Previous SFF Author: Anthony Horowitz
In the Shadows of Men by Robert Jackson Bennett
Robert Jackson Bennett has become one of my must-read authors, a view arising from his brilliant DIVINE CITIES trilogy and only confirmed by his nearly as brilliant THE FOUNDERS TRILOGY. Both are fantasy works, but Bennett also turns his craft toward horror as well, and that craft is indeed evident in his newest novella, In the Shadows of Men (2020), a taut, concise work that unnerves in more ways than one.
September 18th, 2020. Bill Capossere´s rating: 5 | Robert Jackson Bennett | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Ballistic Kiss by Richard Kadrey
2020’s SANDMAN SLIM novel, Ballistic Kiss, is the second-to-last entry in Richard Kadrey’s long-running demon-fighter punk-wizard series starring James Stark as Sandman Slim. I don’t know what I will do when the series finishes. I’ll miss the big lug.
However, Ballistic Kiss didn’t leave me too much time to fret about the future; Stark has plenty of adjustments to make in his present. Brought back to life by the Sub Rosa magical practitioners after a year dead,
September 15th, 2020. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4.5 | Richard Kadrey | Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
The Year of the Witching (2020) is the story of a young woman, Immanuelle, growing up in the religious dystopia of Bethel. (It’s never stated, but I interpreted the setting as a post-apocalyptic America.) The dominant religion, the faith of the Father, contains some elements of Christianity, but in a twisted form; for example, a real lamb is slaughtered during services. The threat of burning at the stake is used to keep people in line. Bethel is patriarchal in the extreme;
August 13th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Alexis Henderson | Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
I recently learned the term Dark Academia, and while I’m probably too old to be a part of the subculture, I wish I’d had a name for it earlier. Schools and colleges with dark secrets have long been one of my favorite forms of literary catnip. It was probably inevitable that I’d be interested in Elisabeth Thomas’s Catherine House (2020), the story of a rudderless young woman attending a most unusual college.
The titular Catherine House is “not just a school,
August 5th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Elisabeth Thomas | Edge, Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
SHORTS: Our column exploring free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. In today’s column we review the 2020 Retro Hugo nominees in the novelette and short story categories, following up on yesterday’s column, in which we reviewed the novellas.
RETRO HUGO NOVELETTES:
Arena by Fredric Brown (1944, published in Astounding Science Fiction, free online at Internet Archive). 2020 Retro Hugo award nominee (novelette).
Two massive fleets hang outside the orbit of Pluto, about to engage in a furious battle to the death: Humans and the aliens they call the Outsiders.
July 15th, 2020. Bill Capossere, Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper | A.E. Van_Vogt, C.L. Moore, Clifford D. Simak, Henry Kuttner, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury | Audio, Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
SHORTS: Our column exploring free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. In today’s column we review the 2020 Retro Hugo nominees in the novella category, other than The Jewel of Bas, which we’ve previously reviewed here as part of The Best of Leigh Brackett. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s column, where we turn our attention to the Retro Hugo novelettes and short stories.
A God Named Kroo by Henry Kuttner (1944, published in Thrilling Wonder Stories,
July 14th, 2020. Bill Capossere and Tadiana Jones | A.E. Van_Vogt, Henry Kuttner, Murray Leinster, Theodore Sturgeon | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 12 comments |
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Noemí Taboada is a 22-year-old flighty socialite living in Mexico City. She loves to dress up in beautiful gowns and high heels and go to parties with handsome young men. One evening she’s called home from a party early. Her wealthy father has received a strange letter from Catalina, Noemí’s recently married cousin. Catalina thinks she’s in danger from her new husband’s family and is begging for help. Is Catalina really imperiled, or is she suffering a mental breakdown?
Noemí’s father asks her to visit her cousin at High Place,
July 14th, 2020. Kat Hooper, Marion Deeds and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5, 4.5 | Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
SHORTS is our column exploring free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. We’ve previously reviewed most of the novellas, novelettes and short stories that are currently nominated for the 2020 Hugo Awards. Here are our reviews for the remaining nominees. Reviews for the Retro Hugo short fiction nominees are coming this week!
Away with the Wolves by Sarah Gailey (2019, free at Uncanny Magazine, $3.99 Kindle magazine issue). 2020 Hugo award nominee (novelette).
Suss is a young woman who lives with chronic pain.
July 13th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter and Tadiana Jones | Rivers Solomon, Sarah Gailey | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Prisoner of Midnight by Barbara Hambly
Prisoner of Midnight (2019) is the eighth novel in Barbara Hambly’s JAMES ASHER series, which began in 1988 with Those Who Hunt the Night. It has been nominated for the Locus Award for Best Horror Novel. I had never tried this series before, but having enjoyed her (non-paranormal) BENJAMIN JANUARY mystery series, I decided to give Prisoner of Midnight a shot.
(And now that I’ve read it,
June 20th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Barbara Hambly | Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
SHORTS: Our column exploring free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. This week’s post reviews several more of the current crop of Locus Award nominees in the short fiction categories.
“A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy” by Rebecca Roanhorse (2019, anthologized in The Mythic Dream, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe). 2020 Locus award finalist (short story).
In the future, people’s memories can be stored and preserved even after they’ve died, and other people can inject them like drugs.
June 15th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter, Tadiana Jones, Skye Walker and Terry Weyna | Elizabeth Bear, Fonda Lee, Ken Liu, Rebecca Roanhorse, T. Kingfisher, Theodora Goss | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Previous SFF Author: Anthony Horowitz
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.