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Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce
Trickster’s Queen is the sequel to Tamora Pierce’s Trickster’s Choice and (so far) the first set of books that are not quartets, but a simple duet. It is also by far her longest book, and in her acknowledgements she credits that to J.K. Rowling due to the fact that the Harry Potter books are so thick. Both books take place in Pierce’s Tortall universe, though are situated on the Copper Isles rather than Tortall as in the Alanna,
September 5th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Tamora Pierce | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix
By now the formula to the Keys to the Kingdom series is in place — taking place over a week-long period (with each book chronicling a day) young Arthur Penhaligon travels into the mystical realm of “the House” in order to find seven pieces of a torn Will. This Will was destroyed by the personified Days of the Week (or the ‘Morrow Days’), each of whom embody one of the seven deadly sins. Arthur has already defeated Mister Monday’s sloth and Grim Tuesday’s greed, and now comes up against Drowned Wednesday’s terrible gluttony.
September 4th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Garth Nix | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
Red Seas Under Red Skies is Scott Lynch’s follow-up to his debut fantasy The Lies of Locke Lamora, and the second in the planned Gentlemen Bastard sequence. The first book asked the question: what would happen if all the guys from Ocean 11 were teleported into the usual fantasy setting? Red Seas Under Red Skies asks: what would Brad Pitt and George Clooney do if the rest of Oceans 11 were killed off in movie one?
August 30th, 2007. Bill Capossere, Greg Hersom, Marion Deeds and Skye Walker´s rating: 3.5, 4, 5 | Scott Lynch | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
In many ways The Horse and his Boy is the odd one out in the context of the Narnia series — unlike the other books, this one is set completely in the fantasy world rather than describing the movements of children from this world into that. Although two children are still used as the main protagonists, the entire tone, setting and atmosphere of this book is a little different — here we are simply meant to take this other-world for granted, rather than journey into it from hum-drum life.
August 29th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | C.S. Lewis | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
With so much being churned out in the way of epic fantasy, it’s always a pleasure to come across something original and unique. I felt that way about Robin Hobb’s Farseer books and wondered if she’d be able to maintain such high standards in Liveship Traders.
While I don’t believe she quite got there (it is after all a pretty high bar she set herself), this series certainly stands on its own as quality fantasy, and Ship of Destiny is a fitting conclusion (though one wonders if that word has been banned from the genre).
August 29th, 2007. Bill Capossere, Rob Rhodes and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Robin Hobb | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
It is difficult to summarize the plot, for so much of the story unfolds organically — indeed, as a near-perfect tainflower — that one fears to spoil the pleasure of becoming swept up in the narrative. That said, the tale concerns the Palm, a mythic penninsula reminiscent of Italy, a land divided between two wizard-conquerors. One conqueror has utterly blighted the province of Lower Corte with an undreamt-of dark magic. (Take a fresh look at the map of the Palm mid-way through,
August 27th, 2007. Rob Rhodes and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4, 4.5 | Guy Gavriel Kay | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Feast of Souls by C.S. Friedman
There is only one way to do magic, and that is to expend life force to power it. Witches spend their own life force, and die young. Magisters have discovered how to spend the life force of another, and are nearly immortal, burning through consort after consort, while keeping the source of their magic a tightly guarded secret. No woman has ever become a Magister because they are unwilling to sacrifice others. No woman until Kamala, steeled by a life of child prostitution, secretly becomes a Magister.
August 24th, 2007. Ruth Arnell and John Hulet´s rating: 3.5, 4 | C.S. Friedman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
The third book in the Gregor series picks up shortly after the last one ends and quickly tosses the reader into familiar territory. Once again, Gregor takes up a task underground in order to save a family member. In the first book it was his father, in book two his sister Boots, and now it’s his mother, who in accompanying him down to the underground contracted a seemingly fatal disease that threatens to wipe out the warmbloods.
As foretold by a prophecy (another familiar element from the other books),
August 20th, 2007. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Suzanne Collins | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Shadows of Albion by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill
I’ve heard others gripe that this book is basically fluff. Well, yes, it’s light, but that’s part of what I liked about it. I’ve read a lot of serious (and sometimes depressing) books lately, and this one was a much-needed cool breeze of just plain fun.
The Marchioness of Roxbury, a vain and vapid woman, is on her deathbed, having failed to fulfill a promise made to the Fair Folk. She lives in an alternate England where magic exists, though it’s subtle.
August 16th, 2007. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Andre Norton, Rosemary Edghill | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Woman Who Loved Reindeer by Meredith Ann Pierce
Set in a prehistoric fantasy setting of ice and snow, The Woman Who Loved Reindeer refers to its two main characters: the young Caribou and the child she names Reindeer. As someone who experiences prophetic dreams, Caribou lives alone until her sister-in-law brings to her a golden-haired child. Claiming that it is not her husband Visjna’s child (Caribou’s brother), Branja begs her to take in the child before Visjna returns from the season-long hunt and so that the child’s true father cannot come to claim him.
August 14th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Meredith Ann Pierce | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
These weird westerns are always interesting and have been popping up more in recent times (it seemed like there was…
Looking forward to reading the review.
Always my pleasure, Marion! I'm almost finished with Book #3 now, and hope to be reporting on it very shortly....
After reading your review, I'm quite sure I never read this one, or Book Three for that matter. I loved…
What a fantastic review! I loved how you highlighted the blend of action and character development in "Foundryside." The intricate…