SF/F – Page 13

New in Paperback: Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman

June 2, 2008 admin 0

Around this time last year, January Magazine contributing editor Andi Shechter reviewed Austin Grossman’s Soon I Will Be Invincible. Though she certainly wasn’t alone in liking the book, she liked it a whole lot: I hope that Austin Grossman had as much fun writing this book as I had reading it. I’m delighted by the knowledge that this dead-on “superhero” v. “evil genius” story comes from someone whose expertise is in romance and Victorian literature. […]

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

May 31, 2008 admin 0

We tend to think of the writing gift as something that can wear out. Even if we’re not conscious of thinking about it, it seems that one of the things we value most highly in an author is youth, and then we lower our expectations as authors age, force deadlines, disappoint us. I wasn’t even really aware of any of these feelings until I was reading Lavinia (Harcourt), and was transported by the vibrance of […]

Children’s Books: The World of Grrym: Allira’s Gift by Paul Collins and Danny Willis

May 28, 2008 admin 1

When their grandfather, Fergus, disappears, Allira Hart and her brother Steven are taken to his Victorian country home by their father. Gerald Hart hasn’t seen much of his father for years and is angry with the old man for having wasted the family fortune on his crazy ideas. Like the castle. Niangula isn’t just a folly — it’s a full-scale fortress which can be defended from the ravening hordes and it’s right in the middle […]

M Is for Magic by Neil Gaiman

May 8, 2008 admin 2

Even if you’ve never read any of Neil Gaiman’s delightful fiction, you might have seen the film adaptation of Stardust, which did justice to the novel and has been compared to The Princess Bride. M Is for Magic (HarperCollins) is a collection of mostly previously published short stories aimed at younger readers — teenagers, really, rather than children, as the style of most of them is closer to adult than child. Four of the stories […]

Review: Dark Wraith of Shannara by Terry Brooks

May 7, 2008 admin 0

Today in January Magazine’s SF/F section, contributing editor Lincoln Cho reviews Dark Wraith of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Says Cho: Terry Brooks, the “godfather of American fantasy” has referred to Dark Wraith of Shannara as “the grand experiment.” It’s not difficult to see why. It’s a brand new story set in the distant future world of Shannara that tells the multi-generational story of the Ohmsford family. Though Brooks has set work outside of Shannara, it […]

New Last Week: Secrets of the Wee Free Men and Discworld by Carrie Pyykkonen and Linda Washington

April 22, 2008 admin 0

People who have read more than a single Terry Pratchett novel are not just readers; they are fans. That’s just how it works with this author. And Pratchett fans are more than just fans. They’re passionate fans, prepared to discuss the minutiae of the “Multiverse” Pratchett created with barely any provocation. A Pratchett quote on the very first page of Secrets of the Wee-Free Men and Discworld: The Myths and Legends of Terry Pratchett’s Multiverse […]

New Last Week: Succubus in the City by Nina Harper

April 5, 2008 admin 0

“When you’re a single, hard-working woman in New York City, it’s hard enough to find a good man,” this from the PR material. “When you’re a succubus, you’ve got a completely different problem altogether!” We can only imagine. Succubus in the City (Del Rey) by Nina Harper, a third generation Manhattanite, is meant to be the first book in a new series. The premise is silly, but the writing is sharp, and the story is […]

New Today: Tales Before Narnia edited by Douglas A. Anderson

March 25, 2008 admin 0

In many respects, this seems like the collection that real SF/F aficionados — and those who love the history of the twinned genres — have been waiting for. Editor Douglas A. Anderson — a recognized expert on all things Hobbity — here takes on the very history and roots of the form. Tales Before Narnia: The Roots of Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction (Del Rey) explores the stories that fired C.S. Lewis, author of The […]

A Warming Frost

February 14, 2008 admin 0

To my way of thinking Gregory Frost’s Shadowbridge (Del Rey) is the kind of book that can start genre arguments, and on so many levels! In the first place, the writing here is beautiful. Beyond beautiful. It’s sublime. And when critics think of fantasy novels, the first thing that jumps into mind is not prose that uplifts. And yet: The first time Ledora spoke to a god, she had climbed to the top of the […]

Legacy Series Lacks Magic

January 9, 2008 admin 0

I’ve been reading the Pern series since childhood. My introduction to the series came when I found two battered paperbacks in a used bookstore and, entranced by the covers, bought them. These two were the first in the Dragonriders of Pern series: Dragonflight and Dragonquest, first published in 1968 and 1970 respectively. Not only did I love both books, it’s probably safe to say that this early encounter with the work of Anne McCaffrey quite […]