Archives 2015
This is a list of all the reviews that SFBook have published in 2015.
Foxglove Summer in the fifth installment in the stunning Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.
After the stunning climax of Broken Homes, (seriously if you haven't read Broken Homes read it first) Foxglove Summer feels like a fresh summer breeze. Peter Grant escapes the rat race of...
In The Obsidian Mirror, an ancient evil has hijacked Silicon Valley technology. The result could be disastrous, and stopping it falls to out-of-work PR executive Sierra Carter.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Obsidian Mirror. It was deliciously chock-full of Native American (and some...
These days Science Fiction is a crowded market. To 'make it' is a difficult and relative term. Each writer has their own journey to an audience and John Scalzi's has been an interesting one since Old Man's War was first serialised in 2002. His writing has a polish and shine to it that makes you...
Novelizations of movies are often jutted to the back of the bookshelf after one reading. Reviewers are critical, normally arguing that it is just an attempt to make money off a popular film franchise, and at times they do so justly. Yet, some novelizations often tell the story in a way film...
Over Forty years in the making, China is almost ready to share with the world the greatest Zoo ever conceived. The Great Zoo of China isn't just bigger and better though, it's unique - inhabited by creatures considered the stuff of legends - Dragons.
A select group of VIPs and...
Ok it’s fair to say I struggled with this book a lot more than I expected to. Promise of an English Stephen King, was lapped up by yours truly, a self-confessed King fan, add on to that the fact I’m English myself and I had a book on my hands I just had to read.
The promise was far...
WOW! I have not said that in a while and this reviewer surely did not expect that word to come from Alan Dean Foster’s 247-page novelization of Alien 3. Like so many—like millions— who were disappointed with David Fincher’s 1993 film, I did not expect Foster’s novel to change my mind...
Blood Rites is the sixth book in the series featuring Chicago's wizard private detective, Harry Dresden.
Six books in and the series just gets stronger and stronger. This time we've not only got the usually high standard of writing and wonderfully crafted plot but some inspired...
Richard’s cousin Malley has just run off with some guy she met online, and Richard knows that things aren’t as great as she tells him they are. What’s a boy to do but to go after her, along with Skink, a ragged, one-eyed ex-governor of Florida?
The unlikely pair find themselves...
I often stay clear of books recommended by Richard and Judy, I find their "recommendations" largely restricted to wishy washy "popular" and "literary" fiction. However, like a thousand Monkeys at a thousand typewriters random chance dictates that they "should" occasionally strike gold and The...
I missed out commenting about this novel when it was first released. There was such a rush by everyone to say how great it was I felt that I would be adding but a small ripple to a raging Tsunami. Everyone from the big papers to the big authors have commented how magnificent the book is, and...
Apocalypse novels are all the rage these days, and with good reason, as any rational person can sense that we are rapidly approaching some kind of great calamity. There are plenty of choices: climate change, rapidly depleting resources, drug resistant disease, or even a straight up revolution of...
Steve Perry recruits his daughter, writer Stephani Perry, to conclude a separate storyline to one of the best SciFi franchises of all time. Filled with plenty of Xenomorph-action and a conclusion that no one would guess, Aliens: The Female War rocks hard and entertains like a champ!
Now...
If you've ever stayed in a Premier Inn or a Travel Lodge then you will be able to relate to "The Way Inn". It's actually one of the things I most like about staying at a Premier Inn, wherever you go you will always get the same standard. Even if it is the same layout and the same pictures on the...
The story behind LV-426 is more terrifying than anything my childhood imagination lent after watching Alien and Aliens on VHS. Although before my generation, both Ridley Scott and James Cameron contributed to one of the most terrifying storylines in cinema history. And for this reviewer, it has...
After all the years spent fighting off the Zombie hordes in isolation at his home in Annapolis, Gus has finally found a new life of peace. A daily routine of tending and policing the fields of the little community, rarely interupted by shambling corpes. It seems the epidemic is finally beginning...
The Violent Century has been one of my Holiday reads, a book I bought when it first appeared but had not had time to enjoy until now. It has to be said that Lavie Tidhar is a master linguist. His voice is confident, it's boldy unique and daring.
