Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 4.5

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The Ship of Ishtar: A fantasy for the ages

The Ship of Ishtar by Abraham Merritt

The Ship of Ishtar, one of Abraham Merritt’s finest fantasies, first appeared in the pages of Argosy magazine in 1924. An altered version appeared in book form in 1926, and the world finally received the original work in book form in 1949, six years after Merritt’s death.

In this wonderful novel we meet John Kenton, an American archaeologist who has just come into possession of a miniature crystal ship recently excavated “from the sand shrouds of ages-dead Babylon.”

Cleopatra In Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack

Cleopatra In Space (Book 1): Target Practice by Mike Maihack

If you’ve read the excellent Zita books and are looking for a similar title, Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice is the graphic novel you’re looking for. Just like Zita, Cleopatra is a young, independent, intelligent girl who, though stuck in space, manages to enjoy the adventures that fate has set before her. Cleopatra is a fifteen-year-old girl in Ancient Egypt who goes exploring with her friend, a boy named Gozi.

August 8th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |

The Widow’s House: A consistently excellent series

The Widow’s House by Daniel Abraham

I have to hand it to Daniel Abraham; the guy takes some risks. In his first series, the absolutely masterful LONG PRICE QUARTET (read it if you haven’t), he had metaphor as the central conceit — a bit subtle and certainly less flashy than what most probably expect in a fantasy series. In his current series, THE DAGGER AND THE COIN, he makes banking one of the core action threads. Yes, I said banking. And yes, I said action. In fact,

A Boy and A Girl by Jamie S. Rich

A Boy and A Girl by Jamie S. Rich (writer) and Natalie Nourigat (artist)

I was certainly surprised by this story. I’d seen it on Comixology before, but I’d passed it up. However, I decided to give it a chance after reading Natalie Nourigat’s wonderful comic book Between the Gears, a coming-of-age autobiography about her senior year at the University of Oregon. I knew I liked her art, and just for that reason alone, I enjoyed A Boy and A Girl.

August 1st, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Rogues: A diverse and satisfying collection

Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

Rogues, a short-story anthology by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, is a marvelously diverse collection of stories and genres, tied together by those scoundrels, those tricksters, those rascals, those rogues that you can’t help but love. I listened to it on audiobook and loved the experience, especially because a few of the readers were actors from Game of Thrones.

When I picked this up, I was most excited to hear two stories in particular: “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back,”

July 31st, 2014. Kate Lechler´s rating: 4.5 | Cherie Priest, Gardner Dozois, George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Michael Swanwick, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Phyllis Eisenstein, Scott Lynch, Walter Jon Williams | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

The Humanoids: A great novel

The Humanoids by Jack Williamson

The late 1940s was a period of remarkable creativity for future sci-fi Grand Master Jack Williamson. July ’47 saw the release of his much-acclaimed short story “With Folded Hands” in the pages of Astounding Science-Fiction, followed by the tale’s two-part serialized sequel, And Searching Mind, in that influential magazine’s March and April 1948 issues. Darker Than You Think, Williamson’s great sci-fi/fantasy/horror hybrid, was released later in 1948, and 1949 saw the publication of And Searching Mind in hardcover form,

July 29th, 2014. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Jack Williamson | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone: A fascinating pilgrimage

Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone by Ian McDonald

Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone is a fascinating short novel by Ian McDonald. At the beginning of the story we meet Ethan Ring, who’s feeling conspicuously tall and red-headed as he chants in a Buddhist temple. Ethan and his friend, a famous Japanese manga artist, are on a bicycle pilgrimage in Japan. Neither of them knows what kind of demons the other is struggling with, and neither does the reader at first, but as they journey on, their stories come out and even though each man’s tale is different,

The Chosen Seed: Keeps readers compulsively turning pages

The Chosen Seed by Sarah Pinborough

Note: This review contains spoilers for the first two books in the FORGOTTEN GODS trilogy. The review of the first of the books in the trilogy, A Matter of Blood, is here; the review of the second, The Shadow of the Soul, is here.

The first two books of Sarah Pinborough’s FORGOTTEN GODS trilogy opened with one of the members of the shadowy group known as The Bank committing murder most foul — and supernatural — and The Chosen Seed continues that pattern.

The Oversight: One of the best audiobooks I’ve read this year

The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher

Charlie Fletcher, previously best known for his Middle Grade STONEHEART trilogy, makes his adult debut with The Oversight, the first book in his OVERSIGHT trilogy. I listened to Hachette Audio’s version read by the illustrious Simon Prebble, an Audie-winning narrator who always brings out the best in the books he reads.

The story is set in a supernatural Victorian London where five gifted people who call themselves The Oversight attempt to protect the world from the paranormal baddies that live in another dimension and are trying to break through.

The Crimson Campaign: A wonderful sequel

The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

War is hell. That is true on many different levels, and each individual copes with it differently. Brian McClellan’s The Crimson Campaign is a journey into hell from four perspectives — each character’s hell no less terrible than the others’.

Tamas is the acknowledged tyrant, military leader,and instigator of the overthrow on the Kingdom of Andro when his group of crack powder-mages killed the King and his royal cabal of Privileged (extremely powerful users of magic). Tamas has been through hell,

July 7th, 2014. John Hulet´s rating: 4.5 | Brian McClellan | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
Bill Capossere on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
We’re in total agreement David!
David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.