Previous SFF Author: Michael A. Stackpole
These are stand alone novels (not part of a series).
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
… and we watched the willow branches bow outward from the passing, and it was invisible except that invisible was not the right word, because its not-there-ness hung in the air like an afterimage.
The Hollow Places (2020), by T. Kingfisher, reminded me a lot of the other folk-horror novel of hers I read recently, The Twisted Ones. Both take place in or close to small southern towns,
November 10th, 2020. Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | T. Kingfisher | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Bat Woman by Cromwell Gibbons
As some of you may have discerned, my favorite type of reading matter these days has been the science fiction, fantasy and horror books from the period 1900 – 1950, and so I am always on the lookout for modern-day publishers issuing new editions of these often out-of-print works. Case in point: Bruin Books, from Eugene, Oregon, which, a few years back, made it possible for me to finally obtain a reasonably priced copy of Paul Bailey’s wonderful horror novel Deliver Me From Eva (1946).
November 2nd, 2020. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 2.5 | Cromwell Gibbons | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Our Daddy never taught us shit, except what a fox teaches chickens — how to run, how to tremble, how to outlive the bastard — and our mama died before she could teach us much of anything. But we had Mama Mags, our mother’s mother, and she didn’t fool around with soup-pots and flowers.
Once upon a time there were three sisters, in a world where women’s magic was outlawed and driven underground. They had to battle an evil man and rediscover their own power,
October 30th, 2020. Marion Deeds and Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Alix E. Harrow | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong
A Stitch in Time (2020), by Kelley Armstrong, is a time-slip romance with ghosts. Bronwyn Dale has just inherited the old family home on the English moors. When she visited the house as a girl, she discovered she could pass back and forth between her own time and the Victorian era, and fell in love with a boy, William, who lived in the past version of the house. But her uncle died tragically, and Bronwyn was institutionalized for talking about William,
October 27th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Kelley Armstrong | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge
A glance back at former reviews of Frances Hardinge’s work reveals that I have overused the word “weird.” Hardly the nicest word, and yet I meant it as a compliment. It’s a testament to my struggle to pinpoint what it is that makes Hardinge’s books stand out. Nevertheless, stand out they do.
Verdigris Deep (2008) is a weird book and, once again, that’s meant as a compliment. Ryan, Josh and Chelle get stranded in a forbidden village when they miss their bus home.
October 26th, 2020. Katie Burton and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Frances Hardinge | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020) is a charming, thoughtful, sometimes-dark, sometimes moving, story about memory, love, rash decisions, female agency, stubborn defiance, mortality, resilience, and the power of art. In this time of Covid, a novel focused so much on the desire for human contact and fear of dying without leaving “a mark” is especially timely, though The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue would have been a highly recommended book in any other year.
October 23rd, 2020. Bill Capossere, Tadiana Jones, Jana Nyman and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Victoria (V.E.) Schwab | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Ever read a book and immediately wish that you’d been able to read it in school, rather than [insert inaccessible book of choice]? For me, Nancy Kress’s 2020 novella Sea Change, with its gutsy-yet-conflicted heroine and all-too-real near-future global catastrophes, is exactly the kind of book I wish I’d been handed way back when.
Renata Black is a lawyer, handling cases for citizens of the Quinault Nation in the Pacific Northwest. She’s cultivated friendships among them,
October 22nd, 2020. Jana Nyman´s rating: 5 | Nancy Kress | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
When I was a kid growing up in Montana, hunting was a steadfast part of my family’s life. Elk, deer (mulies and white-tails), antelope, pheasant — if you wanted to eat it, you had to go out into the snow-covered woods before the break of dawn and hope that you would find something early enough that you wouldn’t have to spend the rest of the day dragging the cleaned carcass back to your truck. There were rules, of course: respect nature to the point of veneration;
October 15th, 2020. Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Stephen Graham Jones | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
Master of Poisons (2020) by Andrea Hairston is an epic fantasy set in an African-inspired world that is facing environmental devastation. Fertile land is turning into poison desert, and void-storms are a constant threat.
Djola is called Master of Poisons because, when both men were young, he saved the Arkhysian Emperor with his knowledge of antidotes. He was rewarded with the title and a place on the Emperor’s council. Now, he thinks he might be able to save the land with a legendary spell,
October 12th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter and Bill Capossere´s rating: 2.5, 4 | Andrea Hairston | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Today, more than a century after Jack London’s passing in 1916, most people probably remember the San Francisco-born author for his books of rugged adventure, such as his third novel, The Call of the Wild (1903), his fifth, The Sea-Wolf (1904), and his seventh, White Fang (1906). Fewer will recall that amongst London’s 23 novels, 21 short story collections, three memoirs, three plays, 22 books of nonfiction and 45 poems – all written during a life span of only 40 years – this most superhumanly prolific of authors also produced four books that must be classified as either fantasy or sci-fi.
September 25th, 2020. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4.5 | Jack London | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
Previous SFF Author: Michael A. Stackpole
My pleasure, Robin! And yes, it surely is some kind of an experience, to be sure....
Thanks for the solution to a mystery many decades old. One of my favourite novels, this. Hilariously funny, completely unpredictable,…
Thank you. I’m all caught up. Back to reading Crimson Embers.
Enjoyed your review. I’m reading A War in Crimson Embers and am having the hardest time reminding myself where everybody…
Just saw you like Jack Vance. Me too. Surely he offends you somewhere though?