With The Violent Century the author turns...
Cronix starts off with the old and rather underplayed question of what happens when we’re able to upload our minds into virtual reality, and everyone wanders off into imaginary fairylands. As I’ve personally spent many days in a gaming induced haze punctuated by sporadic breaks for work or...
The Martian is one of those books that if many authors had attempted it, wouldn't have worked. The majority of the novel follows one man surviving on Mars with little more than a shelter, 2 rovers, a few space suits, air, water and potatoes. There are no monsters, no antagonists (unless you...
The second part of the story begun with Bowl of Heaven, Benford and Niven bring us the conclusion to their mysterious 'big smart object' story.
Shipstar is less of a sequel than a continuation. The fitful nature of the story which caused problems in the first book is not smoothed as much...
The arrival of the Jagannath changed everything. Humanity did not have time to reflect on the fact that they were not alone in the Universe. This amorphous blob appears unstoppable, simply absorbing everyone in it's path and assimilating their identity and intellect. Growing stronger and smarter...
There is something gritty and slightly dirty about Simon Spurrier's writing, making it an acquired taste in science fiction at times. Certainly in The Culled, the first book of the Afterblight Chronicles published by Abaddon Books, we are introduced to our main character in a way that parades...
Stories by Adrian Tchaikovsky are always sober, meticulous and carefully constructed. Guns of the Dawn is no exception, an unusual novel, set in a fantasy world inspired by the late 19th and early 20th century and the clash of progress therein. Our protagonist, one Emily Marshwic, struggles to...
In Harrison's earliest memory he is three year's old. He is with his father on a boat that breaks apart in a storm off the California coast. He knows a chunk of metal sheared off his leg at the knee as his father sank into the water. So why does he remember tentacles and teeth?
...
A near future that sees an altered world, changed by flooding, climate change and terrorism. The biggest change however is by the arrival of the aliens who call themselves the Jackaroo.
The Jackaroo seem to be Earths hope and salvation, saving it from itself. At last the question of...
This second volume in a collected anthology of Ursula Le Guin’s work showcases more of her Science Fiction and fantasy stories and has a more prominent escapist theme than the first. Her introduction to this volume is deeply insightful, commenting on the writer’s perspective of genre being...
Bees are quite complicated little creatures and most of us know very little about them. Those that practice apiculture are becoming worth their weight in gold (or bees). We've been collecting their honey for over 15,000 years and we are just beginning to understand just how important to our...
I've been collecting Neal Asher novels for ages however until now I've not had chance to read much of his work. Luckily Dark Intelligence has been sent in for review and so I've finally had chance to discover the delight that is the Polity Universe.
Dark Intelligence is all about...
Lieutenant Callum (called California, Cal or Harper) Harper punches his Captain, Laurence Decker for being incompetent and letting soldiers die on a mission we (initially) don’t learn much about. Cal has time and the option to finish things off but backs down and so...
I remember reading the very first Spooks book a number of years ago and really enjoying it. Never having been sent any to review until since I've had little opportunity to read any others in the now quite size-able series (13 volumes at the time of writing). It's clear I should have read more...
The product of a 2013 Kickstarter, Mechalarum is Emma Larkins debut work and has clearly benefited from her efforts to crowd fund. The process has allowed her creative control and enabled her to seek professional assistance in assuring the work comes up to scratch.
And come up to scratch...
And it came to pass in those days, as it had come before and would come again, that the Dark lay heavy on the land and weighed down the hearts of men, and the green things failed, and hope died.
For those who have been following the journey of Jordans' epic fantasy series, reaching this...
Occasionally a book and a writer comes along that breaks rules left right and centre, but does so with panache and style that makes you tip your hat. The beginning of A Fistful of Clones clearly sets it out to be one of those books; an accessible science fiction comedy that...
The Boy who wept blood is the sequel to Den Patrick's impressive novel, The Boy with the Porcelain Blade. Set some time after the events of the first book, the Queen Anea now rules Demense. A fairer society is being built on the ashes of the old regime however many of the old players are...
