Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Firethorn: Sarah Micklem’s prose is beautiful

Firethorn by Sarah Micklem

Reading the publisher’s blurb quoted above, you might expect a very different book from this one. It’s not that it’s inaccurate, per se. It’s just that all of the events in the blurb happen at the very beginning of the story. By page 15, Luck has fled the estate and is hiding out in the Kingswood, trying to survive on what she can forage. After what can best be described as a shamanic near-death experience, Luck believes she has been chosen by Ardor, the god of fire, for some unknown purpose,

June 24th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Sarah Micklem | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Little Gods: An elegant collection by Tim Pratt

Little Gods by Tim Pratt

A friend of mine simply adores Tim Pratt and so my curiosity was piqued when I saw this short story collection in the bookstore. Little Gods isn’t thick by any means (at under 300 pages) but it does include 14 short stories.

First off, I really, really love the book design. Second, the book has an introduction by Michaela Rossner, and then an afterword in which Tim Pratt talks about his stories. As for the stories themselves, the adjective that best describes them is “elegant.” Whether Pratt’s stories are very,

Slathbog’s Gold: Adventurers Wanted

Slathbog’s Gold by M.L. Forman

Alex Taylor is not having a good day. He didn’t mean to drop all the glasses and break them. Besides it was his cousin’s fault. Thinking that a brisk walk would clear his head, Alex wanders down a street and happens to see a sign in the window of a bookshop: Adventurers Wanted, apply within.

Curious, Alex enters the store and before he knows it he is signing a contract to go on an adventure with an Elf and a Dwarf. With the rest of his company Alex goes on the adventure of a lifetime searching for the evil dragon Slathbog and pursuing his legendary treasure.

Escapement: The main course

Escapement by Jay Lake

In my opinion, Jay Lake’s Mainspring was a novel full of great potential that was hindered by inconsistent writing and execution. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and was looking forward to reading the sequel. Happily, everything that worked so well in the first book has been retained in Escapement, while most of the problems were corrected, resulting in a greatly improved sequel that is everything Mainspring could have been and much more.

I had several issues with Mainspring — notably the description of Jay’s clockwork universe,

May 21st, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Jay Lake | SFF Reviews | no comments |

God’s Demon: Extraordinary fantasy set in the bowels of Hell

God’s Demon by Wayne Barlowe

From acclaimed artist Wayne Barlowe, whose distinctive stamp can be found in literature (Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials, Expedition), film (Harry Potter 3 + 4, Blade II, Hellboy), television (Discovery Channel’s Alien Planet, Babylon 5) and videogames (Dead Rush, Prototype) as well as appearing in numerous museums, Time, Life, and Newsweek, comes the creator’s latest visionary piece God’s Demon, an extraordinary fantasy novel set in the bowels of Hell.

The Stranger: Don’t give up

The Stranger by Max Frei

Max Frei’s The Stranger is an interesting novel to say the least. For starters, I almost gave up on the book at three different times. Why? Well for one, it took a long while before the book started making sense to me, especially the setting, the story and the novel’s direction. It took even longer for me to get used to The Stranger’s peculiar brand of humor, not to mention the author’s liberal use of exclamation points. And finally,

May 19th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Max Frei | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Adamantine Palace: Missing the hero?

The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas

The Adamantine Palace is classic fantasy with all the major ingredients: magic, dragons, knights, castles and all the trimmings. There is, however, one missing element: the hero. Stephen Deas writes a really interesting, very complex first novel, kicking off the Memory of Flames series, but I can’t figure out who the hero is.

The point of view in The Adamantine Palace switches among five major characters. At times Deas takes us behind the eyes of a few other characters,

May 16th, 2009. John Hulet and Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5, 4.5 | Stephen Deas | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The 13th Reality: A rousing adventure

The 13th Reality by James Dashner

The 13th Reality, the first volume of The Journey of Curious Letters by James Dashner, was a complete delight.

Tick (short for Atticus) is your ultimate unlikely hero. He has a birthmark on his neck that he hates so much that he wears a scarf year-round. The school bullies call it the “barf scarf” and when we meet him, he is in the midst of being bullied. That very day, he receives the first in a series of curious letters,

Monster: Engrossing and funny paranormal fantasy

Monster by A. Lee Martinez

In this humorous paranormal fantasy, a young human by the name of Monster works for a subsidiary of the local animal control services. This agency locates and captures cryptobiologicals: “things that go bump in the night.” Aptly named Monster hunts and captures trolls, unicorns, yetis, dragons and all sorts of animals with his employee, a sixth dimension paper gnome.

Monster’s life is thrown upside down when he meets Judy, a seemingly normal human woman, a bit down on her luck, but otherwise just as incapable of seeing the creepy-crawlies Monster captures as anyone else.

Warbreaker: Sequel, please!

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

I just finished Warbreaker, and the words that keep coming to mind are “That was so good!” This is the first Brandon Sanderson novel I’ve read, and it certainly won’t be the last. Warbreaker combines highly original world-building with an exciting plot that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The novel begins with the introduction of two major characters: Vivenna and Siri, princesses of the tiny kingdom of Idris. You may think you’ve seen these archetypes before — the stiff,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Recent Discussion:

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.