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A Darkness Forged in Fire by Chris Evans
“Mountains shouldn’t scream, but this one did.” Those words start the first volume in The Iron Elves series by Chris Evans, a first time author. A Darkness Forged in Fire is one of the best new fantasies that I’ve read in a long time. Evans has a visceral writing style that makes the world come alive, interesting takes on standard fantasy races such as elves and dwarves, and one of the most terrifying landscapes I can remember.
July 9th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5, 5 | Chris Evans | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins has already proven her talent for storytelling with her recently completed Gregor the Underlander series. In that series, she showed she was able to create strong characters, move plot along quickly, deftly control the rise and fall in tension, and create moving scenes. While there were some weak sections in the series (sometimes the pace moved too quickly, settings often could have been more detailed, and a few characters could have been more richly drawn), by the end she had crafted one of the best YA series to hit the shelves the past few years — a thoughtful,
July 9th, 2009. Bill Capossere, Kelly Lasiter, John Hulet, Terry Weyna and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Suzanne Collins | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The Storyteller and Other Tales by K.V. Johansen
The Storyteller and Other Tales is a book of stories, and I mean that as the highest compliment. I felt like I was transported from the 21st century to some Thane’s hall with a roaring fire and a smoke hole instead of a chimney, while K.V. Johansen wove tales that took me to different and wonderful traditions.
Johansen is a fantasy scholar, and this shows up clearly in this book. The four tales that she presents use widely differing fantasy settings.
July 7th, 2009. Guest´s rating: 5 | K.V. Johansen | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint
Someplace to be Flying is the story of a gypsy cab driver and a freelance photographer who meet each other during a chance encounter with the “Animal People” in a dark alley in the familiar setting of Newford. This glimpse into a magical other world leaves them reeling, and as they seek out an explanation for the impossible, they are drawn deeper into the world of the Animal People, and the ongoing war between Raven and Coyote.
Someplace to be Flying starts out with a bang,
July 2nd, 2009. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 5 | Charles De_Lint | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Whether you’ve read the original J.M. Barrie play or novel, seen the Disney film, eaten the peanut butter, or been exposed to any of the other countless adaptations out there, most people are probably familiar with the tale of Peter Pan and Neverland, and because of this familiarity, readers should be able to immediately connect with Peter David’s Tigerheart which is an homage to, an original retelling, and a sequel to the classic bedtime story.
As an homage,
June 28th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 5 | Peter David | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
In many ways, this fourth book in Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain is the odd one out. It is the only story that does not pit our characters against the forces of supernatural evil (well, except in one small instance). It is the only installment in which Princess Elionwy is completely absent. It is the only story that has no clear destination in its quest narrative. Even the title is a little different, lacking the usual “The” before the noun.
June 26th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher and Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Lloyd Alexander | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Alexander’s five-part The Chronicles of Prydain is essential reading for anyone, regardless of age, gender or reading preferences. Although they are classed as both fantasy and children’s literature, these books can be enjoyed by everyone, not just for its fantastical elements and the broad good vs. evil conflict, but for their gentle humour, loveable characters and vindication of humanity over, not just fantasy-evil, but the more base qualities of greed, ignorance, spite and pride. At their core, the books are a coming-of-age story for our protagonist Taran,
June 26th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher and Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Lloyd Alexander | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker
Crack open the pages of The Women of Nell Gwynne’s and you will find action, mystery, and beautiful women. This novella by Kage Baker is everything a SF/F fan wishes the works of Charles Dickens had been.
The Women of Nell Gwynne’s is about an elite brothel in Victorian London. Though these ladies of the night provide pleasure to the notables of the city, that is not the primary reason for their existence;
June 25th, 2009. John Ottinger (guest)´s rating: 5 | Kage Baker | Nebula Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Heaven’s Net is Wide by Lian Hearn
Beauty, Grace, Eloquence. These words define the writing of author Lian Hearn. Her Tales of the Otori series of historical fantasy novels are extremely popular worldwide. If you haven’t read the first four installments, Heaven’s Net is Wide is a great place to begin the story.
Because it is a prequel, Hearn has not assumed the reader has much knowledge about the setting or characters. She begins with a hook, describing a confrontation between two members of the Tribe — a family of assassins.
June 19th, 2009. John Ottinger (guest)´s rating: 5 | Lian Hearn | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Last Colony by Eoin Colfer
The Artemis Fowl series has always been superbly written and brilliantly conceived, with an astonishing array of humor, techno-gadgets, mind-bending plots, daredevil escapes and rescues… frankly, they have a tendency to leave one dizzy — but enchanted.
And The Last Colony is better than the previous installments.
There are many reasons for this. First, there were at least three places where Colfer could have stopped writing, wrapped the book up, given it a different title, and shipped it off to his publisher and wait to collect his generous royalty checks.
June 18th, 2009. Guest´s rating: 5 | Eoin Colfer | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…