The SF Site: Featured Reviews Archive

The reviews are sorted alphabetically by authors' last name -- one or more pages for each letter (plus one for Mc). All but some recent reviews are listed here. Links to those reviews appear on the Recent Feature Review Page.

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Mother of Lies by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Donna McMahon
In this sequel to Children of Chaos, the four children of the Doge of Celebre, who were taken hostage as small children by the brutal Bloodlord Stralg, have re-united as young adults and are trying to return to their home land of Florengia. It's vital they get back soon because the Werists, who successfully invaded Florengia fifteen years before, are losing their grip.

The Alchemist's Apprentice by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Donna McMahon
What could be stranger than a dodecahedral planet? One might reasonably ask that question after reading a couple of the author's latest titles and the answer, interestingly enough, is: a genuine historical setting. Renaissance Venice, as painted in in this book is full of delightful detail that's far too daft to be fiction.

Children of Chaos by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Donna McMahon
When the peaceful land of Florengia is invaded by bloodlord Stralg and his horde of crazed Werist soldiers, the city of Celebre is among the first to fall, and the doge is forced to give up his four children as hostages. Fifteen years later, amid rumours the doge is about to die, those hostages suddenly become strategically important. One hostage will be selected and sent back to Celebre to be installed as a puppet ruler, and the others must be killed.

Tales of the King's Blades by Dave Duncan
reviewed by William Thompson
This novel concludes the author's 3 separate yet inextricably connected Tales of the King's Blades. While each book has been written in the guise of a stand-alone and can be read as such, his compositional accomplishments cannot be fully appreciated, nor inconsistencies existing within the parallel stories understood, without a reading of the entire series.

West of January by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Donna McMahon
Raised in a nomadic herding family, young Knobil is an oddity -- a fair, blue-eyed blond playing among browner, dark-haired and much larger companions. Ignorant and uneducated, Knobil doesn't think much about his uniqueness, until his dying mother reveals that he is the son of an angel who visited their camp long ago, and who has left a token that will admit Knobil to Heaven -- if he can get there.

The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Wayne MacLaurin
Never one to tell a simple tale when a more complex one would be even better, the author has taken what could have been a uninspired rehash of every sword-swinging hero and molded it into a tale that draws more from the characters and the depth of the story line than it does from bloodshed and swordplay.

Future Indefinite by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Jean-Louis Trudel
Conjuring up more than a few memories of Kipling with a sprinkling of military derring-do and a dash of Zelazny's Lord of Light, in a setting halfway between the usual backdrops of generic fantasy and a storybook version of the Far East, this novel holds a few surprises for unwary readers. And the main one is a doozy.

The Great Game by Dave Duncan
reviewed by Wayne MacLaurin
Wayne enjoyed the series immensely. The books are each written with a slightly different style that subtly mirrors the titles. A nice touch.

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