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The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
As a rule, I don’t like grimdark, and I don’t read grimdark. R.F. Kuang’s debut novel The Poppy War was an exception. It impressed me, mostly for the way she wove the historical wars between China and Japan into her fully fleshed-out fantasy world. Based on my liking of the first book, I read 2019’s The Dragon Republic, Book Two in THE POPPY WAR series. Sadly, with the second book I was reminded of why I don’t like grimdark.
June 8th, 2022. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | R.F. Kuang | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Part-Time Gods by Rachel Aaron
Part-Time Gods (2019) is the second book in Rachel Aaron’s DFZ (DETROIT FREE ZONE) series which is a spin-off of her HEARTSTRIKERS saga. You don’t need to read HEARTSTRIKERS first, but you’ll want to read the first book in the DFZ series, Minimum Wage Magic, before picking up Part-Time Gods.
After successfully solving a mystery and surviving the danger in Minimum Wage Magic,
May 20th, 2022. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Rachel Aaron | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
You gotta love Edgar Rice Burroughs. He underperformed in life until, as a pencil sharpener salesman who spent his free time reading pulp magazines, he figured he could be paid to write “rot” at least as good as the “rot” he read in the pulps. And thus started the illustrious career of the man who brought us Tarzan, John Carter, and David Innes… And who inspired a generation of fantasy and science fiction writers.
The Land that Time Forgot,
May 19th, 2022. Kat Hooper and Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3 | Edgar Rice Burroughs | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Destiny of the Dead by Kel Kade
My review of Kel Kade’s Fate of the Fallen, first in their SHROUD OF PROPHECY series, called the novel “an enjoyable if meandering invitation despite some issues.” Kade is back now with book two, Destiny of the Dead, which is similarly meandering and, honestly, a little less enjoyable, though enough of the stronger aspects remain so that I’ll still continue on to the third book. Possible spoilers for book one to follow.
March 28th, 2022. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Kel Kade | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist
The cover of 2022’s Tripping Arcadia reads, “A Gothic Novel,” and the book certainly meets that definition. Lena, our brooding first-person narrator, warns us on the first few pages that she’s “confessing,” and her story drips with confusion, secrets, hidden pain, sexual longing, shadows, and death.
This book is filled with things I loved; plants, herbal poisons, interrupted conversations that seethe with secrets, an old, creepy mansion; secret passages, old books, a beautiful young man hellbent on self-destruction, dangerous parties, crushes that reveal themselves in yearning moments of physical descriptions of skin,
March 15th, 2022. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Kit Mayquist | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
In his Afterword, John Scalzi explains that his newest book, The Kaiju Preservation Society (2022), took the place of another he struggled to finish during these awful times we’ve lived through these past few years. This one, he says, is not “with absolutely no slight intended, a brooding symphony … [but] a pop song … light and catchy … for you to sing along with, and then you’re done, and you go on with your day.” And he’s mostly not wrong,
March 4th, 2022. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | John Scalzi | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford
The Amber Crown (2022), by Jacey Bedford, contains several elements that tend to have me leaning away rather than into a book, including rape, implied rape, threatened rape, and some torture/horrid executions. I mention them upfront for the convenience of those who can tell already the book isn’t for them and so will stop reading the review now (I should note they aren’t egregiously gratuitous, mined for trauma [as characterization] rather than titillation; the book is far from torture porn). For those for whom those are not dealbreakers,
January 10th, 2022. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Jacey Bedford | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Flight in Yiktor by Andre Norton
Flight in Yiktor (1986) is the third novel in Andre Norton’s MOONSINGER series. It’s bundled with the fourth novel, Dare to Go A-Hunting, in an omnibus edition titled Moonsinger’s Quest which was published by Baen in 2013 and, in audio format, by Tantor Media in 2021. It’s not necessary to read the first two novels, Moon of Three Rings and Exiles of the Stars,
December 15th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Andre Norton | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime
Let’s face it, this is a Big One for sci-fi/fantasy fans. The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time dropped on Amazon Prime, and I promptly watched all three. In the spirit of full transparency, let me say that while I quite enjoyed Robert Jordan’s first three books, I felt the series started to decline at that point and kept going south, such that my final word on the series (which I did finish in masochistic fashion) was that I wouldn’t recommend the time investment to anyone thinking about starting it.
December 2nd, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan | Film / TV | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Exiles of the Stars by Andre Norton
Exiles of the Stars (1971) is the second novel in Andre Norton’s MOONSINGER or MOON MAGIC series and a direct sequel to the first book, Moon of Three Rings (1966). These two novels have been combined into an omnibus edition called Moonsinger which was published in print in 2013 by Baen books and in audio format this year by Tantor Audio. The narrators of the audio edition,
December 1st, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Andre Norton | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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