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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 Militia House by John Milas
2023’s The Militia House is the debut novel of John Milas. Set in Afghanistan in 2010, it follows a team assigned to a Landing Zone as they are drawn into an abandoned Russian-invasion-era “militia” house close to their base. The sense of dread grows as the story continues, veering into a surreal world, but as in real life, the greatest horror may simply be war.
Our first-person narrator is Corporal Loyette, and his team consists of Johnson, Blount and Vargas.
January 7th, 2025. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | John Milas | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
2023’s Two Twisted Crowns completes Rachel Gillig’s romantasy duology, THE SHEPHERD KING. Along the way, lovers are parted, bonds are broken, justice is meted out and centuries-old secrets are revealed.
This review may contain spoilers for One Dark Window, the first book of the series.
At the end of the first book, Elspeth revealed that Nightmare, the magical entity she hosts, knew the location of the final Providence card,
November 7th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Rachel Gillig | SFF Reviews | no comments |
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
If I’d checked Amazon, probably I would have learned everything I needed to know about Rachel Gillig’s 2022 fantasy novel One Dark Window. It was a BookTok sensation. I can probably stop there.
One Dark Window is the first of a Duology, the SHEPHERD KING series, a second-world fantasy, or romantasy, actually, since much of our protagonist Elspeth’s time is spent wondering if Ravyn, the grouchy nephew of the king, really likes her,
October 17th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Rachel Gillig | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
I really wish I hadn’t seen all the hype around Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures — the Waterstones Prize, the comparisons to C.S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, Rowling, and Tolkien, the sales numbers off the charts. That way I could have come to the book clean of expectations, even though I (as one should) took all such comparisons with heaping bucketfuls of salt, if not entire mines’ worth. Unfortunately, I did see all those comparisons, and so despite all that salt, I couldn’t help but be disappointed by what in the end turned out to be a perfectly serviceable MG fantasy,
September 9th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Katherine Rundell | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Glorious Pool by Thorne Smith
In Ron Howard’s 1985 film Cocoon, a group of seniors becomes rejuvenated as a result of taking a dip in a swimming pool whose waters had been infused with “life force” by some extraterrestrial visitors. But as it turns out, this was not the first time that some aged adults had discovered a Fountain of Youth of sorts in such a place. Thus, over half a century earlier, we find a similar setup – although with a completely different explanation – in Thorne Smith’s remarkably madcap fantasy The Glorious Pool.
September 6th, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Thorne Smith | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Reposting to include Rebecca’s new review.
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
Rule of Wolves, the second half of Leigh Bardugo’s NIKOLAI DUOLOGY, picks up right where King of Scars left off and flings the reader headlong into the story. In other words, if it’s been a while since you read King of Scars, you’d be well advised to refamiliarize yourself at least a little with its plot;
July 29th, 2024. Tadiana Jones and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Leigh Bardugo | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Ecolitan Enigma by L.E. Modesitt Jr
The Ecolitan Enigma (1997) closes out L.E. Modesitt Jr’s four-book ECOLITAN MATTER series. It’s a direct sequel to The Ecologic Envoy which was published in 1986, so you need to read that book first. The other two books in the series, The Ecolitan Operation (1989) and The Ecologic Secession (1990), take place 400 years earlier with different (but related) characters,
July 9th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Elizabeth Bear’s Grail (2011) concludes her JACOB’S LADDER trilogy. You’ll first want to read Dust and Chill which describe the generational ship called Jacob’s Ladder and introduce us to the ship’s strange denizens which include the ruling Conn family, various genetically engineered post-human species, and the ship’s fractured god-like AI.
Jacob’s Ladder has finally reached its destination, the planet they call Grail,
June 28th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Elizabeth Bear | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I chose Blake Crouch’s 2022 novel Upgrade out of curiosity because I’d never read anything of his. He is a popular author whose books are everywhere, and he writes thrillers, usually with a speculative-fiction flavor. I’d heard of him years ago when Fox TV made a show based on his WAYWARD trilogy, and the one or two episodes I saw (Season 1) had a nifty, paranoid, who-can-you-trust vibe. Upgrade shares that vibe.
My plot synopsis may contain mild spoilers.
June 18th, 2024. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Blake Crouch | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I can’t believe Publishers Weekly called Mercy a were-coyote! Did they actually read the book or just skim it? This…
It’s been more than 10 years since I first read Bone with my son who just turned 23. I was…
Great minds think alike, Marion! The same thought occurred to me at one point while reading this book....
Interesting! I have to say I had a "Jim and Huck underwater" moment, reading your synopsis.
No doubt about it--I have to read these.