Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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The Night World 1: For teen vamp stories, you could do worse

THE NIGHT WORLD: Volume 1 by L.J. Smith

“So This is the Night World…”

First published between 1996-1998, Lisa Jane Smith‘s NIGHT WORLD series was released as a ten-book series…only the final book never arrived. Smith took a ten-year hiatus from writing, leaving the final book unwritten and the steadily-building story incomplete. But now, finally, the end is in sight. Simon and Schuster are republishing the series in three-book omnibuses in anticipation for Strange Fate the last in the series that has left us hanging for over ten years.

Hot Mama: Book candy

Hot Mama by Jennifer Estep

Settling down to read Hot Mama was like settling down to have a piece of book candy. (I didn’t originate this term; I discovered it on Jennifer Estep’s Blog.) You know it is going to be a fast read with lively, snappy dialog and laugh-out-loud humor. And Hot Mama did not disappoint!

It begins with Carmen Cole’s wedding to Sam Sloane, the uberdude in Karma Girl.

May 17th, 2009. Tia Nevitt (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | Jennifer Estep | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Adamantine Palace: Missing the hero?

The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

The Adamantine Palace is classic fantasy with all the major ingredients: magic, dragons, knights, castles and all the trimmings. There is, however, one missing element: the hero. Stephen Deas writes a really interesting, very complex first novel, kicking off the Memory of Flames series, but I can’t figure out who the hero is.

The point of view in The Adamantine Palace switches among five major characters. At times Deas takes us behind the eyes of a few other characters,

May 16th, 2009. John Hulet and Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5, 4.5 | Stephen Deas | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Kings and Assassins: The prose kept me going

Kings and Assassins by Lane Robins

I wasn’t sure I’d like this one. Janus Ixion as the protagonist? I hated Janus in Maledicte. I started reading Kings and Assassins with that loathing firmly in place, and in the early pages of the book, he didn’t do much to make me like him any better. I didn’t like the other characters either. I didn’t care about Janus, I didn’t care that he missed Maledicte, I didn’t care about his wife or about their endless quarrels,

May 14th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Lane Robins | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Trouble With Witches: A lot of fun

The Trouble With Witches by Shirley Damsgaard

After reading Witch Way to Murder, I found myself craving another Ophelia and Abby mystery and went to the library for my “fix.” They didn’t have book two, Charmed to Death, but they did have book three, The Trouble With Witches. I decided, what the heck, you can usually read these cozy mystery series out of order anyway. Often, authors will only allude vaguely to events of previous books in case you’re reading them out of sequence.

May 12th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Shirley Damsgaard | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Tower of Shadows: Another fantasy debut by a young wunderkind

The Tower of Shadows by Drew Bowling

Last time I read a much-hyped fantasy debut by a promising up-and-coming talent it was the highly disappointing and, at least to me, overrated Eragon by teenager Christopher Paolini. So, even though it came with much less fanfare, I was admittedly skeptical about trying out The Tower of Shadows, another fantasy debut by a young wunderkind.
Fortunately college student Drew C. Bowling, who started his novel in high school, is a much more accomplished writer than Paolini was,

May 10th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Drew Bowling | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Magic in the Blood: Ouch!

Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk

I complain sometimes about urban fantasy heroines who keep racking up more and more improbable powers over the course of a series, eventually becoming such spectacular demigoddesses that it would take a small army to give them so much as a black eye.

That’s one problem Allie Beckstrom doesn’t have. I’m beginning to think Allie needs more powers to deal with everything Devon Monk is throwing at her. Monk is great — maybe a little too great — at describing the agony of trekking all over Portland in the rain with a blinding migraine,

May 3rd, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Devon Monk | SFF Reviews | no comments |

A Fistful of Sky: Too mature for YA, too shallow for adults

A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

A Fistful of Sky is the story of Gypsum LaZelle, who comes from a magical family. Each child goes through transition in their early teens and receives the ability to do magic. However, Gypsum doesn’t go through transition. After several years of adjusting to her life as the mundane member of her family, she unexpectedly goes through transition, and receives the power of cursing. The only magic she can do is to perform curses, and if she doesn’t use her power regularly,

April 29th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | Nina Kiriki Hoffman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Puck of Pook’s Hill: Very valuable

Puck of Pook’s Hill by Rudyard Kipling

The Sword Gave the Treasure, and the Treasure Gave the Law…

Puck of Pook’s Hill is certainly not as famous as Rudyard Kipling’s earlier works The Jungle Book, Captains Courageous, or even The Complete Stalky and Co.. First published in 1906, it was his final novel (only an anthology of short stories came after it) and it is certainly an odd specimen of a book.

Eve of Destruction: Better than the first book

Eve of Destruction by S.J. Day

It’s not every day that a trilogy’s second installment is better than the first, but S.J. Day has done it.

Eve of Destruction continues the story of Evangeline “Eve” Hollis and her adventures as a “Mark,” a sinner drafted into God’s demon-hunting army. Eve isn’t a typical Mark, and this becomes clearer in this volume as more Marks are introduced to the reader. In some ways, Eve has it easier than her colleagues; she still has a relationship with her family,

April 10th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | S.J. (Sylvia) Day | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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