Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 3.5

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Victor’s Quest: Intelligent story for new readers

Victor’s Quest by Pamela Freeman

In the third and final book of the Floramunde trilogy, we were briefly introduced to a character called Victor (who sadly failed in the attempt to win Princess Betony’s hand due to his unfortunate stupidity). But Victor wasn’t a total pushover. He may not be very clever, but he’s brave and kind, and has a very intelligent horse that makes up for his own lack of sense. And he’s still single, something that his mother wants him to rectify immediately.

He’s sent off on a quest to find and marry a princess,

The Steel Remains: Dark, gritty, obscene

The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan

The Steel Remains, by Richard Morgan, is a dark, gritty, and in some places obscene fantasy that will not be to everyone’s liking. So let’s get the surface material out of the way — if you don’t like your books laced with a heaping amount of f-bombs, graphic sex (hetero and homosexual), and graphic violence, The Steel Remains is not for you. In the slightest. Run. Run as far as you can. And if you can live with the swearing,

January 19th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Richard K. Morgan | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Shadow Rising: Starts to slow down

The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

In The Shadow Rising, things start to slow down. In fact, it often feel like the reading of the story must take longer than it took for the events to actually occur.

Part of the problem is that Mr Jordan tells us nearly everything except when the characters make a bowel movement. Also, he regularly launches into pre-set spiels in which he re-describes something or someone who we’ve encountered numerous times before or re-explains something we’ve been told dozens of times (e.g.,

The Accidental Sorcerer: Split personality

The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. Mills

The Accidental Sorcerer is the first book in the Rogue Agent trilogy by K.E. Mills, a pseudonym of the author Karen Miller.

Gerald Dunwoody is a “Third Grade” wizard who has been failing at one job after another. After he loses his job as a magical inspector for the government, he takes a job as Royal Wizard for the kingdom of New Ottosland. And that’s where the story really starts to get interesting.

K.E. Mills has a gift for descriptive writing.

January 1st, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5 | K.E. Mills | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Rocket Science: Conspiracies and adventure in Kansas

Rocket Science by Jay Lake

At first glance, Rocket Science might seem like a very short read at under 200 pages, but Jay Lake makes every word count. Set in a post-World War II Kansas, the novel starts off with a mundane premise but as one progresses through the book, Lake slowly adds an additional element of conflict so that by the time you reach the end, Rocket Science is a great novel about conspiracies, betrayal, family, friendship, and adventure.

Lake’s language is simple enough,

Road of the Patriarch: Rousing adventure

Road of the Patriarch by R.A. Salvatore

The previous book in R.A. Salvatore’s Sellswords trilogy, Promise of the Witch-King was disappointing. Road of the Patriarch redeemed Salvatore in my eyes after that previous lackluster effort.

Road of the Patriarch follows Jarlaxle and Artemis Entreri as they wrap up their sojourn in the Bloodstone lands. Jarlaxle is especially in fine form as he sows chaos in his wake with what seems to be very little effort. Many of his actions seem random (he is a drow after all) but when his schemes coalesce,

November 12th, 2008. John Ottinger (guest)´s rating: 3.5 | R.A. Salvatore | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Ascendancy of the Last: Exciting and accessible

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

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.

Lonely Werewolf Girl: Addicting

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”

Matters of the Blood: Urban fantasy without the “urban”

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 |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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