SFBook - 20+ Years of Reviews

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Science Fiction
review
Starter Villain by  by John Scalzi
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Science Fiction
review

Inheritance should never be something that you look forward to, but when you receive some, it can make a huge change to your life. I may be enough to pay a deposit on a house or pay for a child to go to university. It can also be a real pain in the bureaucracy. Think of the taxes that...

Article by Sam Tyler on 21st September 2023
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latest
Fantasy
review

For a long time, the Fantasy genre felt very Western European. So many of the fantasy worlds seemed to be based on a version of Medieval Europe, but that has not been the case for some time now. It does not take much searching to find a book that very much still feels like fantasy but has a...

Article by Sam Tyler on 19th September 2023
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latest
General Fiction
review
The Crash by  by Robert Peston
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General Fiction
review

The crime genre is huge, and a protagonist can become involved in solving a murder in numerous ways. Being a police officer or PI makes sense, being an elderly lady or vicar less so, but authors still manage somehow – to remarkable success. Another easy option is a journalist. Their job is...

Article by Sam Tyler on 15th September 2023
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Science Fiction
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The Death I Gave Him by  by Em X. Liu
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Science Fiction
review

Shakespeare plays have been around for a long time, and you do not need to do a straight adaptation. Many of the terms used in the plays have entered the common vernacular and the storylines can be traced throughout modern film and television. I don’t recall Romeo or Juliet breaking out...

Article by Sam Tyler on 14th September 2023
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Cynical realism is the intelligent man's best excuse for doing nothing in an intolerable situation.
- Aldous Huxley
latest
Fantasy
review

There are two ways to treat fairy folk in a fantasy novel. You can hide them, only the protagonist knowing that there is a secret world in the forest. Or you can embrace them. Make the likes of goblins and fairies' part of everyday life. In A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey, an accord...

Article by Sam Tyler on 12th September 2023
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Science Fiction
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Promise by  by Christi Nogle
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Science Fiction
review

I set a high bar set for science fiction short story collections that is in no way the fault of any modern author. Unfortunately for them I read The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury at an influential age. I rate a collection against the creepy science fiction/horror tones that Bradbury was able...

Article by Sam Tyler on 8th September 2023
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latest
Fantasy
review

The tie in novel can have a bad press, a book churned out to steal some of the glory from a popular TV show or film, but I have a soft spot for them. When done well they can expand the universe; tie in novels for the likes of Star Trek, Doctor Who, Star Wars (twice) and many others have given...

Article by Sam Tyler on 5th September 2023
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latest
Horror
review

As long as someone remembers a loved one, they are never truly gone. This could be done by visiting their final resting place or a special location that you used to go to together. It could even be a keepsake that reminds you of them. Looking at the object you can almost see their smile or hear...

Article by Sam Tyler on 1st September 2023
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Science Fiction
review
The Zygon Invasion by  by Peter Harness
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Science Fiction
review

Doctor Who has saved the solar system on countless occasions and planet Earth even more than this, but some of these saves felt a little.... minor. Alien races trying their arm at taking over Earth with nary a plan worth writing on the back of a psychic beermat. Sometimes though the stakes are...

Article by Sam Tyler on 31st August 2023
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Horror
review

Societies’ relationship with death has changed through the ages. With developments in healthcare and longer lifespans the modern world seems to want to forget that death exists, you are dropped into a lonely pit of grief while others continue to live around you. Good health was not always...

Article by Sam Tyler on 30th August 2023
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latest
Science Fiction
review
Shark Heart by  by Emily Habeck
latest
Science Fiction
review

If I have said it once, I have it said a thousand times, science fiction is the best genre as it is so wide reaching. Stories can be grandiose, epic Space Operas with multiple characters on several planets. Or, stories can be personal affairs, titbits of speculative fiction that tweaks our own...

Article by Sam Tyler on 29th August 2023
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latest
Horror
review

I like to think that the world is built upon small acts of kindness. Whilst nation states and some individuals may be doing their best to destroy the world, the rest of us are just trying to get by. This can be helped with a please or a thank you. If you see someone drop their credit card, you...

Article by Sam Tyler on 18th August 2023
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There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.
- Ray Bradbury
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Science Fiction
review
Lessons in Birdwatching by  by Honey Watson
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Science Fiction
review

The science fiction genre is open to exploring alien worlds and alien ideas, but many times you find it is a very Terran feeling society being all human about things. It may be an android as the main character, but that android is following a classic crime noir style plot you could find on...

Article by Sam Tyler on 11th August 2023
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latest
Fantasy
review

The relationship that humans have with the land has always been critical for our survival from the hunter gatherers to the farmers, to the post-industrial world we live in today. Living as one with the planet will help it sustain itself and us, but in recent decades it does not take much more...

Article by Sam Tyler on 8th August 2023
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latest
Horror
review

Children’s TV shows will always have an evocative place in your memory, especially those half-remembered tales from when you were young. Your cognitive powers had not yet full formed, so your memory of the show comes in snatches like magic. For me it will always be Wizbit. I picture a...

Article by Sam Tyler on 7th August 2023
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latest
General Fiction
review
Oh God, the Sun Goes by  by David Connor
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General Fiction
review

Growing up in Britain it can seem during certain times of the year that the sun has disappeared, but we all know it is still there, just behind many rain clouds in the few daylight hours of the winter. It would be a hugely different thing if the sun did disappear, for one, life on the planet...

Article by Sam Tyler on 3rd August 2023
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latest
Fantasy
review
Inanna by  by Emily H. Wilson
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Fantasy
review

A lot of what goes on in Fantasy novels is miraculous, magic spells cause havoc on the battlefield, or dragons swoop through the air. Their very nature is that they are fantastical. Some of the characters are like Gods with their powers, but few claim to actually be deities. When Inanna is born,...

Article by Sam Tyler on 1st August 2023
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latest
Science Fiction
review

You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. For years, the Jedi have been considered a paragon of virtue, everything that is good to the Sith’s bad. But there must be a reason so many Jedi fall. The path to the Dark Side is not pathed with sex, drugs,...

Article by Sam Tyler on 31st July 2023
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Science fiction, fantasy & horror book reviews

SFBook.com is one of the oldest book review sites on the internet, founded back in 1999 in an age before phones became smart and when the leading figure of the free world was respected and even occasionally admired. A non profit site primarily aimed at the Science fiction, fantasy and horror genres (although we do have a growing list of general fiction). We strive to feature only the very best in Science fiction, fantasy, horror and speculative novels. We like to think we write personal, unique and constructive reviews.

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We have dedicated pages for Science fiction book reviews as well as fantasy book reviews and horror book reviews but you can also browse by author, publisher, name, series or Sub Genre.

Reviews are provided by a team of regular and guest reviewers from around the world, mostly based in the USA and the UK. These include Ant - the site editor, Allen Stroud - chair of the BSFA and Sam Tyler, reviewer extraordinaire. We try our very best to prevent giving away any spoilers so that the reading experience remains as fresh as possible. Where spoilers are mentioned, we do our best to let you know in advance. We firmly believe that life is too short to struggle through a book you are not enjoying so often the reviews you see will be the books we've made it through to the end. However if you want to know about a book not listed, please feel free to get in touch.

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