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Mr. Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett
Depression-era America in the Dust Bowl must have seemed like living through the apocalypse. The very earth was drying up and blowing away. Nothing would grow and the rain never came. There was no food, families were disintegrating, and death stalked the land. This is the setting for Mr. Shivers, a first novel by Robert Jackson Bennett.
Upon reading the first several chapters of Mr. Shivers, one forms a mental image of the author: old and craggy,
March 4th, 2011. Terry Weyna and Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | Robert Jackson Bennett | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Chaos is the sequel to Numbers, and is a much better book. The way the numbers work is explained better and the plot is more consistent. The Chaos also has the effect of making Numbers feel like a prequel. Jem is long dead in this installment, and her son’s story has a much larger scope.
It’s the year 2026, and things are a little different: climate change has led to many towns being flooded,
March 4th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Rachel Ward | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Serpent’s Storm by Amber Benson
Calliope Reaper-Jones’s life takes a turn for the grim in Serpent’s Storm, the third book in Amber Benson’s series about the daughter of Death. These books have always featured some serious content, and Serpent’s Storm still contains some humor, but overall this is the most serious Calliope book so far.
The beginning is a little annoying, with Callie in full-on flippant mode, bored with her boyfriend Daniel for a rather obnoxious reason.
February 28th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Amber Benson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire
Before I start my review, an aside about the cover art. Chris McGrath has really outdone himself on the cover for Late Eclipses. Wow, that’s gorgeous. It’s also an actual scene from the book, and every element in the scene is important to the story, from her ball gown to her leather jacket to the items she holds.
Moving along to the book, Late Eclipses features a mystery that hits close to home for Toby Daye.
February 23rd, 2011. Kelly Lasiter and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4 | Seanan McGuire | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Grass-Cutting Sword by Catherynne M. Valente
The Grass-Cutting Sword is a metaphor, comprised almost entirely of exquisite imagery, and every single word has obviously been chosen with a poet’s eye for sound and sight. It is a creation myth and a Grendel for the nuclear age, a story of beginnings and endings, of beauty and hideousness. The images Catherynne M. Valente chooses in The Grass-Cutting Sword will haunt your nightmares and inform your dreams. Close your eyes, for instance, and envision the monster of the tale from this excerpt of its self-description:
I am Eight.
February 22nd, 2011. Terry Weyna´s rating: 4 | Catherynne M. Valente | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Demon Trapper’s Daughter by Jana Oliver
The Demon Trapper’s Daughter (titled Forsaken in the UK) is set in Atlanta, 2018. It’s not precisely a post-apocalyptic setting, but it’s a depressed one, with economic woes plaguing much of the population and demons living openly among humans. These aren’t angsty, misunderstood demons either, but fiends from Hell; the small ones are nuisances and the big ones are deadly.
Seventeen-year-old Riley Blackthorne is an apprentice demon trapper. Her father is himself a prominent trapper,
February 17th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Jana G. Oliver | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Samiha’s Song by Mary Victoria
This is the second book of Mary Victoria’s Chronicles of the Tree trilogy, following closely on the heels of Tymon’s Flight and preceding the final book Oracle’s Fire. As is always the case with middle installments, the story neither begins nor ends, though there is more scope for world-building, character development, and getting the disparate plot-threads in place for the final book.
The setting of the story is one of its most unique aspects,
February 16th, 2011. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Mary Victoria | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Stainless Steel Rat is Born by Harry Harrison
A Stainless Steel Rat is Born is a prequel to the Stainless Steel Rat series. Jimmy Bolivar diGriz is a smart and ambitious 17-year-old who feels trapped and inhibited on the backward planet of Bit O’ Heaven where his parents are porcuswine farmers. Jim learned early in life that he was clever and unscrupulous enough to take what he wanted from others and, more than anything, he enjoyed planning and carrying out these little escapades.
February 15th, 2011. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Harry Harrison | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Faefever by Karen Marie Moning
I’d die for him.
Throughout the Fever series, Karen Marie Moning has always had a penchant for telling us something dramatic and then backing up to explain how Mac got to that point. In Faefever, she takes that technique to a new level: the whole book is the explanation of how she reached that bombshell of a first sentence. Who is this man, and why is Mac willing to die for him?
The early chapters of Faefever are not quite as compelling as those of the first two books.
February 12th, 2011. Kelly Lasiter and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Karen Marie Moning | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
[In our “The Edge of the Universe” column we review 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.]
It is well documented that SFF readers love trilogies, prequel trilogies, tetralogies, and “cycles.” Some authors describe settings, but SFF authors “build” worlds and universes. For many SFF readers, the standard of a well-built world is whether or not it warrants a series.
February 11th, 2011. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Margaret Atwood | Edge | SFF Reviews | no comments |
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…