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Planet of Blood and Ice by A.J. Hartley
Planet of Blood and Ice (2017) is the first book in A.J. Hartley’s CATHEDRALS OF GLASS series for teens. Hartley is billing this story as Alien meets Lord of the Flies, and I’d say that description is fairly accurate since Planet of Blood and Ice is about a group of teens who must overcome the dangers of a hostile alien environment while struggling to live with each other in a safe and civilized fashion.
May 15th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | A.J. Hartley | Audio, Horror, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Lady of the Lake (English translation, 2017) is the final (maybe) WITCHER novel by Andrzej Sapkowski. Don’t bother to start it until you’ve read the previous novels. I’ll assume you’re caught up with the series, so this review will have mild spoilers for the previous books.
The story starts where the last one, The Tower of Swallows, left off. Ciri has disappeared into the Tower of Swallows,
May 12th, 2017. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Trouble with Lichen by John Wyndham
Published in 1960, John Wyndham’s Trouble with Lichen tells the story of Diana Brackley, a revolutionary, a feminist, and a scientist.
Diana is considered odd because although she is attractive, she does not want to marry. Instead, she is dedicated to her career in the lab, and it is there that she makes her amazing discovery: a type of lichen that slows the aging process. Diana decides to use the lichen to empower women,
May 9th, 2017. Ryan Skardal and Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | John Wyndham | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The White Road of the Moon by Rachel Neumeier
In The White Road of the Moon (2017), a YA high fantasy filled with magic and ghosts, 15 year old orphaned Meridy lives in an isolated mountain village with her aunt and cousins, all of whom despise her (and the feeling is mutual). It’s partly because Meridy’s mother Kamay raised her with a love for books and old languages and stories, partly because Meridy is the daughter of a man her mother never named, who bequeathed Meridy her duskier skin and black eyes,
May 4th, 2017. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Rachel Neumeier | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Black Witch by Laurie Forest
In an ironic twist, The Black Witch (2017), a book expressly dedicated to exploring the problem of prejudice and promoting diversity and tolerance, has been accused by many voices of being the very thing it is most devoted to showing as wrong. Words like “offensive,” “racist,” “ableist,” and “homophobic” have been hurled at the author and this book. It’s understandable, because the society and most of the characters depicted in The Black Witch ― including the main character,
April 28th, 2017. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Laurie Forest | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
Marion Deeds: John Scalzi’s “brand” is generally known for thoughtful premises, fast-paced action and a humorous tone (certainly there are exceptions). The Collapsing Empire hits all the right Scalzi-notes: it provides a big problem that will have long-reaching influence on human society; it has smarter-than-average characters working to fix things; it has action, snark, and humor. While one storyline is resolved, somewhat, by the end of this book, what The Collapsing Empire does best is set up the problem and introduce characters for the rest of this series.
April 21st, 2017. Marion Deeds and Kevin Wei´s rating: 3.5 | John Scalzi | Locus Award | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan
Warning: Some inevitable spoilers for the previous novels, A Natural History of Dragons and The Tropic of Serpents, will follow.
Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent (2015) is the third in Marie Brennan’s series A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS, and I found it falling somewhere between books one and two in terms of the reading experiences (better than the first,
April 21st, 2017. Bill Capossere, Marion Deeds and Jana Nyman´s rating: 3.5 | Marie Brennan | SFF Reviews | 10 comments |
The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus edited by Brian W. Aldiss
The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus (1973) is a compilation of three short story anthologies: Penguin Science Fiction (1961), More Penguin Science Fiction (1963), and Yet More Penguin Science Fiction (1964), all edited by Brian Aldiss. Presenting an all-star lineup of established Silver Age and burgeoning New Age writers, most all are well known names in the field, including Isaac Asimov,
April 19th, 2017. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 3.5 | A.E. Van_Vogt, Arthur C. Clarke, Brian W. Aldiss, Clifford D. Simak, Damon Knight, Eric Frank Russell, Frederik Pohl, Gordon R. Dickson, Harry Harrison, Isaac Asimov, J.G. Ballard, James Blish, James H. Schmitz, John Brunner, Robert Sheckley, Walter M. Miller, Ward Moore | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Exile of the Crown by Melissa McShane
Note: this review contains a few spoilers for Servant of the Crown and many spoilers for the bonus short story “Long Live the Queen” at the end of that novel, which sets up Exile of the Crown.
In “Long Live the Queen,” a “five years later” short story that appears at the end of Servant of the Crown (2015), the first book in Melissa McShane‘s CROWN OF TREMONTANE series,
April 11th, 2017. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Melissa McShane | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In STAR WARS AFTERMATH: Empire’s End (2017), Chuck Wendig shows us the fateful battle on the desert planet Jakku; we see the Contingency left in place by Emperor Palpatine, and we discover that none of Leia and Han’s friends understands the concept of a baby gift.
The AFTERMATH trilogy starts immediately after the destruction of the second Death Star. Empire’s End follows Wendig-original characters Norra Wexley, her son Temmin,
April 10th, 2017. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5 | Chuck Wendig | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…