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On the surface, Blood Engines seems like any number of urban fantasy novels out there. Strong leading heroine? Check. Contemporary backdrop? Check. Supernatural action, sex, and sarcastic humor? Check, check, check.
Yet, Blood Engines has more going for it than you might think. For instance, in most of the urban fantasy series that I’ve read, the opening volume usually spends a lot of time on set-up and ends up leaving the reader with more questions than answers.
June 24th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Tim (T.A.) Pratt | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
I’m impressed with Brandon Sanderson’s first fantasy trilogy. The entire story was carefully thought out, well-plotted, and well-paced. What impresses me most is that in this last installment, The Hero of Ages, there are plenty of wonderful surprises left. But these surprises aren’t little add-ons that Sanderson lately thought up and decided to throw in just to keep up the interest and excitement. These are major pieces of the puzzle that have purposely been left for the characters (and therefore the readers) to discover.
June 23rd, 2009. Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3.5, 4 | Brandon Sanderson | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander
The trademark feature of Lloyd Alexander’s storytelling is to choose a cultural background and weave his own story into the already existing mythology; his most famous example of this is of course The Chronicles of Prydain, in which his own story and characters were melded with the myths and legends of Wales (as found in The Mabinogian). The Iron Ring gets a similar treatment, as worked into the story are elements of The Mahabharata and The Ramayana,
June 18th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Lloyd Alexander | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Bauchelain and Korbal Broach by Steven Erikson
Bauchelain and Korbal Broach collects three of Steven Erikson’s novellas set in the Malazan Empire series, certainly one of the most ambitious, and I’d say one of the best, epic fantasies going. The collection, which includes Blood Follows, The Lees at Laughter’s End, and The Healthy Dead, follows the exploits of its eponymous main characters, a pair of joyfully destructive necromancers we first met in book three of the larger series,
June 17th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Steven Erikson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Charles de Lint said once that the current urban-fantasy novels are highly focused on character, and that readers like or dislike a series based on whether they connect with the protagonist. (I wish I could find that quote!) Based on this, I’m not surprised that Charlaine Harris has, as I write this review, the top three best-selling fantasy titles on Amazon. Disclaimer: I’ve only read this first book so far, and haven’t seen the TV series. But from what I’ve seen, Sookie Stackhouse is a delight.
June 16th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter and Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5, 4 | Charlaine Harris | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick
In The Red Wolf Conspiracy, Robert V.S. Redick manages to overcome several flaws and some conventional character types to create a mostly compelling and complex novel that leaves the reader eager to continue on to the next installment.
The plot is far too complex to go into any detail here, but the major set-up is this: two great Empires, Arqual and Mzrith, are in a period of uneasy peace after having fought several wars,
June 15th, 2009. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Robert V.S. Redick | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien
Long before Bilbo Baggins left his hobbit hole, the Men and Elves of Middle Earth struggled valiantly against the Great Enemy, Morgoth (the fallen Valar and master of Sauron, the eventual “Lord of the Rings”). One man in particular, Húrin, brazenly defied Morgoth, who imprisoned him and laid a dire curse upon his children. First told — in a lesser form — in The Silmarillion, this tale chronicles their efforts, especially those of Húrin’s son, Túrin, to defy the curse — driven largely by the malicious dragon Glaurung — and,
June 14th, 2009. Rob Rhodes and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4, 5 | J.R.R. Tolkien | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett
Havemercy was not the novel that I was expecting. After all, it’s a fantasy debut written by twenty-year-olds, one of whom is a huge Harry Potter fan, with a picture of a dragon on the cover… Let’s just say I made assumptions and was quite delighted to find that Havemercy had much more in common with Sarah Monette — who I feel is one of the most original authors in the genre today — instead of say,
June 13th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Jaida Jones | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Best American Fantasy by Jeff VanderMeer (ed.)
The first thing that stands out is that if I merely stuck to looking for fantasy stories from the usual sources, I probably wouldn’t have come across many of the short stories in this anthology. And that I think is the strength of Best American Fantasy — that it reprints stories some genre readers were never aware of. That’s not to say this doesn’t have its fair share of “expected” stories but for the most part, it’s been a real treat.
June 12th, 2009. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 4 | Jeff VanderMeer | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A maiden is kidnapped. Her mother searches for her, disguised as an old beggar woman. A deadly fruit is eaten. The maiden dies, but not necessarily for good…
Depending on how you flesh out the rest of the tale, this could either be the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, or the fairy tale “Snow White.” Tanith Lee weaves the two together in White as Snow until it’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.
June 11th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Tanith Lee | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I've thought about picking that one up. The artwork looks perfect.
I like the way you think, Bill. I found the second one particularly objectionable; the one with Khan. It was…
I find if I take every Trek reference out of them (the title, the character names, the ship names, etc.),…
I loved this deep dive into Edwige Fenech's Giallo films! Her performances add such a unique flavor to the genre.…
It would give me very great pleasure to personally destroy every single copy of those first two J. J. Abrams…