David Sutton’s fascination with horror stories has led him to a considerable career immersed in the macabre and terrifying. Looking back over his work it is surprising to me that I’m only just discovering him as a writer, although I am indebted to his editorial skills on Dark Horizons, a...
The first novel in The Grim Company was a singular example of the traditional fantasy novel for the 21st century. I stand by my comment of it being one of best fantasy novels of 2013. Sword of the North is the direct sequel to this debut and follows the spectacular events at the end of the first...
If you missed out on Michael Moorcock the first time around, the collated paperback editions of his work from Gollancz are an excellent way to discover his stories. Kane of Old Mars collects three Kane books, Warriors of Mars, Blades of Mars and Barbarians of Mars. All of Moorcock’s adventures...
There is always much to like about Ian Whates’ stories. He writes accessible science fiction with a thought provoking edge. In this case, the thought provoking is toned down a bit in a venture into space opera. Pelquin’s Comet is an adventure story with an appealing and varied cast. We have...
The Word of Kemmler, a book of potentially catastrophic power should it fall into the wrong hands. Mortiferous forces have gathered in Chicago and it would seem the windy city may be the resting place of the ancient tome.
Of course that means it's up to Harry to prevent the book falling...
This is a substantive collection of short stories from Alchemy Press, varying in setting, premise and idea but all focusing around the concept of a moment in time as mentioned in the title. These moments are all pivotal and memorable, life defining and changing in each case.
The...
One of the reasons I review books is to find stories that impress me and writers I can learn from and certainly there’s a lot of learning to be had in Exit Eleonora – Richard Allan’s debut novel.
The story is first person and set in AD 2047. Earth is re-organising itself after a...
A collection of six short works all with author commentary as to their origins. As a writer I would characterise David Hutchinson as a storyteller first and foremost. Each of the pieces in this collection tick forwards continually without straying too far. The exposition is neatly added...
The first Wastelands anthology, released back in 2008 was widely regarded as not only a fine collection of apocalyptic tales but one of the finest anthologies full stop. Big shoes to fill then. The Editor John Joseph Adams is clearly up to the task though and has managed to get together some of...
This is a story collection that stays in your mind long after you’ve finished reading, John Grant’s selection of writings vary widely across subjects, but return to the theme of duplicity. In many of these stories, the fantasy or science fiction element remains minimal and acts in a...
The Vagrant was an unexpected delight, showing up totally out of the blue with a mature, confident writing style and a deliciously dark and twisted world. The flawed protagonist known only as "The Vagrant" is a masterstroke — here we have a figure who doesn't give much away. He doesn't speak,...
A collection of shorts that explores supernatural and ghostly themes, there is something about exploring historical events as a setting and bringing them down to the circumstances of individuals who experience the impossible. The use of historical contexts throughout these stories gives them a...
Escape from Bagdad! is a novel riding the wave of modern, alternative fiction that provides a fresh and marked difference to the over-subscribed European / American setting. As the title implies the story is set in Bagdad during the US invasion. With the American military, Religious fanatics,...
The Jack of Souls starts off slow—almost painfully slow. But as the novel unfolds, I was thrilled to discover that the slowness allowed for really great character development. The novel begins with our hero (of sorts) Harric, a bastard and a trickster, who must break his mother’s curse or...
There is always a good audience for traditional fantasy. The components are familiar and authors (like myself) who elect to write something that appeals to readers who want to settle down into a story loaded with magic, Elves, wizards and warriors where a plucky underdog or two wins the day...
Hunt for Valamon is a fast paced epic fantasy tale that manages to portray a number of genre tropes in a fresh and exciting way. The strong authorial voice of the writing quickly draws the reader in, the almost conversational tone of delivery actually put me in mind of Terry Pratchett. The...
Harry Harrison was a genius. The way he managed to use absurdity, satire and slapstick humour to talk about some pretty grim subjects is nothing short of remarkable. Way before Pratchett, Holt, Adams and Naylor, Harrison was creating some of the funniest books on the planet.
Bill, the...
An exciting new high fantasy story in a new fantasy world, Starborn is Lucy Hounsom’s debut novel. Her graduation to UK Tor’s writing stable from an MA in Creative Writing and before that a BA in English and Creative Writing speaks for itself as being quite an illustrious journey towards the...
