Month: December 2007

Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft: Give me more!

Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky

Jane Madison has always thought of herself as “plain Jane” and — let’s face it — her life does leave something to be desired. A low-paid, overworked librarian of an obscure resource library in Washington DC, Jane fills her days mooning after her “imaginary boyfriend” Jason Templeton, a professor at one of the local universities who does his independent research in her section of the library every week.

One day however, her boss calls her into her office to give her some bad news: the library’s funding is so bad that she is going to have to cut Jane’s pay…by 25%.

December 19th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 4 | Mindy Klasky | SFF Reviews | no comments |

A Distant Tomorrow: Mindlessly entertaining

A Distant Tomorrow by Bertrice Small

Five long and peaceful years have passed since the Winter War the people of the Outlands fought and won against the greedy nation of Hetar. But Gaius Prospero has not given up his scheme to become emperor, and after an unexpected and tragic blow, the Fairy woman Lara is pulled towards her distant and elusive destiny once again.

Unexpectedly Lara finds herself in a distant land across the sea know as Terah where, with her newfound powers, she manages to banish an evil curse and earns the love and adoration of the ruler Magnus Hauk.

December 19th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 2.5 | Bertrice Small | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Redemption of Althalus

The Redemption of Althalus by David & Leigh Eddings

The Redemption of Althalus was almost as bad as Domes of Fire. I read it because I thought that maybe David & Leigh Eddings got better. Unfortunately, it was more of the same. That’s the end of my review. Otherwise, I’ll just be repeating myself.

ANGUS BICKERTON practises law in a small town in Eastern Ontario. He lives with his wife, their two youngest children, and their black lab in a 160 year-old stone home,

Deadhouse Gates: What the heck is going on?

Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson

The only words that I can think of to sum up Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series are “Wow.” and “What the heck is going on here?!?” (I would have used stronger language, but this is a family website). Erikson appears to be doing something big and shiny, but I have not yet been quite able to grasp what it is. Maybe I am being dense, but this is the second of his books that I have read, and I have the pervasive feeling as I progress through this series that I am missing something important,

December 19th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 4 | Steven Erikson | SFF Reviews | no comments |

The Book of Joby: Well-written debut

The Book of Joby by Mark Ferrari

Ostensibly inspired by the book of Job found in the Bible, The Book of Joby is actually a somewhat odd meld of Arthurian legend and fantasy set in modern times. Who knew that such a thing could exist! There are several characters who have been drawn from the Bible, namely God, Michael and Gabriel — both archangels — and, of course, the devil himself. Any biblical resemblance to characters and plot ideas in The Book Of Joby ends there.

The King of Ys: I remember Ys, though I have never seen her

The King of Ys by Poul Anderson

“I remember Ys, though I have never seen her.”

The King of Ys is a historical fantasy — it is set in our world just before the fall of the Roman Empire and it mixes in the legend of the mythical city of Ys which was built below sea level on the coast of Brittany. Many of the characters in The King of Ys (Roman emperors, Christian saints, etc) are based on legendary and real historical figures and Poul and Karen Anderson include plenty of footnotes which explain the legend of Ys and the culture and religion of the 5th century.

December 15th, 2007. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Poul Anderson | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Grimpow: The Invisible Road

Grimpow: The Invisible Road by Rafael Abalos

Grimpow: The Invisible Road was written for young adults by Spanish lawyer Rafael Abalos and translated to English after its success in Europe. The story is a medieval mystery/historical fantasy set in early 14th century Europe. Grimpow is an illiterate orphan who stumbles upon the dead body of one of the last of the Knights Templar who was on a quest to secure the philosopher’s stone from the grasp of King Philip IV and Pope Clement V. The king and pope, in order to get control of the stone and its promise of wealth and wisdom,

Domes of Fire: Wasting my time

Domes of Fire by David Eddings

I could not bring myself to finish Domes of Fire. I stopped somewhere towards the end and thought “why am I wasting my time?” This book is another repeat of the Eddings “gather a group of characters and send them on a long journey” formula, and I just could not do it again.

I can’t give a synopsis, because I didn’t finish it, but I don’t really need to. The plot is the same as everything else that Eddings had written up to the time that this series was done.

December 15th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 0.1 | David Eddings | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Where Have the Unicorns Gone?

Where Have the Unicorns Gone? by Jane Yolen and Ruth Sanderson

Most people are struck by the idea of the unicorn: its imagery, its meaning and its origins. Unfortunately in present times the striking and semi-dangerous idea of a horned, goat-legged, lion-tailed creature has been reduced to a sugary-sweet horsey (usually portrayed in various shades of pink or purple).

Jane Yolen and Ruth Sanderson attempt to answer the question of Where Have The Unicorns Gone? The most popular story of where these creatures went to is found within the children’s song,

The Princess Bride: We love the book and the film

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Like many people, I was familiar with the 1987 film The Princess Bride long before I read (or even knew about) William Goldman’s original novel, the extensively titled The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure. Like the film, the novel has a framing narrative that introduces the tale itself; unlike the film it is not of a young boy being read the story by his grandfather, but Goldman’s own experiences with the book both as a child and an adult.

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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