Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Rating: 4

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Midnight’s Daughter: Dhampirs, Dracula, and Daddy Issues

Midnight’s Daughter by Karen Chance

Meet Dorina; she comes from perhaps the most dysfunctional family in existence. She’s the niece of Dracula, the bastard daughter of Drac’s older brother Mircea. Dracula, Mircea, and their third brother, Radu, are all vampires, and centuries of bad blood lie between Drac and the other two men. Dorina’s own place in the clan is shaky. She is a dhampir, the offspring of a vampire and a human, a creature subject to berserk rages and ostracized from both human and vampire society. Most dhampirs die early, violent deaths.

February 19th, 2008. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Karen Chance | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Lye Street: Perfect introduction to the Deepgate Codex

Lye Street by Alan Campbell

Lye Street is a 135 page novella exclusively available from Subterranean Press in two unique, limited editions — a fully cloth bound hardcover signed by the author (numbered to 2000) and a signed leatherbound copy housed in a custom traycase (numbered to 26). Cover artwork is provided by Dave McKean — longtime Neil Gaiman collaborator and noted CD cover artist — while the wonderful interior illustrations are done by the award-winning Bob Eggleton.

One of the best things about Scar Night was the thrilling prologue which first introduced the demonic Carnival,

February 19th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Alan Campbell | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Sir Stalwart: Fun S&S romp

Sir Stalwart by Dave Duncan

Dave Duncan delivers a fun, sword & sorcery romp in a short book that you don’t need to invest hours slogging through. Too often there are books out there that simply can’t stand on their own without being 800-900 pages in length and Duncan seems to avoid this.

Now, if you have never read any of the King’s Blades before, there are some gaps in this story line that will not make as much sense for you. The concept of soldiers who are magically indentured to their King and thereby granted exceptional skills and unfailing loyalty is cool.

Castle in the Air: A great sequel!

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

Castle in the Air is the sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle, both of which are two of my favourite Diana Wynne Jones books (and according to an interview Howl’s Moving Castle is one of hers). I strongly suggest reading this preceding novel before tackling the sequel as several of the characters and plot twists found here will not be fully appreciated without knowing the previous story (which is a mistake I made).

Goblin Hero: Unique brand of humor

Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines

Jig Dragonslayer has a new quest in Goblin Hero. This time, an ogre has come looking for his help. This is, of course, the last thing the diminutive Jig wants. Nonetheless, spurred on by his god, Tymalous Shadowstar, Jig finds he must accept the ogre’s request. But fighting pixies is not Jig’s idea of a good time, and in this sequel to Goblin Quest Jig must once again rely on his pusillanimous goblin brain to save everyone (including hobgoblins!) from the pixie invasion into the cavern complex the goblins,

The Wizard’s Ward

The Wizard’s Ward by Deborah Hale

I blame Deborah Hale for my drowsiness this morning. I had to stay up late to finish The Wizard’s Ward, or I would never have been able to sleep.

Maura Woodbury, an enchantress, has always led a quiet life… until her uncle announces that she is to be queen of all Umbria and she has to make her way to the Secret Glade and awaken the Waiting King who will drive the evil Han from Umbria forever and restore peace to all the land.

February 9th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 4 | Deborah Hale | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Cart and Cwidder: Immensely interesting

Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones

Diana Wynne Jones is best known for her quirky books that combine magic with realistic, everyday people dealing with the problems that magic creates. Though some take place in parallel worlds, the general atmosphere of these books are contemporary and firmly grounded in reality. However, Cart and Cwidder is the first book in THE DALEMARK QUARTET that follows the more generic pattern of fantasy (war in a created world) — making it unique in Diana Wynne Jones’s canon of books,

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 |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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