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I’m trying to remember how long ago I first read Silk. It may have been as much as ten years ago, when the book was new. I can’t say for sure, but I can say that few books have stayed with me the way Silk has. Even when I’d forgotten the details of the plot, images remained: the horror of the climactic scene, the kudzu-strangled trees. A few years after reading Silk, I went on a road trip through the South,
May 2nd, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Caitlín R. Kiernan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wizard Felix Harrowgate is back and much less crazy than he was during 90% of Sarah Monette’s Melusine. So is thief Mildmay the Fox, who’s a bit less mobile, crippled by a curse that caught up to him in the previous book. Their goal: To travel back across the world, return to Melusine (the city) and restore the magical crystal called the Virtu.
If the plot sounds a little thin…well, that might be because it is. It’s padded with events,
April 4th, 2008. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Sarah Monette | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews
No sophomore slump here! Ilona Andrews follows — and tops — her debut novel with an excellent sequel, Magic Burns (2008).
We get some more world-building. Andrews explains, in a way that flows smoothly with the story and doesn’t feel like an infodump, the theory as to why the magic and tech have gone wonky in the first place. We also learn about magic flares, which occur roughly every seven years. During these upsurges in magic, powerful and dangerous summonings can be done.
April 1st, 2008. Kelly Lasiter, John Hulet, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Ilona Andrews | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
M is for Magic‘s title is an homage to the short story collections of Ray Bradbury and is a worthy successor. (Now if only we had 25 more short story collections to complete the alphabet.) Gaiman’s stories in this collection are easy reads that both young readers and adults will enjoy. It has a diverse set of stories, everything from mystery to coming-of-age to horror. There’s even a poem that managed to sneak into this collection.
Gaiman’s prose is quite easy to understand yet nonetheless charming.
February 20th, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 4.5 | Neil Gaiman | Children, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The FIREBIRDS anthologies edited by Sharyn November
Firebirds is the first of the three FIREBIRD anthologies edited by Sharyn November. Some people don’t like short stories, especially in anthologies where you are reading several different authors. I, however, almost always have a volume of short stories on my bedside table. Even if I manage to get no other reading done during a hectic day, it is a way for me to finish a whole story in 15-20 minutes. In an age where many authors seem incapable of writing anything other than multi-novel epics,
February 16th, 2008. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4.5 | Delia Sherman, Diana Wynne Jones, Emma Bull, Garth Nix, Kara Dalkey, Lloyd Alexander, Megan Whalen Turner, Meredith Ann Pierce, Nancy Farmer, Nancy Springer, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Patricia McKillip, Sherwood Smith | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller
One theme drives the plot of Karen Miller’s The Awakened Mage, sequel to The Innocent Mage: friendship. That friendship is exemplified in the sometimes tenuous, but always interesting friendship between Gar and Asher. In the first novel, the two formed an unlikely pair. Gar is a magickless prince, unable to serve as King of Lur, since the King is also the WeatherWorker and maintainer of Barl’s Wall, the only thing keeping the evil of Morg at bay.
February 13th, 2008. John Ottinger (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Karen Miller | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lives of Christopher Chant is set twenty-five years before the events told in Charmed Life, but was published after it in 1988. Although many would avidly insist that you must read such books in publishing rather than chronological order (just look at the debate that rages over how you’re supposed to read the Chronicles of Narnia) I would suggest reading this before Charmed Life.
February 5th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Powers is the third and, in my opinion, the best of the Annals of the Western Shore novels. In this book, we meet Gavir, a slave in the City State of Etra. Gavir was born in the marshes but was stolen, along with his sister, by slavers and brought to Etra. He has the power to clearly remember things he has seen before and even some events that have not yet happened to him. This gift is not uncommon in the marshes,
January 4th, 2008. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Ursula K. Le-Guin | Audio, Nebula Award, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Half the Blood of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston
So far Joe Pitt has had some pretty wild adventures and along the way he’s proven time and again to be one tough SOB. Still, even a tough SOB has a breaking point and in Half the Blood of Brooklyn we get to learn first-hand just what that breaking-point is. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Starting back at the beginning, another year has gone by and during that time Joe has firmly resumed his role as enforcer for Terry Bird and the Society.
January 3rd, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Charlie Huston | SFF Reviews | no comments |
This is just the sort of faery novel I’ve been missing. Who knew I needed to be looking in the young-adult section?
Wicked Lovely is adapted from one of my favorite off-the-beaten-path fairy tales, a Scottish tale of the turning seasons. In it, the Winter Queen attempts to prolong the cold season by keeping the Summer King and his bride from marrying and coming into their full power. Melissa Marr‘s version features a Winter Queen who has diminished the Summer King’s power permanently,
December 29th, 2007. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Melissa Marr | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
COMMENT Book #3 of this trilogy is very much a heist story, and I quite enjoyed it!
Pirate stories and heist stories... Do we ever get enough of them?
Very interesting, Ulrich! Thanks for clueing me in!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this article, Spacewaves! It was something of a labor of love for me,…
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