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Lair by  by James Herbert
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The first of the sequels to The Rats is a vast improvement to the original in terms of suspense and action. What the book lacks in originality now, due to it being a sequel, it definitely makes up for in horror and gore. The author’s writing has really come a long way in the intervening years...

Article by Arron on 15th October 2013
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Lamentation by  by Ken Scholes
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An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising. He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands. Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the...

Article by Ant on 3rd March 2009
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Fresh from the publication of The Vagrant and all worthy plaudits assigned to this, Peter Newman’s next book, set in the world of the Albion Online MMORPG is a very different affair.

We follow the trials and tribulations of Tia, her daughters and her crew as they first arrive in...

Article by Allen Stroud on 2nd April 2016
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Leech by  by Hiron Ennes
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We have all come to loath the Flu virus and its even worse cousin, but how are we as humans to prevent the spread of life? It will find a way. For mammals it is making babies, for a virus it is infiltrating a host and multiplying, then moving onto the next host. The virus does not care that...

Article by Sam Tyler on 4th October 2022
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One of the remarkable things about genre fiction is that it can blend so well. Why have a straight fantasy novel when you can mix it with science fiction or horror? How far are we as a human race from backsliding to a medieval style life? A few dirty bombs,...

Article by Sam Tyler on 27th October 2021
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Legacy of the Eldric is the first volume in the Prophecy of the Kings trilogy, written and published by David Burrows. The version being reviewed here is the Omnibus volume which contains all 3 novels in the series. In the distant past an all but forgotten race called the Eldric fought against...

Article by Ant on 23rd March 2010
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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...

Article by Allen Stroud on 23rd October 2015
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What is Comfy Fantasy? It is a new name for the type of fantasy that does not have you on edge all the time. As a genre fantasy can often feel epic, but also stressful. The heroes on the run from a darkness they cannot fathom, or a fellowship were hardly anyone can be trusted. Sometimes you just...

Article by Sam Tyler on 28th October 2022
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Back in May last year I reviewed a novel by Peter Koevari, a promising new Indie author who has been creating an epic fantasy series known as Legends of Marithia. This is the second novel in that series and follows straight on from the events of the previous book - Legends of Marithia:...

Article by Ant on 11th January 2012
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Legends of Marithia is a fantasy novel by Peter Koevari. After her sorceress mother and vampire father are horrifically murdered right in front of her, Kassina makes a pact with the Lord of Darkness Shindar and swears revenge over the lands responsible for her parents demise. With Sindar's help...

Article by Ant on 1st May 2011
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Legion by  by Brandon Sanderson
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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...

Article by Alice Wybrew on 17th September 2015
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Legion of the Damned by  by Rob Sanders
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Berserker chaos marine chapter the World Eaters are blazing a path of destruction across the galaxy, following in the path of a weird, blood-red comet which holds portents of doom. The small cemetery world of Certus Minor is one such planet along this celestial bodies route and the Excoriators...

Article by Ant on 13th February 2012
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Legion: Skin Deep by  by Brandon Sanderson
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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...

Article by Alice Wybrew on 25th September 2015
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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...

Article by Allen Stroud on 3rd May 2015
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Lent by  by Jo Walton
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Jo Walton is a multi-award winning, talented and often under-appreciated author. A number of her novels examine philosophy, religion, divinity and humanity. Lent continues some of these themes along with her knack for creating irresistible, thoughtful and engaging fiction.

Girolamo...

Article by Ant on 26th July 2019
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Lessons in Birdwatching by  by Honey Watson
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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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Lessons Learned by  by Martin Perry
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Lessons Learned follows on from the life-changing events of Gentle Reminders serialised right here on SFBook. Finding themselves without a Captain, Maur and the Jump Cannon crew try to adapt to their new roles and face some of their deadliest missions yet.

The Free Man group is still...

Article by Ant on 10th August 2012
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Lexicon by  by Max Barry
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Two years ago something happened in Broken Hill, something that killed thousands, the entire population of the small Australian mining town. Although everyone was encouraged to believe that some form of "environmental disaster" was the cause there are a few people who know what really happened....

Article by Ant on 21st June 2013
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Liege-Killer by  by Christopher Hinz
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Science Fiction does not have to be epic. It can tell a small story about a single person or family as they struggle against a strange new world, but sometimes you want to read a stonking great space opera where an individual's actions can alter...

