Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 4

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Ascension: Fun, exciting first book

Ascension by Sable Grace

It’s been a week since the apocalypse. The gates of Tartarus have opened, spilling out Dark Breed (demons, vampires, zombies and the like) onto the earth. Many humans have been killed and the rest driven into hiding. Kyana is technically Darkbreed herself — half vampire and half shapeshifter — but has mastered her urges and works for the Order of Ancients, which is fighting the Dark Breed menace and trying to protect as many humans as they can. Kyana learns that a key possessed by the long-dead god Cronos enabled the opening of Tartarus,

April 27th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Sable Grace | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Gods & Monsters: Another strong entry

Gods & Monsters by Lyn Benedict

A subplot in Ghosts & Echoes involved Sylvie and a werewolf, Tatya, looking into the disappearance of a young woman in the Everglades. Lyn Benedict picks that thread back up at the beginning of Gods & Monsters. The woman has been found dead in the swamps, along with four others. Sylvie doesn’t want to get personally involved in this case, so she calls the police — but when the police move the bodies, one explodes into flame and the other four shift into animals.

April 26th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Lyn Benedict | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Fires of the Faithful: Sad, frightening, stirring

Fires of the Faithful by Naomi Kritzer

Eliana’s music-conservatory education is uneventful until Mira and the new song arrive. Mira is her new roommate; Eliana is drawn to her but suspects she is lying about her past. The song — a catchy little ditty about a murderous stepmother –may actually be a cover for a controversial idea. Then the inquisitors of the Fedeli show up at the conservatory, looking for heretics. Eliana is shocked and angered when a friend is executed —— and shocked again when she learns the secret cause behind a famine that has been plaguing the land.

April 25th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Naomi Kritzer | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Dark Jenny: Eddie is an awesome hero

Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe

“I remembered the way her hair smelled as she wrenched my fingers back into place.”

While drinking a beer with his girlfriend on a snowy day in Angelina’s Tavern, middle-aged sword-jockey Eddie LaCrosse gets a strange delivery: a coffin. This unusual event sparks some interest in Angelina’s lethargic patrons, and soon they’re all gathered around while Eddie regales them with the story of how he came to be the recipient of such an odd gift and, more importantly, who’s in it.

If you haven’t read one of Alex Bledsoe’s Eddie LaCrosse Mysteries yet,

In the Garden of Iden: Historical science fiction romance

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

Rescued from the dungeons of the Spanish Inquisition, feisty little Mendoza is enrolled in a special school and becomes a cyborg agent of The Company, a group of immortal merchants and scientists who travel backwards in time in order to make money for The Company and to benefit mankind in various ways.

Mendoza is educated and trained as a botanist and, for her first mission, she’s sent back to 16th century Europe to document and study samples from the famous Garden of Iden in England.

April 20th, 2011. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Kage Baker | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

River of Shadows: Pure fun and entertainment

River of Shadows by Robert V.S. Redick

PLOT SUMMARY: The crew of the vast, ancient ship Chathrand has reached the shores of the legendary southern empire of Bali Adro. Many have died in the crossing, and the alliance of rebels, led by the tarboy Pazel Pathkendle and the admiral’s daughter Thasha Isiq, has faced death, betrayal, and darkest magic. But nothing has prepared them for the radically altered face of humanity in the South.

They have little time to recover from the shock, however. For with landfall, the battle between the rebels and centuries-old sorcerer Arunis enters its final phase.

April 19th, 2011. Robert Thompson and Bill Capossere´s rating: 4, 5 | Robert V.S. Redick | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The White Rose: Cook’s dare pays off

The White Rose by Glen Cook

The final entry in a trilogy requires something special. In fantasy, that usually means finding godly machinery and amassing armies that will face each other on some distant, volcanic plain while a small band of covert heroes pull off a daring, one-in-a-million scheme.

However, up to this point, Glen Cook’s Black Company series has stood out for its noir atmosphere more than its epic company of mercenaries. Surprisingly, in The White Rose, Cook sacrifices his hard-boiled narrative for an epic fantasy storyline.

April 18th, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Glen Cook | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |

Shadow: Immerse yourself in the world of an amnesiac

Shadow by K.J. Parker

Shadow by K.J. Parker is a difficult book to recommend because I highly enjoyed it, but I can also understand why many readers might hate it or be unable to finish it. It’s a unique book.

Shadow opens with the protagonist waking up surrounded by dead bodies and having no memory of who he is. He goes from one odd situation to another trying to make some sort of life for himself while trying to find out who he is and where he fits in the world.

April 17th, 2011. Sarah Chorn´s rating: 4 | K.J. Parker | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Expiration Date: On the Edge

Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski

[In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.]

Mash up a mystery, a graphic novel sensibility and a fantasy time travel novel, and what have you got? The Edgar-nominated Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski, a novel so compelling that you’ll want to read it in a single sitting.

Entwined: A retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Entwined is a retelling of the fairy tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” in which the King’s twelve daughters slip away to a mysterious underground realm every night and dance their slippers to ribbons. Heather Dixon chooses to focus mainly on one sister as the heroine: Azalea, the eldest.

At the beginning of the book, the Queen dies giving birth to the twelfth princess. Azalea and her sisters are heartbroken, and to make things worse, their stiff-necked father the King pushes them away in his own grief.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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