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is fantasy at it's finest, it exemplifies and defines the genre in a way few others have. It won the first ever World Fantasy Award for best novel back in 1975, an achievement more remarkable when considering that it was only the authors third novel. For many who...
Stories from Adam Roberts are always challenging as well as entertaining. Saint Rebor follows this trend, being a diverse collection joined together by the writer’s conceptual ideas in the prologue. Whilst you might expect a variety of story premises in a collection, in Saint Rebor, you have a...
I must admit I have a fondness for alternative history novels, especially those that depict the second World War. Throw in secret Nazi plots that involve alien technology and that infamous Axis quest to create the Übermensch and you have a formula for a very interesting book indeed. Suicide...
Award winning novelist and academic Gwyneth Jones asserts that ‘a typical science fiction novel has little space for deep and studied characterisation, not because writers lack the skill (though they may) but because in the final analysis the characters are not people, they are pieces of...
It has to be said that even though I don't entertain much horror, Clive Barker is somewhat of a legend. Growing up in the 80's his name was often spoken in quiet awe by impressionable teenagers, not least due to his infamous Books of Blood collections.
For me though it was the character...
A title that gives a hint as to what we might expect, but ruins no surprises at all, Gemini Gambit by D. Scott Johnson is an intriguing story of the near future, immerses us in a world a generation or two further on from our own.
Elite hacker ‘Angel Rage’ – whose real name is Kim...
Day Shift is the second novel in Charlaine Harris's Midnight Texas series, following on from the quite excellent novel Midnight Crossroad we reviewed in May last year. It's a welcome return to the inhabitants of the strange small cross-road town that is Midnight. There doesn't seem to be...
Young adult science fantasy is a story type that has existed in various forms since the 1950s. The writing quality can vary, but the intention – to convey a vision where humanity has become an interstellar society always fires the imagination of impressionable readers.
Architects...
Guy Erma and the Son of Empire is a young adult science fiction tale which, to my mind is wrapped in the packaging of a fantasy novel at first glance. Granted it’s on the fantastical side, but the deception remains. The writing also holds a few quirks, initially in its spaced layout, but...
The Blood Red City, the second novel in the Never War Series, following the dramatic alternative history novel Suicide Exhibition.
The story picks up not long after the events of the first novel and it's advisable you read this book before reading The Blood Red City. Where the first...
A weighty tome that dramatises the historical events of the Huari Empire in the Andes, mixing in a fantasy plot, Dark Sun, Bright Moon is difficult to categorise. On one hand we have a meticulously researched historical context with pictures and appendices to explain terms and illustrate scenes,...
Gene Wolfe is perhaps one of the most under-rated and criminally overlooked writers in genre fiction. The New Yorker recently called him Sci-Fi's Difficult Genius. Authors Michael Swanwick and Patrick O'Leary have gone so far as to say he is:
The best writer alive today.Ursula K LeGuin...
The sequel to the BSFA Award winning novel Dark Eden, this book returns us to the dark planet, fast forwarding the generations to a fractured and disparate society that has come to colonise many of Eden’s different landmasses.
Much of the themes hinted at in Dark Eden are developed...
Corwin Menivie and Nika Sanitvan are decorated veterans of the Imperial Enforcement Coalition, and they solve cases the old fashioned way. However, when they are paired up with Westley Tavera and Gavin Hale, a powerful...
A secret Russian mind research laboratory in Podol'sk is destroyed in a freak accident involving one of its patients. The resulting devastation leaves thousands dead and a mile wide crater where the ground has quite literally been pulverized. Plucked from discredited obscurity, parapsychologist...
Desperate to find a new home amongst the stars, the last remnants of the human race are cast out into deep space. Thousands upon thousands asleep aboard a colossal colony ship, hibernating until a habitable planet is located. Eventually they discover a world which was terraformed by humanity...
Traitor’s Blade is a rare treat for the fantasy reader, it follows Falcio Val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats as he and his loyal comrades Kest and Brasti struggle to survive in a world that has turned against them, valiantly trying to follow the last orders of their fallen king. Facing...