Article by Sam Tyler on 2nd November 2021
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Lies Sleeping is the seventh book (eighth if you count The Furthest Station) in the impressive River of London urban fantasy series, following Peter Grant - detective constable for the metropolitan police and apprentice wizard.

It looks like time may finally be up for the Faceless Man...

Article by Ant on 11th March 2019
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Lies, Inc. by  by Philip K Dick
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Lies, Inc. is a science fiction novel by the award winning author Philip K Dick. To control the aggressiveness of citizens living on top of one another in crowded file cabinets like anthills in overpopulated urban regions, Lies Incorporated uses computer software to keep people sublimely quiet....

Article by TC on 1st June 2002
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In Snow Hospital in Snow County, Colorado, dying Josef Tock makes ten predictions about his unborn grandson who is also in the hospital about to leave the womb. Of the forecasts, the most ominous is that Jimmy will face five terrible days in his future. The sandwich generation Tock is Rudy who...

Article by Hist on 20th August 2004
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Light of the Jedi by  by Charles Soule
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The Universe of Star Wars is a vast one full of unexplored planets, characters and timelines but the will of The Force always seems to drag it back to the Skywalkers. The brand-new Star Wars: The High Republic is an attempt to write Star Wars free from the restraints of...

Article by Sam Tyler on 5th January 2021
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Lightstorm by  by Peter F Hamilton
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Lightstorm is part of the Young Adults Web Series of novels and has been written by Peter F Hamilton. Like MacLeods Cydonia, Lightstorm is part of Dolphins The Web series. All of the books take place in 2027 and the most of the books takes place online – in The Web. I’m not sure, but I...

Article by TC on 9th April 2002
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Limit of Vision by  by Linda Nagata
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Limit of Vision is a science fiction novel by Linda Nagata. Finally a Nagata novel is published in Europa and finally I get my hands on her latest book. Limit of Vision takes a look at an non-human intelligence and the some of the options we may have in out near future. About fifty years in...

Article by TC on 13th August 2002
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Lirael by  by Garth Nix
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Lirael is a young adult fantasy novel written by Garth Nix and is the second volume in the Old Kingdom Series. The novel is split into three different parts with the first set 14 years after the events of Sabriel and the other two parts set 19 years after. Sabriel and Touchstone are married...

Article by Ant on 28th September 2009
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I come from a large family and there is a special way that you can wind one another up. Years of experience and knowledge comes in handy when you are trying to annoy someone, you may not have seen each other for ages, but one shared experience can bring it all back in an instant. In a healthy...

Article by Sam Tyler on 4th February 2025
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Little Brother by  by Cory Doctorow
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Little brother is a young adult science fiction novel written by Cory Doctorow. The novel has debuted at no 9 on the new york times bestseller list, spending 6 weeks in the top 10. The book has also won the 2009 White Pine award, is a finalist for both the Hugo Award and the 2009 Prometheus...

Article by Ant on 1st January 2010
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Lock In by  by John Scalzi
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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...

Article by Allen Stroud on 13th January 2015
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Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadines Soul is a contemporary fantasy novel by H A Goodman. Devin's life has been ripped to pieces, his wife raped and murdered while still carrying his unborn child, revenge is the only thing that drives his continued existence. He listens as his father-in-law...

Article by Ant on 11th December 2010
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After more than a decade of box office hits and TV shows even the more casual Marvel fan is starting to realise that there is a vast and rich world of lore that the comics have built up over the decades. The comics of Thor and Loki bring with them their own history, not only that written for the...

Article by Sam Tyler on 21st December 2023
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London Falling is the first in Paul Cornell's Shadow Police series. For those who don't know, Paul Cornell is an award winning author who writes across a variety of media and one of only two people to have been Hugo nominated for prose, TV and comics. He's also written a number of...

Article by Ant on 17th July 2017
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Look to Windward by  by Iain M Banks
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To think that it has been nearly a year since I read any Banks last – not strange that I had to consume this one over a single weekend.

Sometimes a book is just so good, that it becomes hard to review properly, without reverting to long sentences overflowing with superlatives (which...

Article by TC on 1st August 2000
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Lord Brother is the second part of a fantasy tale by Carolyn Kephart. Lord Brother is the much needed follow up to Kepharts debut novel Wysard. As you may remember the first books ended without warning, leaving the story hanging with no prior warning of any kind. I've talked with Kephart about...

Article by TC on 4th November 2002
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Lord Fouls Bane is the first volume in the The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, written by Stephen Donaldson. Thomas Covenant was a very successful author before being diagnosed with leprosy, the wasting disease that causes fear, revulsion and even hatred in other people....

