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The first installment of Pamela Freeman‘s Castings trilogy may seem at first like a typical fantasy novel, with swords as everyone’s weapon of choice, horses as everyone’s mode of transportation, and copious amounts of ale and stew making up everyone’s diet. But it doesn’t take long before Blood Ties reveals itself to be quite different from the usual swords-and-sorcery realm: in its setting and atmosphere, in its plot and story-structure, and in its myriad of themes and ideas.
November 20th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Pamela Freeman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan
Midnight Never Comeis the story of two courts, and of two courtiers who must uncover a deadly secret that threatens both mortal and faerie England. Lune is a disgraced lady of the faerie court, trying to win her way back into the good graces of the cruel Queen Invidiana. Michael Deven is a young gentleman of Elizabeth I’s retinue, working with Elizabeth’s spymaster Walsingham to sniff out a “hidden player” in English politics. Neither is quite prepared for what they discover.
Marie Brennan has a lovely,
September 21st, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Marie Brennan | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones
What happens when an writer who works for an opera company turns to writing fantasy? Does the story take on qualities of the epic? Do people take forever to die? Or does everyone just walk around singing loudly and wearing funny costumes? If these are questions you have asked yourself (or even if they aren’t) you ought to turn your attention to Crypt of the Moaning Diamond by Rosemary Jones. An opera writer and first time novelist, Jones has created a dungeon delving story both humorous and out of the ordinary set in the Forgotten Realms mythos.
August 15th, 2008. John Ottinger (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Bruce R. Cordell, Jaleigh Johnson, Rosemary Jones | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Return of the Sword: An Anthology of Heroic Adventure
I read and have read a lot of anthologies. They’re great for “in-between-books-reading” and are perfect when you just want a story that you can start and finish in one sitting. Anthologies are also a great source for sampling different writers.
Jason M Waltz did a great job of picking out the stories to use for The Return of the Sword. Except for only one or two stories (even the ones that weren’t particularly something to my personal taste) I found these to be very well and interestingly written.
August 9th, 2008. Greg Hersom´s rating: 4.5 | E.E. Knight, James Enge, Robert Rhodes | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Giant eagles and their reeves who patrol the skies as peacekeepers. Nine Guardians blessed by the Seven Gods to bring justice to the land of the Hundred who have mysteriously vanished. A Qin captain, his young bride and a company of soldiers forced into exile. A slave of twelve years who schemes to buy out his debt as well as his sister’s. An outlander — the youngest and least-favored of seven sons — who can see and hear ghosts goes on a quest in search of his uncle’s bones.
July 16th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Kate Elliott | SFF Reviews | no comments |
So one of the problems I’ve been having recently, when it comes to returning to authors I’ve already read, is book blurbs that fill me with a sense of foreboding. The plots have been sounding so thin (and often matching). Not Wanderlust though. When I read the blurb for Wanderlust, I got excited.
Now that Sirantha Jax has exposed Farwan Corporation for what it really is, she’s kind of suffering a bit of a career dilemma… i.e.,
July 2nd, 2008. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Ann Aguirre | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I’ve been a fan of Buffy for a long time, but there was one thing I always wondered about. Namely, why would a vampire ever bother going to Sunnydale, knowing the Slayer lived there and was likely to dust the vamp as soon as he or she arrived in town? One would think a vamp could live a longer, more peaceful life simply by avoiding the Slayer’s stomping grounds, right?
After the first chapter of Jocelynn Drake’s Nightwalker, I think I get it.
June 23rd, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Jocelynn Drake | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
First love: it’s scary and confusing enough even when there aren’t homicidal faeries involved. Add in the homicidal faeries, and a girl can get in over her head before she can say “cold iron.”
Maggie Stiefvater‘s Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception is an excellent YA fantasy that will appeal to anyone who likes stories of the fae as they appear in the oldest legends: dangerous, seductive, and sometimes deadly. Let me say right up front: Lament is downright frightening in places.
June 10th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Maggie Stiefvater | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu
“When I was eight, my mother lost me to zombies in a one-card draw.”
That’s the first sentence of Marjorie M. Liu’s The Iron Hunt, and it’s just about perfect as opening lines go. It’s the primary reason I bought the book. Not only does it draw the reader in, eager to find out how and why this happened, but I’m also pretty darn sure it’s an Angela Carter reference. I love Angela Carter.
It would be misleading to suggest,
May 29th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Marjorie M. Liu | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A Sword from Red Ice by J.V. Jones
This series hooked me with the first one, A Cavern of Black Ice, and I’ve since read all of J.V. Jones’ books. Sure there are better writers out there, but as far as good story-telling goes, Jones is up there with the best of them.
Sword of Shadows reads like a tale told by the village story-teller or a traveling minstrel earning his next room and board. To me, that’s the way a fantasy story should be written,
May 26th, 2008. Greg Hersom´s rating: 4.5 | J.V. Jones | SFF Reviews | no comments |
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…