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Mandelbrot the Magnificent: An almost-mystical origin story

Mandelbrot the Magnificent by Liz Ziemska

Prior to reading this novella, what I knew about the mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot would have fit into an embarrassingly small thimble (with plenty of room to spare). I identified fractal shapes simply as “tessellations on steroids” and my only reference point for a “mandelbrot” was a delicious cookie.

But thanks to Liz Ziemska, I have a much greater appreciation for Mandelbrot’s work in his field, as well as the passion and determination that sustained him through his years in Nazi-occupied France.

Dark Melody of Madness: The Supernatural Novellas of Cornell Woolrich

Dark Melodies of Madness: The Supernatural Novellas of Cornell Woolrich by Cornell Woolrich

Because New York City-born author Cornell Woolrich so excelled at tales of suspense, crime, murder and noirish mayhem, there might be some who find it hard to believe that he could also excel in the arena of horror. But those who have read Woolrich’s truly frightening novel of 1945, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, which combines the occult, clairvoyance, death and predestination into one tasty chiller, already know how capable he could be in that field.

Persepolis Rising: The Rocinante crew discuss their options

Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey

(Some of these lines are direct quotes from Persepolis Rising (2017), the seventh book in James S.A. Corey’s series THE EXPANSE.)

Holden looked at Naomi over the cloud from his coffee. “I think it may be time for us to do something else. For me to do something else, anyway.”

Naomi stopped eating and looked up at him. “Walk me through it.”

“Pirates. Martians. The Protomolecule.

December 4th, 2017. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | James S.A. Corey | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen: Building the World of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen by Daniel Falconer

Getting a glimpse behind the scenes of a favorite film is always exciting — it’s rather like pulling the curtain back and, rather than seeing a humdrum old snake oil salesman, actually discovering a great and powerful wizard. David Falconer’s Middle-Earth: From Script to Screen gives credit to the several hundred wizards hard at work re-creating and re-inventing J.R.R. Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS novels and The Hobbit into two sets of visual feasts.

Chimes at Midnight: We love this series!

Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire

I have enjoyed Seanan McGuire’s OCTOBER DAYE urban fantasies, but a few of her more recent novels in the series seemed to introduce too many characters and bring too many different magic systems into play. However, the latest two novels, Chimes at Midnight and The Winter Long (which I’ll review soon), have knocked my socks off with tight plotting and memorable characters. Now I once again find myself impatient for the next one to arrive,

November 10th, 2017. Terry Weyna and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Seanan McGuire | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |

The Beautiful Ones: The true magic is that of the human heart

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s 2017 novel The Beautiful Ones is an historical romance, a comedy of manners set in an alternate world. This world has the social mores and the esthetic of Europe’s Belle Époque (the late 19th century). Certain people in the world of The Beautiful Ones have telekinetic abilities, but while these abilities do play an important part in the story, this is not a story of magic unless it’s the magic of the human heart.

After Atlas: CSI: Future World

After Atlas by Emma Newman

Emma Newman’s After Atlas (2016) is the pseudo-sequel to her first sci-fi offering, Planetfall (2015). As Kat explained in her review, Planetfall is about a colony of humans who left Earth to follow Suh, an alleged prophet who received a supernatural message giving her the coordinates of an unknown distant planet where she was supposed to travel to receive instructions about God’s plans for humanity. After Atlas takes place on Earth,

November 2nd, 2017. Jason Golomb and Jana Nyman´s rating: 3, 4.5 | Emma Newman | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Chew (Vol. 1): A fantastic piece of literature

In this column, I feature comic book reviews written by my students at Oxford College of Emory University. Oxford College is a small liberal arts school just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I challenge students to read and interpret comics because I believe sequential art and visual literacy are essential parts of education at any level (see my Manifesto!). I post the best of my students’ reviews in this column. Today, I am proud to present a review by Arden Godfrey:

Arden Godfrey is a freshman at Oxford College of Emory University and is pursuing a double major in Psychology and German Studies with the intent to go to medical school for the Genetic Counseling program.

October 28th, 2017. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

The Hounds of the Morrigan: A lesser known children’s classic

We’d like to introduce new reviewer Taya Okerlund. Welcome, Taya!

The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea

The Hounds of the Morrigan (1985) is an overlooked classic in children’s fantasy. A gem of a book published before the children’s fantasy readership exploded. (The classics are sometimes underappreciated by a readership who discovered children’s fantasy with Harry Potter.)

Consider Pidge, the sober-minded boy who unwittingly frees the evil Olc-Glas serpent from his prison within the pages of an old manuscript.

The Stone in the Skull: Wonderful start to a new series

The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear

With The Stone in the Skull (2017), Elizabeth Bear returns to the world of her ETERNAL SKY trilogy with the opening book in another series, this one entitled THE LOTUS KINGDOMS. I only gave the first trilogy a 3.5, but recognized that score as being more than a little “churlish” as I put it, since the series was “So smart. So deep. So beautiful … [with] Complex, realistic characters … Big ideas.

October 10th, 2017. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Elizabeth Bear | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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