Rati Mehrotra chats about her ASIANA duology (and gives away a copy)
Today Fantasy Literature welcomes Rati Mehrotra, whose ASIANA duology explores multiple themes and genres; she joins me to discuss those aspects of her YA novels, her current...
Illusion: A wonderful historical fantasy!
Illusion by Paula Volsky A fictionalization of the French Revolution set in the invented kingdom of "Vonahr" and laced with a little bit of magic, Illusion is a gem of...
Put Fat Girls in Your SFF YA
Welcome to another Expanded Universe column where I feature essays from authors and editors of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, as well as from established readers and reviewers....
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I declare it Kat Hooper Day.
I officially declare today Kat Hooper Day.
The Shirley Jackson Awards were announced at ReaderCon, July 14. (Terry was in the audience for this!) Little Eve, by Catriona Ward, won for Best Horror Novel.
This will be another column that will not have a lot of links, because I am going to report out on ReaderCon30, held in Quincy, Massachusetts from July 11 through July 14, 2019.
One commenter chosen at random will get a hardback copy of Richard Kadrey's newest book, The Grand Dark.
July 17th, 2019. Marion Deeds | Giveaway!, World Wide Wednesday | 10 comments
The Last Tsar's Dragons by Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple
The Last Tsar's Dragons (2019) is frustrating, both as a reading exercise and in retrospect, when I think about how universally lauded Jane Yolen is and that Adam Stemple, her son, is a well-regarded author in his own right. So take a master storyteller and her progeny, begin with the political tar pit that was the Russian court in the last days of the Romanovs, and add revolutionaries and literal fire-breathing dragons into the mix…
What should, by all expectations, be a fascinating story meanders between various viewpoints, skips through its timeline with no clear indications as to when events are occurring with relation to one another, and makes... Read More
July 17th, 2019. Jana Nyman´s rating: 2.5 | Adam Stemple, Jane Yolen | Short Fiction, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments
Reposting to include Rebecca's new review.
Saga (Vol. 9) by Brian K. Vaughan (writer) & Fiona Staples (artist)
It's been nine months since I read Vol 8 of Saga, which is something special. It's the only comic series that I follow, and the characters are as vivid, complicated, lovable, despicable, cruel, and conflicted as any I know. This is a space opera that tackles the most difficult and relevant topics of our own society, doesn't hesitate to shock readers, flip the script, and most frightening of all, doesn't hold back from killing off major characters that we are deeply invested in. It's a cruel message, that even the best people trying to just live their lives and maintain their ideals can be snuffed out by those with less scruples, and that those that have used violence in the past can rarely escape the consequences, even after having turned to a peaceful path. This volume wi... Read More
July 17th, 2019. Stuart Starosta and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Brian K. Vaughan | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments
We welcome a new guest reviewer: Michaela Hausmann.
The Sundering Flood by William Morris
The Sundering Flood (1897) is the last fantasy romance by William Morris. Unfinished during his lifetime, the romance was published posthumously by his daughter May Morris. It relates the trials and tribulations of the young hero Osberne and his female friend and future lover Elfhild. Although both are separated from each other by an impassable river (the eponymous Sundering Flood), they can communicate with each other across the water and form a close bond. When fate strikes and Elfhild seems lost, Osberne embarks on a journey to find her and becomes involved in a greater struggle for freedom.
Osberne is in many ways a typical h... Read More
July 16th, 2019. Michaela Hausmann (GUEST)´s rating: 4 | William Morris | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 8 comments
Saga (Vol 8) by Brian K Vaughan (writer) & Fiona Staples (artist)
It's been six months since I read Vol 7 of SAGA, and after moving to London last summer we recently popped into Forbidden Planet in Soho, and that store is an absolute treasure trove of SF comics, books, and other fan goodies. There are so many enticing comics on offer there, you could spend your entire salary in one wild shopping spree. When I saw Vol 8 of SAGA with Wild West cover art among the new releases, I knew I had to have it.
