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King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian McDonald
I knew, just by reading the back cover blurb, that King of Morning, Queen of Day was right up my alley. Women with mystical powers? Check. Faeries? Check. Ireland? Check. In fact, I think the only reason I didn’t discover this book earlier is that it was published in 1991, and I only started reading fantasy sometime in the late nineties.
The story begins with Emily, a bratty but endearing girl of fifteen,
May 3rd, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Ian McDonald | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
I didn’t know how much I’d missed Ilona Andrews’ writing until I started reading Magic Strikes (2009). Part of it is the prose. It’s vivid, it has a great streak of humor running through it, and best of all, it’s smooth. The reader is never jolted out of the story by a grammar snafu or an awkward phrase.
Part of it is Andrews’ continued use of a wide variety of myths. Andrews is one of the few urban fantasy authors who seem to realize folklore is a huge sandbox.
May 1st, 2009. Kelly Lasiter, John Hulet, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Ilona Andrews | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A fictionalization of the French Revolution set in the invented kingdom of “Vonahr” and laced with a little bit of magic, Illusion is a gem of historical fantasy and ought to be a classic. Paula Volsky combines epic ideals, all-too-human characters, and lovely prose to create a book I couldn’t put down and will never forget.
The events of these turbulent times are seen through the eyes of a high-born young woman, Eliste vo Derrivalle. Eliste is at first a product of her society and upbringing,
April 30th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Paula Volsky | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
I just finished Warbreaker, and the words that keep coming to mind are “That was so good!” This is the first Brandon Sanderson novel I’ve read, and it certainly won’t be the last. Warbreaker combines highly original world-building with an exciting plot that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The novel begins with the introduction of two major characters: Vivenna and Siri, princesses of the tiny kingdom of Idris. You may think you’ve seen these archetypes before — the stiff,
April 28th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter, Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4, 4.5, 5 | Brandon Sanderson | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Green Pearl is another engrossing adventure in Jack Vance’s whimsical world. This installment of Lyonesse mainly follows Aillas, now King of Troicinet, as he seeks revenge on the Ska, tests his infatuation with Tatzel, deals with a couple of traitors, and tries to thwart the ambitions of King Casmir of Lyonesse who, unbeknownst to Casmir, is Aillas’s son’s grandfather. We also spend quite a bit of time with Shimrod, Glyneth, Melancthe, and some new and excellent characters such as the duplicitous innkeeper Dildahl,
April 28th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Jack Vance | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente
In the Night Garden is the first in a two-book (maybe more?) series and if book one is any guide, this is as delicious and clever a tale-telling as one is likely to run into for some time. With an Arabian Nights feel and structure, we’re introduced to one engrossing story after another as the demon-girl of the garden (that’s the Sultan’s garden of course) spins them out to the enraptured young prince who disobeys orders and decorum to listen.
April 16th, 2009. Bill Capossere, Rebecca Fisher, Marion Deeds, Kat Hooper and Kevin Wei´s rating: 5 | Catherynne M. Valente | SFF Reviews | 9 comments |
Suldrun’s Garden by Jack Vance
As I’m writing this, Jack Vance’s under-appreciated Lyonesse trilogy has been off the shelves for years. My library doesn’t even have a copy — it had to be interlibrary loaned for me. Why is that? Publishers have been printing a seemingly endless stream of vampire and werewolf novels these days — same plot, same characters, blah blah blah. If not that, it’s grit. We all want grit.
Or maybe it’s that more women are reading fantasy these days and publishers think we want to read about bad-ass heroines who kill vampires.
April 15th, 2009. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Jack Vance | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Blood of Ambrose by James Enge
“The King was screaming in the throne room when the Protector’s Men arrived” — and with good reason. The King, Lathmar, is about twelve years old when his “Protector,” Urdhven, decides to seize the throne. Urdhven captures Lathmar and his many-times-great-grandmother, Ambrosia Viviana (a daughter of Merlin — apparently the Merlin of Arthurian legend — who’s therefore exceptionally long-lived), but not before they send word to Ambrosia’s brother, the infamous Morlock Ambrosius. Together, Lathmar, Ambrosia, Morlock, and Morlock’s dwarven apprentice plot and battle to preserve Lathmar’s rule,
April 8th, 2009. Rob Rhodes and Greg Hersom´s rating: 3, 5 | James Enge | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Matthias Thulmann: Witch Hunter by C.L. Werner
I’m not into RPG’s. So I’m not always comfortable with an RPG-based book. But I’ve been to Warhammer’s Old World before — I‘ve read Fell Cargo, and a couple of Dark Blade books. And I do like the main concept of the Warhammer storyline — a medieval world on the brink of apocalypse where a dark empire, ruled by the descendant of a god, is mankind’s only hope against the hordes of Chaos.
April 8th, 2009. Greg Hersom´s rating: 5 | C.L. Werner | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Cross Elizabeth Hand with Fire and Hemlock, and you might end up with something like Freda Warrington’s Elfland. This is the kind of big, sweeping modern faerie tale that you don’t see often on the adult shelves anymore. There’s been some beautiful work done in YA recently, but in the adult realm, the trend has been away from novels like this. And that’s a shame. Elfland is complex, rich, sensual, beautifully written, and sometimes heartbreaking.
April 7th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5, 5 | Freda Warrington | SFF Reviews | no comments |
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