When I first started to read this book I was anticipating a plot involving Atlanteans and genetics. This is exactly what you get. Tenfold.
I have been eagerly waiting for this novel, more than most. I thought Wolfhound Century was that good that I chose it as Book of the year for 2013. Truth and Fear — the second volume in the series, narrowly missed out from being book of the year 2014 (That accolade going to Dave Hutchinson's...
World Fantasy Award winning series Strange Tales has now reached its fifth volume, offering again a bunch of tales ranging from SF to horror, from fantasy to supernatural, sharing a "strange" or "weird" character.
The present book includes sixteen brand new stories, penned by authors...
USU is a clever, clever book. Set after some cataclysmic event has rendered the Earth free of it's human infestation, the novel follows the stuffed and robotically animated rabbit known as Usu. He searches the broken, twisted wasteland for something, something he will only know when he finds it....
A deep space adventure with monstrous aliens, this short and pacey read from Stargate official fiction novelist Cannon, draws inspiration from both Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s sequel. Humanity’s struggle against the Harvestmen – a feral xenomorph with a terrifying instinct...
Agustin de Rojas was a Cuban author of science fiction. Within that country he is thought of as a legend and has even been described as "Patron Saint of Cuban science fiction".
Agustin wrote A Legend of the future back in 1985, following his award winning novel Espiral (Spiral). El año...
What a neat little idea in a neat little book. Book is probably a touch generous coming in at just over a hundred pages but don’t let that spoil your fun, what you have here is actually a twisted tale, gruesome in the telling and packs a punch other books only hope to imitate.
...
In the small, sleepy town of Appleton, Billy Brahm’s life goes from clumsy to cursed. After following a cat into the road, he’s hit by a car, his leg shattered, and his summer is ruined. A mysterious cat begins to visit him...
The fantasy quest, beginning with a youth, who has gifts and potential they have yet to master. Who is guided by an older mentor and forced from their home by a life changing event onto their journey and battle against evil foes that stand in the way of them reaching adulthood.
On one...
Yoss is one of the most controversial and successful of Cuba's science fiction writers. As well known for his rock-and-roll style as he is for his portrait of Cuba under Communism, his work is modern, dynamic and yet deep and thoughtful. A Planet for Rent is set in the near future where Earth,...
Anyone who has been following the Long Earth series will be eagerly awaiting this fourth and penultimate novel in Stephen Baxter's and Terry Pratchett's series. The Long Mars was the strongest novel in the series so far and so The Long Utopia has a lot to live up to.
The Long...
It’s been awhile since I picked up one of Mr Laymon’s books and I was quite looking forward to reading this book. With this in mind I picked it up and started ahead. Now for those of you who aren’t aware Laymon was a very prolific writer right up to his death. His books ranged from short...
I've been a gamer and science fiction fan since the very first home computers become popular. From the days of the ZX81 and even before that with the Intellivision and Atari 2600. I've been playing games ever since. Like the authors first novel, Armada seems to speak to the older gamers out...
If you like your urban fantasy dark and gruesome with an added touch of horror, Splintered and its predecessor Premonitions are right up your alley. This sequel picks up shortly after the first book, following Anna Ruiz and the...
Quirky, accomplished and a great deal of fun, The Supernatural Enchancements is a solid, unusual novel.
The premise of the story is the protagonist (known only as A) inherits the American estate "Axton House" following the death of his second cousin "Uncle" Ambrose, whom A had never met...
Harry Dresden is once again thrown into magical conflict in Proven Guilty. As always, our wise cracking wizard-for-hire is up to the challenge!
Proven Guilty smoothly picks up where Dead Beat leaves off. Harry Dresden, now named a Warden of the White Council, struggles to fulfill his...
I'd probably be best beginning this review by mentioning that Humpty Dumpty in Oakland isn't actually science fiction. It's a realist work of dark comedy. For some reason whatever miss-guided fool wrote the wikipedia entry for this book called it "non-science-fiction". Surely...
From the opening chapter I knew this was going to be good. Dark Run launches the reader into a shady future where bickering governments are working to extend their reach across space while criminals and outlaws try to make a quick buck under their noses and out on the frontiers. Fans of Firefly...
