The SF Site: The Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson reviewed by Neil Walsh In this sixth volume of Tales of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, the events of the Malazan campaigns on Genabackis and Seven Cities, the Tiste Edur conquest of the Letherii Empire, the machinations of the Malazan Empress, her allies and enemies, assassins and wizards, soldiers and priests, gods and ascendants, foundlings, slaves, refugees -- almost everyone we've met so far and everything that has happened is pulled together in this book. You won't find answers to all your questions, but you will be left with a sense that all these events we've been treated to thus far are not going to pass by without an even more profound impact on the world than we had already anticipated.
Dreams of the Compass Rose by Vera Nazarian reviewed by Georges T. Dodds If you're looking for this book to be yet another instalment of the post-Tolkien fantasy paradigm, you'll be very disappointed. Similarly if you're looking for something of the China Miéville school of "New Weird" you won't find it here either. Think rather Burton's translation of The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, then add the twists of irony and gorgeous prose of Lord Dunsany's early tales, or Clark Ashton Smith. Throne of Jade and Black Powder War by Naomi Novik reviewed by Alma A. Hromic Despite the length (400 pages apiece) somehow both these books feel a lot shorter and "lighter" than they ought to. His Majesty's Dragon, Book 1 of the *Temeraire* series, was a thoroughly wonderful book. The next two books in the series (one hesitates to call it a trilogy, seeing as the author has indicated that the series will continue) feel like... they should really have been one book. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik reviewed by Rich Horton The novel opens with Captain Laurence, of the British Navy, capturing a French ship. On the captured ship they find a dragon's egg. Dragons are very valuable creatures, it turns out, and are used as a sort of Air Force by both sides. Dragons are intelligent, and are able to talk from the time they hatch, but they will typically bond with just one person, usually one of the first people they see upon hatching. This egg is about to hatch, and it is necessary for one of Laurence's officers to agree to bond with the dragon which is a problem. Lady in the Water a movie review by Rick Norwood Samuel R. Delany has written that enjoyment of art depends on the tension between the expected and the unexpected. Too much of the expected, we yawn. Too much of the unexpected, and we become confused. A lot of people evidently were confused by this highly enjoyable, completely original film. America is not ready for an urban fairy tale. The Sound of Angels by Lisa Silverthorne reviewed by Jonathan Fesmire From a haunted airplane crash site to Martian caves, her prose contains just the right description to put you into her many imaginative locations. Even better, she puts you in the mind of her characters so that you understand them, despite how alien some of their lives are. Women of Sci-Fi 2007 an advertisement Actors Christopher Judge and Michael Shank have gathered together actresses from favourite sci-fi shows, such as *Andromeda, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, and Stargate Atlantis* to produce the 2007 Women of Sci-Fi Calendar. Clarke's Universe by Arthur C. Clarke reviewed by Steven H Silver This is a collection of three stories by Arthur C. Clarke: one novel and two short stories. While in most cases when a collection like this is put together, there is some link between the stories, any link between "The Lion of Comarre," A Fall of Moondust, and "Jupiter V" is tenuous at best. All three are set in the future in our solar system and were written by Clarke, but that is about as far as the link goes.		The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross reviewed by Rich Horton This is the third of a continuing series of books that began with The Family Trade, followed by The Hidden Family. Miriam makes some political blunders trying to make space for herself, and she finds her mother not exactly on her side. To her despair, she finds herself threatened with marriage to the mentally handicapped younger son of the King. And she has made an enemy of the sadistic elder brother to her putative future husband. Mike Fleming is stunned by the revelations of the existence of a possibly inimical foreign government with agents that can literally disappear to another world. 10 Odd SF Classics compiled by Eric Walker Why is any "classic" speculative-fiction book ever overlooked? Sometimes it's because its author has produced some other work or works whose fame shadows it: there are three of those here. Sometimes it's because the author is not commonly thought of as a "speculative-fiction" writer: there are four of those here. And sometimes it's just a matter of the book or the author never having been noticed as it or he or she ought to be -- and there are three of those here. Joe R. Lansdale's Lords of the Razor edited by Bill Sheehan and William Schafer reviewed by Mario Guslandi Theme anthologies are tricky, especially when the subject is as narrow as the one generating the present volume: the horrific monster created about twenty years ago by Joe Lansdale for one of his early stories. Reproduced here, "God of the Razor" is a frightening tale of pure horror where the basement of an old, dilapidated house becomes the stage for the terrifying appearance of an evil creature apt to turn your blood into ice. Taking inspiration from this malevolent, superhuman character, a number of skilled genre writers have developed their personal nightmares. Shuteye for the Timebroker by Paul Di Filippo reviewed by Paul Kincaid Paul Di Filippo is a writer who likes to shift restlessly between styles and manners, though his most common mode is the humorous. Not outright comedy, but the sort of thing that leaves you smiling without necessarily understanding why. It's the sort of trick that writers like R.A. Lafferty and Howard Waldrop pull of with aplomb. Babylon 5.1 TV reviews by Rick Norwood Rick offers his movie predictions for what is worth seeing during the remainder of 2006, some material coming in the next few years and what is worth watching on TV in August. Touch the Dark by Karen Chance reviewed by Nathan Brazil Cassandra Palmer is a virginal young woman who talks to dead people, and following the murder of her parents, was brought up in a vampire mafia family. Then she ran away. Tony, the undead godfather of the bloodsucking mob, is looking for her, along with other interested parties. The only advantage Cassie has to begin with is her ability to interact with ghosts, and to some extent make use of their ectoplasmic powers.