Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
The Rose and the Beast: Nine Fairy Tales by Francesca Lia Block
The Rose and the Beast: Nine Fairy Tales was my first look into the writing of Francesca Lia Block, and I was immediately captivated by both her style and tone and her unsurpassable use of imagery, and her ability to make old fairytales into new, darker and profound creations. It is gradually becoming clear in the general world of literature that fairytales in their original form were not at all intended for children,
September 10th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Francesca Lia Block | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Greetings from Lake Wu by Jay Lake
Greetings from Lake Wu is a collaboration between Jay Lake and Frank Wu, with the former writing the short stories and the latter illustrating them. Wu’s art can be found preceding each story (there are 13 in this collection) and his style has an old-school feel to it. Lake, on the other hand, struts his early work here and I find it amusing that the book begins and ends with stories that have a similar title (“The Courtesy of Guests”
August 28th, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3 | Jay Lake | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
John Joseph Adams assembles a wide variety of apocalypse-related fiction in Wastelands. some of which are older than I am, while others are more recent. What you end up with is a diverse anthology covering topics such as religion, war, and exploration while containing horror, comedy, and a sense of wonder.
The majority of the stories are easy to get into. Some stories are more subtle than others. Overall, Wastelands is an enjoyable read and the selection seems balanced.
August 22nd, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3.5 | Cory Doctorow, Elizabeth Bear, Gene Wolfe, George R.R. Martin, Jonathan Lethem, Orson Scott Card, Paolo Bacigalupi, Richard Kadrey, Stephen King, Tobias Buckell | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Drowned Life by Jeffrey Ford
Jeffrey Ford‘s The Drowned Life is as engrossing as his previous short story collections, immediately ensnaring the reader with his detailed prose and characterization. One noticeable trend is that while Ford dabbles in clear-cut fantasy with stories such as “The Manticore Spell” or “The Dismantled Invention of Fate,” much of his work deals more with the mundane sprinkled with just the right amounts of magic and the surreal. The titular piece for example, “The Drowned Life,” seems like the narrative of the common Joe,
August 18th, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 5 | Jeffrey Ford | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Harrowing the Dragon by Patricia A. McKillip
Patricia A. McKillip is the author of several wonderful books (my favourites being Alphabet of Thorn and Winter Rose) and is one of the few fantasists in the publishing world that is original. Although her stories may contain typical fantasy elements (dragons, heroes, kingdoms, quests, good versus evil, etc) they are written in such beautiful poetic-prose that the stories transcend the clichés they stem from; reading more as luminous fairytales than hum-drum fantasy. Although the prose is beautiful,
August 10th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Patricia McKillip | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Return of the Sword: An Anthology of Heroic Adventure
I read and have read a lot of anthologies. They’re great for “in-between-books-reading” and are perfect when you just want a story that you can start and finish in one sitting. Anthologies are also a great source for sampling different writers.
Jason M Waltz did a great job of picking out the stories to use for The Return of the Sword. Except for only one or two stories (even the ones that weren’t particularly something to my personal taste) I found these to be very well and interestingly written.
August 9th, 2008. Greg Hersom´s rating: 4.5 | E.E. Knight, James Enge, Robert Rhodes | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
While a relatively short anthology, what Mythic lacks in quantity is more than made up for with the quality of its selections. Each poem and story stands out as well as fitting the “mythic” tone the book is attempting to capture. Right from the very start, I was already enamored by the opening poem, “Syllables of Old Lore” by Vandana Singh and Mike Allen keeps the interest, flow, and beat consistent throughout the volume.
There are some editorial choices I’d like to highlight.
July 11th, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3 | Catherynne M. Valente, Theodora Goss | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories by Garth Nix
Most fans will find that the most exciting feature of this Garth Nix collection is undoubtedly the short story “Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case,” set in the world of the Old Kingdom (the setting of the Old Kingdom trilogy; Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen) and acting as a type of coda for the character of Nicolas Sayre, left damaged and traumatized in the last book.
June 4th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Garth Nix | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I’ve been seeing Sarah Monette’s name for a while but, for the most part, this collection of short stories was a blind purchase. The Bone Key deals with the exploits of Kyle Murchison Booth which are homages to M.R. James and H.P. Lovecraft. Now I’m not familiar with the former but I can attest that Monette captures the mood of the latter with this book. Even the protagonist himself is similar to Lovecraft’s “heroes” although Monette improves upon the concept and provides us at the very least with an interesting character instead of simply delivering a verbose narrator who can’t hold a decent conversation.
May 31st, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3 | Sarah Monette | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
The moment I finished Susanna Clarke’s wonderful first novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I wished that there was more of it. It was a long wait, but finally the fans of Clarke’s magically-soaked nineteenth-century Britain have a sequel — of sorts. Clarke presents eight short stories concerned with the presence of Faerie in England, and its influence on human inhabitants, all set in the same universe (with the same magical structure) as her previous work.
May 14th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher and Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Susanna Clarke | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Martin L. Shoemaker
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…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…