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Editor’s Note: This review is for the original version of Servant which was, back in 2009, titled Servant of a Dark God.
CLASSIFICATION: Servant of a Dark God is a mostly traditional epic fantasy novel in the vein of David Farland, Greg Keyes, and James Clemens, with elements of Brandon Sanderson, David Keck, and Kate Elliott.
August 21st, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | John D. Brown | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thanks to Stephenie Meyer, teen fiction and vampires is on fire and the past couple of years has seen an explosion of new series riding the popularity wave. One of the newest entries in this subgenre is Max Turner’s debut which was originally released in Canada last year.
Not quite 300 pages long, Night Runner is a nonstop, high-speed adventure / mystery / thriller starring 15-year-old Zack Thompson who discovers that he’s — what else — a vampire!
August 12th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Max Turner | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Mel has a lot on her mind. She’s raising a teenage daughter, living in a renovated High School, has her mother and her grandmother living with her, and just got two dead Amazon girls left on her doorstep. Determined to find the murderer of her tribeswomen, and answer her own questions about her past, Mel has to summon the courage to face the tribe she left behind.
People seem to keep getting in her way however, particularly men. One is a very talented, secretive, and sexy tattoo artist she just hired to work in her shop.
July 18th, 2009. Guest´s rating: 3.5 | Lori Devoti | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia
Much praise has been attached to The Secret History of Moscow and I can understand why. Ekaterina Sedia weaves an enchanting story drawing from both Russian mythology and history. I’m not really familiar with Russian myth (or history for that matter) but that didn’t hindered me from appreciating this novel. I expect that readers more educated in those areas will appreciate all the allusions Sedia includes in The Secret History of Moscow.
However,
July 9th, 2009. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Ekaterina Sedia | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Heroes Adrift by Moira J. Moore
When I first picked up Heroes Adrift and read the back, I felt a sudden pang of ‘uh oh’. Okay, I don’t read Moira J Moore’s work for the extremely complex plots. I read her work because it’s entertaining and funny, because I like the characters, and because her occasional bouts of dry irreverence for our genre just tickle me pink. But she always manages to hold her own enough in the plot department that it works with what she’s doing.
July 7th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | Moira J. Moore | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Dark Planet by Patrick Carman
He was so proud of him and all that he’d done, proud enough to never call him his maker again.
The Dark Planet is the conclusion to Patrick Carman’s Atherton trilogy about a young boy, Edgar, and his adventures while finding out who his father really was. Along the way he makes numerous friends on Atherton, and the Dark Planet itself. He knows he was made for a purpose, he knows he doesn’t have real parents like everyone else,
July 6th, 2009. Skye Walker´s rating: 3.5 | Patrick Carman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
Tim Pratt’s second short story collection, Hart & Boot & Other Stories, features 13 stories that tackle various concepts and genres. While most of the stories still retain that mythology-inspired influence that is undeniably Pratt, they tend to have more closure compared to the stories in the previous collection. They’re nonetheless quick and easy reads, however, and anyone can get immersed in Pratt’s writing style.
Somehow, Tim Pratt manages to write stories called “Romanticore” and “Lachrymose and the Golden Egg” yet end up with a serious,
July 5th, 2009. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Tim (T.A.) Pratt | Hugo Award, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Neef wants desperately to go on an adventure of her own, alike to the ones she hears about in fairy tales, and that’s just what she gets when she’s kidnapped by the fairy.
From being banished by the Green Lady, genius of central park, to a wild ride on the pooka, to serving a riddle to the mermaid queen for her mirror, Neef toughs out obstacles and gains an unlikely companion who seems to be more trouble than she is worth. But Neef is a tough cookie and she gets through it … just not exactly as she planned…
Delia Sherman’s Changeling is a simple and cozy little story chock full of humor and sticky situations.
July 1st, 2009. Skye Walker´s rating: 3.5 | Delia Sherman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Looking back, Karavans was a typical set-up novel. It focused mainly on worldbuilding, laying down the groundwork for the story, and introducing a diverse cast of characters — Audrun, Davyn, and their children Gillan, Ellica, Torvic, and Megritte; the Shoia guide Rhuan and his partner Darmuth; Rhuan’s cousin and courier Brodhi; fellow courier Bethid; and hand-reader Ilona, among various other supporting players.
So, plot-wise, there may not have been a lot going on, but personally I had no problems with this aspect of the book since Ms.
June 25th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Jennifer Roberson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Steelflower by Lilith Saintcrow
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened Steelflower. The cover art looked like your standard urban fantasy cover: a feisty female with an exotic looking sword, shot from the back. The plot description on the back cover sounded like someone’s novelization of a roleplaying game — elvish sellsword meets crude barbarian and they join up to defeat the evil badguy — but what I found inside was a fun sword and sorcery style romp with interesting main characters and non-stop action.
June 24th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | Lilith Saintcrow | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I don't think that this book (and its many sequels) are that hard to read - and I'm not even…
So, if the WSJ article is accurate, romantasy is just a heavy slather of pornographic, wish-fulfillment fantasy layered onto a…
No, I've never heard of him. Thanks for the hedzup, K.!
De Mille sounds fun. Have you tried Arthur Friel? It was a long time ago, but as I recall he…
COMMENT "Weird good fun"... that's my favorite kind! 😁