Aftermath by Ann Aguirre
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Sirintha Jax saved the human race from the horrifying menace of the flesh-eating Morgut, but only by crippling
interstellar travel for everyone. Worse, she may have stopped most of the Morgut, but a few ships still slip
through, enough to devastate the planet of New Venice and kill several of her friends, a cost for which she'll never
forgive herself. In the wake of her actions, it's time to pay the piper, and so Jax embarks upon a new phase
of her life: war criminal and traitor.
Doubleblind and Killbox by Ann Aguirre
reviewed by Michael M Jones
What happens when the rebels win and become part of the system? That's one of the many themes explored in
the third and fourth books of the Sirantha Jax series, starring the titular hot-tempered
grimspace jumper and her motley assortment of allies and friends. After bringing down the corrupt Farwan
Corporation and battling the deadly alien Morgut, Jax has reluctantly traveled to Ithiss-Tor as an ambassador
for New Terra's ruling Conglomerate. Her job: to play nice with the reclusive race of alien insectoids.
Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Following a series of dramatic events which started with the destruction of a passenger ship and ended with the
downfall of the corrupt Farwan Corporation, grimspace jumper Sirantha Jax is out of a job, broke, and infamous. When
the interplanetary government known as the Conglomerate offers Jax the opportunity to lead a diplomatic mission
to the planet Ithiss-Tor, she's smart enough to recognize it for the type of request that it is.
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Until recently, Sirantha Jax was a superstar. Possessing a rare gene which allows a select few to jump ships
through "grimspace," and thus vastly shorten interstellar travel time, she had it made, having made more jumps and discovered
more planets than anyone else working for the Corp. But all jumpers burn out sooner or later, so she knew her time was
finite. And then came the crash on Matins IV, an accident only which she survived. She was locked away, interrogated and tortured
and left to rot.
Swans Over the Moon by Forrest Aguirre
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
The author employs two main tools: an exotic vocabulary and exuberant imagery, and both require incredible discipline
to work properly. A reader needs to be absolutely confident that the unfamiliar word which sends her searching the dictionary
is precisely chosen to do a job that no other word would do. Similarly the reader must recognise that the strange images built
upon layer after layer of adjectives actually make sense, they must describe something that works visually outside the words.
Leviathan 4 edited by Forrest Aguirre
reviewed by Matthew Cheney
This anthology is a book that rises from the marketing
category known as SF, though most readers of science fiction and fantasy will find much frustration in amidst the wonders sensed
here, because some of these stories slip into a different stream, one where fabulation looks conservative and traditional when
viewed through a lens of narrative displacement, meta-fictional paradox, and autonymic antitropes. How many fish can breathe
in such rich, polluted water?
Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 2 by Ken Akamatsu
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Negi Springfield's main dream in life is to become a wizard. He has taken the classes, he has mastered several spells, but
to prove his true worthiness, he needs to become accepted as an official instructor at Mahora Academy, an all girl's
school. The girls seem to finally be accepting their ten-year-old English teacher,
but can he bring his class, who are notorious for only ever making
last place in the exams, up to snuff before the final exams next Monday?
Negima! Magister Negi Magi by Ken Akamatsu
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Ten-year-old Negi Springfield has just graduated from sorcerer's school and gotten his first assignment, one that will determine if he
becomes a Magister or not: to teach English at an all girl's school. Unfortunately, his well meaning mistakes, combined with the fact
that he's taking over classes usually taught by the gorgeous Takahata-sensi, both alienate him with his new roommate and student,
Asuna. Negi wants to succeed at two things.
Dead of Veridon by Tim Akers
reviewed by Rich Horton
This novel opens with Jacob Burn taking an assignment to make a delivery to the zombie-like riverdwelling
Fehn. Things quickly -- and predictably -- go pear-shaped, as the delivery seems to precipitate a change
in the Fehn, who suddenly begin to invade Veridon in great numbers. Jacob and his "spider" friend Wilson
are on the run. The mystery involves a man named Ezekiel Crane, and the ancient people who may have built Veridon,
as well as Jacob's dying father and general uproar among the rulers of the city, include Jacob's old
enemy, the half-machine woman Angela Tomb.