Article by Ant on 17th September 2009
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Lord of Light by  by Roger Zelazny
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Lord of Light is a science fiction novel written by Roger Zelazny. Reading classics, isn't exactly what I would call a duty, but one should remember to pick up a classic once in a while and see why it became a classic. Some of them are actually quite good! I don't think that I've ever read any...

Article by TC on 1st May 2001
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To the ill-informed all fantasy books must look the same. They are about elves and dwarves, just retelling The Lord of the Rings repeatedly, aren’t they? Fans of the genre know that this is anything but the truth. Fantasy is an evolving genre that encompasses high and low, fantastical and...

Article by Sam Tyler on 6th February 2020
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The wolves are howling outside the city of Constantinople and mysterious sorcery plagues its citizens. On a field of battle littered with the dead and dying stumbles a ragged figure dressed in wolfskin and wreaking of death. Slipping past the guards he enters the tent of the Emperor and draws...

Article by Ant on 19th November 2012
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Lord Valentines Castle is the first volume in the Marjipoor series by Robert Silverberg. The hardest thing about reviewing this book is to label it correctly. We are on a humanly colonised planet at least ten thousand years in the future. We share this world, of gigantic proportions, with...

Article by TC on 1st October 2001
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Lost Fleet: Dauntless by  by Jack Campbell
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Lost Fleet: Dauntless is the first in the military science fiction series by Jack Campbell. The Alliance has been fighting a losing battle with it's deadly enemy - the Syndic for over a century. Now its primary fleet is stranded deep in enemy territory. Their only hope is Captain John "Black...

Article by Ant on 22nd February 2011
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Lost Fleet: Victorious by  by Jack Campbell
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Lost Fleet: Victorious is the sixth and final volume in the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell. Captain "Black Jack" Geary was cryogenically frozen for a hundred years before this final conflict gathered. Upon awakening he finds himself sucked back into a war he thought would long be over,...

Article by Ant on 7th June 2011
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Lost in Time by  by A G Riddle
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Time travel is fascinating, it is also some of the most fictional science fiction you will ever get. What has happened must have happened, lest you rip apart your universe in a paradox. The scientists in A. G. Riddle’s Lost in Time seem to have found a workaround as they send the worst...

Article by Sam Tyler on 7th September 2022
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Lost Worlds is a collection of Fantasy short stories by author Clark Ashton Smith. It was first released in 1944 and was the author's second book published by Arkham House. 2,043 copies were printed. The stories for this volume were selected by the author. The collection contains stories...

Article by Ant on 16th September 2008
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Love Bites by  by Ry Herman
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The best thing about genre fiction is that it provides such a wide array of ideas. Take the concept of a vampire novel. You may immediately think of gothic buildings and lace, but you could easily read a modern vampire novel that is violent and full of action. Love...

Article by Sam Tyler on 9th July 2020
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Love Minus Eighty by  by Will McIntosh
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Will McIntosh writes love stories with high body counts. In terms of total death toll, he's probably killed all of humanity at least twice by now, yet each of his books is genuinely touching. In his first novel, Soft Apocalypse, his characters try to hold relationships together in the face of...

Article by Nate Hawthorne on 10th September 2014
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LoveDeath by  by Dan Simmons
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LoveDeath is a speculative fiction novel by the award winning author Dan Simmons. I met Simmons at a recent Danish book fair and had a small talk with him about the range of his published work and the problem of categorising books. Not being a very well read Simmons fan (The Hyperion Cantos and...

Article by TC on 1st April 2000
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Low Action by  by Andrew Cartmel
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Punk was a short-lived musical genre and if you have listened to some of it you can probably tell why. It was raw, edgy and loud, but most of the songs were not that great and it was more about attitude than being able to sing. The songs that you may like from that genre may...

Article by Sam Tyler on 6th August 2020
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Luna for the Lunies by  by Ira Nayman
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Review by Luis Villazon. Ira Nayman bills himself as the proprietor of the “Alternate Reality News Service”, a sort of Reuters for the multiverse. This collection of short stories is structured like a newspaper, with technology stories, crime reports, obituaries and advice columns supplied...

Article by Luis on 14th May 2012
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Stories about monsters were told back in the day as a way of making people scared. And they should be. How do you stop a curious child from walking in the woods at night or going for a swim in a deep lagoon? You speak of vampires, werewolves and merfolk that...

Article by Sam Tyler on 5th May 2021
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