Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
Drowned Country (2020) is the second and concluding novella in Emily Tesh’s GREENHOLLOW DUOLOGY, following 2019’s Silver in the Wood. This review will contain some spoilers for Silver in the Wood.
When we last saw Tobias and Henry Silver, Tobias had become an ordinary mortal man, and had been reunited with Silver — who had been presumed dead, but instead had been saved by the Wood itself,
September 4th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Emily Tesh | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
SHORTS is our column exploring free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. Here are a few stories we’ve recently read that we wanted you to know about.
While Dragons Claim the Sky by Jen Brown (2019, originally published in FIYAH Magazine Issue #10: Hair, available online for $3.99; free audio recording on PodCastle (Part 1 and Part 2), read by C. L. Clark)
While Dragons Claim the Sky tells the story of a skilled young mage as she takes a chance on discovering more of the world and her place in it.
September 3rd, 2020. Skye Walker, Tadiana Jones, Jana Nyman and Kelly Lasiter | Maria Dahvana Headley, Seanan McGuire, Tamsyn Muir, Theodora Goss | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Heirs of Locksley by Carrie Vaughn
The adventures of Robin Hood’s three children continue in The Heirs of Locksley, the second novella in Carrie Vaughn‘s ROBIN HOOD STORIES series. It takes a unexpected four-year leap forward from The Ghosts of Sherwood. The eldest, Mary, is now twenty and still hasn’t met the young man she’s semi-betrothed to, and her feelings have shifted from fear and uncertainty to irritation that William de Ros still hasn’t bothered to come meet her;
August 18th, 2020. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Carrie Vaughn | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Where the Veil Is Thin edited by Cerece Rennie Murphy & Alana Joli Abbott
Where the Veil Is Thin (2020), an anthology of stories about fairies and spirits, began as a Kickstarter. The project was successful, and the book is now widely available. Editors Cerece Rennie Murphy and Alana Joli Abbott have brought together a diverse group of authors with a wide variety of writing styles and approaches to the fae. While the tag line on the back cover says “These are not your daughter’s faerie tales,” some of the stories do read as if they might be intended for a youthful audience,
August 3rd, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | C.S.E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, Jim C. Hines, L. Penelope, Linda Robertson, Seanan McGuire | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Desdemona and the Deep by C.S.E. Cooney
Desdemona and the Deep (2019) is C.S.E. Cooney’s third novella in the DARK BREAKERS series, but is a self-contained story that can stand alone. A finalist for the Locus Award for Best Novella, Desdemona and the Deep is a dreamy, sensual trip through the otherworlds. I’ll let Cooney set the scene:
Four stories above the Grand Foyer of the Seafall City Opera House, each painted panel in the barrel-vaulted ceiling depicted a scene from one of the three worlds.
July 30th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 5 | C.S.E. Cooney | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard
Last Friday night, I was feeling indecisive about what to read, so I emailed Jana and listed the options I was considering: YA Historical Fantasy? Creepy Medical SF? I admitted I was leaning toward Snarky Murder Novella. “It’s Friday,” she said, encouraging me to treat myself with Snarky Murder Novella, and I’m very glad I did.
Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders is part of Aliette de Bodard’s DOMINION OF THE FALLEN series,
July 21st, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Aliette De_Bodard | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 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 |
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 |
Wicked Wonders by Ellen Klages
In Wicked Wonders (2017), Ellen Klages has assembled an impressive collection of her short stories. Although almost all of these stories have been previously published (the sole exception is “Woodsmoke”), most of them appeared in anthologies and are unlikely to be familiar to most readers. These fourteen stories run the gamut from non-fiction (“The Scary Ham”) to straight fiction (“Hey, Presto,” “Household Management” and “Woodsmoke”) to science fiction and fantasy. They’re often bittersweet or wistful and frequently surreal; tales of ordinary lives in which the fantastical or unexpected element sneaks up and taps you on the shoulder,
July 9th, 2020. Tadiana Jones, Bill Capossere, Jana Nyman and Skye Walker´s rating: 4 | Ellen Klages | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…