Posts from 2011 :: Page 2

THE HAMMER (Amazon) is KJ Parker’s third stand-alone book since the completion of her Engineer Trilogy, all of which have ostensibly been set in the same fantasy world. Though, if you know anything about her past works, you’ll know that her fantasy (fantastic as it is) isn’t necessarily “fantastical”, as magic is curiously absent throughout most of them. The thing that they do have though is character, and setting, and story. This is one of the many reasons why I love her stuff so much. Just good reading. Well, that, and they make me laugh.
Read the rest of this review »

WARNING! PATHFINDER (Amazon) is not a fantasy book, it is science fiction. I repeat. PATHFINDER is not a fantasy book, it is science fiction.

I know what you’re thinking. Wait a minute. It totally looks like a fantasy book. Yep. I read the premise, it sounds like a fantasy book. Yep. Doesn’t it take place in a fairly medieval setting? Yep. You know, horses and wagons, swords and magical type stuff happening? Yep. I mean doesn’t it even have a sword on the cover for Pete’s sake? Yep. And you still think it’s a science fiction book? I do.
Read the rest of this review »

Dave Duncan is one of those guys that has been improving his trade for years. From this experienced writer comes SPEAK TO THE DEVIL (Amazon). Duncan’s offering here is set in an alternate historical version of 15th-century Europe. It has all that you would expect from that time period; knights, feudalism, oppression and religion, all with the addition of magic and a fake country.
Read the rest of this review »

These novellas just don’t get old, and we were asked by a reader what our opinion of them was. We’ve known for years now how awesome Steven Erikson‘s novels are, but his shorter work is criminally underrated. In Erikson’s third Malazan novel, MEMORIES OF ICE (one of the most incredible books we have EVER read), we are introduced to Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, two necromancers, and their manservant, Emancipor Reese. Perhaps you wondered, like we did upon our first encounter, where these characters came from. That is what this collection, BAUCHELAIN AND KORBAL BROACH (Amazon), is for. In it are collected three novellas of fist-pumping goodness.
Read the rest of this review »

We actually have a good reason for not reviewing this novel sooner. Quite simply, it didn’t make sense to. DUST OF DREAMS (Amazon) is just the first half of the final entry into Steven Erikson‘s epic series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Seriously. It is literally the first half of the story and ends in a giant cliffhanger.

Sure, we could have reviewed this back when it came out last year. We almost did. After an epic debate lasting all of 30 seconds, we decided to wait until THE CRIPPLED GOD (Amazon) was about to be released to do a re-read and review of this stellar novel. It just didn’t feel right to review it any other time.
Read the rest of this review »

It’s hard to know where to begin with this review. I’ve been reading Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen for six years. It’s what got me re-interested in fantasy after years toiling under the belief that fantasy was imprisoned in the land of elves and dwarves. Six years.

And suddenly here we are at the end.
Read the rest of this review »

If you are an occasional or obsessive reader of the Horror genre, you know the name Richard Matheson. To say the guy is a legend and and icon doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. He is one of our favorite authors, and the author of our favorite works of fiction ever, I AM LEGEND. When we realized Matheson had a new novel being released this year, OTHER KINGDOMS (Amazon), we contacted the lovely people at Tor and begged them for a review copy. We aren’t exaggerating. We groveled, offered bribes in the form of cookies, and even promised our undying love. We aren’t quite sure which one was the clincher, but a copy of OTHER KINGDOMS came as did an accompanying chorus of angels.
Read the rest of this review »

Debut author Deborah Harkness has been on my ‘to read’ list since her appearance at New York’s ComicCon fantasy author panel with the likes of Peter V. Brett, Naomi Novik, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, and Joe Abercrombie. Yeah, a newb (to the genre anyway) sitting amongst some of the most popular fantasy authors today. I had to know if she deserved being there.

In A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES (Amazon), Harkness takes all the urban fantasy romantic tropes and… uses them.
Read the rest of this review »

When you read Steven Erikson’s The Malazan Book of the Fallen, often you get a prologue giving you the narrow piece of history needed to understand the story about to be read. History in the Malazan series is an interesting thing. It has supreme importance, but we typically only see what has been built on the foundation of that history (or what was built upon the ruins of a “newer” history that was built upon an even older past). Personally, we love the series that Erikson is writing. It isn’t perfect, but it is awe-inspiring nonetheless.
Read the rest of this review »

It is now safe to say that Ian C. Esslemont brings some serious excellence to the Malazan world. Perhaps the general consensus of the masses after reading his first novel, NIGHT OF KNIVES, was that his work wasn’t of the quality expected or that was used to from reading Steven Erikson’s work.

We don’t doubt Esslemont at all. He belongs.
Read the rest of this review »