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Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
Thanks to the movies Hellraiser, Lord of Illusions, and Candyman, I was introduced to Clive Barker, but it was his writing that made me a hardcore fan. Imajica, Weaveworld, Books of Blood, The Great and Secret Show, Everville: all personal favorites of mine and great examples of Mr. Barker’s wild imagination and unique talents. Unfortunately, it’s been a while since I last read a Clive Barker book,
February 16th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3 | Clive Barker | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I was looking forward to the story of Merrick, a distant biracial cousin of the famous Mayfair Witches, who practices voudoun. I was looking forward to Louis’s quest for the ghost of Claudia — but then I’ve always liked Louis.
In this book, in fact, a lot of interesting things happen to Louis — the Claudia thing, a new love, and a complete change of heart about how much vampiric power he wants. (I’ll try not to commit a spoiler by telling any more details than that.) In other words,
February 5th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Anne Rice | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier
Magic or Madness does a nice job of plunking us down in mid-story, giving us a sense of early momentum that seldom pauses the rest of the way. Reason Cansino has been kept on the move in the Australian bush for most of her 15 years, in order, her mother says, to keep her safe from Esmeralda, Reason’s dangerous grandmother. Serafina, Reason’s mother, has filled Reason’s mind with stories of Serafina being held captive as a young child in Esmeralda’s cellar, of Esmeralda’s animal sacrifices and dark rites all in the name magic,
February 4th, 2008. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Justine Larbalestier | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
Based loosely on the fairytales of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and “The Frog Prince” (but adding plenty of her own ideas), Juliet Marillier crafts an entertaining story of magic and faerie, set in the wild-lands of Transylvania. Jena is one of five sisters (Tatiana, Iulia, Paula and Stela) who have long-since kept a secret in their bedroom: a magical portal into the Other Kingdom, through which they can pass through every full moon to cavort with faerie-creatures in the Dancing Glade of the Faerie Queen.
January 29th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Juliet Marillier | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
After reading Lois McMaster Bujold‘s first Chalion book, I was an instant fan (see review above). So, I was really excited to get my hands on the audio versions of the first two novels in her second fantasy series: The Sharing Knife.
Alas, it really pains me to have to write a lackluster review for anything Bujold does, but here we go.
First, let me say that Beguilement is a romance novel,
January 15th, 2008. Kat Hooper and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Lois McMaster Bujold | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins
This is the fifth and series-ending (I shy from ever using the word “final” with regard to fantasy nowadays) book in the Gregor series, one of the most original and powerful young adult fantasy series now in recent years. It is not a standalone book, so if you haven’t read the first four, you should start. Assuming you have, however, how does Code stack up?
I have to admit to some disappointment. While much of what has made Gregor such a strong series can be found here: strongly distinct characters,
January 14th, 2008. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Suzanne Collins | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
Magic Bites (2007) is an exciting urban fantasy with a unique premise and detailed world-building, somewhat marred by an unsatisfying twist in the story’s central mystery.
I give Ilona Andrews a lot of points for creativity here. In Magic Bites‘ near-future setting, magic and technology come and go a bit like the weather; when magic is working, tech isn’t, and vice versa. The shifts are unpredictable, but it can be assumed there will be several per day.
January 9th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Ilona Andrews | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Akhenaten Adventure by P.B. Kerr
The adventure in The Akhenaten Adventures involves a pair of twins, 12-yr-old John and Philippa Gaunt, who discover after a series of odd events that they are not simple upper-class adolescents as they’ve always though but a pair of djinns (“genie” is considered vulgar) about to come into their own powers. Soon they’re off to London and the tutelage of their Uncle Nimrod. It turns out, however, that they need to learn their powers quickly, for Nimrod is involved in a dangerous quest to prevent the head of an evil djinn tribe from finding a source of great power,
January 6th, 2008. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | P.B. Kerr | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Published way back in 1963, Time Cat was the first book ever written by Lloyd Alexander, and as such, exists as an interesting comparison to many of his later books, with echoes of plots and characters that will later be used in his more famous and sophisticated works. It is quite a simplistic book, with a straightforward story told in clear but sparse prose, but there are certainly traces of the excellence that is to come in Alexander’s later books,
January 5th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Lloyd Alexander | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Book of Joby by Mark Ferrari
Ostensibly inspired by the book of Job found in the Bible, The Book of Joby is actually a somewhat odd meld of Arthurian legend and fantasy set in modern times. Who knew that such a thing could exist! There are several characters who have been drawn from the Bible, namely God, Michael and Gabriel — both archangels — and, of course, the devil himself. Any biblical resemblance to characters and plot ideas in The Book Of Joby ends there.
December 18th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 3 | Mark Ferrari | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Oh...and the men used the name "The Great Northern Expedition" to throw people off as to their actual destination, even…
Oh, it IS, Marion! It is!
Sorry if I mislead you in this detail, Paul...the voyage by ship was only the first leg of the quintet's…
The geography is confusing me--how does one get to a village in Tibet by ship? And even the northernmost part…
Oh, this sounds interesting!