Our body connects with the outer world by means of our five senses ( not to mention the sixth sense for those endowed with it…). We take our senses for granted and realize their importance only when they become defective or when we miss one of them entirely. But what happens when one of our...
The Three-body Problem was originally written in Chinese by Liu Cixin. Launched to great acclaim within China, it became one of the most popular science fiction novels within the country and won the 2006 Chinese Science Fiction Galaxy Award. Thankfully it has now been translated by the talented...
Dresden’s time as a spirit-on-a-mission in Chicago was a lot more draining then he was prepared for. Waking up from a coma, Harry realizes that his body has been preserved by the guardian spirit, Demon Reach and his new employer, the Queen of Air and Darkness.
Mab, the Fairy Queen of...
Prince of Fools is the first in a new series (called the Red Queen's War) set within the same world as the authors acclaimed Prince of Thorns series. It is a slight departure in style and yet retains the wit and light-heartedness that those who have read the authors work will be familiar...
Steeple is the sequel to the quite brilliant novel Barricade which we reviewed back in June last year. It describes a post-apocalyptic world torn apart by a war of human against their artificial, super-human constructs, the "fiscials".
As you can imagine, fighting against a superior...
The concluding part to the adventures of Jean Le Flambeur, The Causal Angel is a little confusing in its listing on various websites. Despite some titles to the contrary it is part three of the trilogy; where The Fractal Prince is part two and The Quantum Thief is part one.
Admirers of...
Ceda fights in the pits of Sharakhai, scraping a living like so many in the city known as "the amber jewel of the desert". She, like most, pray for an end to the tyrannical and cruel rule of the city by it's immortal Kings. She has, until now never been in a position to do anything about...
In the near future, the world is falling apart. Wars, unrest, economic collapse and ecological disasters plague the globe - as it tries to hold the pieces together, the USA deploys a new weapon, the Tin Men. They are remote controlled drones piloted by American soldiers who have their minds...
The first of Stephen Deas’ dragon series and published in 2009, The Adamantine Palace sets the stage of scheming between the noble factions and royal houses. Prince Jehal, Queen Sheriza, Queen Zafira, Speaker Hyram and others battle for power.
Like many fantasy works, Deas’ society...
Star Wars was a huge part of my childhood, the original was the first film I ever saw at the Cinema and for a period I watched the film (and the two proceeding) pretty much every day - at one point I could recite the whole script if you'd asked me to. Must have driven my poor mother to...
Establishing a new fantasy story of weight and significance is difficult these days. The genre is crowded with epic quests, adventures, villains and heroes.
The Sons of Thestian by M.E. Vaughan is fantasy tale by a talented writer that attempts to draw our attention. The opening action...
A parallel world action drama with everyone urgently following mission briefings and investigating crimes, Asks the Dream pitches the reader into the centre of a grey shaded struggle where the characters feel cleaner than the corporations they are taking orders from.
When it suits her,...
If you thought a book written on a plane might be a bit rough around the edges - a few plot holes, perhaps, or precious little scene setting - think again, because when Brandon Sanderson does it, the result is nothing less than first class.
The celebrated author’s 2011...
The third of Stephen Deas’ series, published in 2011, The Order of the Scales continues the story of the Dragon Realms. Each book picks up immediately from where the last left off, solving the requisite cliff hanger with yet more twists and turns of scheming between the kings, queens, princes,...
While most post-apocalyptic novels focus on destruction brought on humankind (or occasionally robotkind), the disaster in Moonfall is much more natural. The Moon has indeed fallen and caused widespread destruction across the globe. The book picks up 20 years after this earth-shattering event and...
The genuine autobiography of one of the bravest, most dashing and heroic starship captains to ever bodly-go into the depths of space. You may be pleased to know that this Kirk is the real one, not the imposter who has more recently been seen in the latest films. This Kirk doesn't get command of...
Legion: Skin Deep, the sequel to Brandon Sanderson’s 2012 novella Legion, sees one-man army Stephen Leeds recruited to find the body of a recently deceased scientist who had been experimenting with storing data in human cells. It’s crucial research and Leeds’ employer (Yol, an old...
