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Ahab’s Return: or, The Last Voyage by Jeffrey Ford
Ahab’s Return: or, The Last Voyage (2018), by Jeffrey Ford, is a Locus finalist for fantasy novels, so one should keep that in mind while taking in this review, as I take a somewhat (though only somewhat) lesser view of the novel. Which happens to me surprisingly often with awards outside the Booker; probably something else to keep in mind.
The titular character is indeed that Captain Ahab of Moby Dick fame,
June 4th, 2019. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Jeffrey Ford | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
When they were young, Jude and her twin sister witnessed the murder of their parents by their older stepsister’s father, Madoc. Feeling some responsibility for the girls, Madoc took all of them to live with him in the High Court of Faerie. Bullied by the fae nobles, and made to feel like a worthless mortal, Jude learned that’d she’d have to fight to survive. Now she’s scrappy, ambitious, clever, and an opportunist. But she still has a soft side.
It took me a while to warm up to The Cruel Prince (2018),
May 29th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Holly Black | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Half-Witch by John Schoffstall
Appropriately enough, I’m of mixed mind about John Schoffstall’s Half-Witch (2018), which is itself about a young girl who is part one thing, part another, moving through a world that is also a kind of collage, a strange admixture of building blocks.
For most of her 14 years, Lizbet Lenz has been forced to flee one home after another as her lovable con-artist father finds yet another way to turn the residents against them. But when he accidentally causes a rain of mice,
May 27th, 2019. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | John Schoffstall | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Gone Away Place by Christopher Barzak
Because of a stupid fight with her high school boyfriend, Ellie Frame cut school one day to took sorrowful refuge in a nearby faux lighthouse, where she falls asleep. What wakes her is a series of devastating tornadoes that rip through her small rural Ohio town of Newfoundland, killing nearly a hundred people, including Ellie’s boyfriend Noah and several of her best friends. Not all the dead are gone, however; some remain behind, visible to many of the town’s residents and especially their loved ones as they hover “in the grey place” between life and death.
May 24th, 2019. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Christopher Barzak | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Exile’s Honor by Mercedes Lackey
Alberich had been an honorable, loyal, and effective officer in Karse’s army for many years until the day the Karsite sunpriests discovered that part of his success was due to the flashes of foresight he sometimes gets. When they attempted to burn him alive as a witch, Alberich was saved by a white horse that turned out to be one of the blue-eyed mind-speaking Companions of Valdemar, an enemy of Karse. Now Alberich is in Valdemar being trained as a Herald and, since he’s such a good fighter,
May 22nd, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Mercedes Lackey | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Cross Fire (2018), which is a finalist for the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel this year, is the second book in Fonda Lee’s EXO series. You need to read the first book, Exo, before picking up Cross Fire. Please note that this review of Cross Fire may spoil some of the plot for Exo.
May 20th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Fonda Lee | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
A hundred years ago aliens defeated and colonized Earth. For the most part, humans now live in peace with the aliens. A minority of humans have been chosen to go through the aliens’ hardening process when they are young. This gives them a type of exoskeleton that makes them very hard to kill. These Exos constitute a military upper class and they look down on “squishies” — those humans who can’t be, or refuse to be, hardened.
Donovan Reyes, the son of the Prime Liaison to the aliens,
May 17th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Fonda Lee | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
The history books say that the God of the Sky married the Goddess of Beauty and their children populated Orléans. But when Beauty started spending all her time with their children instead of her husband, Sky cursed the people of Orléans, giving them “skin the color of a sunless sky, eyes the shade of blood, hair the texture of rotten straw, and a deep sadness that quickly turned to madness.” So, Beauty created the Belles, special girls who have magic that can bring beauty and joy back to the people of Orléans.
May 15th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Dhonielle Clayton | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Soulbinder by Sebastien de Castell
In the first three books of Sebastien deCastell’s SPELLSLINGER series, Kellen, son of a powerful Jan’Tep sorcerous family and follower of the Argosi way, has been able to count on a loyal and powerful support network. Reichis, a squirrel-cat, is thieving and verbally abusive, but fierce and faithful. Ferrius, an Argosy traveler, has taught Kellen much about the power of magic and of life. In Soulbinder (2018), the fourth book of six planned, Kellen finds himself alone,
May 14th, 2019. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Sebastien De-Castell | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Buzzkill by Donny Cates (writer), Mark Reznicek (writer), and Geoff Shaw (artist)
Buzzkill, collecting all four issues of the mini-series, is a funny superhero parody by Donny Cates and Mark Reznicek, with art by Geoff Shaw. I sought it out because Donny Cates is one of my favorite new writers, with great titles like Redneck from Image and the insane Marvel title Thanos Wins, which features a cosmic Ghost Rider who is a resurrected Frank Castle,
May 11th, 2019. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.