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Warriors edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
FORMAT/INFO: Warriors is 736 pages long divided over twenty short stories and an Introduction by George R.R. Martin. Each short story is preceded by biographical information about the author and a short description of their contribution to the anthology. March 16, 2010 marks the North American Hardcover publication of Warriors via Tor.
ANALYSIS:
February 28th, 2010. Robert Thompson and Greg Hersom´s rating: 4.5 | Carrie Vaughn, Cecelia Holland, David Weber, Diana Gabaldon, Gardner Dozois, George R.R. Martin, James Clemens, Joe Haldeman, Joe R. Lansdale, Naomi Novik, Peter S. Beagle, Robert Silverberg, Robin Hobb, S.M. Stirling, Tad Williams | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe
Note: This rating reflects my happiness with the audio version of Burn Me Deadly. Four stars for the print version. Listen to a sample of this audiobook here.
Ah, the combination of Alex Bledsoe (the author), Eddie LaCrosse (the hero) and Stefan Rudnicki (the reader) — it doesn’t get much better than that!
Burn Me Deadly is the sequel to The Sword-Edged Blonde,
February 24th, 2010. Kat Hooper and Rob Rhodes´s rating: 4, 4.5 | Alex Bledsoe | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Real Unreal: Best American Fantasy 3 edited by Kevin Brockmeier
On a hypothetical chart, with high epic fantasy in the vein of J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen Donaldson on one end and (for want of a better term) the magical realism of Gabriel García Marquez and Graham Joyce on the other, the twenty stories in the excellent Real Unreal: Best American Fantasy 3 fall, for the most part, close to or smack on the latter extreme of the scale.
February 17th, 2010. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4.5 | John Kessel, Kevin Brockmeier, Lisa Goldstein, Peter S. Beagle | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
I confess that I’ve read nothing by Salman Rushdie before, and any knowledge I have of him stems from the controversy that surrounds him. Most are probably well aware of this already, but in 1988 his novel The Satanic Verses was published, resulting in a call by Muslim extremists for his execution. Consequently, he has been forced to spend many years under police protection. I only mention this in the context of this review, because I doubt Haroun and the Sea of Stories would exist had Rushdie not experienced this concentrated effort to have him permanently silenced.
February 16th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Salman Rushdie | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Conqueror’s Shadow by Ari Marmell
CLASSIFICATION: Combining lighthearted humor and graphic violence with both traditional fantasy tropes and trope-breaking twists, The Conqueror’s Shadow is what would happen if you took Dungeons & Dragons and crossed it with the writing styles of David Eddings and Joe Abercrombie.
FORMAT/INFO: The Conqueror’s Shadow is 448 pages long divided over 28 numbered chapters, a Prologue, and an Epilogue.
February 15th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Ari Marmell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology by Christopher Golden (ed.)
FORMAT/INFO: The New Dead is 400 pages long divided over nineteen short stories. Also includes a Foreword by the editor Christopher Golden, and biographies on all of the anthology’s contributors. February 16, 2010 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of The New Dead via St. Martin’s Griffin. Cover art provided by Per Haagensen. The UK version will be published on February 18,
February 13th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Christopher Golden, David Wellington, Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, John Connolly, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Mike (M.R.) Carey, Rick Hautala, Tad Williams, Tim Lebbon | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Had I realized that House of Many Ways was another sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle it would’ve ended up in my hands even quicker than it did. Nevertheless, it found its way there happily enough, allowing me another visit into my favorite of Diana Wynne Jones’ wonderful worlds.
House of Many Ways features Charmain Baker, an overly sheltered girl strong-armed by her aunt into taking care of her Great-Uncle William’s cottage — which just so happens to bend space and time,
February 8th, 2010. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
It’s just a routine rain spell. Jessie and her teacher and lover, Cooper, head to the city park to call up a storm and make a few bucks. But something goes horribly wrong. By the end of the night, Cooper has been sucked away into a Hell realm, and Jessie has suffered devastating injuries.
Then, things get worse. Benedict Jordan, the leader of the city’s magicians, gives Jessie a choice: either she agrees not to rescue Cooper, or else she becomes anathema.
February 5th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Lucy A. Snyder | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
I’ve often said that employing the usual fantasy tropes in a novel isn’t an automatic sign of poor writing; it’s what you do with them that matters. Witness the three main characters in Peter Brett’s The Warded Man: a young boy leaving his small hamlet for the larger world, a young girl trying to maintain her independent nature, a young orphan who must make his own way in the world. Anyone seen these before? Anyone? Buehler?
Luckily for us readers,
February 1st, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Peter V. Brett | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Hallowed Circle by Linda Robertson
Linda Robertson’s first novel, Vicious Circle, was a fun read, and its sequel, Hallowed Circle, is even better. In this second installment, Robertson spins a highly original plot (if this has been done in urban fantasy before, it was in a book I missed!), further develops her characters and the relationships among them, and as an added bonus, passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors.
Persephone Alcmedi is still reeling from the discovery that she is the Lustrata,
January 27th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Linda Robertson | 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…