4 | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

Rating: 4

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My Soul to Take: Solid YA fantasy

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee Cavanaugh wants to be a normal teenage girl, but her “panic attacks” stand in the way. Kaylee can sense when someone is about to die. She can’t save the dying person, though, and can’t warn them. All she can do is let out an unearthly scream. If you’re familiar with mythology, you can probably guess what kind of supernatural being Kaylee turns out to be!

As My Soul to Take begins, Kaylee learns that her premonitions are real and that her screaming episodes aren’t symptoms of mental illness.

The Golem’s Eye: Good sequel, lacks a bit of the spark

The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud

The Golem’s Eye is a solidly enjoyable if slightly disappointing follow-up to The Amulet of Samarkand, which admittedly set itself a very high standard. The book returns to the same setting and characters first introduced in Samarkand, while expanding upon the first novel with a few new characters, one new setting (Prague) and a somewhat more complicated plot.

As in the first book, the major story involves a plot against the government which Nathaniel the young ambitious wizard must confront with his much more wise and experienced (and acidic) djinn,

Dragon and Phoenix: Slow To Begin, But Well Done Overall

Dragon and Phoenix by Joanne Bertin

Joanne Bertin’s Dragonlord plot has been rather weak overall. However, Dragon and Phoenix is a huge improvement on The Last DragonLord.

The Dragonlords are no longer the sole concern and in fact, they are hardly mentioned for a good deal of the novel. They’re much less overbearing this time around and while the whole “soultwin” bit is still silly, it isn’t quite as absurd as it was throughout The Last DragonLord.

December 20th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4 | Joanne Bertin | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Iorich: A blast for Vlad Taltos fans (if you’re not one, you should be)

Iorich by Steven Brust

Remember those episodes of Matlock in which someone is arrested for a crime, but during the investigation it turns out that the arrest was really just a front for a much larger intrigue? Steven Brust‘s newest VLAD TALTOS novel Iorich is sort of like that — except the person who is arrested is Aliera e’Kieron, and the larger intrigue involves Empress Zerika of the Dragaeran Empire. Oh, and Matlock’s role is played by Vlad Taltos, human assassin and bon-vivant,

December 18th, 2009. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | Steven Brust | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

The Wyrm King: A treat, as always

The Wyrm King by Holly Black

The third and final part of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s collaborative effort is called The Wyrm King, following on from The Nixie’s Song and A Giant Problem, part of the Beyond the Spiderwick trilogy which in turn is a sequel to the original The Spiderwick Chronicles series (why are fantasy titles so convoluted?) and which wraps up the trilogy in a satisfying, action-picked finale.

Not Less Than Gods: Rollicking and adventurous steampunk

Not Less Than Gods by Kage Baker

Your reaction to the announcement of Not Less Than Gods by consistently excellent SF and fantasy author Kage Baker will probably depend to a large extent on how familiar you are with her The Company series. If you haven’t read any of the Company novels or collections, the story of the Gentlemen’s Speculative Society (GSS) and one of its operatives, Edward Alton Fairfax-Bell, sounds like an interesting and entertaining steampunk novel. However, if you’re familiar with the Company series,

December 16th, 2009. Stefan Raets and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4 | Kage Baker | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

The Better Part of Darkness: An excellent tale

The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay

I thoroughly enjoyed The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay.

Charlie Madigan is a policewoman and a single mother in a dystopian Atlanta in which we share our world with beings from two magical realms that are vaguely reminiscent of heaven and hell. Shortly before the novel starts, Charlie is beaten to death and brought back to life with a new set of nightmares and supernatural powers she must come to terms with if she hopes to solve the mystery.

December 15th, 2009. Stephen B. Frank´s rating: 4 | Kelly Gay | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Three Days to Dead: I loved the trolls

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

Evangeline Stone is a Dreg hunter, charged with protecting mundane humanity from the things that go bump in the night, until the night she is betrayed. Her teammates are killed, Evy is framed for their deaths and forced to run, and then somehow — she can’t remember just what happened — she ends up dead. She is resurrected, but in the body of a stranger, and with big holes in her memory. Now she must unravel the mystery of her own murder and how it ties into a larger conspiracy.

December 15th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Kelly Meding | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |

Gatty’s Tale: Spunky little protagonist on a fascinating journey

... Gatty makes for a lovely young heroine. Although only a field-girl, she is impulsive, bright, compassionate, and possesses an innate sense of wisdom and openness to the world around her that makes for several thought-provoking moments.
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Magic in the Shadows: Fresh and funny urban fantasy

Magic in the Shadows by Devon Monk

“All I had wanted was a frickin’ cup of coffee. Couldn’t a girl go downtown without having to deal with undead mutated murderers on the way?”

When that girl is Allie Beckstrom… no. As Magic in the Shadows begins, Allie is hoping for a nice, normal date with her boyfriend Zayvion. Unfortunately, her father’s ghost has taken up residence in her head, and then there’s that grisly crime scene she and Zayvion find on the way to the restaurant…

November 8th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Devon Monk | SFF Reviews | no comments |

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June 2025

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.),…
biliwin Game login on The Giallo Films of Edwige FenechJune 22, 2025
I loved this deep dive into Edwige Fenech's Giallo films! Her performances add such a unique flavor to the genre.…

Rating: 4

My Soul to Take: Solid YA fantasy

The Golem’s Eye: Good sequel, lacks a bit of the spark

Dragon and Phoenix: Slow To Begin, But Well Done Overall

Iorich: A blast for Vlad Taltos fans (if you’re not one, you should be)

The Wyrm King: A treat, as always

Not Less Than Gods: Rollicking and adventurous steampunk

The Better Part of Darkness: An excellent tale

Three Days to Dead: I loved the trolls

Gatty’s Tale: Spunky little protagonist on a fascinating journey

Magic in the Shadows: Fresh and funny urban fantasy

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