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Rating: 3

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The Stone Prince: Cheesy entertainment

The Stone Prince by Gena Showalter

A pre-warning: The Stone Prince contains cheesy content. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Jorlan En Sarr is from another planet. He’s also a prince on his home planet and a warrior who was sent to Earth in the form of a statue by his evil brother who just happens to be a sorcerer. On Earth, Jorlan is awoken from his stone state by Katie, a practical tomboy who renovates houses for a living. After Katie miraculously awakes Jorlan the next 2/3 of the book are scenes of heated sexual tension along with a little silliness (I laughed particularly hard when Jorlan tried to use a spatula as a weapon).

February 9th, 2009. Guest´s rating: 3 | Gena Showalter | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Fires of Heaven: Amazingly little happens

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

For being such a long book (nearly 1000 pages in my trade paperback copy), amazingly little happens in The Fires of Heaven, and this is why so many readers have abandoned this otherwise interesting story. Approximately the first third of the novel contains so much recap and repetition that, if I’d had “my hair in a proper braid,” I would have been yanking it as often as Nynaeve does.

The formula for the first 100 pages or so goes something like this: One or two lines of dialogue,

Empire of Ivory: Mixed results

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

When last we left our characters, they were trapped with the Prussian Army running for their lives in the face of Napoleon’s Army. Returning home they are confronted by a disaster of cataclysmic proportions as an illness is rapidly decimating the dragon populace of England. Harrowing stuff…

Empire of Ivory takes quite a while to get going and is more compelling in its depiction of events than characters. The main character remains almost cardboard for most of the book, which leaves me uninterested in him.

December 20th, 2008. John Hulet´s rating: 3 | Naomi Novik | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Search for the Red Dragon: Quick and enjoyable

The Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen

The previous Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica book, Here There Be Dragons, had a clean ending, but The Search for the Red Dragon introduces a new conflict that’s tied to the original adventure.

The strengths — and weaknesses — of the first book continue in The Search for the Red Dragon. The illustrations preceding each chapter are gorgeous, and James A. Owen‘s writing is plain,

Mythic II: Compact and precise

Mythic II edited by Mike Allen

Much like its predecessor Mythic, Mythic 2 feels compact and precise. Both the prose and poetry (and everything else in between) are easy to read and have a lyrical tonality. The anthology is even and consistent, with no sudden drops or spikes in the quality. Editor Mike Allen also continues the format of alternating between both mediums, which makes the book work.

For the most part, I found the poems to be decent and the fiction enjoyable.

Lord of the Silent Kingdom: Hugely complex

Lord of the Silent Kingdom by Glen Cook

In my review of Glen Cook’s first book in the Instrumentalities of the Night series, I bemoaned the lack of a map. Somehow, my opinion managed to go unheard and/or unheeded and so I’ll start again by asking if it would be too much to include a map in a book that jumps among a slew of kingdoms, countries, islands, and petty territories.

As a long-time fan of “epic” fantasy, I consider myself pretty well-versed in how to handle sweeping geography,

November 14th, 2008. Bill Capossere, John Hulet and Robert Thompson´s rating: 3, 4 | Glen Cook | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Kingdom Beyond the Waves: Trust issues?

The Kingdom Beyond the Waves by Stephen Hunt

Imagine a post-apocalyptic Dickensian world where the main character is a female Indiana Jones. This is the setting we find ourselves in when reading The Kingdom Beyond the Waves. Amelia Harsh is our protagonist; a swinging (as in ropes and vines) heroine who has been ostracized from all colleges but one, where she has been taken under the wing of an elderly professor who puts up with her larger-than-life adventures in the field and her frowned-upon theories of their ancient predecessors.

November 11th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 3 | Stephen Hunt | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Pawn of Prophecy: Juvenile

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

I read Pawn of Prophecy as an adult, a few years ago. I had heard great things about it, so I was disappointed after reading it. The plot is typical “orphan boy saves the world” fantasy, the description is weak, the dialogue is often silly (humor is a focus, and much of the dialogue is funny — but it’s not realistic). The pace is rapid, however, and I flew through the book in one day.

The Belgariad would be just right for a teenager (so I give it 3 stars),

November 10th, 2008. Kat Hooper and Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | David Eddings | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |

The Dark River: Typical middle volume

The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks

In 2005, an enigmatic author by the name of John Twelve Hawks — a writer who supposedly lives ‘off the grid’ — delivered one of the most hyped novels of the year, the critically-acclaimed, New York Times Bestselling debut The Traveler. In that book, readers were introduced to a chillingly familiar world ‘inspired by the modern technology that monitors our lives,’ where Travelers — individuals who possess the ability to send their conscious energy (“Light”) to other realms where they gain insights into transforming the world — and Harlequins (sworn to protect the lives of Travelers) oppose their mortal enemies the Brethren (also known as the Tabula) and their quest for a virtual Panopticon — an invisible prison where the population would assume that they were being watched at all times and therefore would automatically follow the rules.

October 12th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3 | John TwelveHawks | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Shadow Roads: Decent but anticlimactic close to trilogy

The Shadow Roads by Sean Russell

The Shadow Roads brings The Swans’ War to a somewhat satisfying close, but its many weaknesses lessen the impact it might have had. The strength is the backstory — the sense of myth surrounding the three children of Wyrr, Death walled away into his own world, stories of loss and transformation. When Sean Russell spends time in this area, whether in detail or just tangentially, it lends a sad sense of grandeur and depth to the work as a whole.

October 7th, 2008. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Sean Russell | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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