Previous SFF Author: C.M. Eddy_Jr
In our Edge of the Universe column, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.
The Sky is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith
I wrestled with this review for Chandler Klang Smith’s 2018 novel The Sky is Yours from the first paragraph. I wanted to refer to it as a “zeitgeist novel.” After I wrote that, I glanced at Wikipedia and decided that, as Inigo Montoya says to the Sicilian in The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” So, I’ve decided that The Sky is Yours is not a zeitgeist novel.
March 2nd, 2018. Marion Deeds and Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5, 4 | Chandler Klang Smith | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
Most people imagine the enchanting, scantily-clad beauties of fairytale when they think of mermaids, but Imogen Hermes Gowar offers an entirely different creature in her debut, The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock. Readers will find no glittering scales or flowing hair here. Tipped as one of the most hotly anticipated books of 2018, the story promises to be one curiosity and obsession.
It is a cold September evening in 1785 when Mr Hancock finally gets the long-awaited knock on the door of his London home;
February 5th, 2018. Ray McKenzie´s rating: 3.5 | Imogen Hermes Gowar | Edge | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood was once, via a review of her work, once taken a bit publicly to task by Ursula K. LeGuin for not wanting her books (specifically The Handmaid’s Tale, Oryx and Crake, and The Year of the Flood) to be labeled “science fiction,” because, LeGuin speculated, Atwood did not want to be relegated to the genre ghetto. Atwood, however, responded that it was merely a definitional issue.
November 29th, 2017. Bill Capossere, Stuart Starosta, Rebecca Fisher and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Margaret Atwood | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Early in 2013, a new murder mystery came out. Written by an author named Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo’s Calling was set in England and featured an army veteran detective with a prosthetic leg (he was injured saving other soldiers in Afghanistan), a strange family and an unusual name; Cormoran Strike. A few months later, through a series of different sources, it was revealed that “Robert Galbraith” was a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling,
November 16th, 2017. Marion Deeds and Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3, 4 | J.K. Rowling | Edge | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Advice to the Young by Kurt Vonnegut
If This Isn’t Nice, What Is?: Advice to the Young collects nine graduation speeches delivered by Kurt Vonnegut. Published in 2013, this posthumous collection is introduced by the writer Dan Wakefield. The earliest speech was delivered in 1978, while the latest was given in 2004.
These speeches are almost exactly what Vonnegut’s fans would expect of him — so much so that I wish I’d attempted to write a speech from the point of view of Kurt Vonnegut before beginning this book.
September 27th, 2017. Ryan Skardal and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Kurt Vonnegut | Edge, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
As anyone who reads the dust jacket will realize, Michael Crichton’s Dragon Teeth (2017) is about dinosaur fossils and the obsessed palaeontologists who traveled into the American frontier during the Gilded Age to gently dig them up. Sadly, it’s not about dinosaurs eating people.
William Johnson is a student at Yale. The son of a wealthy Philadelphia family, Johnson goes west to win a bet against his rival. He joins Professor Marsh, an eccentric and paranoid man who specializes in the bizarre new science,
September 19th, 2017. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 2 | Michael Crichton | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
A bit of classic magical realism today. First published in 1989 in installments, Like Water for Chocolate was a bestseller in Laura Esquivel’s native Mexico and subsequently around the world. A popular film version earned the story a place in yet more hearts (if you are tempted to watch it, don’t watch the version with the English voice-over, stick with the Spanish). The story is a heady combination of love, passion, family drama, food, recipes, and magic, all set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution.
September 6th, 2017. Katie Burton´s rating: 5 | Laura Esquivel | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Gods of War by Conn Iggulden
Every reader who starts Conn Iggulden’s Emperor: The Gods of War (2006) already knows that in this novel Caesar crosses the Rubicon, defeats Pompey, meets Cleopatra, and is ultimately betrayed by Marcus Brutus, his best friend. The point of the plot is not what happened but why. Caesar spent his life fighting for the Republic, but he betrayed it. Why? Brutus spent his life fighting for Caesar but chose to murder him. Why? The Gods of War should not work as a novel if it does not excel at character development.
August 8th, 2017. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 4 | Conn Iggulden | Edge | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Field of Swords by Conn Iggulden
Conn Iggulden’s The Field of Swords (2005) follows a Caesar who is no longer young. Though he is still eminently capable and still driven to work day and night in pursuit of glory, he is exhausted rather than energized by his work in Spain. Naturally, the real story begins when he returns to Rome to form an alliance with Pompey and Crassus.
Rome considers itself the greatest city in the world, but, to our eyes,
June 13th, 2017. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | Conn Iggulden | Edge | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden
Julius is a young soldier. He fights in northern Africa, but he is not in command. Still, he is very well trained, is charismatic and trusts his instincts, and he is beginning to learn what it means to command and why he loves everything Rome stands for. He is confident, idealistic, and capable, a potent combination that leads to many victories. By the end of the novel, he will deal with Spartacus and Sulla, pirates, and senators who wish him ill. He will taste true power,
May 31st, 2017. Ryan Skardal´s rating: 3 | Conn Iggulden | Edge | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: C.M. Eddy_Jr
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.