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Update: We now know that K.J. Parker is a pseudonym of Tom Holt.
Talk about unreliable narrators! If you like that technique, you’re sure to enjoy K.J. Parker’s Blue and Gold. It’s a fast, intense, and dramatic little book that will entertain you for an afternoon.
Saloninus is probably the cleverest alchemist who ever lived (or is he?). After publishing several important (?) papers and losing his tuition money, he drops out of the university and begins a life of crime,
December 17th, 2010. Kat Hooper and Ruth Arnell´s rating: 5 | K.J. Parker | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Epiphany of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
EPIPHANY OF THE LONG SUN is an omnibus that combines Caldé of the Long Sun and Exodus from the Long Sun.
A smooth speaker, naturally athletic, and an intuitive and inventive tactician, Silk may well prove to be the greatest Caldé that Viron has ever had. He even has impeccable manners. Even authors of fantasy, a genre that has created many near-perfect savior figures, run a risk when they make their heroes too good.
December 17th, 2010. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 5 | Gene Wolfe | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Clockwork Three by Matthew Kirby
Amid the several highly anticipated children’s and YA works this year by big names such as Suzanne Collins and Rick Riordan, one can be forgiven for missing the entry onto the stage of Matthew Kirby’s first novel, The Clockwork Three. Forgiven, but no longer excused, for among all those much more hyped releases (though they are often justifiably hyped), this stands out as among the best. There. Now you know.
December 16th, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Matthew Kirby | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier
Quiet, intuitive Sibeal has always known she was destined to become a druid. Just when she is on the verge of completing her training, however, her mentor Ciaran bids her spend a summer on Inis Eala, where two of her sisters live and where her cousin Johnny runs a warriors’ school. When a Viking ship is wrecked on Inis Eala’s shores, the resulting events change Sibeal’s life and the lives of everyone on Inis Eala.
There are three survivors of the wreck of Freyja: Knut,
December 7th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Juliet Marillier | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Tam Lin is Pamela Dean’s retelling of the classic folk tale, done as part of The Fairy Tale series created by Terri Windling. The folk tale is about a battle between the Faery Queen and a mortal girl for the heart and soul of Tam Lin, a young man enthralled by the Faery Queen. Pamela Dean has taken the innovative step of setting the story at a university in the Midwest during the seventies, which is pretty smart,
December 4th, 2010. Ruth Arnell, Kelly Lasiter and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 5 | Pamela Dean | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Castle of Dark by Tanith Lee
It is continually frustrating to read a rich, suspenseful, beautifully crafted book and then find that hardly anybody else knows about it — such is apparently the case with Tanith Lee’s The Castle of Dark. Containing an imprisoned damsel, a spooky castle, a magical harp and a mysterious secret, this is a wonderful book that has the same tone and atmosphere of an old dark fairytale.
The chapters switch back and forth between two characters: Lilune is a strange young woman living with two hags in an abandoned and dark castle.
December 1st, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Tanith Lee | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Solstice Wood by Patricia McKillip
Solstice Wood is a sequel (of sorts) to Patricia McKillip‘s earlier novel Winter Rose. The latter book is a dark and intricate fairytale based on the ballad of Tam Lin, in which a young girl attempts to free her love from the designs of a faerie queen. Though still set in the mountains around Lynn Hall, Solstice Wood takes place hundreds of years later, as contemporary men and women deal with the repercussions of Rois Melior’s dealings with the fey-folk.
November 27th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Patricia McKillip | Mythopoeic Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones once again combines eccentric characters, moral ambiguity, magic, time-traveling, shapeshifting and an uncanny ability to portray human behaviour in one of her best books: Aunt Maria. With all the twists and turns that we expect from Wynne Jones, Aunt Maria is one of the most re-readable and enjoyable books in her vast collection.
After the accidental death of their father, Naomi “Mig” and Chris Laker are reluctantly taken to Cranbury-on-Sea by their mother to visit Aunt Maria.
November 21st, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hercules by Geraldine McCaughrean
Geraldine McCaughrean has written four retellings of Greek myths, fleshing out the personalities of various heroes and the circumstances that made them legendary. In her beautiful, fluid prose, McCaughrean hits the perfect balance in presenting the darker aspects of the myths without being either too gratuitous or too prissy. In this case, McCaughrean takes the figure of Hercules (who in a Greek setting, should technically be called “Heracles”). In his youth Hercules meets the personifications of Virtue and Vice, who offer him the choice of his destiny.
November 20th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Geraldine McCaughrean | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington
When you love a book as much as I do Freda Warrington’s Elfland, there’s always a little bit of fear mixed in with the anticipation for its sequel. Finding a book that resonates with you on many levels at once is like falling under a spell. What if the second book isn’t as good; what if it breaks the spell? Now that I’ve read Midsummer Night, though, I can report that I’m still happily ensorcelled.
November 15th, 2010. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Freda Warrington | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Thanks for the kind words, Ira! Much appreciated!
Fine review
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!