Previous SFF Author: Frank Aubrey
Speculative fiction in audiobook format.
Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
Year of the Griffin (2000) is a sequel (of sorts) to Diana Wynne Jones’ Dark Lord of Derkholm, a satirical fantasy aimed at children and young adults, but just as enjoyable for grown-ups. Year of the Griffin is different — it’s not a satire and, for that reason, probably isn’t as appealing to adults, but I still enjoyed it. It’s what I like to call a boarding school fantasy,
January 29th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
THE FADED SUN by C.J. Cherryh
C.J. Cherryh’s FADED SUN trilogy (1978) consists of three books: Kesrith, Shon’jir, and Kutath. They’ve been bundled into an omnibus edition and Tantor Media sent me a review copy of their recently released audiobook version.
The three novels make up a continuous story of clashing civilizations that takes place in the far future with a few alien species on several distant planets. One of these species is the Mri,
January 28th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | C.J. Cherryh | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft
If you haven’t read Senlin Ascends and Arm of the Sphinx yet: Please stop here and go get them. I recommend Hachette Audio’s versions because they are absolutely brilliantly performed by John Banks. Read the rest of this review at your own risk — there will be mild spoilers for Senlin Ascends and Arm of the Sphinx in my review.
I am so conflicted.
January 22nd, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Josiah Bancroft | Audio | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
At a small California college, a strange illness has broken out on one floor of a co-ed dorm. Some of the students have fallen asleep and can’t be woken. Doctors and psychiatrists are baffled. All they know is that these students are dreaming and their brain activity is off the charts.
As the unknown disease keeps spreading, the dorm is quarantined, then the hospital, and eventually the entire college town.
Citizens are panicked as they worry about themselves and their families. It seems like just a matter of time before the whole town is asleep.
January 21st, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Karen Thompson Walker | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Trifles and Folly: A Deadly Curiosities Collection by Gail Z. Martin
I haven’t read any of Gail Z. Martin’s DEADLY CURIOSITIES novels, but Tantor Audio sent me Trifles and Folly: A Deadly Curiosities Collection (2016) and I thought it’d be a good introduction to the series.
The premise reminds me of Juliet Blackwell’s WITCHCRAFT MYSTERIES, which stars a young woman, Lily Ivory, who gets vibes from used garments. She has a vintage clothing store in San Francisco and,
January 16th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Gail Z. Martin | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Cold Between by Elizabeth Bonesteel
The Cold Between is the first novel in Elizabeth Bonesteel’s CENTRAL CORPS trilogy. This military space opera focuses more on personal and romantic relationships than most in this genre do. I’m tempted to call it romantic military space opera. The publisher compares Elizabeth Bonesteel’s work to that of Elizabeth Moon and Lois McMaster Bujold. I have read both of those authors’ space operas and I can say that this comparison is inaccurate. Bonesteel is writing for the same audience,
January 15th, 2019. Kat Hooper and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Elizabeth Bonesteel | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Richard K. Morgan’s stand-alone novel Thin Air (2018) is set on Mars in the universe of his novel Thirteen. His protagonist, Hakan Veil, is a disgraced “enforcer” who’s just been dumped on Mars by the corporation to whom he had been indentured since childhood. They recently fired him. Hakan would love to get back to Earth, but that’s nearly impossible these days because it costs too much to get there and Earth lets very few people in.
January 8th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Richard K. Morgan | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler
Wild Seed (1980) was written last in Octavia Butler’s 5-book PATTERNIST series, but comes first in chronology. The next books, by internal chronology, are Mind of My Mind (1977), Clay’s Ark (1984), and Patternmaster (1976). Butler was later unsatisfied with Survivor (1978) and elected to not have it reprinted, so I will focus on the main four volumes. Wild Seed is an origin story set well before later books and can stand on its own.
January 8th, 2019. Stuart Starosta, Marion Deeds and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5, 5 | Octavia Butler | Audio, Edge | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Reposting to include Marion’s review of the new SYFY channel adaptation of Nightflyers. You can find it below our reviews of the novella.
Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin
Nightflyers was first published in 1980, won the Locus Award for best novella, and was nominated for a Hugo Award. It was made into an unsuccessful film in 1987. It’s recently been on people’s radars due to the upcoming SYFY series based on the novella. You can purchase it in several new (2018) formats including an illustrated edition,
December 31st, 2018. Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | George R.R. Martin | Audio, Film / TV, Horror, Locus Award, Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
THE CORPORATION WARS by Ken MacLeod
My preference is to review the books in a series Individually, but I find myself so busy at the moment that I don’t have much time for writing reviews. And in the case of THE CORPORATION WARS by Ken MacLeod, I don’t feel that there’s much distinction between the individual novels and it makes sense to review the series as a whole.
THE CORPORATION WARS is a trilogy that consists of the books Dissidence,
December 20th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Ken MacLeod | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Previous SFF Author: Frank Aubrey
Just saw you like Jack Vance. Me too. Surely he offends you somewhere though?
Words fail. I can't imagine what else might offend you. Great series, bizarre and ridiculous review. Especially the 'Nazi sympathizer'…
"Nor Iron Bars a Cage by Kage Harper" Freudian slip there. ;)
[…] (Fantasy Literature): In 1957, Hammer Studios in England came out with the first of their full-color horror creations, […]
I'm going to have to find these and read them.