Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 4

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Hannah: Great for young girls

Hannah by Kathryn Lasky

The other orphan girls at the Boston Home for Little Wanderers fantasize that they are secretly the long-lost daughters of wealthy families, or even of royalty. Hannah harbors no such dreams. What she doesn’t know, however, is that her heritage is the strangest of all. When she is packed off to live in dry landlocked Kansas and falls deathly ill, she begins to realize that she’s not like other girls.

Desperate, Hannah returns to Boston and finds a job as a scullery maid with the wealthy Hawley family.

Sacred Scars: Shifts focus, still a pleasure

Sacred Scars by Kathleen Duey

Sacred Scars, the second book in the A Resurrection of Magic trilogy, picks up immediately where the action in Skin Hunger leaves off. Told with the same style of focusing on the two main characters, Sadima and Hahp, in alternating chapters, the book starts with Sadima, Franklin, and Somiss living in a mysterious complex of caves and tunnels outside the main city of Limori, and Hahp trying to figure out how to survive the magical training he is undergoing at the hands of sadistic wizards.

Daggerspell: Innovative world building, sympathetic characterization

Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr

As a young man, Nevyn’s inability to choose starts a series of events that leads to the death of his betrothed, her brother, and another man. At his beloved’s grave he swears to never rest until he has righted the wrongs he caused. The gods accept his vow, and he is gifted with immortality until he has fulfilled his promise. Daggerspell follows Nevyn’s attempts to pay the debts he owes as the spirits of the three people to whom he is spiritually tied are born and reborn.

August 18th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4 | Katharine Kerr | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Red Tree: What a strange book!

The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan

What a strange book! Then again, I know never to expect the expected when reading Caitlín R. Kiernan.

The story centers on Sarah Crowe, a writer who moves to an isolated house in Rhode Island after her lover’s death. Beset by writer’s block, she finds herself unable to write the novel her contract demands, and instead becomes obsessed with an old manuscript she finds in the basement. This manuscript was written by a previous tenant of the house who died before he could complete it,

Superior Saturday: The pieces are in place for the final battle

Superior Saturday by Garth Nix

The longest week of Arthur Penhaligon’s life is drawing to a close in this, the penultimate installment in Garth Nix’s The Keys to the Kingdom seven book series. Although he has managed to win five Keys from the immortal Trustees that rule over the House (the epicentre of the universe) and free five parts of the Will (the embodiment of the legislation left behind by the mysterious Architect) he still has the two most dangerous challenges left to defeat: the powerful Superior Saturday and the enigmatic Lord Sunday.

Pretty Monsters: A pretty good collection

Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link

Pretty Monsters is Kelly Link’s latest short story collection aimed at young adults. My young adult phase passed a long time ago but I found this book to be as deep and packed as Link’s Magic for Beginners and Stranger Things Happen.

The first thing that caught my eye is the overall aesthetic of the book. The jacket, designed by Will Staeble, is upbeat and eye-catching, whether it’s simply the presentation of the blurbs or the text on the cover flap.

Mad Kestrel: Unoriginal, but fun

Mad Kestrel by Misty Massey

Kestrel is a Promise, a child born with magical abilities, and as such, she should have been turned over to the Danisobans, terrifying wizards who control all magic on the Nine Islands. Instead, her parents died saving her from the magic wielders, and Kestrel has spent her entire life running from the magic she fears. Fortunately for her, Danisoban abilities are neutralized by salt water, so she takes to the seas and a life of piracy. When her captain is lead into a trap by the rogue McAvery,

July 27th, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4 | Misty Massey | SFF Reviews | no comments |

A Companion to Wolves: Monette + Bear = richly crafted fantasy

A Companion to Wolves by Elizabeth Bear

When I first started A Companion to Wolves I thought it was just going to be another run-of-the-mill fantasy. I mean you had humans who bonded telepathically with wolves, trolls and wyverns for enemies, and Norse culture/mythology as a major influence in the naming of characters, places, and things, the northern setting, and the religion (Othinn, Ragnarok, Freya, etc.).

Of course I should have known better. While I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of reading any Elizabeth Bear, I have read and enjoyed Ms.

July 22nd, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Solaris Book of New Fantasy: Celebrates the rich diversity of the genre

The Solaris Book of New Fantasy by George Mann (ed.)

I’m pretty much a novice when it comes to short fiction. Because of my lack of experience in this area, I hope that you will bear with me as I try to provide a thoughtful and comprehensive analysis of The Solaris Book of New Fantasy, even if I don’t always succeed. The plan is to first look at each short story individually providing synopses and commentary, followed by my evaluation of the compilation as a whole. So, let’s look at the stories:

1) “Who Slays the Gyant,

July 21st, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Chris Roberson, Christopher Barzak, George Mann, Hal Duncan, James Maxey, Janny Wurts, Jay Lake, Jeff VanderMeer, Juliet McKenna, Lucius Shepard, Mark Chadbourn, Steven Erikson, Tim (T.A.) Pratt | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Skinwalker: A truly original urban fantasy heroine

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

The fantasy shelves are rife these days with tough ladies fighting supernatural crime, but Faith Hunter delivers something original.

The originality of Skinwalker begins with Jane Yellowrock, the heroine. Jane is a loner and a smart aleck, but her similarities to the stereotypical urban-fantasy protagonist end there. Jane is a skinwalker — a shapeshifter drawn from Native American folklore — and she lives in a sort of symbiosis with “Beast,” the spirit of a mountain lion. Some chapters are narrated from Beast’s perspective and Faith Hunter does a great job of altering her style to fit Beast’s feline thought processes.

July 18th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Faith Hunter | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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