Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Pastworld: Great ideas, shallow characters

Pastworld by Ian Beck

Pastworld is a theme park that is run by the Buckland Corporation. It is a complete authentic reproduction of 17th century London. Everything is authentic: the dress, the lack of electricity, even the 17th century laws. Everyone who visits Pastworld has to be authentic as well, right down to the luggage they carry and the toiletries they use.

But despite the fact that Pastworld has a few electronic security measures, crime runs rampant within the park. Underground “unofficials” beg and steal from the “gawkers” or visitors to the park,

Doubleblind: A letdown, but I’m not giving up on Aguirre

Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre

Of all the books I’ve been looking forward to this year, Doubleblind was pretty high up on the list. When we last left our heroine, Jax, she was in the orbit of Ithiss-Tor, preparing for a diplomatic mission with high stakes: Recruit the distant but formidable Ithtorians to the human cause. Fail, and the human race gets eaten by the Morgut. If they’re lucky. But the Ithtorians aren’t very fond of the idea and Jax’s job is to change their minds. She also has to deal with March,

September 28th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 2.5 | Ann Aguirre | SFF Reviews | no comments |

City of Fire: A bit thin, even for youngsters

City of Fire by Laurence Yep

City of Fire is the opening book in a new YA fantasy trilogy by Laurence Yep, set in an alternate version of 1941 where humans and magical creatures (trolls, lap griffins, shapeshifters, dragons, etc.) freely intermingle and society employs a mix of magic and technology. The novel opens in San Francisco with a tense and mysterious pov, as the assassin narrator Bayang observes her target — a young boy named Leech who somehow poses a threat to Bayang’s “people” and who has yet to come into his “true power.” The scene then shifts to another pov,

The Phoenix Unchained: Standard, but entertaining, “lite” epic fantasy

The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey

I picked up The Phoenix Unchained, the first novel in The Enduring Flame trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory because I haven’t read Lackey before (and I wanted to) and this book was available for download in audio format (and I needed something for my commute). The Phoenix Unchained is a sequel to The Obsidian Trilogy which, unfortunately, is not available (yet) on audio, and which I haven’t read.

The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks: Great idea, poor execution

The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks by Nick O’Donohoe

Set during World War II, The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks (1999) concerns a young man who works at an industrial plant selling furnaces for war production. When he gets an order for a furnace sized for someone who is only three feet tall, he investigates and discovers that there are dwarves supplying the American military with some of their most essential war machinery.

The Gnomewrench in the Dwarfworks has a brilliant premise: what if the success of the American war machine in World War II depends upon a small band of dwarves being able to keep themselves hidden,

August 5th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 2.5 | Nick O'Donohoe | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Bloody Good: WWII Nazi vampires

Bloody Good by Georgia Evans

I’m always glad to see a vampire novel that moves away from stereotypical plots and settings. So, when I learned that Georgia Evans’s Bloody Good was set in England during World War II and that its vampires were Nazi secret agents, I was immediately intrigued.

Bloody Good is at its best when depicting the struggles of ordinary country folk during the war. Through the many neighborly chats that fill these pages, the reader gets an idea of what it might have been like to deal with air raids,

August 1st, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | Georgia Evans | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Dawnthief: The literary equivalent of an entertaining action movie

Dawnthief by James Barclay

Dawnthief is the first book in James Barclay‘s CHRONICLES OF THE RAVEN trilogy (followed by Noonshade and Nightchild). In addition to the trilogy, the author also published four LEGENDS OF THE RAVEN novels and one Raven novella, as well as two ASCENDANTS OF ESTORIA novels and the stand-alone Vault of Deeds. Dawnthief was James Barclay‘s first published work in 1999 and,

July 20th, 2009. Stefan Raets´s rating: 2.5 | James Barclay | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Land of Mist and Snow: This tale never quite ignites

Land of Mist and Snow by Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald

Land of Mist and Snow is an alternate history of the Civil War, focusing on two ships that are controlled by elemental spirits, one ship fighting for the Union, and one for the Confederacy. Thu Union ship, Nicodemus, chases the Confederate Alecto across the Atlantic Ocean, trying to find the key to ending the Alecto’s demonic presence on the water. Key to this discovery are Lt. John Nevis, the Nicodemus’s gunnery officer,

A Darkness Forged in Fire: We’re divided on this one

A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans

“Mountains shouldn’t scream, but this one did.” Those words start the first volume in The Iron Elves series by Chris Evans, a first time author. A Darkness Forged in Fire is one of the best new fantasies that I’ve read in a long time. Evans has a visceral writing style that makes the world come alive, interesting takes on standard fantasy races such as elves and dwarves, and one of the most terrifying landscapes I can remember.

July 9th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5, 5 | Chris Evans | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Seven Towers: You’ve come a long way, baby

The Seven Towers by Patricia C. Wrede

I was strangely dissatisfied by The Seven Towers but really couldn’t figure out what exactly was the problem until I sat down to write the review. I normally start with a plot summary, and I couldn’t figure out how to summarize the story. A lot of stuff happens, and a lot of characters run around and do a lot of things, but there is a fundamental disjointedness to the story that is exacerbated by the multiple points of view.

The Seven Towers is the story of one world’s attempt to defeat the Matholych,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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