Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 3.5

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The Greener Shore: An extended epilogue (but gorgeous)

The Greener Shore by Morgan Llywelyn

Chief Druid Ainvar, his three wives and their children, and about 15 other survivors from their Celtic clan are sailing west to Hibernia after years of hiding in the forests of Gaul after the Romans destroyed their clan and Julius Caesar murdered their charismatic leader, Vercingetorix.

Ainvar, who relates their adventure in the first person, expended his druid magic in their last fight against the Romans and he knows how weak his tribe, the Carnutes, is. But the Romans are determined to wipe them out,

The Soldier King: Malan excels at character-driven action novels

The Soldier King by Violette Malan

The second book in the A Novel of Dhulyn and Parno series, The Soldier King is a fun sword and sorcery romp featuring engaging characters and an entertaining, multi-faceted world. Picking up about a year after The Sleeping God leaves off, Violette Malan starts the story on a battlefield at the end of a war. The Mercenary Brothers Dhulyn and Parno accept the surrender of the prince of the opposing side’s army. Their own commanders want to hold him hostage as a bargaining chip in opposition to the Common Rule of the Mercenary Guild,

November 13th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | Violette Malan | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

How Not to Make a Wish: Good, but not as good as Jane Madison

How Not to Make a Wish by Mindy Klasky

A year after the fact, Kira Franklin is still recovering from a breakup. Thirty pounds heavier, practically jobless and in need of a miracle, she unexpectedly gets one in the shape of a genie. That’s right, a real rub-the-lamp genie named Teel. Kira’s troubles are over!

Or so she thinks. As it turns out, her wishes make her life anything but easier. She wishes for a new job that turns out to be a huge fiasco, and after she wishes away her extra thirty pounds,

November 4th, 2009. Guest´s rating: 3.5 | Mindy Klasky | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Gathering Storm: WOT is in good hands

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson

That the twelfth book in a series is entitled The “Gathering” Storm probably points to a fundamental problem with the series. I mean, we’re eleven books (long, long books by the way) down and the storm is only just “gathering”? And anyone who has stuck with The Wheel of Time thus far (which I’m assuming is pretty much everyone reading this because otherwise why the heck are you reading this?), knows that pacing has been a big problem in Robert Jordan’s work,

The Cardinal’s Blades: For fans of Alexandre Dumas

The Cardinal’s Blades by Pierre Pevel

PLOT SUMMARY: Paris, 1633. Louis XIII reigns over France… and Cardinal Richelieu governs the country. One of the most dangerous and most powerful men in Europe, Richelieu keeps a constant, sharp eye on the enemies of the Crown to avoid their assassination attempts, thwart their spies and avert their warmongering. But he’s up against people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, even going so far as to forge alliances with France’s oldest and deadliest enemies: Spain, and the Court of Dragons.

Faced with the growing threat from Spain,

October 23rd, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Pierre Pevel | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Ash: A promising and creative debut

Ash by Malinda Lo

Malinda Lo combines several highly creative ideas in her debut novel, Ash. We all know the tale of Cinderella, but it’s never been told quite like this. Cinderella (here called Aisling, Ash for short) falls for a young woman instead of the prince. And the fairy who helps Ash break free of her stepmother is no rosy-cheeked godmother, but a coldly beautiful fairy lord right out of the older, darker legends of the fey folk, and he demands a steep price for his aid.

Kin: A brooding otherworld

Kin by Holly Black

When I first opened Kin by Holly Black, I was surprised to find it was a graphic novel. Once I started reading, I was absorbed in the story of Rue Silver, a slightly punk college student who is facing an unexpected crisis in her life. Her mother has disappeared, and her father has been arrested for her murder, and the murder of one of his grad students. And to make matters worse, Rue has started seeing people — or more precisely things — that shouldn’t be able to exist.

Soulless: Neck-nibbling tongue-in-cheek paranormal romance

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Imagine what would happen if P.G. Wodehouse and Jane Austen got together and wrote an urban fantasy novel. Gail Carriger did (that’s how she describes this novel) and the result is a delightfully amusing paranormal romance. Soulless is the story of Alexia Tarabotti, who has the social misfortune of being a spinster with a dead Italian father; not having a soul is just an additional burden to bear. Then she gets attacked by an ill-mannered vampire. That’s when Lord Maccon gets involved.

October 9th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Gail Carriger | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Children’s Book: Dense, complex, ambitious, challenging

The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt

This is an immensely difficult book to review, simply because the vast majority of casual readers probably won’t automatically enjoy The Children’s Book. It is a dense, complex, ambitious, challenging novel that is not so much a story as it is a detailed portrait of a family, a community and an era. Stretching from 1895 to 1919 and set predominantly in the Kent countryside, A.S. Byatt‘s saga contains no central character or predominant plotline; instead it chronicles the historical,

Something From the Nightside: Fast fun urban fantasy

Something From the Nightside by Simon R. Green

I picked up Something From the Nightside on Jim Butcher‘s recommendation and I enjoyed it for what it was: not high literature, but a fast fun read.

John Taylor is a private detective with a gift for finding things. He takes a case about a missing girl that forces him to confront his past and enter the Nightside. John Taylor has a serious reputation in the Nightside and he thought he had left that world behind years ago.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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