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Ascendancy of the Last by Lisa Smedman
The sava game is still being played, and Lolth and Eilistraee continue to vie for control of all the drow of Faerun. But the drow were once dark elves — surface dwellers — and faithful to the pantheon of the “light” elves. As Lisa Smedman‘s The Lady Penitent draws to its conclusion, the fate of all hangs in the balance. Ascendency of the Last, the concluding volume of this trilogy, returns the reader to the halls of the Promenade,
October 15th, 2008. John Ottinger (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | Lisa Smedman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales is another thematic fantasy anthology by the trio of Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, and Charles Vess. Coyote Road features twenty-six pieces of fiction and poetry. Each story is preceded by art by Vess and ends with a short bio and afterword from the author. In the Introduction, Windling gives us an extensive account of trickster tales around the world.
October 3rd, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Charles De_Lint, Delia Sherman, Ellen Datlow, Holly Black, Jeffrey Ford, Kelly Link, Terri Windling | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar
Lonely Werewolf Girl is a thick, intimidating tome but when you actually start reading, it goes down smoothly. What stands out most in this novel is Martin Millar’s writing style. Not only does he use simple language and set a quick pace, but his chapters are very short and most of them end on just the right beat. Millar doesn’t spend much time describing unnecessary details, instead focusing on the motivations, action, and dialog of the characters. Millar is someone who manages to break the “show don’t tell”
October 1st, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Martin Millar | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Matters of the Blood by Maria Lima
Maria Lima rings some refreshing changes on the urban-fantasy formula in Matters of the Blood. The two most striking departures from cliché, to my mind, are the heroine’s age (37, rather than early twenties), and the story’s vividly-drawn rural-Texas setting. I loved the locale. Lima does a great job of making the lonely town of Rio Seco real to the reader.
Our heroine, Keira Kelly, comes from a long supernatural line; there’s a brief passage that suggests she’s one of the Sidhe.
September 29th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Maria Lima | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A beautiful fairytale for the YA reader, Chalice is a very loose reinterpretation of a Beauty and the Beast story. Mirasol is a beekeeper who is forced to become the Chalice for her demesne after the previous Chalice and Master are killed in an accident. Her role is to bind her abused land back together and to the new Master, a Priest of Fire, a being who isn’t quite human and can burn both the land and human flesh with the barest touch.
September 18th, 2008. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | Robin McKinley | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
THE TALE OF KRISPOS by Harry Turtledove
The opening chapter of The Tale of Krispos really sucked me in. There is realism, which I’m always a fan of, and there are hardly any wasted words. At least that’s how it is at first — but more on that later. Harry Turtledove does a great job of describing what is going on by working the information you need into the narrative in natural ways rather than just straight-out telling you certain facts.
The three books that make up The Tale of Krispos — Krispos Rising,
September 12th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 3.5 | Harry Turtledove | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Situation by Jeff Vandermeer
I’m a big fan of both Jeff VanderMeer and PS Publishing, so imagine my surprise when I found a copy of The Situation in my hard drive, a giveaway from Wired that I had downloaded but forgotten, mainly because it wasn’t in my immediate must-be-read-for-review-or-else-we’ll-send-ninjas queue. The first scene immediately hooked me, evoking a New Weird atmosphere as corporate drones created insects that crawled into your ears and conjured nightmares, all the while being quite readable instead of the overwhelming details that characterize China Mieville‘s NEW CROBUZON novels.
August 26th, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Jeff VanderMeer | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
John Joseph Adams assembles a wide variety of apocalypse-related fiction in Wastelands. some of which are older than I am, while others are more recent. What you end up with is a diverse anthology covering topics such as religion, war, and exploration while containing horror, comedy, and a sense of wonder.
The majority of the stories are easy to get into. Some stories are more subtle than others. Overall, Wastelands is an enjoyable read and the selection seems balanced.
August 22nd, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Cory Doctorow, Elizabeth Bear, Gene Wolfe, George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Lethem, Orson Scott Card, Paolo Bacigalupi, Richard Kadrey, Stephen King, Tobias Buckell | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Seaborn is a unique fantasy; it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. Chris Howard tells a compelling story of merpeople and of two women who struggle to become their own woman (or mermaid) in the face of opposition.
Our heroines are Corina Lairsey, a California girl who becomes possessed by a megalomaniacal merman while scuba-diving, and Lady Kassandra, an exiled princess of the Seaborn who is hatching a plan to overthrow her usurping grandfather. Howard does a great job with Corina’s plight,
July 20th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Chris Howard | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Kiril Duskmorn, who first appeared in Darkvision, has returned. Compelled by a love lost, and a self-righteous sentient sword, Kiril must return to the Dungeon of the Traitor to fulfill her role as a Keeper of the Cerulean Sign. Once a star elf, the Traitor gave himself to an evil, primeval influence and has since been confined and magically bound in a pocket dimension, guarded by magical and mundane guards. But when the traitor influences one of his guardians, it is up to Kiril and Raidon, a half-Shou-half- star elf with a desire to know his mother’s past,
July 15th, 2008. John Ottinger (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | Bruce R. Cordell, Jaleigh Johnson, Rosemary Jones | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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