Previous SFF Author: Jay Posey
In some ways there are superficial resemblances between Fledgling and the last vampire book I read, Let the Right One In: both books have as their star apparently pre-pubescent vampires who have ‘complicated’ relationships with their human companions. In John Ajvide Lindqvist’s case it was a Renfield-like adult who was enamoured of the vampire-child for whom he obtained blood and the young boy who becomes a part of her life. In the case of Butler’s book the vampire in question,
April 24th, 2015. Terry Lago´s rating: 3.5 | Octavia Butler | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Soldiers of Halla by D.J. MacHale
It’s been a few years since Bobby Pendragon first found out he was a Traveler. He’s been all over the territories of Halla, trying to thwart Saint Dane’s plans to throw all of Halla into chaos. Now the final battle is here. Can Bobby and his friends kill Saint Dane, or will all of Halla be forced to live in the terrible universe he has created?
The Soldiers of Halla, the final PENDRAGON book by D.J.
April 22nd, 2015. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | D.J. MacHale | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Robert Charles Wilson’s new novel, The Affinities, comes out today. As I mentioned in my review of The Affinities, I was hooked from start to finish. At the end, I had a few questions for Wilson which he was willing to answer. So here are five questions and five answers for one of the 21st century’s best science fiction writers.
Ryan Skardal: Many of your works focus on watershed moments. These moments are often caused by mysterious forces from the future or outer space,
April 21st, 2015. Ryan Skardal | Robert Charles Wilson | Author Interviews | 9 comments |
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
Wyrd Sisters (1988) is a fun, lively book. It’s definitely a bit on the light side compared to some of Terry Pratchett’s later works – more parody and less satire, if you like – but there’s nothing wrong with a jocular, easy-going read. Indeed, while it perhaps lacks something of the punch one might find in Mort or Small Gods, this installment is probably one of the better entry points for DISCWORLD,
April 21st, 2015. Tim Scheidler and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Terry Pratchett | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
The Sirens of Titan is a tough book to review. And it’s not really SF at all though it adopts the trappings of the genre. The thing about Kurt Vonnegut’s books is that they are so deceptively simple. The prose is spare, humorous, ironic, and to the point. And yet the story is very ambitious, as it seeks to provide answers to some very basic questions. Why do we exist? What is the universe for? Do we have any free will to determine our lives?
April 21st, 2015. Stuart Starosta and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Kurt Vonnegut | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
A Mirror for Observers by Edgar Pangborn
It’s somewhat surprising that this 1954 International Fantasy Award winner has never found a very large audience in the SF genre. The writing style is reminiscent of Theodore Sturgeon or Ray Bradbury, very much focused on the characters and their inner thoughts and struggles, a big contrast with the more pulpy science and space-adventure tales featured in pulp magazines like Galaxy and Astounding.
I knew about A Mirror for Observers only because it was included in David Pringle’s Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels.
April 20th, 2015. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 3 | Edgar Pangborn | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Lost Continent by C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne
The Lost Continent first appeared serially in the English publication Pearson’s Magazine in 1899, and in book form the following year. The author, C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne, is not exactly a household name today, but, way back when, was an extremely popular and prolific writer. His serialized tales of Captain Kettle, also in Pearson’s, were supposedly only second in popularity to the Strand Magazine‘s Sherlock Holmes stories, as submitted by Arthur Conan Doyle.
April 20th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne | SFF Reviews | no comments |
On those occasions when I have read sci-fi, I’ve tended to stick to the familiar brand-name authors; tried-and-true old favorites such as Asimov, Bester, Bradbury, Clarke, Dick, Heinlein, Norton, Silverberg, Williamson and the like. But a recent perusal of new author Richard Fazio‘s debut novel, 2010’s The Nexus, has demonstrated that I really ought to be adventurous more often.
April 17th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Richard Fazio | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
Ward Moore’s Bring the Jubilee is a fairly obscure alternate-history story published in 1953 in which the South won the “War for Southron Independence.” In this world, Robert E. Lee succeeds Jefferson Davis as the second president of the Confederacy in 1865. The Confederacy steadily expands its empire through Mexico and South America. Its chief rival is the German Union, which splits control of Europe with the Spanish Empire. In response, the Confederacy has allied with Great Britain, creating two opposing empires that straddle the Atlantic.
April 17th, 2015. Stuart Starosta´s rating: 4 | Ward Moore | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Raven Rise is the penultimate novel in D.J. MacHale’s PENDRAGON series. (Expect spoilers for previous PENDRAGON books in this review.) At the end of the last book, The Pilgrims of Rayne, Bobby destroyed the flume on Ibara, trapping himself and Saint Dane on that territory. Now Bobby can never go home, but at least Saint Dane will not be able to destroy the rest of Halla. Or so Bobby thinks.
April 17th, 2015. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | D.J. MacHale | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Previous SFF Author: Jay Posey
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.