Category Archives: Book Reviews

The Dosadi Experiment is set in the same universe as Whipping Star, which has recently been reissued by Tor. After reading that book I just had to reread The Dosadi Experiment as well. First published in 1977, seven years after the first ConSentiency novel, I consider it to be Herbert’s best non-Dune work, although I […]

Rifling Paradise is the second novel of the critically acclaimed novelist and poet Jem Poster. The praise is indeed well-deserved – Rifling Paradise is a very well-crafted piece of literary fiction; it is intense, vivid and thoughtful in its exploration of the hidden passions, forbidden desires and the unspoken social codes of Victorian society, all […]

Saturday’s Child by Ray Banks Saturday’s Child is the first Cal Innes book. It’s a couple of years old at this point and all I can say is that it kicks 10 kinds of ass. Ray Banks writes with an intensity and energy that marks him as a force to be reckoned with. I’ll just […]

Those words are the summary the publishers chose to put on the back of Living with Ghosts, and I think they are as compelling and accurate a summation of this story and this world as possible.  The city of Merafi, built with blood bound into its stones to keep it safe from supernatural forces like […]

After flipping past the title page, publishing information, dedication, and thank you’s, the reader encounters the above noted passage. Right away, it would seem much has happened since the present day and the time this book takes place, and right away one wonders what all has occurred to lead to such an amendment (and what […]

Sean Williams is an experienced author in the field of space opera, having written the Evergence, Orphans, and Geodesica series’ with collaborator Shane Dix.  Saturn Returns is the first book of Williams’ solo Astropolis trilogy.

The Shadow Queen is the latest installment of the Black Jewels series, either Book 6 or Book 7 depending on whether you count only the novels or include the novella/short story collection.  It is a series in the loosest sense; the books are set in the same world and there is some overlap of characters […]

The Republic of Vengeance marks the entry of a new and interesting author into the newly revitalized field of historical fiction. Paul Waters is trained as a classicist and his first novel is a testament to his historical expertise in its depiction of the Ancient world during the second century B.C.

Whiskey and Water is the second novel published in Elizabeth Bear’s series of the Promethean Age and should be considered as an independent sequel to Blood and Iron. The story of Whiskey and Water takes place about seven years after the events of Blood and Iron and it features many of the same characters – […]

I grew up reading fantasy.  More than that, even, I had fantasy read to me before I could read for myself (clearly, I never had a chance).  There was a point, though, in adolescence, where I stopped reading epic, heroic, sword-wielding fantasy because it all seemed so…endlessly the same.  The irony of my timing (the […]

This will be brief. As I’ve said before our strength lies in our diversity. If you want a unified chorus of voices singing hosannas to the pre-approved “best” books of the year then stop reading now — but if you want a ragged company of readers; readers with their own identity that shows in the […]

As much as I really enjoyed Every Last Drop, and there is a lot to like, I can’t help but being just a little disappointed. You can check out an interview with Charlie Huston as well.

Accompanied by his cowboy sidekick Buffalo Bill, the gorgeous stripper Sheila, and the mountain man Ted, Mortimer journeys to the lost city of Atlanta — and a showdown that might determine the fate of humanity.

Daughter of the Forest is the debut of the New Zealand author Juliet Marillier and the first book in the widely acclaimed Sevenwaters Trilogy. It offers a deep-felt re-telling of “Six Swans”, an old folk tale that exists in many variations throughout Germany and Scandinavia. With this novel, which was awarded the 2001 American Library […]

At a time when workers feel increasingly insecure about their positions with The Company Severance Package acts as a pretty savage critique of corporate culture.

Sly Mongoose is the third novel of Tobias Buckell. It is part of the same future history as its predecessors Crystal Rain and Ragamuffin, but it is a self-contained story that can be read on its own. You can also read an interview with Tobias Buckell.