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Star Rangers (1953) (aka The Last Planet) is the second of Andre Norton’s stand-alone novels included in Star Soldiers, an omnibus released in print by Baen Books in 2001 and in audiobook format by Tantor Media in March 2021. Star Soldiers also includes the novel Star Guard (1955). These two novels are collectively known as the CENTRAL CONTROL stories and,
August 20th, 2021. Kat Hooper and Bill Capossere´s rating: 4, 5 | Andre Norton | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg by Phil & Kaja Foglio
The GIRL GENIUS novels are so much fun! When I picked up the first of these (Agatha H. and the Airship City), I assumed that a novelization of a web comic wouldn’t work very well. Boy, was I wrong! Though the Foglios’ artwork is fabulous, and I urge you with all the force of my will to take a look at it online, I find that I enjoy the story just as much with the novels.
August 16th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Phil and Kaja Foglio | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Venus Liberated by Harl Vincent
Have you ever thought to yourself, while reading a particularly good book, “What a fantastic movie this novel would make!”? Of course you have … it’s a practically inevitable occurrence. And it is one that has just happened to me again, while reading Harl Vincent’s 1929 offering Venus Liberated. Indeed, featuring as it does space travel, a visit to two nearby worlds, weapons and assorted gadgets of superscience, romance, warfare, and some truly hissable and hideous aliens, the book would have been a natural,
August 13th, 2021. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Harl Vincent | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Synchronized Sorcery by Juliet Blackwell
Juliet Blackwell’s WITCHRAFT MYSTERIES series has been delighting readers of paranormal cozy mysteries since 2009. At this point, it seems unnecessary to keep reviewing the individual installments, but since Tantor Media graciously sends me review copies (something I look forward to every summer!), I will continue to say something about them. But if you’re a fan of this series, all you need to know is that book 11, Synchronized Sorcery (2021), is just as good as its predecessors,
August 12th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Juliet Blackwell | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Once again, I find myself indebted to the fine folks at the publisher Armchair Fiction, for alerting me about a book whose existence I probably would never have learned of without their assistance; hardly the first time that this has happened. The novel in question in this instance bears the curious title Thus Far, which was initially released in 1925 by both the British publisher Hodder & Stoughton and the American publisher D. Appleton & Co., and then sank into virtual oblivion for a full 96 years,
August 4th, 2021. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | J.C. Snaith | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
In Ring Shout (2020), P. Djèlí Clark melds two types of horror, Lovecraftian monsters and the bloody rise of the Ku Klux Klan in 1922 Georgia, as a group of black resistance fighters take on an enemy with frightening supernatural powers.
As Ku Klux Klan members march down the streets of Macon, Georgia on the Fourth of July, Maryse Boudreaux, who narrates the story, watches from a rooftop with her two companions, sharpshooter Sadie and former soldier Cordelia “Chef” Lawrence,
August 3rd, 2021. Tadiana Jones and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4, 5 | P. Djèlí Clark | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley
The Empire’s Ruin (2021) kicks off a new series in Brian Staveley’s universe first introduced in his CHRONICLES OF THE UNHEWN THRONE trilogy and then expanded upon via the standalone novel, Skullsworn. The new series, ASHES OF THE UNHEWN THRONE, is a direct sequel to the earlier trilogy, and I strongly recommend reading in publication order, as several of this book’s characters appeared in the first series,
July 30th, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Brian Staveley | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
I loved Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, thought Catching Fire was quite good if not as great as the first one, and was only so-so on Mockingjay. Also, it’s an uphill battle to write a good, enjoyable prequel if the reader already knows what’s going to happen to the main character in the later books and (spoiler) it’s highly unpleasant.
July 26th, 2021. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Suzanne Collins | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
A Desert Torn Asunder by Bradley P. Beaulieu
If you’re like me, you’re always a bit wary of starting a new series that is obviously going to go on for some time. So much can go wrong: will the next book come out in my lifetime? Will the series go downhill at book three? Will the author actually finish it? So having just read A Desert Torn Asunder (2021), the conclusion to Bradley P. Beaulieu’s THE SONG OF THE SHATTERED SANDS, I’m happily adding it to my list of highly recommended DIRTI (Despite Its Required Time Investment) series.
July 21st, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Bradley P. Beaulieu | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A Broken Darkness by Premee Mohamed
At the end of Beneath the Rising, the first book in Premee Mohamed’s cosmic horror trilogy of the same name, I thought narrator Nick Prasad couldn’t be worse off. Yes, he and his prodigy friend Joanna “Johnny” Chambers had closed an interdimensional rift and stopped the Ancient Ones from invading earth, but at the end Nick is left heartbroken, betrayed and disillusioned by what he has learned about Johnny. Like I said, I didn’t think it could get worse for him.
July 16th, 2021. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Premee Mohamed | Horror | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
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…