Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 4.5

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Crack’d Pot Trail: Delectable

Crack’d Pot Trail by Steven Erikson

Crack’d Pot Trail is the fourth of Steven Erikson’s Malazan novellas following the exploits of Korbal Broach and Bauchelain, a pair of sinister necromancers whose dark side is often thrown into a grayer cast due to their situational context and the characters (often allegedly “purer” or “better”) that surround them. As with the earlier novellas, Erikson lightens up on the dense worldbuilding, labyrinthine layered plots, and casts of thousands of the larger series to focus on,

January 2nd, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Steven Erikson | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Watership Down: So much more than bunnies

Watership Down by Richard Adams

The other reviewers mocked me when I said I was going to review Watership Down. ‘I hope you like rabbits!’, they sniggered. Well, Watership Down does have rabbits as the main characters, but it is so much more than a story about bunnies. That would be like saying The Hobbit was about hobbits. Both stories encompasses so many greater themes — adventure, friendship and loyalty, courage in the face of adversity, leadership, the value of home and security,

Curse of the Spider King: Reviewed by our YA

Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson

Curse of the Spider King (2009) begins by introducing the reader, one at a time, to seven completely unrelated teens from around the world. Left to live out mortal lives on earth as humans, these seven teens are actually far from human. They are in fact the only living heirs to the thrones of a forgotten realm inhabited by elves and the Spider King. Once these seven turn thirteen, they are no longer protected by an ancient curse, and they become prey.

Confessions of a Demon: More than just a relationship novel

Confessions of a Demon by S.L. Wright

Confessions of a Demon is what urban fantasy should be and so seldom is. It’s fun, it’s a bit sexy, and S.L. Wright knows how to balance those two prerequisites with enough action and world-building to make this more than just a relationship novel. That’s not such an easy task.

Allay, the main character, is caught up in a struggle for power between two rival factions of demons. She doesn’t realize it at first, but that’s really what it’s all about.

December 30th, 2009. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | S.L. Wright | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Palimpsest: Gorgeous

Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente

The first thing that strikes you about Palimpsest is the gorgeous prose. Every sentence is crafted with the utmost care, resulting in a novel that almost reads like poetry. It simply begs to be read out loud. I’ve read many books that attempt this kind of lush prose, but Palimpsest is one of the most successful and most beautiful.

Palimpsest is a sexually transmitted city. People who have been there have a small tattoo — a piece of the city’s map — somewhere on their body.

Beautiful Creatures: … and a host of unforgettable folks

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Halfway through Beautiful Creatures, I remember thinking, “Hey, this is like The Witching Hour, but for teenagers!” The Witching Hour is probably my favorite Anne Rice book of all time, so this is high praise coming from me. It’s different, of course — Beautiful Creatures is much more PG-rated and unfolds at a faster pace — but both are big, meaty books featuring antebellum mansions,

First Lord’s Fury: Here ends a fun fantasy epic!

First Lord’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Grab your helms, shields and swords, fantasy fans. In First Lord’s Fury, Jim Butcher is taking you to war! In the 6th and final book in the CODEX ALERA series, Butcher not only takes you to war, but makes you laugh and cry along the way. First Lord’s Fury is a very suitable ending to what I found to be a most enjoyable fantasy series. The CODEX ALERA series takes place several thousand years after a lost Roman legion found its way to another world and rebuilt a society.

December 8th, 2009. Justin Blazier and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Jim Butcher | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Thief: A delightful mythic fantasy

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

“I can steal anything.” With that boast, Gen sets into action a course of events that could affect kingdoms. When he boasts that he can steal the King’s Seal, and then delivers on his promise, he is arrested and thrown into prison, where he languishes until the King’s Magus approaches him with an offer: freedom if he can steal Hamiathes’s Gift, a legendary stone that carries with it the right to rule the kingdom of Eddis.

Megan Whalen Turner writes a delightful mythic fantasy that takes the reader on a secret journey through a country whose culture and religion are loosely based on Ancient Greece.

How to Make Friends with Demons: Beautiful

How to Make Friends with Demons by Graham Joyce

Reviewing Graham Joyce for fantasy readers can be tricky, because his novels are often firmly set in our contemporary reality, with only minor fantasy elements. In addition, those fantasy elements are often only visible to the narrator of the novel, creating the impression that they may be figments of the narrator’s imagination. Regardless of the fact that Graham Joyce has won a handful of British Fantasy Awards, you could label his books as magical realism,

The Waking: Dreams of the Dead: Scary!

The Waking: Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall

Considering what an awkward foot Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall (Christopher Golden) starts off on, I was pretty surprised when, shortly after beginning, I found myself unable to put it down.

In spite of my overactive imagination, I like something scary once in a while. Poor Thomas Randall was already up against some stiff competition, since only days ago I wheedled my husband into watching Ringu (the Japanese horror film re-made as The Ring) with me.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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