Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock in fantasy land

The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes edited by John Joseph Adams

In this collection of stories, compiled by John Joseph Adams, a variety of authors invent cases that Sherlock Holmes might encounter if our world were just a bit different. These are cases in which the “improbable” occurs. Most of the stories involve some sort of fantastical situation in which Holmes is required to go outside of his normal logic-based abilities and enter the realm of fantasy. The array of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi authors is quite extensive. Laurie King,

The Story of Cirrus Flux: Uneven YA that solidly entertains

The Story of Cirrus Flux by Matthew Skelton

Matthew Skelton’s The Story of Cirrus Flux is an uneven YA novel that solidly entertains, though one wishes for stronger characters and a greater sense of place.

The Story of Cirrus Flux is set in London, 1783. The title character is an orphan whose father was a famed Antarctic explorer years ago, though Cirrus doesn’t discover this for some time. The book opens in 1756 during one of Cirrus’ father’s journeys,

Days of Air and Darkness (A Time of Justice): Losing interest

Days of Air and Darkness (A Time of Justice) by Katharine Kerr

With Days of Air and Darkness / A Time of Justice, Katharine Kerr wraps up The Westlands Cycle. It is a fairly decent final book, bringing a number of ongoing stories together and finishing things decently. With that said, it felt a little soulless to me — with her first four books, Kerr made the characters come alive and I had a lot of interest in their doings. Gradually I am losing interest in Rhodry and co.

March 1st, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 3 | Katharine Kerr | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Sorcerer’s House: Beautifully otherworldly

The Sorcerer’s House by Gene Wolfe

The Sorcerer’s House is a beautifully subtle new novel by master fantasy and SF author Gene Wolfe. The novel’s protagonist is a recently released convict who, seemingly by complete coincidence, comes into possession of an abandoned house. As he moves in, he discovers that the house already has a few odd inhabitants…

A large part of the enjoyment of this novel is the process of discovery, as the protagonist slowly finds out more and more about the odd nature of the house and its inhabitants,

StarMan: A grand but often tragic campaign

StarMan by Sara Douglass

StarMan is the third in the Axis Trilogy by Sara Douglass. In this book the final battle between Axis and his half brother Gorgrael will take place, the identity of the Lover is revealed, and, finally, WolfStar shows his true colours. StarMan is absolutely packed with events, as the first two books were, and it positively glitters with the force of Douglass’ very vivid imagination.

Sara Douglass has managed to churn out a fairly effective fantasy trilogy.

February 25th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 3 | Sara Douglass | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Servant of the Underworld: Highly original debut novel

Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard

Servant of the Underworld by Writers of the Future winner Aliette de Bodard is an interesting and, especially for a debut, well-executed cross-genre novel that successfully combines several disparate elements into an original story.

If ever a novel could be called cross-genre, Servant of the Underworld is it: the story is set in the 15th century Aztec empire (1. historical fiction) but magic and gods are real (2. fantasy). When a priestess is murdered,

February 24th, 2010. Stefan Raets and Terry Weyna´s rating: 3 | Aliette De_Bodard | SFF Reviews | no comments |

METAtropolis: It’s just maybe something that sucks a little less

METAtropolis edited by John Scalzi

It’s not a utopia. It’s just maybe something that sucks a little less.

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and it turns out that all those eco-freaks were right all along. We humans destroyed the planet and now we’ve got to live with the mess we’ve made. Many world governments, including the U.S., have been essentially dismantled and large, mostly independent and self-governing city-states have taken their place.

Under the direction of John Scalzi,

The Shamer’s Daughter: Recommended for the better sequel

The Shamer’s Daughter by Lene Kaaberbol

The Shamer’s Daughter is in itself a pleasant little story that moves along well and has at its core an extremely intriguing concept that here is unfortunately not fully explored, but the good news is that while The Shamer’s Daughter is an ok read, its sequel, The Shamer’s Signet, is a much stronger book, well-rewarding the reader who begins the series.

“Shamers” have the gift of, as one might guess, shaming. To look into a Shamer’s eyes is to look into a mirror of your soul,

Don of the Dead: Fun, fluffy, forgettable

Don of the Dead by Casey Daniels

Former rich girl Pepper Martin, reduced to dire financial straits, takes a job as a cemetery tour guide. When she falls and hits her head on late mobster Gus Scarpetti’s mausoleum, she gains the (rather inconvenient) ability to see Gus’s ghost. Gus enlists Pepper to solve the decades-old mystery of his murder. While trying to get to the bottom of the case, Pepper learns that a ghostly “boss” can be hazardous to a girl’s love life and job prospects, and maybe even her life itself.

February 21st, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Casey Daniels | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Airs Beneath the Moon: Not the best school fantasy

Airs Beneath the Moon by Toby Bishop

Ever encounter one of those books that you really wished you’d enjoyed more than you had? For me, Toby Bishop‘s Airs Beneath the Moon was one of those books.

There’s something truly solid here, a pretty good foundation with some strong writing structurally speaking, with the exception of the fact that Bishop seems to think that a comma can always replace the word ‘and’. It can’t.

There’s also some fun support characters, like Hester Golden,

February 16th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 3 | Toby Bishop | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Recent Discussion:

David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
Bill Capossere on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
We’re in total agreement David!
David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.