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Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Can a beast who loves roses so much be so very terrible?
It’s been years since I read and reviewed Robin McKinley’s Beauty, her first rendition of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. Despite the book’s popularity, I wasn’t particularly moved by it, and ended my review saying that I was looking forward to experiencing her second retelling of the same story, seeing how an author would approach the same material the second time around.
Well,
March 7th, 2012. Rebecca Fisher and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Robin McKinley | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Perception is Kim Harrington’s second mystery starring Clarity “Clare” Fern, a young girl who comes from a family of psychics. Clare’s special power is psychometry: she can touch an object and see scenes from its past.
In the first novel, Clarity, Clare used her ability to help solve a murder mystery. As Perception begins, that story’s aftereffects have turned Clare’s social life upside down. Once a social misfit, now she’s locally famous and unsure how to deal with the sudden fawning attention she’s getting from kids who once shunned her.
March 6th, 2012. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Kim Harrington | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I read Brent Weeks’s debut novel The Way of Shadows some time ago. It was not a brilliant book but it kept me entertained enough to try the second part in the NIGHT ANGEL trilogy, Shadow’s Edge. On the whole I liked Shadow’s Edge much better than The Way of Shadows. With the wider scope of the story, it is a much more satisfying read,
March 1st, 2012. Rob Weber´s rating: 3.5 | Brent Weeks | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance Volume Two by Jack Vance
Jack Vance is my favorite author, so another collection of Vance’s works by Subterranean Press is a welcome treat! Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance Volume Two, edited and lovingly introduced by Terry Dowling and Jonathan Strahan, collects ten of Vance’s works:
February 27th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Jack Vance | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
ARABESK: Pashazade, Effendi and Felaheen
In this review, I’m going to write about the willing suspension of disbelief. Perhaps more precisely, I’m writing about the intersection of world-building and the willing suspension of disbelief. Enter Jon Courtenay Grimwood and the ARABESK trilogy: Pashazade, Effendi and Felaheen.
In Grimwood’s world, the Ottoman Empire never collapsed. Woodrow Wilson brokered peace between London and Berlin in 1915, World War II never happened, and the major world powers seem to be Germany,
February 27th, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Jon Courtenay (Jonathan) Grimwood | BSFA Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Shadow OPS: Control Point by Myke Cole
Myke Cole’s initial installment in the SHADOW OPS series is an interesting read. The urban fantasy market is heavily populated with pretty, sassy heroines who are in love with this vampire or that werewolf. In Control Point, Cole takes a completely different approach to adding magic to the world we live in.
Oscar Britton is a conflicted man. His childhood was difficult, and in the Army he seems to have found a place that makes sense for him.
February 16th, 2012. John Hulet´s rating: 3.5 | Myke Cole | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
This is not a traditional review of Kat Richardson’s Greywalker. I’m going to talk instead about the technique Richardson uses to introduce her paranormal world and her main character’s magical power.
Richardson’s premise is that abutting our dimension is a transitional dimension known as the Grey. Some creatures live in the Grey; some come through it from other places. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts and ghouls move about freely in it, and can shift easily from the Grey to here.
Most (not all) urban fantasies start with a character who is already magical.
February 14th, 2012. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Kat Richardson | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Aces High edited by George R.R. Martin
Aces High is the second volume of George R.R. Martin’s long-running WILD CARDS anthology. In the first volume, Wild Cards, we learned how aliens from the planet Takis decided to test their new virus by using humans as their guinea pigs. In the 1960s, they let loose what has now become known as the Wild Card virus on Manhattan. Much of the world population died and many of the survivors became grossly deformed and are now referred to as “Jokers.” A much smaller proportion of those who were infected gained one or more superpowers and are now known as “Aces.” In Wild Cards,
February 10th, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | George R.R. Martin, Melinda Snodgrass, Roger Zelazny, Victor Milan, Walter Jon Williams | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Dreamsnake (1978) by Vonda N. McIntyre is a novel that won the Nebula and Hugo double, something that happened more often than not in the 1970s. Although slightly less common since the mid-1980s, it is still surprising to see how many novels are joint winners, especially since the nominees don’t overlap that much. I purchased Dreamsnake as an e-book after reading an article by Ursula K. Le Guin about it. It ended up on the formidable to-read stack but this month I finally managed to read it.
February 10th, 2012. Rob Weber´s rating: 3.5 | Vonda N. McIntyre | Hugo Award, Nebula Award | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Infernal Devices: A Mad Victorian Fantasy by K.W. Jeter
George Dower’s father was a watchmaker, but he didn’t just make watches. Some of his special customers knew he was a genius with all sorts of gear work. When his father died, George inherited the watch shop. Unfortunately, he didn’t inherit his father’s genius. He can sometimes manage to fix a customer’s watch if he sees that a part has worn out, or something else obvious is wrong, but that’s about it. He’s completely flummoxed when a strange brown man brings in something he’s never seen before — something George’s father made.
February 3rd, 2012. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | K.W. Jeter | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Kind of you to say. I certainly like to think so!
BTW, Steve Sterner will be performing at seven films during this upcoming fest: https://filmforum.org/series/clara-bow
As far as I know, Bill, Steve Sterner is the only person who does the live accompaniment to silent movies…
And I'm positive that Kaidan will fondly remember watching these movies with his old man for the rest of his…
You bet, Marion!