Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 4

Click on stars to FIND REVIEWS BY RATING:
Recommended:
Not Recommended:

The Best of Michael Moorcock: Excellent short stories

The Best of Michael Moorcock by Michael Moorcock

The Best of Michael Moorcock is a collection of the legendary author’s best short fiction, containing several of his classic stories, as well as one previously unreleased story.

The collection, lovingly edited by John Davey with Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, is nothing short of excellent. There are really no bad stories here, and some that are simply stunning. As someone who has read many of Michael Moorcock‘s novels but barely any of his shorter work,

Jovah’s Angel: Intelligent character-driven fantasy

Jovah’s Angel by Sharon Shinn

Set about 150 years after Archangel, Jovah’s Angel returns to the world of the Samaria books to find a new set of problems besieging the land. Terribly destructive storms are wracking the land, and the angels, who for hundreds of years have been able to intercede with the god Jovah for protection, can no longer work their magic. When one particularly bad storm hurls the Archangel Delilah to the ground, breaking her wing and leaving her no longer capable of flight,

January 7th, 2010. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4 | Sharon Shinn | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Grand Tour: If you enjoy Jane Austen…

The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede

We last saw the cousins Cecelia and Kate at the conclusion of Sorcery and Cecelia:The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, in which they had foiled a devious plot and found true love with their new husbands, Thomas Schofield and James Tartleton. The story was unique because it was told in the format of letters between the two cousins, each one telling the other about their separate adventures; and as they did with their previous collaboration, the authors Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer each take a character (Wrede is Cecelia;

Deadtown: Holds up well against the best in the genre

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

When FanLit interviewed Nancy Holzner last month, I thought she sounded so nice, and her debut, Deadtown, sounded awesome. While shopping that night at my local Wal-Mart, I noticed Deadtown on the shelf, so, naturally, into my cart it went, and I started reading as soon as I got home.

After a mysterious plague strikes Boston, its fallout area becomes known as Deadtown. Deadtown residents are controlled by the state of Massachusetts — they have few rights and must carry identifying papers when they move about the various zones.

January 6th, 2010. Justin Blazier and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Nancy Holzner | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Doppelgangster: A great mix of urban fantasy, humor, mystery, chicklit

Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick

Esther Diamond is between acting jobs. To make ends meet, she takes a job waiting tables at Bella Stella. Connor Lopez, the cop who may or may not be Esther’s boyfriend, is concerned because Bella Stella is frequented by the Gambello crime family, but hey, a girl’s gotta make a living!

Before long, though, Esther lands in deep trouble. One of Bella Stella’s regulars, Chubby Charlie, sees a perfect double of himself and then is murdered right in front of her. She’s traumatized by the event,

January 6th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Laura Resnick | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Arms-Commander: A welcome return

Arms-Commander by L.E. Modesitt Jr

Arms-Commander is a return to historical Candar and the SAGA OF RECLUCE by L.E. Modesitt Jr. This book follows in the wake of Chaos Balance and Fall of Angels as continued explanation of how the female-run and empowered part of the continent of Candar came to be. For long term fans of the series, this is really interesting stuff to fill in some of the blanks.

Saryn, a decidedly cardboard character from the earlier series,

January 3rd, 2010. John Hulet´s rating: 4 | L.E. Modesitt_Jr | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Cuckoo Tree: A deeper, more scary adventure than usual

The Cuckoo Tree by Joan Aiken

After her light-hearted adventures on the island of Nantucket in the previous installment in Joan Aiken’s Wolves Saga, Dido Twite comes up against darker enemies once she reaches English soil once more. At the end of the last book, Dido left Nantucket with Captain Hughes, who since then has become rather ill. When the carriage they’re riding in overtips thanks to a dodgy cabby-driver, Dido goes for help and soon finds herself in the company of more weird and wonderful acquaintances — so many in fact,

Leviathan: A wonderful mix of the utterly original and the familiar

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan is the beginning of a new steampunk YA series by Scott Westerfeld, author of other well-known (and highly recommended) YA series such as Uglies and Midnighters, along with one of my favorite non-YA science fiction works of recent memory, The Risen Empire (even more highly recommended). As is usual with good YA, don’t let the label turn you away; Westerfeld knows how to write for a younger audience without dumbing things down and without excluding older readers.

Under in the Mere: Inaccessible, maddening, rewarding

Under in the Mere by Catherynne Valente

Catherynne Valente’s novella Under in the Mere is about as inaccessible a book as I’ve read in some time. That doesn’t mean I’m not recommending it, but it’s fair warning to any who attempt it. Under in the Mere is a poetic, surrealistic “retelling” of several Arthurian tales (a mix of the better and lesser known ones), although “retelling” is really far too pedestrian and prosaic a term for Valente’s dense, imagistic and poetic language here,

Turned: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series

Turned by Julie Kenner

Turned is the third, and best, book in Julie Kenner’s Blood Lily Chronicles series. The convergence is coming, when hell’s gates will open, spilling out hordes of demons onto the Earth. Lily is the linchpin in the schemes of both Good and Evil, the “Prophecy Girl” who must choose between two fates: becoming queen of the demons, or locking the gates at the cost of her own eternal torment. Lily knows which path she must choose, but darned if queendom doesn’t sound a lot more appealing than burning in hell forever…

December 31st, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Julie Kenner | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

We have reviewed 8491 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

Subscribe to all posts:

Support FanLit

Want to help us defray the cost of domains, hosting, software, and postage for giveaways? Donate here:

You can support FanLit (for free) by using these links when you shop at Amazon:

US UK CANADA

Or, in the US, simply click the book covers we show. We receive referral fees for all purchases (not just books). This has no impact on the price and we can't see what you buy. This is how we pay for hosting and postage for our GIVEAWAYS. Thank you for your support!

SFF Deals

Recent Discussion:

Becky Ashwell on Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in the Franchise EraJune 26, 2025
Gentlemen, I concur! (Forgive me for jumping into your convo)
Marion Deeds on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A graphic novel adaptation by Manu Larcenet (An Oxford College Student Review!)June 25, 2025
The cover is amazing. I love how the graphic novel (and the review!) hewed close to the theme of "good…
Gregory S Hersom on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A graphic novel adaptation by Manu Larcenet (An Oxford College Student Review!)June 24, 2025
I've thought about picking that one up. The artwork looks perfect.
Sandy Ferber on Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in the Franchise EraJune 23, 2025
I like the way you think, Bill. I found the second one particularly objectionable; the one with Khan. It was…
Bill Capossere on Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in the Franchise EraJune 22, 2025
I find if I take every Trek reference out of them (the title, the character names, the ship names, etc.),…

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30