 Greek myths into 53 brief stories, including the tales of Arachne, Daedalus and Icarus,
August 16th, 2018. Tadiana Jones and Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5, 4 | Zachary Mason | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In his far-future POLITY series, Neal Asher writes consistent, dependable, grimdark space opera. Prador Moon is one of three POLITY books that came out in 2006, and the fifth overall. It’s the first in the in-universe chronology, though, telling of the first meeting between the Prador and humanity. To say things don’t get off on the right foot would be to sell the opening scene (and the several novels which follow) short. Prador-human relations tumble to bits in the aftermath of “diplomacy,” and all-out space war erupts.
July 8th, 2018. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 2.5 | Neal Asher | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
This is the kind of review I always dread writing — so many people loved Space Opera (2018), either becoming brand-new Catherynne M. Valente fans or cementing their appreciation of her talent. I can see why they would like it, I really can. The novel bears all the hallmarks of a Valente project: an overabundance of whimsy and wonder, intricately wordy sentences that sometimes become whole paragraphs, an aggressively manic-cute species, and much more. And there’s the acknowledged,
July 5th, 2018. Jana Nyman and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 2.5 | Catherynne M. Valente | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Sea Kings of Mars and Otherworldly Stories by Leigh Brackett
As NASA’s Curiosity rover trundles about the surface of Mars today, another page turns on the glories of pulp science fiction. Leigh Brackett’s vision of a land populated with humans and aliens, ancient cities and creatures, long-buried secrets and mysterious deserts fades a shade closer to pale as one desolate desert image after another is beamed back to Earth. But there was a day when her works shone with the hope and possibility of life on the planets beyond Earth.
June 12th, 2018. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 2.5 | Leigh Brackett | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire
Tricks for Free, (2018) Seanan McGuire’s latest in the INCRYPTID series, left me the least satisfied of the series books to date. I’ll get into what disappointed me later in the review. As is always the case with the series, there are plenty of things to enjoy and I’d like to talk about those first.
Tricks for Free is the second book featuring the “baby” of the Price family,
June 6th, 2018. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Seanan McGuire | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
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 |
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
I loved the concept for this book. Siren princess (Lira) is punished by her power hungry Sea Queen mother for harboring a shred of “human” sentiment, and therefore, forced to seek the heart of a siren-hunting prince. Prince (Elian) casts about on the deep, in self-imposed exile from his own kingdom, vanquishing the world of the human killing sirens dominating the sea, and his only true home.
There were times, yes, many times when the narrative prose was lyrical and immersive and it drew me right in to this commercially quite popular story.
May 21st, 2018. Taya Okerlund´s rating: 2.5 | Alexandra Christo | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Armored Saint by Myke Cole
In Heloise’s land, the foremost rule of the Order is clear: “Suffer no wizard to live.” For the exercise of magical powers, it is said, will open a portal to hell through the eyes of the wizard, allowing devils to come through and wreak destruction among men. But all sixteen year old Heloise can see is the oppression of the religious Order, which allows its Sojourners and Pilgrims to bully and oppress the common people. Anyone even suspected of using magical powers, or protecting those who have such powers,
May 3rd, 2018. Tadiana Jones and Jana Nyman´s rating: 2.5 | Myke Cole | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
The Lady of the Rivers (2011) begins with the capture of a young French maiden. She wears a man’s cap and breeches, and tells her captors that she is following the voices of angels. When our narrator, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, calls her Joan, it quickly becomes apparent that Gregory has opened her novel with the capture of the legendary Joan of Arc. Moments in history don’t come much more momentous than this one, and it marks the first trial Jacquetta must overcome,
April 26th, 2018. Ray McKenzie´s rating: 2.5 | Philippa Gregory | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope
Originally, L. Penelope published Song of Blood & Stone under her own publishing house, Heartspell. In 2016, it earned attention from the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO), where a team of prominent fantasy book bloggers evaluate 300 enlisted fantasy titles and review the very best of them. Song of Blood & Stone was so popular St. Martin’s Press picked it up and is now publishing it mainstream with a few changes.
April 25th, 2018. Taya Okerlund´s rating: 2.5 | L. Penelope | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
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…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…