Previous SFF Author: Michael A. Stackpole
These are stand alone novels (not part of a series).
Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip
The first time I read Patricia McKillip, I didn’t get very far. The book was the Riddlemaster of Hed, and I was completely unprepared for her complex use of language. But there must have been something in her style that intrigued me, because I tracked down Winter Rose not long afterwards, and since then have been a big fan of all her work. Out of all Patricia McKillip’s books (at least the ones I’ve read) Winter Rose is perhaps the most opaque.
April 12th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher and Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Patricia McKillip | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
Dragon Rider is an early Cornelia Funke novel brought to the U.S. after the success of hermore recent The Thief Lord and Inkheart. Dragon Rider begins with a young dragon named Firedrake who starts off on a quest for the Rim of Heaven, a possibly mythical land where Firedrake and his fellow dragons hope to flee to in order to escape encroaching mankind whose earth-moving machines are on their way.
April 5th, 2008. Bill Capossere and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Cornelia Funke | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Arkadians by Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Alexander follows his usual technique of incorporating various myths from around the world into his own original story (as he’s already done with The Chronicles of Prydain, The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen, and The Iron Ring) but this time it’s with a clever twist. Instead of taking aspects of myths to work into his own story, here Alexander traces several Greek myths back to their source, outlining the roots of these stories and exploring how they may have been changed over time into the myths as we know them today.
April 2nd, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Lloyd Alexander | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
In the Company of Ogres by A. Lee Martinez
When I read fantasy comedy, I compare it to Terry Pratchett. In many ways, In the Company of Ogres resembles many of Pratchett’s Discworld novels in the sense that a) it actually is quite funny and b) it makes fun of existing fantasy tropes and elements.
A. Lee Martinez, however, has his own distinguishable style which is evident in In the Company of Ogres. His writing style is quite functional and isn’t weighed down with flowery prose or detailed descriptions.
March 29th, 2008. Charles Tan (GUEST)´s rating: 3 | A. Lee Martinez | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Neil Gaiman+ Lenny Henry = Twice the Entertainment
I like Neil Gaiman’s style — his writing is easy, intelligent, well-edited, dryly humorous, and just plain charming.
Anansi Boys is no exception, and it’s especially charming in audio format, thanks to Lenny Henry, an English stand-up comedian whose deep rich voice and character comedy is absolutely perfect for this novel which is based on the African/Caribbean mythology of the trickster spider god Anansi (introduced in American Gods). Henry’s voices are brilliant (especially the old Caribbean women) and he had me literally smiling nearly all the way through the story.
March 25th, 2008. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Neil Gaiman | Audio, Mythopoeic Award, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
There are some beautiful moments in The Fortress of Solitude — moments of crystalline description, of poetic evocation of time and place, moments of heartbreaking human interaction. But for me, these moments just didn’t hold together long enough or happen often enough.
The Fortress of Solitude follows Dylan Ebdus, known as “whiteboy” to those around him on Dean Street due to the rarity of his skin color, as he grows up and out of the Brooklyn neighborhood.
March 13th, 2008. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Jonathan Lethem | Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
Thanks to the movies Hellraiser, Lord of Illusions, and Candyman, I was introduced to Clive Barker, but it was his writing that made me a hardcore fan. Imajica, Weaveworld, Books of Blood, The Great and Secret Show, Everville: all personal favorites of mine and great examples of Mr. Barker’s wild imagination and unique talents. Unfortunately, it’s been a while since I last read a Clive Barker book,
February 16th, 2008. Robert Thompson´s rating: 3 | Clive Barker | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Gloriana, or The Unfulfill’d Queen: Being a Romance by Michael Moorcock
Gloriana (1979) is Moorcock’s homage to Mervyn Peake (author of the Gormenghast saga), and fittingly, is a lush tale of intrigue told in thoroughly British prose. At times brilliant (especially in the descriptions of the seasonal festivities), often captivating and humorous, often sluggish and overly subtle, ultimately unfulfilling, it’s a book I recommend borrowing from the library before buying. Not everyone will enjoy such decadence.
Speaking of decadence,
January 21st, 2008. Rob Rhodes´s rating: 2.5 | Michael Moorcock | Stand-Alone, World Fantasy Award | SFF Reviews | no comments |
To Catch a Mermaid by Suzanne Selfors
I don’t usually read children’s novels and I probably will demur in the future, except for young adult. I did my homework on To Catch a Mermaid and read a bunch of other reviews out there, and none of them are in the least bit negative.
The writing itself is great. It’s about a boy named Boom Broom who brings home a wild baby mermaid (actually more like a toddler) from a reject seafood bucket. The merbaby brings a curse that Boom must break in order to save his sister.
January 7th, 2008. Tia Nevitt (guest)´s rating: 2 | Suzanne Selfors | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Published way back in 1963, Time Cat was the first book ever written by Lloyd Alexander, and as such, exists as an interesting comparison to many of his later books, with echoes of plots and characters that will later be used in his more famous and sophisticated works. It is quite a simplistic book, with a straightforward story told in clear but sparse prose, but there are certainly traces of the excellence that is to come in Alexander’s later books,
January 5th, 2008. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Lloyd Alexander | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Michael A. Stackpole
Agree! And a perfect ending, too.
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