Previous SFF Author: Michael A. Stackpole
These are stand alone novels (not part of a series).
“This book is my love letter to Iceland and its people,” writes Betsy Tobin in her afterword to Ice Land. And so it is. Tobin is at her best when describing the landscape of Iceland:
The day we met, I had flown deep into the central highlands, seeking a spot where I could be alone. I found it on a high desert plateau, where a hidden spring had forced its way up through the lava shield,
September 14th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 0.1 | Betsy Tobin | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo’s new work, The Magician’s Elephant, takes a little bit of warming up to early on, but the simple and sometimes poetic prose combined with the fairy tale/fable-like atmosphere and style starts to win the reader over, first charming them, then moving them. By the end, which comes quickly since it’s more novella than novel, both the prose and emotional impact have deepened and intensified, making this a novella well worth reading oneself and to one’s children.
September 12th, 2009. Bill Capossere, Terry Weyna and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Kate DiCamillo | Audio, Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Set the Seas on Fire by Chris Roberson
Author of many short stories and novels, the three-time World Fantasy Award-nominated and two-time John W. Campbell Award-nominated Chris Roberson is also a co-founder of the writers’ collective Clockwork Storybook and owner/operator of the indie publisher MonkeyBrain Books (Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, Jeff VanderMeer). Set the Seas On Fire is part of the Bonaventure-Carmody universe which includes the books Cybermancy, Incorporated (2001-Clockwork), Here,
September 9th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Chris Roberson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Bon Agornin, patriarch of a well-off family, is on his death bed. His family has gathered around him, including his oldest son Penn, who is a country parson, and Avan, the younger brother who is making his way up in the bureaucracy of the capital city. Also there are his unmarried daughters Haner and Selendra, and oldest daughter Berend, who is married to Daverak, a young nobleman. When Daverak claims a large part of Bon’s wealth, a complex family drama starts, involving an inheritance battle and the search for suitable matches for the young daughters.
August 30th, 2009. Stefan Raets´s rating: 4 | Jo Walton | Stand-Alone, World Fantasy Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ruined: A Ghost Story by Paula Morris
There’s nothing I like better than a good ghost story. And New Orleans is a great city to set one in. In fact, Ruined‘s greatest strength is its setting.
Because I’ve been doing research on NO for a project of my own, some of what the book offers is stuff I already know. Even so, all of it is fascinating, especially for people only just being exposed to it. Paula Morris paints the city into the perfect backdrop for her ghost story,
August 18th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 3 | Paula Morris | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thanks to Stephenie Meyer, teen fiction and vampires is on fire and the past couple of years has seen an explosion of new series riding the popularity wave. One of the newest entries in this subgenre is Max Turner’s debut which was originally released in Canada last year.
Not quite 300 pages long, Night Runner is a nonstop, high-speed adventure / mystery / thriller starring 15-year-old Zack Thompson who discovers that he’s — what else — a vampire!
August 12th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3.5 | Max Turner | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Retold fairytales, in which the characters and plots of traditional stories are explored in more depth, or told from an unexpected point-of-view, are a dime a dozen these days. But one stands out from the rest, and that is Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted, which takes the story of Cinderella and not only provides impetus for many of the nonsensical elements of the original tale, but builds a rich imaginary world around it and makes the titular character one of the best heroines to ever appear in YA novel.
July 29th, 2009. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Gail Carson Levine | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thief With No Shadow by Emily Gee
Ah, Thief With No Shadow. Add this one to the ever growing list of books that leave me utterly baffled as to what the term “romantic fantasy” is supposed to mean. Whatever else it is, this delightful little romp of a fantasy tale is no romance novel.
Though Thief With No Shadow is of a serious nature, it has the benefit of not being extremely bogged down and dreary as seems to be the current fantasy trend.
July 24th, 2009. Beth Johnson Sonderby (guest)´s rating: 4.5 | Emily Gee | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Considering how popular Stephenie Meyer has become, it’s hard to imagine that her debut novel was only just released in 2005, because it seems like I’ve been hearing about the author for decades. The Host — Ms. Meyer’s first novel for adults — marks my introduction to the author’s charms and I can now see firsthand why Ms. Meyer is so popular.
Let’s start with the setup. While reminiscent of the Body Snatchers films/book and The Puppet Masters, there are some key differences in The Host.
July 20th, 2009. Robert Thompson´s rating: 4.5 | Stephenie Meyer | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Purple and Black by K.J. Parker
You have to love a story that starts out with the line, “You are, of course, an unmitigated bastard.”
Purple and Black is a collection of the military dispatches sent back and forth between the new Roman Emperor Nicephorus and his best friend Phormio, who has reluctantly taken charge of the military at Nico’s insistence. Nico is appointing his friends to the important government positions because the empire has gone through seventy-seven emperors in the last one hundred years — all but a handful of them dying painful deaths.
July 20th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4.5 | K.J. Parker | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Michael A. Stackpole
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…