SAGA is my favorite comic series, because it is always pushing the envelope in terms of content, themes, gorgeously assured and sometimes shocking artwork, and characters so charming, honest and flawed that you can't help but cheer for them. If you like intelligent, snarky, sometimes profane space opera with a v... Read More
The Dragon Token: Did Not Finish
The Dragon Token by Melanie Rawn
I tried and failed to finish The Dragon Token, the second book in Melanie Rawn's DRAGON PRINCE trilogy (really the fifth book in her DRAGON STAR trilogy). These novels are currently being released in very nice audio formats by Tantor Audio who has generously sent them to me for reviews. I feel bad for quitting, because these are such excellent audio productions narrated by Christa Lewis, but I am just so bored with them and each book is quite long.
Readers who enjoy or feel nostalgic for a medieval-style fantasy epic with a huge cast of white nobles who try to gain power, keep power, or scheme with others to wrest power from someone else, will certainly get more enjoyment out of these books than I did.
While Rawn attempts to flip th... Read More
July 15th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 1 | Melanie Rawn | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments
Bonfires and Broomsticks: Time-traveling with the magic bed-knob
Bonfires and Broomsticks by Mary Norton
In Bonfires and Broomsticks (1947), part two of Mary Norton's BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS duology, it's two years after events of the first book, The Magic Bed-Knob. The three young siblings, Carey, Charles and Paul, get the chance to leave London and spend the summer in Bedfordshire with their spinster friend, Miss Price, who was a witch in training. And they still have the magic bed-knob that enables them to fly through time and space on Paul's old bed, which is now in Miss Price's bedroom! Good magical times ahead!
Or maybe not: Miss Price, while pleased to see them, has decided that being a witch is a Bad Idea, and she's given up magic. But, the children argue, almost anything is fine in moderation, and they never did get the chan... Read More
July 15th, 2019. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Mary Norton | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments
Sunday Status Update: July 14, 2019
Lots more fun books this week!
Jana: This coming week I'll be starting Mercedes Lackey's The Hills Have Spies, the first volume in the FAMILY SPIES trilogy within the larger VALDEMAR universe, so that I can understand what's going on in Eye Spy, the just-published second volume. I haven't read any of Lackey's work before, but I'm well aware that she's widely considered to be a cornerstone of the fantasy genre, so I'm curious to see how I respond to her style. Reviews of other books are forthcoming, albeit more slowly than I would prefer. Read More
July 14th, 2019. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 2 comments
Hellboy (vol 3): The Chained Coffin and Others: Building the Hellboy mythos
Hellboy (vol 3): The Chained Coffin and Others by Mike Mignola (writer and artist),
Hellboy (vol 3): The Chained Coffin and Others does not continue the main storyline of Hellboy started in volumes one and two; instead, Mignola collects a handful of Hellboy tales in this trade edition:
In "The Coffin," Hellboy makes his appearance in Ireland in 1959 as a mother cries over her baby, who she is convinced is a changeling. "Get to the crossroads by the strike of middle-night under the corpse tree," screams the changeling-baby when Hellboy tortures it with iron. And Hellboy is off to the crossroads to make a deal with three creatures. Next thing you know, he is on a quest with a dead man hanging off his back. Only if he is successful will he be able to return the baby to her mother. "The Coffin" is one of Mignola's best short stories.
Hellboy makes an appearance in Ireland again, ... Read More
July 13th, 2019. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments
Once Broken Faith: A solid entry
Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
Once Broken Faith (2016) begins with a hilarious scene in which Toby & co. host a slumber party for a horde of fae teenagers, during which the kids devour unholy amounts of junk food and discover the joys of Disney movies. The festivities are then interrupted by Queen Arden Windermere, who wants Toby as a witness as she uses Walther's elf-shot cure to wake Madden and Nolan. The High King decreed that no further use of the cure should take place until after a conclave of fae royalty can meet and discuss it, so Arden is exploiting a loophole. Madden wakes, but before Nolan can be roused, the High King shows up early.
The conclave will bring together all of the royal courts of the western United States, and Toby is also chosen to attend. Seanan McGuire introduces us to an in... Read More
July 12th, 2019. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Seanan McGuire | SFF Reviews | no comments