Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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The Lightbringer: Deserves more notice

The Lightbringer by Oliver Johnson

Oliver Johnson‘s The Lightbringer is a different sort of fantasy trilogy. For one thing, it involves vampires, and since vampire novels have spawned their own genre you rarely find them in true fantasy any more. However, this is not a vampire novel; it’s most definitely high fantasy. The next thing that makes The Lightbringer somewhat of a departure from the norm is that the hero is seriously disfigured and spends almost his entire time behind a mask designed to obscure his features.

February 7th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 4 | Oliver Johnson | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Farthest Shore: One of the strongest books in the series

The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin

The Farthest Shore is the third book in Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series, and the concluding one for several decades. Since it’s highly recommended to have read the first two, I’ll work on the assumption that the reader has. If book one, Wizard of Earthsea has the most action/magic and book two, Tombs of Atuan, is the slowest and most introspective of the opening trilogy, then The Farthest Shore is a nicely-balanced blending of the styles.

Divine by Choice: Like a sundae

Divine by Choice by P.C. Cast

Shannon Parker, Beloved of Epona and now living in the lap of luxury in Parthalon is suddenly pulled back into the modern world from whence she came. Summoned back by the mirror image of her centaur husband, ClanFintan, Clint Freeman a handsome and brave former Air Force pilot has been battling with Shannon’s evil twin Rhiannon.

But Shannon isn’t the only one who has been pulled out of Parthalon. The evil spirit of the demon Shannon helped to vanquish in Divine By Mistake,

January 26th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 4 | P.C. Cast | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Scarlet: Famous archery tournament gets a revamp

Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead

Scarlet, the second book in Stephen Lawhead‘s King Raven Trilogy focuses on Will Scatlocke (“Scarlet”), a disillusioned forester who goes searching for, finds, and joins King Raven’s infamous band of thieves. During one of their exploits, Will is caught, sentenced to hang, and thrown into prison where he is asked to tell his story to a priest in hopes that he’ll let slip some information that will help sheriff Guy of Gysborne find and defeat the robbers. Thus,

Dragon Champion: Creative worldbuilding

Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight

Dragon Champion, the first Age of Fire novel, begins with a newborn whose initial impressions of the world are artfully depicted, but the fact that this newborn is a dragon makes it even more fun. E.E. Knight’s story follows the life and growth of a young dragon through interesting and perilous adventures.

Knight’s world-building is creative; he mixes races, geography, and geo-politics to create a vibrant background. The story takes on an almost scientific tone at times as Knight explains some of the aspects of dragonkind in a way that makes sense to human readers.

January 20th, 2008. John Hulet´s rating: 4 | E.E. Knight | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Son of the Shadows: Emotionally engaging

Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier

With this novel, Juliet Marillier returns to the Celtic world of her first novel, the fantastic Daughter of the Forest, about eighteen years later. Sorcha and Hugh have lived happily together, and have three children, Niamh, Sean, and Liadan. Niamh is a restless beauty with a case of wanderlust; Sean is a future leader growing up in his uncle Liam’s mold; and Liadan is her mother’s successor, a storyteller and healer. But Liadan is not Sorcha; having grown up in a loving environment,

January 4th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Juliet Marillier | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Greenstone Grail: Excellent start to series

The Greenstone Grail by Amanda Hemingway

If one has to accept the fact that almost all fantasy books are now the beginning of a series (and we’re just about to that point), then at least Amanda Hemingway’s The Greenstone Grail is a compelling enough beginning to leave the reader wanting more while still resolving at least this portion of the story. Grail opens nicely with a bit of suspense and mystery as Annie Ward, carrying her infant son, is chased/herded, down a dark unfamiliar road by things dark and barely seen.

Fire and Hemlock: DWJ’s most complex and subtle novel

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

Fire and Hemlock is possibly Diana Wynne Jones’ most complex and subtle novel, and it’s certainly not for the younger readers who’ve enjoyed her most famous work, the Chrestomanci novels. It is most basically described as a retelling of the Tam Lin/Thomas the Rhymer ballads, set in 1980’s England over a nine-year period. Needless to say, it is dense and complicated, filled with hidden meaning, metaphor and symbolism where two threads of life are wound together to make an intricate whole.

The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2007

The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2007

In many ways, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2007 anthology is a difficult book to review. For one thing, to me and a lot of my reading/writing circle, this is easily the definitive bible when it comes to short stories of the genre. For another, many of the stories that are included in this collection have been featured in other anthologies as well, so there’s an overlap in terms of stories featured. But I’ll try and talk about what makes this anthology unique from other similar anthologies.

December 30th, 2007. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 4 | Catherynne M. Valente, Daniel Abraham, Delia Sherman, Elizabeth Hand, Ellen Datlow, Garth Nix, Jeffrey Ford, Kelly Link, Kij Johnson, Lisa Tuttle, Ted Chiang | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Centre of Magic: Floramonde is a real treasure

The Centre of Magic by Pamela Freeman

The Centre of Magic is the final in the three Floramonde books, beginning with The Willow Tree’s Daughter which told of the love between King Max of Floramonde and Salixia, the dryad of the willow tree, their child Princess Betony and her romance with the gardener’s boy Basil. In Windrider we learnt of the chance Betony was offered by the dragon Windrider to “put down roots” and become a dryad herself,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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