Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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The DragonCrown War Cycle: Fanboy fantasy at its very worst

THE DRAGONCROWN WAR CYCLE by Michael A. Stackpole

I enjoyed The Dark Glory War, the prequel to The Dragoncrown War Cycle trilogy, a fair amount. That being said, the story took a steady downhill slide from there.

It is pure fanboy fantasy, and at its very worst. These heroes have all the personality of mud. The men are all “humble” and act completely shocked to find themselves in the roles of heroes. And the women are downright offensive. These strong, proud, independent women, who turn into docile,

June 11th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 2 | Michael A. Stackpole | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Dark Prince: Ugh!

Dark Prince by Christine Feehan

Mikhail Dubrinsky is the leader of the Carpathians, a powerful race that is dying out due to lack of females. Raven Whitney, a human, is vacationing in the Carpathian Mountains after using her telepathic skills to help catch a serial killer. Raven senses Mikhail’s distress and the two of them realize they have a connection to each other. Raven may be the life mate that Mikhail thought he’d never find and she represents hope for the Carpathians.

Ugh. I really hated Dark Prince and,

Hyddenworld – Spring: Read Duncton Wood instead

Hyddenworld: Spring by William Horwood

Sometimes it’s hard to separate our feelings for a book from the setting in which we read it. Somewhere along the way of my first backpacking trip through Great Britain, I managed to obtain a copy of William Horwood’s Duncton Wood. A purchase at Waterstone’s, a swap with another backpacker, a left-behind-for-anyone copy on a hostel table; I have no idea how or why I picked it up. But I was quickly glad I did and once I’d finished it,

May 2nd, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 2 | William Horwood | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Silver Mage: Disappointing end to Deverry

The Silver Mage by Katharine Kerr

In The Silver Mage, the fifteenth book in the very long-running Deverry series, Katharine Kerr seeks to wrap up those last few plot points and bring the sequence to a resounding end.

Oh dear. I’ve followed this series faithfully, to the extent of doing a full re-read in preparation of the release of this final book, and I am more than disappointed with the way Kerr has finished things off.

This series has been limping along for a while,

April 12th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 2 | Katharine Kerr | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Ghosts of Manhattan: Has serious problems

Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann

I’ve been lukewarm to George Mann’s Victorian steampunk novels set in London, finding them mostly adequate: quick-paced but a bit flat and somewhat too beholden to cinematic cliché. They are intermittently entertaining and lively, but never quite get all the way to good. Mann’s new novel, Ghosts of Manhattan, is similar, but set in America this time. It’s perhaps a step above the London novels in quality.

It’s 1926 and America is in a cold war with a British Empire that still stretches over much of the world.

April 8th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Terry Weyna´s rating: 2 | George Mann | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Touched by Venom: Touched by Horror

Touched by Venom by Janine Cross

I’ve been tempted by Touched by Venom for a long time. The cover art is sensual; the blurb is intriguing and contains a promising quote by Jacqueline Carey, one of my favorite authors. Something held me off, though, until recently, but I finally broke down and bought Touched by Venom used.

First of all… yowza. I thought I was into dark fantasy. Little did I know, compared to Touched by Venom,

April 2nd, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Janine Cross | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Dead Girls are Easy: And pretty stupid, too

Dead Girls Are Easy by Terri Garey

When vintage-boutique owner Nicki Styx suffers a near-death experience, she comes back from the Light with the ability to see and hear ghosts. Before she knows it, the dead are hounding her day and night, in the hopes that she’ll help tie up their loose ends. Sometimes this just means passing on a last message of love. But when Nicki’s friend Caprice is killed, Nicki’s life really gets messy.

Caprice’s boyfriend Mojo has been thrown in jail, accused of Caprice’s murder. Caprice wants him freed.

March 20th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2 | Terri Garey | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Blue Bloods: Like a trashy gossip magazine

Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods is the first book in a series by Melissa De La Cruz about the upper-class students at a prestigious school in New York who enjoy fashion and gossip, and just happen to be turning into vampires. We follow Schuyler Van Alen, a 15 year old girl who has never fit in with the other students at Duchesne — preferring to wear charity shop vintage clothes and hanging out with Oliver Hazard-Perry. Little does she realise that her life is about to change forever,

March 19th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 2 | Melissa De-La-Cruz | SFF Reviews | no comments |

By the Mountain Bound: Greg loves it. Stefan doesn’t.

By the Mountain Bound by Elizabeth Bear

The Einherjar and the Waelcyrge are the immortal Children of the Light that were born of the sea when the world was created. For five hundred years, they were charged with protecting the human race and preparing for the war that would one day come. As they anticipated the glory of fighting with honor, it never occurred to them that the final battle would be with each other.

This series, the EDDA OF BURDENS, seems to have gotten somewhat mixed reviews.

March 12th, 2010. Greg Hersom and Stefan Raets´s rating: 2, 5 | Elizabeth Bear | SFF Reviews | no comments |

King Maker: Read by a white girl in the UK

King Maker by Maurice Broaddus

The premise of King Maker is simply awesome, and I wanted to love the book based on that alone. I’m a big fan of the King Arthur mythology, and the idea of such a unique slant on the story had me extremely excited. I found myself bewildered, however, as I worked my way through the book.

I want to deal with the strengths of the novel first. Maurice Broaddus’ writing creates a dangerous and authentic mood.

February 26th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 2 | Maurice Broaddus | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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