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 Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
I enjoyed it. Others might not. I suppose I could put that title on a lot of my reviews without sacrificing much for accuracy, but I mean it to be suggestive here that The Buried Giant is going to be a bit divisive. It’s a well-crafted book, certainly, and it has as much thematic heft to keep anyone happy, but whether or not it’s an appealing book may be a bit less cut-and-dried.
The story, in brief, is as follows: sometime in early British history,
April 9th, 2015. Tim Scheidler´s rating: 4.5 | Kazuo Ishiguro | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons
There are several issues with Dan Simmons’ new novel, The Fifth Heart. It’s too long for one, its 600+ pages probably a good 100-150 pages too many. Simmons has fallen too much in love with his research, slowing the book in multiple places. He drops one of the more intriguing storylines a bit too easily. And the mystery/resolution are a bit anti-climactic. That said, The Fifth Heart still works as a smart literary mix of adventure,
March 24th, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Dan Simmons | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
We all know Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World as a classic dystopian tale of a world bereft of conflict, pain, and hardship — but also lacking individuality, free will, and intellectual thought. You were probably forced to read it in high school (I somehow missed it) and if you were a normal teen it must be have been either very weird or strangely appealing (unlimited free drugs and sex, a carefree life, etc.). Granted, it’s a brilliant critique of the early socialist utopias penned by H.G.
March 20th, 2015. Stuart Starosta and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Aldous Huxley | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Along with Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, first published in 1949, is the one of the most powerful and important dystopian novels ever written, and unquestionably a work of science fiction thanks to its depiction of a future totalitarian regime that controls every aspect of its citizens’ mental and physical existence. It’s hard to imagine any educated person in the English-speaking world who hasn’t heard the terms Big Brother,
March 19th, 2015. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 5 | George Orwell | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Girl In The Red Coat by Kate Hamer
Any mother’s worst nightmare is losing her child. We’ve all heard it before. It’s a phrase used often, almost casually, yet it doesn’t even begin to cover what it must actually feel like to lose a child. This is precisely what happens in Kate Hamer’s dazzling debut. Told from the perspectives of a bereft mother and her abducted daughter, The Girl in the Red Coat has two of the most hauntingly distinctive voices in fiction so far this year.
February 25th, 2015. Ray McKenzie´s rating: 4 | Kate Hamer | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The World Before Us by Aislinn Hunter
[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 World Before Us, by Aislinn Hunter, has at its core two roughly similar mysteries. One occurred almost 20 years ago when the main character, Jane Standen, was only fifteen and acting as a nanny for William Eliot and his five-year old daughter Lily.
February 6th, 2015. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Aislinn Hunter | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Of Things Gone Astray by Janina Matthewson
[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.]
Of Things Gone Astray is Janina Matthewson’s debut novel, and it is charming and heartfelt magical realism. Using short chapters that cycle through different character perspectives, Matthewson tells the story of several people who have lost something of value to them,
January 30th, 2015. Kate Lechler´s rating: 3.5 | Janina Matthewson | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
[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.]
I don’t usually include photos of a book I’m reviewing, except for the cover, but part of the charm of Murakami’s odd little novella, The Strange Library, is its exquisite packaging. The book is published by Borzoi Books,
January 7th, 2015. Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Haruki Murakami | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Affirmation by Christopher Priest
I’ve heard Christopher Priest’s 1981 novel The Affirmation described as regressive, an ouroboros eating its own tail, a Moeibus strip. While there is undoubtedly an M.C. Escher quality to the book — a blurring of reality — the beginning and end are simply too different to form a contiguous whole reverting back on itself. They’re opposite ends of a spectrum in fact, and the appeal of the novel is immersing one’s self in the subjective reality Priest slowly unwraps and getting lost in the world of memories as a result.
November 21st, 2014. Jesse Hudson´s rating: 4.5 | Christopher Priest | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy was one of New Zealand’s most seminal writers, and one of only a few authors to twice-win the Carnegie Medal — first for The Haunting and then for The Changeover. As good as these books are, my personal favourite is The Tricksters, written for a slightly older audience and filled with her trademark New Zealand scenery, supernatural occurrences, family dramas and the awakening of a young person to adulthood.
November 17th, 2014. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Margaret Mahy | Edge, Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Previous SFF Author: C.M. Eddy_Jr
Always my pleasure, Marion! I'm almost finished with Book #3 now, and hope to be reporting on it very shortly....
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