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Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint
Jack of Kinrowan is actually two books — Jack the Giant Killer and Drink Down the Moon — in an omnibus edition.
Jack the Giant Killer served as de Lint’s volume in the excellent Datlow and Windling edited series of modern retellings of classic fairy tales, as it retells the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, this time with Jack being a Jacky.
May 22nd, 2010. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4 | Charles De_Lint | SFF Reviews | no comments |
WWW: Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
Note: This review is slightly spoilerish; some of the themes I discuss are important to the overall story, but no actual plot points are revealed. Sawyer delivers his message through dialog between characters, so some of the ideas I mention do not get discussed till later in the book. If you had mixed feelings about book 1, you should read this review before deciding to read book 2.
The story of Caitlin and the emergent entity WebMind continues in Watch.
May 19th, 2010. Justin Blazier´s rating: 4 | Robert J. Sawyer | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
M.D. Lachlan brings us a story from the North, where a Prince falls in love with a farmer’s daughter and goes to the far ends of the earth to rescue her from slavery. Vali is the Prince in question, a boy stolen by King Athun under the influence of prophecy. What begins as a straightforward tale of Viking politics and berserker raiding as Vali grows from boy to man becomes infinitely more rewarding — a novel dealing with secretive magic and an everlasting battle between the Gods Odin and Loki.
May 18th, 2010. Amanda Rutter (guest)´s rating: 4 | M.D. Lachlan | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Artemis Fowl is a fast-paced blend of 21st century technology and ancient fairy magic, written by Irishman Eoin Colfer for young enthusiasts of science-fiction and fantasy. The plot is straightforward: Artemis, a 12-year-old genius and the son of the missing overlord of a criminal dynasty, concocts a scheme to acquire the little golden book of fairy lore and, using its secrets, hold a fairy hostage for an enormous ransom. The only thing is, Colfer’s fairies aren’t delicate little Tinkerbell-types;
May 15th, 2010. Rob Rhodes and Tim Scheidler´s rating: 3, 4 | Eoin Colfer | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Shadowfall is the start of yet another fantasy series and much of it will sound familiar to fans of the genre. There is a military order of skilled knights with a secret sect, a pantheon of gods, not one but two special swords (not to mention a special dagger), lots of folks with hidden origins, a small band fighting against overwhelming odds, and a quest to undertake to save the world.
Despite the oh-so-familiar trappings, however, and despite some flaws of execution,
May 15th, 2010. Bill Capossere and Greg Hersom´s rating: 4 | James Clemens | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts
Sarah Beauhall, heroine of Black Blade Blues, was a woman after my own heart from the very beginning. Not only is she a lesbian and a blacksmith — traits that set her apart from the Standard Urban Fantasy Heroine — she also attends sci-fi conventions and hangs out with Ren Faire and SCA enthusiasts. This isn’t just a character I’d like to have a beer with. This is a character I feel like I’ve already had a beer with!
May 14th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | J.A. Pitts | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Dragon Haven istheconclusion to Robin Hobb’s Rain Wild Chronicles, which began with Dragon Keeper. In reviewing the first book, I said it was a difficult task to judge Dragon Keeper as it was mostly setup for what was to come (I believe it was originally supposed to be one novel but had to be split into two books for size). So now that it’s complete, how does the whole story hold up?
May 3rd, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Robin Hobb | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Choice of the Cat by E.E. Knight
David Valentine returns home for a break in Choice of the Cat, but his rest is short-lived, as he quickly becomes the victim of military bureaucracy and is given a special assignment: he is to partner with a special agent who goes by the code name Smoke. Smoke, a small, attractive female killer with mild psychotic tendencies, is a specialized soldier called a Cat. While we learned a little about Cats in Way of the Wolf,
April 30th, 2010. Justin Blazier´s rating: 4 | E.E. Knight | Audio | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
It’s a hot and humid Georgia summer, and 10 year old Beau Jackson and his family have made their annual journey to the summer retreat of Gull Island. (Gull Island is not really an island, it’s a peninsula, but like the name of Gull Island, not everything is like it seems.) Beau’s family stays in the old home still occupied by his grandmother and they’re joined by his aunt and his odd cousin Sumter. The Jacksons seem like a typical albeit somewhat dysfunctional Southern American family, but that doesn’t take long to change.
April 27th, 2010. Justin Blazier´s rating: 4 | Douglas Clegg | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
CLASSIFICATION: Blood Oath marries political and techno thrills with the supernatural. It’s like 24 meets Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels meets Fringe meets Blade.
FORMAT/INFO: Blood Oath is 400 pages long divided over 69 numbered chapters and an Epilogue. Narration is in the third person via several characters, both good and bad, including Nathaniel Cade, Zach Barrows, the President of the United States, Tania, Dr.
April 26th, 2010. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Christopher Farnsworth | SFF Reviews | no comments |
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…
Gentlemen, I concur! (Forgive me for jumping into your convo)
The cover is amazing. I love how the graphic novel (and the review!) hewed close to the theme of "good…
I've thought about picking that one up. The artwork looks perfect.