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Machine Learning by Hugh Howey
Odds are good that you’ve heard of Hugh Howey — whether you’ve read one of his novels or short stories, or even if you’re just aware of the runaway success of his SILO trilogy, which began with Wool. Machine Learning (2017) is the first collection of his short stories (and one novelette), most of which were published elsewhere in various times and places, and it’s an excellent display of his range,
June 25th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Hugh Howey | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything by David Christian
In Origin Story: A Big History of Everything (2018), David Christian ably does what I would have guessed was nigh on impossible — cover 13+ billion years of history from the Big Bang to current times (and actually further since he takes a quick look in the future as well). It’s a smoothly told, incredibly efficient history that mostly lives up to its subtitle.
At the core of Christian’s “Big History” is an ever-increasing complexity: “in special and unusual environments such as our planet …
June 15th, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
With Guardian (2018), A.J. Hartley brings his STEEPLEJACK trilogy to a triumphant close. Readers who savored the voyeuristic thrill of soaring along rooftops and bringing evildoers to justice alongside Anglet Sutonga in Steeplejack and Firebrand are sure to cheer as she tackles an even more daunting task: gathering allies both near and far to protect the city she calls home. The STEEPLEJACK books (and reviews of said books) need to be read in order,
June 12th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | A.J. Hartley | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Deadhouse Landing by Ian Cameron Esslemont
Because it occurs not that far along into Deadhouse Landing (2017), I don’t feel bad about revealing that at one point our erstwhile heroes Wu and Dancer are forced into confronting one of the most dire threats of the Malazan Universe — being taken by an Azath. A revelation that I’m sure will have many of you wondering which of the many great powers of that universe could have driven them onto those perilous grounds: K’rul? T’riss? Kallor, a Matron, Icarium? Worthy candidates all,
June 12th, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Ian C. Esslemont | SFF Reviews | no comments |
This is a bad land for Gods… The old gods are ignored. The new gods are as quickly taken up as they are abandoned, cast aside for the next big thing. Either you’ve been forgotten, or you’re scared you’re going to be rendered obsolete, or maybe you’re just getting tired of existing on the whims of people.
Shadow, just out of prison and with nothing to go home to, is hired to be Mr. Wednesday’s bodyguard as he travels around America to warn all the other incarnations of gods,
June 11th, 2018. Kat Hooper, Rebecca Fisher and Stuart Starosta´s rating: 3, 4.5 | Neil Gaiman | Audio, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Brethren by H. Rider Haggard
In January 1900, British author H. Rider Haggard and his family ventured forth on a nice long vacation. As revealed in D.S. Higgins’ 1981 biography, the first part of this holiday was beset by bad weather, sickness and delays, as the Haggards made their way from London and on to Italy and Cyprus. But once the family reached the Holy Land, apparently, conditions improved significantly, and the world-famous author was so taken by the many historic sights that he saw there that the experience inspired him to write no fewer than three books: A Winter Pilgrimage (1901),
June 8th, 2018. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | H. Rider Haggard | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution by Menno Schilthuizen
At the close of his exploration of the somewhat oxymoronic “urban nature,” Menno Schilthuizen tells us that one of his aims is that “the urban organisms you see on your daily wanderings of the city streets will become more special, more interesting, worthy of more than a casual glance.” Schilthuizen, I’d say, is more likely to succeed than not in achieving his goal, as Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution (2018) is a delightfully informative whose insights are enthusiastically and clearly conveyed.
June 8th, 2018. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson
I’ve always been a sucker for an enfant terrible. The Peter Pans and Pippi Longstockings of the literary world would be hugely annoying if they actually showed up in the real world, of course, but in fiction it’s a fun archetype. Brandon Sanderson‘s Edgedancer (2017) is all about such a character, and so consequently I had a great deal of fun with it. Readers with a lower tolerance for goofball ragamuffins might have a different experience (as per his usual,
June 4th, 2018. Tim Scheidler´s rating: 4.5 | Brandon Sanderson | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Armistice by Lara Elena Donnelly
Lara Elena Donnelly continues THE AMBERLOUGH DOSSIER with Armistice (2018), a worthy sequel to her Nebula- and Lambda-nominated novel Amberlough. Three years have passed since the fascist Ospies took over Amberlough City and its surrounding lands, bringing tremendous change and hardship to the lives of the people who oppose them. If you haven’t yet read Amberlough, I strongly suggest doing so before reading any reviews of Armistice,
May 29th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Lara Elena Donnelly | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Lady Killer (Vols. 1 & 2) by Jamie S. Rich & Joelle Jones
Lady Killer is a very funny, though dark, story about the troubles a woman faces when she works out of the home, balancing job and family, in the early 1960s. The twist, however, is that Josie Schuller’s work is that of a contract killer in heels. The humor comes in because her family — husband, two daughters, and live-in mother-in-law — are all clueless. Well, except maybe for the mother-in-law who is beginning to suspect something is not quite right with her all-too-perfect looking daughter-in-law.
May 26th, 2018. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…