3.5 | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

The Dragon’s Apprentice: Solid YA historical fantasy

The Dragon’s Apprentice by James A. Owen

The Dragon’s Apprentice is a delightful blend of historical fiction and urban fantasy. Written specifically for the young adult audience, James A. Owen’s latest installment in The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica is really quite fun. For someone starting the series here, it is easy to adapt to the storyline and enjoy this novel.

The principle characters in The Dragon’s Apprentice are a group of English intellectuals, adult men who live in the 1940s,

Blade of Tyshalle: Heavy with philosophical and psychological themes

Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover

Several years after the events in Heroes Die, Hari Michaelson, known as Caine on the fantastical inter-dimensional planet called Overworld, is now wheelchair bound. Despite this he still holds onto administrator status in the martially enforced caste system of Earth’s grimly overpopulated and ultra-corporate controlled future. When Hari/Caine discovers a plot to gain control of Overworld’s desperately scarce natural resources by infesting its people with a deadly virus, all hell breaks loose. Caine’s many enemies take the opportunity to strike at him,

October 7th, 2010. Greg Hersom´s rating: 3.5 | Matthew Woodring Stover | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Omnitopia Dawn: Rich with potential

Omnitopia Dawn by Diane Duane

Omnitopia Dawn is the start of a new series by Diane Duane, who is probably best known for her excellent Young Wizards fantasy series. Young Wizards has always been a fantasy with some science-fiction underpinnings, but in Omnitopia Dawn Duane reverses that balance, giving us a near-future science fiction tale with some fantasy possibilities. It’s mostly a fun read, though I don’t think it so far matches the quality and depth of Young Wizards.

October 4th, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Diane Duane | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Un Lun Dun: YA urban fantasy from one our best writers

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville

China Miéville has become known for his genre-defying work, but to some extent many of his novels embrace a specific genre. As much as Iron Council is a western and The City & The City is a police procedural, Un Lun Dun is a young adult urban fantasy. Of course, with Miéville, these sorts of distinctions are usually just amusing starting points before readers revel in genre twists and unusual monsters.

Shadows Past: Has its ups and downs

Shadows Past by Lorna Freeman

Lorna Freeman’s Borderlands series has seen its ups and downs for me. Shadows Past is cut from the same cloth; I just felt like it took a long time to tell next to no story, and then all the good parts were crammed into the end.

The main character, Rabbit, has been constantly changing throughout this series. His story is very interesting, between his upbringing in a wild and magical part of the world and his ties to the royalty of a nearby nation.

September 15th, 2010. John Hulet and Ruth Arnell´s rating: 2.5, 3.5 | Lorna Freeman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Children of the Lost: This series could be a winner

The Children of the Lost by David Whitley

The Children of the Lost is David Whitley’s follow-up to last year’s The Midnight Charter, which I reviewed as a weak three: strong in ideas but weaker in characterization and plotting. The Children of the Lost is a stronger book, though it also has its flaws. One thing I feel compelled to point out upfront, however, is that The Children of the Lost ends in a true cliffhanger of an ending,

Waking the Witch: Contrived setting, but enjoyable series

Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong

Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong is a fine addition to the Women of the Otherworld series. It relays the adventures of Savannah Levine, whom we met as a precocious orphan in earlier novels and who is now a grown woman. The mystery is strong, compelling, and reasonably twisted; the plot is well paced and packed with action; and the characters and their stories are, as always, strong. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel.

What’s not to like?

August 19th, 2010. Stephen B. Frank´s rating: 3.5 | Kelley Armstrong | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Last Page: Thrills and originality in spades

The Last Page by Anthony Huso

The Last Page by Anthony Huso is an exciting debut novel that, despite some rough spots here and there, delivers thrills and originality in spades, and promises great things for the future.

Caliph Howl, the main character, is described on the book’s cover as Stonehold’s “reluctant High King,” but when The Last Page starts off, Caliph is actually still the crown prince and a student of holomorphy (blood-fueled magic) at the High College of Desdae.

August 17th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 3.5 | Anthony Huso | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Fatal Circle: Unusually rich family relationships

Fatal Circle by Linda Robertson

Persephone Alcmedi stirred up a whole cauldron of trouble when she killed an irate fairy at the end of Hallowed Circle. Now, the fairies want Seph dead, and Xerxadrea thinks there’s a traitor in the ranks of the witches. So, in order to protect Seph and her family, Menessos will name Seph his court witch so that it looks like she acted on his orders, thereby bringing the fairies’ wrath down on him instead. Meanwhile, Xerxadrea will use this as a pretext to exile Seph from the witches (also for Seph’s protection),

August 11th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Linda Robertson | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Thresholds: A good read for middleschoolers

Thresholds by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

In Thresholds, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, we meet Maya. Maya’s best friend Stephanie died of cancer during the school year, so her parents, both school teachers, accept new jobs in a new state to give her a new start. Then, the night before the school year starts, a fairy flies in through her bedroom window and decides that Maya makes an excellent pillow. Maya wakes in the morning to find a pile of fairy dust. Though most people don’t notice anything different about her,

Rating: 3.5

The Dragon’s Apprentice: Solid YA historical fantasy

Blade of Tyshalle: Heavy with philosophical and psychological themes

Omnitopia Dawn: Rich with potential

Un Lun Dun: YA urban fantasy from one our best writers

Shadows Past: Has its ups and downs

Children of the Lost: This series could be a winner

Waking the Witch: Contrived setting, but enjoyable series

The Last Page: Thrills and originality in spades

Fatal Circle: Unusually rich family relationships

Thresholds: A good read for middleschoolers

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