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Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
Year of the Griffin (2000) is a sequel (of sorts) to Diana Wynne Jones’ Dark Lord of Derkholm, a satirical fantasy aimed at children and young adults, but just as enjoyable for grown-ups. Year of the Griffin is different — it’s not a satire and, for that reason, probably isn’t as appealing to adults, but I still enjoyed it. It’s what I like to call a boarding school fantasy,
January 29th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
THE FADED SUN by C.J. Cherryh
C.J. Cherryh’s FADED SUN trilogy (1978) consists of three books: Kesrith, Shon’jir, and Kutath. They’ve been bundled into an omnibus edition and Tantor Media sent me a review copy of their recently released audiobook version.
The three novels make up a continuous story of clashing civilizations that takes place in the far future with a few alien species on several distant planets. One of these species is the Mri,
January 28th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | C.J. Cherryh | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Lipstick Voodoo by Kristi Charish
Kincaid Strange is a 27-year-old woman who’s one of the only “zombie practitioners” in the Seattle area. She can temporarily (or permanently, for that matter) raise people from the dead, which is clearly handy when you want to temporarily raise a rich old man and ask him to amend his will in order to avoid a family lawsuit. Lipstick Voodoo (2019) opens with just such a scene, with a crotchety old man who’s not impressed with his family’s reasons for raising him from the dead,
January 23rd, 2019. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Kristi Charish | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel
The Cold Between is the first novel in Elizabeth Bonesteel’s CENTRAL CORPS trilogy. This military space opera focuses more on personal and romantic relationships than most in this genre do. I’m tempted to call it romantic military space opera. The publisher compares Elizabeth Bonesteel’s work to that of Elizabeth Moon and Lois McMaster Bujold. I have read both of those authors’ space operas and I can say that this comparison is inaccurate. Bonesteel is writing for the same audience,
January 15th, 2019. Kat Hooper and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Elizabeth Bonesteel | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Richard K. Morgan’s stand-alone novel Thin Air (2018) is set on Mars in the universe of his novel Thirteen. His protagonist, Hakan Veil, is a disgraced “enforcer” who’s just been dumped on Mars by the corporation to whom he had been indentured since childhood. They recently fired him. Hakan would love to get back to Earth, but that’s nearly impossible these days because it costs too much to get there and Earth lets very few people in.
January 8th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Richard K. Morgan | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
A Conjuring of Light (2017) brings V.E. Schwab’s multi-world trilogy to a close while leaving plenty of room for future stories in the SHADES OF MAGIC universe. We (Bill and Marion) both read it, and we share their thoughts about the third book below. This review may contain light spoilers for A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows.
A Gathering of Shadows ended on a cliffhanger.
January 3rd, 2019. Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5, 4 | Victoria (V.E.) Schwab | SFF Reviews | no comments |
It Happened at the Ball edited by Sherwood Smith
This collection of thirteen (mostly) fantasy short stories and a novelette or two is tied together by their ballroom settings, whether it be the Almack’s Regency ballroom (where a group of young ladies happens upon an overly potent magical love potion in Marissa Doyle’s “Just Another Quiet Evening at Almack’s”) or a Civil War-era ball in Galveston, Texas (P.G. Nagle’s “A Waltz for May”). There are also some other themes that surface and resurface: masks and hidden identities,
January 2nd, 2019. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Brenda Clough, Marie Brennan, Marissa Doyle, Pati Nagle, Sherwood Smith | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Breach (2018) is an interesting Cold War fantasy premise (think John le Carré with magic) that doesn’t quite fulfill its promise, though it’s a solid enough start to what is apparently going to be a series, COLD WAR MAGIC.
W.L Goodwater sets his novel in an alternate history where WWII was fought and won as in our own world (though with the Nazis apparently gaining more ground before eventually losing) with the exception that magic was wielded as a horrific weapon throughout,
December 31st, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | W.L Goodwater | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Eternity’s Wheel by Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves & Mallory Reaves
This review will contain spoilers for the previous two INTERWORLD books, InterWorld and The Silver Dream. You need to read those books before starting Eternity’s Wheel or you’ll have no idea what’s going on.
After discovering in the last book, The Silver Dream, that Hex and Binary are working together to destroy the universes, Joey finds himself back on Earth and not able to get back to InterWorld because it’s being chased by Hex.
December 17th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Neil Gaiman | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Razor by J. Barton Mitchell
Reading J. Barton Mitchell’s The Razor (2018) was a lot like going to the cinema with friends to see a big-budget blockbuster of a sci-fi/horror flick: there are some interesting settings and explosive plot developments, tough-as-plasteel characters gradually reveal inner hearts of gold, shadowy figures make dubious deals while our heroes struggle valiantly against impossible odds, and the ending sets up the possibility for more of the same. It’s entertaining, even if there’s nothing all that earth-shattering, and it was relaxing to spend a few afternoons indulging the part of my brain that loves seeing stuff go boom.
December 14th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | J. Barton Mitchell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…