Review of Yesterday’s Kin by Nancy Kress
Yesterday’s Kin is the newest science fiction book by award-winning author Nancy Kress. She has won two Hugo Awards and five Nebula Awards, and her fairly recent novella After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall was both a Nebula winner and a Hugo nominee. Four months ago, life on Earth was changed forever when an alien ship arrived and settled near the moon. The aliens were quick to convey the message that their mission was peaceful, and two […]
Mini-Review: Steles of the Sky by Elizabeth Bear
Steles of the Sky is the conclusion to Elizabeth Bear’s Eternal Sky trilogy, following Range of Ghosts and Shattered Pillars. Though this story has been completed, there will be a second trilogy of books set in this world with the first book scheduled for release in 2017, The Lotus Kingdoms. For this mini-review, I am not going to write about the plot. Instead, here is the book description with my thoughts on the book below. Elizabeth Bear concludes her award-winning […]
Guest Review of The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker
(Note: Hi! I’m John. Not Kristen. Sorry. I used to contribute to this site a while ago, but then grad school happened. And then grad school happened again. Now they’ve run out of degrees to give me, so I’m back to having some time to write here! It probably won’t be very often, but I’ll pop in from time to time.) The Golem and the Jinni is a melting pot-era urban fantasy released in 2013 and Helene Wecker’s debut novel, […]
Review of The Young Elites by Marie Lu
The Young Elites is the first book in a new series by Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of the Legend trilogy (Legend, Prodigy, Champion). A few years ago, a plague swept through the world and forever changed it. Every adult who became ill died, but there were children who survived this illness. Some of the survivors bore marks afterward and became known as malfettos, and a few of these displayed unusual powers. There are rumors of dangerous Elites […]
Review of Beyond the Pale Edited by Henry Herz
Beyond the Pale edited by Henry Herz is a YA anthology containing fantasy and paranormal stories by some well-known authors in speculative fiction, including Saladin Ahmed, Peter S. Beagle, Jane Yolen, Gillian Philip, and Jim Butcher. It consists of an eclectic mix of writing styles and speculative fiction stories, including mythic and urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic fiction, historical fantasy, a ghost story, and a vampire tale about Dracurat. I found most of the stories enjoyable and will certainly be reading more […]
Review of Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
Half a King is the first book in the Shattered Sea trilogy by New York Times bestselling fantasy author Joe Abercrombie, who has also written The First Law trilogy, Best Served Cold, The Heroes, and Red Country. This latest novel, his first YA book, will be followed by Half the World in February 2015. Half a War, the conclusion to the trilogy, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2015. Prince Yarvi plans to sit beside the Black Chair […]