Today we are all too familiar with the assault of digital information and various forms of media which work hard to blur the definition of reality. Robertson has created a world where that idea is pushed to its disturbing conclusion. On the Station, where the remnants of humanity orbit a toxic...
Poseidon's Wake is set in the same universe as Reynolds previous two Poseidon's Children novels (Blue Rembered Earth and On the Steel Breeze) but is written as an informal conclusion to the trilogy, a book that works equally well as a stand-alone story.
The story begins on Crucible, a...
The fourth of Stephen Deas’ series, published in 2012, The Black Mausoleum picks up the story of Deas’ Dragon Realms sometime after the events of book three, The Order of the Scales. This is a wise choice as the epic conclusion to the first trilogy of books left such a scattering of...
Nicolas Sansbury Smith made his debut with Biomass Revolution, which was quickly followed by the Orbs Series. His latest series is The Extinction Cycle. After rereading book one for this review, I was reminded how effective military science fiction can be as a lens to watch...
V.E Schwab’s Vicious is a superhero novel, but perhaps not the one you’d expect. There’s no comic action, no explosions, no duels in the sky before frightened citizens. Those with powers work in the background, still regarded as a myth or urban legends. Vicious is about what...
A near future premise that quickly transforms into a Lovecraftian space opera, as you may guess, Static Push is full of surprises. The title, whilst directly relevant to the story really doesn’t do the ideas contained in the novel justice.
A science team at Dennison Industries are...
As Wonders Go By a wildly different book to most I've read. For a start it's narrated in the second person, there aren't many I've read that take this approach.
The protagonist is a woman of "loose morals", at large in Europe and looking for "adventure". She finds more adventure even she...
A dystopian future novel set in Belfast after an alien invasion is a premise that immediately appeals and suggests a whole host of imaginative ideas.
Inish Carraig is the second book from Jo Zebedee and sets humanity as a conquered plaything between two spacefaring alien civilisations;...
Cyberpunk has always concerned itself with the transformational relationship of man and machine. Times and technology changes, but the contemporary cyberpunk story is still concerned with this and Ada King by E. M. Faulds wholeheartedly embraces that essence whilst invoking new dystopian themes...
Anthony J. Melchiorri’s The Tide (Tide Series Book One) is set in the present. It ties Japan's secret attempt to prepare its people in case of a major American assault following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mysteriously, a protein complex...
From the first page when Loki interrupts the “official” introduction poem, you know this is going to be a special kind of book. The Gospel of Loki tells the story of Norse mythology from the point of view of the trickster god, covering everything from the birth of the Nine Worlds, all the...
Launched on the evening of the 2015 Gemmell Awards at Nine Worlds, Legends 2 is a strange beast. Robert Silverberg edited three volumes of Legends, entitled Legends, Legends 2 and Legends 3, but this book, published by Newcon Press, introduced by Stan Nicholls and edited by Ian Whates is...
Horror author William Massa has been terrifying me since I first watched saw the film he scripted—Return to the House on Haunted Hill. Since then, I have ploughed through his writings, recently reading his hybrid cyberpunk-android-civil-rights-commentary-action-packed-science-fiction-novel...
Anthologies from Alchemy Press specialise in bringing myth to a contemporary setting and general involve adult characters living adult lives.
Music in the Bone is no exception to this. It’s quite a varied collection of Marion Pitman’s work from a number of different sources and spans...
I've been reading Pratchett books for such a large part of my life. Knowing there will be no more Discworld, no more cheerful yet insightful adventures from the colourful inhabitents of that world on the back of four giant elephants — propelled through space by the Great A'Tuin, is a sad and...
Nicholas Sansbury Smith’s Extinction Edge, book two in The Extinction Cycle, is a whirl-wind of action and rapid evolution! The stakes have never been higher since the Hemorrhage virus first infected humankind. Now, the transition from modern society to a surviving-society pits Beckham and...
A futuristic science fantasy based on a nineties card game tournament with the monsters, manoeuvres and spells depicted in a huge seemingly holographic light show, Wick is certainly a vivid visual feast when it comes to the battles.
The book is structured in a multitude of first person...
The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Though it begins a little bit slow, as more and more threads are strung together for the reader, everything picks up. I love the storyline, I love the characters, and I love the settings.