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Albedo One, Issue 39
reviewed by Seamus Sweeney
The magazine has, for a long time, borne the speculative
fiction standard in Ireland. For a country with such a strong literary tradition, speculative fiction per se
does not loom large in considerations of Irish literature. Of course, some of this is the same blend of snobbery
and ignorance seen elsewhere, and some of this is due to the understandable but, as some think, rather tiresome
preoccupation with exploring the same themes of "Irishness" again and again.
Albedo One, Issue 38
reviewed by Rich Horton
The latest issue is fairly representative of its usual range
and quality, which place it as one of the better and more interesting semi-pro magazines in the field. As usual,
there's a nice cover and overall fine presentation. There's a good interview, with James Gunn, and a varied series
of book reviews. And, most important, there's fiction: six stories, some fantasy, some SF.
Albedo One, #37
reviewed by Rich Horton
Albedo One appears twice yearly from Ireland. The current issue includes an editorial,
an interview with Greg Egan, conducted by David Conyers, and a book review section, by Conyers and Juliet
McKenna. But the heart, of course, is the fiction, in this case seven stories.
The leadoff story, "Safe," by Robert Reed, is particularly impressive.
Alchemy, Numbers 1 & 2
reviewed by Matthew Cheney
Alchemy appeared quietly in 2003 and immediately set a new standard for what a small
press fantasy magazine could be. It contained no manifesto, no grand editorial pronouncements, no socio-politico-historical
ruminations, and only the barest of biographical notes about the authors at the end of each of the six stories.
But what stories they were, and what authors! And the second issue is considerably better than the first.
The Fiction of Vivien Alcock
reviewed by Margo MacDonald and Alice Dechene
Vivien Alcock's Young Adult fantasy and suspense novels are
among the finest currently being published. What is it about
her style and stories that works so well? Margo and Alice
examine some of her most popular works to find out.
The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Georges believes that if the SF Site had existed in the 1840s, many of
Alcott's books would have shown up on it under a byline or anonymously, and
would have fit in nicely with the numerous action-packed dime-novels and
late-Gothic potboilers of the era. This recently rediscovered and
previously unpublished work is a fair pulp thriller with plenty of dangling
from cliffs, wild horse rides and similar thrills.
The Return by Buzz Aldrin & John Barnes
reviewed by Steven H Silver
The possible murder of a popular athlete during a "Civilian in Space" flight of the shuttle Columbia spells the
end of ex-astronaut Scott Blackstone's career and his hopes to help mankind eventually reach Mars. In the aftermath
and reprisals, Scott finds himself out of a job and faced with a multi-million dollar lawsuit. His former company,
NASA, and the other defendants in the case recommend settling, but Scott, his ex-wife/attorney Thallia and his brother,
Nick, choose to fight.
The Secrets of Jin-Shei by Alma Alexander
reviewed by Donna McMahon
With so many Fantasy novels using European-derived settings and mythology, ancient China makes a refreshing
change. The landscape is tantalizingly exotic and yet familiar enough to feel very real, and the auhtor uses magic
sparingly, in ways appropriate to her society. This and the intricate detail put into the backdrop makes the novel
feel very much like historical fiction.
The Secrets of Jin-Shei by Alma Alexander
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
Tai is just a child when she first accompanies her mother, a palace seamstress, to the Summer Palace, the luxurious mountain retreat
where the ladies of the Imperial Court go to escape the summer heat of the capital city of Linh-an. A chance encounter in a courtyard
brings Tai to the attention of Antian, the First Princess, heir to the throne of the Empire of Syai. Unexpected warmth blossoms
between the two girls, so different in station and destiny, and Antian offers Tai the precious gift of jin-shei: a vow of
friendship that can be made only between women, binding them to a lifelong sisterhood that commands more loyalty even than the
blood ties of family.
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