2 | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

Uprising: Read Dracula instead

Uprising by Sean McCabe

There is an audience for this book. That audience, however, is not me.

Sean McCabe is a pseudonym for thriller author Scott Mariani, and in Uprising he blends the thriller genre with a vampire story. Our protagonists are police detective Joel Solomon, and Alex Bishop, who is herself a law enforcement officer of sorts. She works for the Vampire Intelligence Agency, which serves the Vampire Federation, a bureaucracy that governs vampire society and has developed several technologies that allow vampires to live relatively normal lives amid the human population.

February 1st, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Sean McCabe | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

The Sentinel Mage: Great storytelling, unoriginal plot

The Sentinel Mage by Emily Gee

As The Sentinel Mage by Emily Gee begins, a curse is sweeping across the Seven Kingdoms, starting in the east and slowly trickling westwards across the land. Anyone who drinks curse-tainted water becomes a mindless, bloodthirsty monster, attacking friends and family alike. There’s only one way to stop the curse: a royal who is also descended from witches must touch and spill some blood on three stones spread throughout the land. Unfortunately, witches are considered monsters by most of the Seven Kingdoms: victims of an unfounded prejudice that thinks them guilty of a list of unlikely crimes,

January 24th, 2011. Stefan Raets´s rating: 2 | Emily Gee | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Hell’s Horizon: A weird sequel

Hell’s Horizon by Darren Shan

Darren Shan’s Hell’s Horizon is a weird sequel — if you think it’s weird to completely ignore the hero of the first novel in a trilogy. After describing the mysterious and mystical rise of Capac Raimi in Procession of the Dead, Shan turns his attentions to Al Jeery, a random soldier in the Cardinal’s army known as Troops. Al doesn’t realize it, but he’s about to be promoted. His new job, believe it or not, is to develop some ambition in life by investigating and solving a murder.

January 11th, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 2 | Darren Shan | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Princess and Curdie: Give it a miss

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald

The Princess and the Goblin is one of the gems of children’s literature that deserves to sit on any bookshelf. The same can not be said of its sequel The Princess and Curdie, which differs so much in tone and content from the original that it is sometimes difficult to remember it is in fact a sequel to the dreamy, beautiful The Princess and the Goblin. Don’t get me wrong, I love George MacDonald‘s wonderful books,

December 9th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 2 | George MacDonald | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Blood Kin: Almost nothing happens

Blood Kin by Maria Lima

I recently received a review copy of the fourth Blood Lines book, Blood Heat. I realized then that I hadn’t yet read the third installment, Blood Kin, and decided to remedy that before starting Blood Heat. I’m glad I read it — there are a couple of revelations that will no doubt be important to the series — but as an individual novel, Blood Kin is disappointing.

November 20th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Maria Lima | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Low Red Moon: Suspenseful and moving, but lackluster romance

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Low Red Moon — not to be confused with the Caitlin R. Kiernan novel by the same name — is Ivy Devlin’s entry into the field of YA paranormal romance. The protagonist is Avery Hood, a teenage girl whose parents have just been murdered. Avery remembers only brief flashes from that fateful night. Now, she’s trying to deal with her grief, adjust to her new life with her grandmother, and piece together her memories to solve the mystery.

Intrigues: Dear Mercedes Lackey,

Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey

Dear Mercedes Lackey,

I’m writing to you as a lifelong fan. Your Valdemar books are what started me reading fantasy. Some twenty-plus years later, By The Sword is still one of my favorite comfort reads. I considered naming a daughter Talia. So please don’t think I’m just a hater when I say: please stop writing Valdemar books.

Valdemar used to be a place of excitement. Everything was new. Heralds were wonderful. Companions were amazing. Every new book was an adventure.

Galaxy Man (Electra Galaxy’s Mr. Interstellar Feller): Doesn’t succeed

Note: Since the writing of this review, the title of this book seems to have been changed to Galaxy Man.

Electra Galaxy’s Mr. Interstellar Feller by Candace Sams

About this time last year, a kerfluffle erupted on the internet concerning Candace Sams’ futuristic romance Electra Galaxy’s Mr. Interstellar Feller. The drama aroused my curiosity, and I had the urge to seek out the book and see for myself what all the fuss was about. My TBR pile objected,

A Knight of the Word: Give your book money to the poor

A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks

Even though two stars may seem like a bad rating, keep in mind that it technically means “fair.” If stars were a grade in an essay, it would be C+ — a pass, but not a particularly brilliant one. Such is the case of A Knight of the Word, the sequel to Terry Brooks‘s Running with the Demon, a much more rewarding book.

The basic premise is a good against evil plot,

November 6th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 2 | Terry Brooks | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Navohar: Too many first-timer’s typical poor choices

Navohar by Hilari Bell

You might have a hard time swallowing much of Navohar, the debut of Denver author Hilari Bell. But Bell produces easygoing, accessible writing that gives her book a degree of light-reading appeal. If only the whole affair weren’t so pat and predictable.

Navohar is set towards the end of this century, after the people of Earth have thwarted an invasion by ruthless slave-trading aliens by knocking them out H.G. Wells-style with a horrid genetically-engineered virus.

Rating: 2

Uprising: Read Dracula instead

The Sentinel Mage: Great storytelling, unoriginal plot

Hell’s Horizon: A weird sequel

The Princess and Curdie: Give it a miss

Blood Kin: Almost nothing happens

Low Red Moon: Suspenseful and moving, but lackluster romance

Intrigues: Dear Mercedes Lackey,

Galaxy Man (Electra Galaxy’s Mr. Interstellar Feller): Doesn’t succeed

A Knight of the Word: Give your book money to the poor

Navohar: Too many first-timer’s typical poor choices

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