In modern San...
Europe in Autumn was my first experience of Dave Hutchinson's unique and astonishing voice. It is simply sublime fiction, a deep and intelligent story and one of my favourite reads of recent times. It was impressive enough to win SFBook Book of the Year in 2014. Europe at Midnight is the much...
The smash hit science fiction debut from Cline in 2011, Ready Player One has been written about and reviewed many times since. What more can we say here at SFBook?
Cline’s story is a first person narrative that describes a new virtual utopia woven out of eighties culture. The real...
A Bag of Bedtime Tales is an anthology of diverse short stories set in a variety of worlds and genres. The stories are grouped into three sections, one series focuses on the fictional town of Durrington and the strange events that occur there, the next is firmly fantasy genre with stories set in...
A book filled with ideas and scenes that demonstrate a strong command of both language and writing, Dream Alchemy by Nicholas Boyd Crutchley is a tricky text to review, mostly because it lacks a coherent story.
Crutchley is playing with a multiple reality concept. We have occasional...
I've been meaning to grab this series for quite some time — the combination of Atwood's evocative prose and a post-apocalyptic setting is a highly promising one. Oryx and Crake tells the story of an altered world through the eyes of a man once known as Jimmy. Now known as Snowman and clothed...
Billed as a ‘graphic novel, novel’ An Android Awakes tells the story, through pictures and words, of Android Writer PD121928 as it tries to produce stories that a publisher will accept before the submission limit on its programming runs out.
What we have here is an innovative...
The Mage Storms by Mercedes Lackey is the bringing together of three previously released books (Storm Warning, Storm Rising and Storm Breaking) into one volume. This makes a lot of sense as while the books form part of the Valdemar series they are a complete story in themselves. No previous...
If you can imagine what a science fiction novel written by Raymond Chandler might be like (while Chandler is known to have hated Science Fiction stories rumours persist he did write one) then Made to Kill is about as close as you will likely ever get (short of resurrecting the late author). It...
The first three Hainish novels written by Ursula Le Guin in the 1960s are brought together in this one volume. This is the same science fiction setting as her award winning stories The Dispossessed and the Left Hand of Darkness. Worlds of Exile and Illusion begins with the short story prologue...
The Cathedral of Known Things is the sequel to the fantasy novel The Relic Guild by Edward Cox.
The ongoing story of the agents of The Relic Guild as they seek to oppose their enemies, the Genii. The Guild is trying to prevent them from achieving what they started in the previous war,...
The Book of Strange New Things, is itself quite strange. It's one of those genre books that have managed to convince the mainstream that it's more mainstream literature. I must admit that it's also not a bad example and will certainly not do the reputation of science fiction any harm.
It...
Alex Lamb's Roboteer paints a picture of a future, that in the political climate of today, feels far too possible.
In this book, a war rages between two sides of humanity, two different and opposing ideologies and lifestyles. One side, combining genetic and induced mutation...
What a great idea for a novel. A new little twist on the already satiated apocalypse genre. An underground cavern is unearthed opening the way for thousands of fast breeding “vesps” which hunt by sound and kill everything living they hear on their journey across Europe to our very own...
Tim's middle names should be has super because there just isn't really any other explanation as to how someone can write the way he does. This is nowhere more evident than in his Fault Lines Trilogy and in particular the finale of the story — Earthquake Weather.
The book is set within...
I meant to read this festive novella last year however time got the better of me (as it often does). God rest ye merry Gentlepig is a festive tale featuring the angel Bobby Dollar who acts as an advocate for souls sitting in judgement after death.
And so on Christmas Eve night he is...
Shadows of Self, the fifth in the Mistborn series and the sequel to Alloy of Law, shows Mistborn’s society evolving as technology and magic mix, the economy grows, and religion becomes a growing cultural force.
The bustling, optimistic, but still shaky society that came out of the...
Every now and then I am sent something that stretches the boundaries of my reading interest. The Janus Cycle is one such book.
Whilst this book is billed as a novel, it is really a collection of linked short stories. The linked theme follows a disparate group of individuals seemingly...
Book of the month
