Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 3

Click on stars to FIND REVIEWS BY RATING:
Recommended:
Not Recommended:

Night’s Cold Kiss: Several things to cheer for

Night’s Cold Kiss by Tracey O’Hara

I have a love-hate relationship with vampires. There have been vampire novels that I’ve absolutely adored. There have been others that have flown from my hand into the wall with frightening velocity. Mostly, I just wish there weren’t so darn many vampire novels. My favorite urban fantasies, lately, have been the ones where there aren’t any vampires, or the ones where vampires play a very minor role. When an urban fantasy does feature vampires, my favorite aspects of the book tend to be the places where the author departs from the standard vampire “canon.”

September 18th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Tracey O'Hara | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Midnight Charter: Deep themes for YA, but weak world-building

The Midnight Charter by David Whitley

The Midnight Charter by David Whitley is an intriguing YA book with some deep ideas behind it, though it doesn’t quite meet its potential in terms of the story itself. The book is set in the city of Agora, a walled-off dystopia whose workings revolve around a barter-for-everything system: Food, art, labor, even emotions, are commodities of trade. The system has stood for some time, but as the story opens, the needed disruption (otherwise there wouldn’t be much of a story) is about to occur.

The Golden City: A disappointing conclusion

The Golden City by John Twelve Hawks

PLOT SUMMARY: The Golden City delivers the climax to the epic FOURTH REALM TRILOGY, a story that began “off the Grid” in Los Angeles and has taken readers on a wild ride from the underground tunnels of New York to the secret ruins buried beneath the streets of Rome and Berlin.
At the heart of the trilogy rages a battle between the Corrigan brothers, two charismatic leaders and Travelers — the name given to certain prophets with the ability to change the course of history,

September 8th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3 | John TwelveHawks | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Renegade Hunter: This one’s for the romance readers

The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands

How I feel about The Renegade Hunter depends, in part, on whether I put on my “romance hat” or my “fantasy hat.” There is definitely some overlap between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but this one falls on the romance side. This is not a bad thing, just something you might want to know, whether you’re seeking out paranormal romance or trying to avoid it. The focus is squarely on the relationship between Jo, a feisty marine biology student; and Nicholas,

September 7th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Lynsay Sands | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Lord of Silence: Decent sword-and-sorcery mystery

Lord of Silence by Mark Chadbourn

For millennia, the great city of Idriss, City of Lights, has stood almost completely isolated from the world. Bordered by a seemingly endless forest from which few return, the city has relied for protection on its walls and the bravery of its soldiers, such as the elite Crimson Hunt. But when the beloved warrior Mellias, the leader of the Hunt, is found brutally murdered — the first victim of a strange and elusive killer — the city’s fate falls into the hands of the Huntsman Vidar.

September 2nd, 2009. Rob Rhodes´s rating: 3 | Mark Chadbourn | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Changeling: Not a book for arachnophobes!

Changeling by Yasmine Galenorn

In Changeling, Yasmine Galenorn avoids the thing that annoyed me most in Witchling; namely, the infodumping. Having set the scene in Witchling, Galenorn is free to spend most of Changeling on plot and character development. There is some exposition, but it didn’t strike me as excessive. It was just the right amount to get me caught up after two years’ absence from Galenorn’s universe.

Changeling is written from the point of view of Delilah D’Artigo,

August 31st, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Yasmine Galenorn | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Bloody Awful: Nazi Vampires!

Bloody Awful by Georgia Evans

Bloody Awful continues the story of Brytewood, a cozy English village that is secretly home to several supernatural beings. Brytewood’s inhabitants, both human and Other, face an ongoing struggle as German bombs fall from the sky and Nazi vampires infiltrate the town itself. It’s the characters that make this series compelling. I had issues with Bloody Good, but wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to the people I’d “met.”

I enjoyed Bloody Awful more than I did Bloody Good.

August 21st, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Georgia Evans | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Ruined: There’s nothing I like better than a good ghost story

Ruined: A Ghost Story by Paula Morris

There’s nothing I like better than a good ghost story. And New Orleans is a great city to set one in. In fact, Ruined‘s greatest strength is its setting.

Because I’ve been doing research on NO for a project of my own, some of what the book offers is stuff I already know. Even so, all of it is fascinating, especially for people only just being exposed to it. Paula Morris paints the city into the perfect backdrop for her ghost story,

Siege Warriors: A Fantasy Anthology

Siege Warriors: A Fantasy Anthology by Brian G. Murray

In his anthology Siege Warriors, Brian G. Murray brings a medieval siege to life through the eyes of a variety of characters. Most of the stories portray cities under siege, surrounded and attacked by an opposing army. The situations described in these stories are similar, but Murray creates diversity by showing the conflict from different points of view.

Other stories take the theme in a different direction. One takes place in a building held by bandits,

Personal Demons: Fast-paced plot + humor + romance

Personal Demons by Stacia Kane

The beginning chapters of Stacia Kane’s Personal Demons is a bit choppy. There are some strange cuts and splices. In particular, there are several instances where important, plot-relevant conversations occur offscreen and are only mentioned in retrospect as Megan muses about them. (I think it would have been more effective to show these conversations rather than narrate about them after the fact.) I also had trouble getting a feel for the passage of time in these early chapters. I would think days passed,

July 25th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Stacia Kane | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

We have reviewed 8404 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Subscribe to all posts:

Get notified about Giveaways:

Support FanLit

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:

You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US UK CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!

SFF Deals

Recent Discussion:

Kevin S. on The Anubis Gates: A very generous bookDecember 25, 2024
This book made no sense to me at all. I was hoping for some explanations at the end but it…
San on In a Lonely Place: Tennessee DreadDecember 23, 2024
Oh, Marion, you say "but dark" as if it were a bad thing! 😂
Marion Deeds on In a Lonely Place: Tennessee DreadDecember 23, 2024
Hammer Studios is... reborn? I only ever read the "Kane" stories, which I found good but dark. It's a little…
Sandy Ferber on The Great White Space: Black mountain sideDecember 21, 2024
Oh...and the men used the name "The Great Northern Expedition" to throw people off as to their actual destination, even…
Sandy Ferber on The Great White Space: Black mountain sideDecember 21, 2024
Oh, it IS, Marion! It is!

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31