Grendel by John Gardner
reviewed by Chris Przybyszewski
Some readers see fantasy and science fiction as an evil, though sometimes a necessary one. Fabulist fiction sells; it is
popular entertainment. Fabulist fiction keeps the publishing world moving and growing in its way. The opposite faction regards
fantasy as a joyous necessity, one that allows certain writers to explore parts of existence unavailable to a pedestrian
strolling the avenues of Paris, be it the one in Tennessee or in France.
Here we have a full blown fabulist achievement that highlights a capability intrinsic to fantasy, but which is found sparingly in realist fiction.
All of an Instant by Richard Garfinkle
reviewed by Steven H Silver
The Flux, the world in which we live, is only one level of reality,
constantly changing in both a chronological way and shifting through alternative
realities. Running parallel to the Flux, is the Instant which has no
duration, although most of its inhabitants view it as sequential. Events
occurring in the Instant are what cause the alterations seen in the Flux,
and factions in the Instant are constantly warring to create their own view
of reality in the Flux. Not a light read, but an interesting story which
will make the reader think hard about the nature of cause and effect.
Elidor by Alan Garner
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
In the middle of an urban wasteland, 3 brothers and a sister discover a
ruined church. Playing with a football they've found, they kick it
too high, and it vanishes through one of the church's broken
windows. One by one the children go off to look for the ball, and fail to return.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
reviewed by Katharine Mills
Good news for anyone who may be looking for a present for a child -- The
Weirdstone of Brisingamen is back in print! Katharine has long
cherished the solid reality of Garner's English landscape, and the way in
which the magical creatures stand squarely on the ground with everyone else.
The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
This novel holds two levels of experience. Children will enjoy it for its swift
pacing, its adventure, its fantastic characters and events, while its complexity
and depth will challenge adult readers. On either level, it's a classic.
Kiss of the Vampire by Cynthia Garner
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
This is the first novel in the Warriors of the Rift series that concerns a potential
serial killer on the streets, but as the murders are not the usual ones, the victims all being vampires, and
Nix de la Fuente is investigating them. Who could be the killer? It does help that she is no ordinary
investigator. Half-human, half-demon, she is a complex woman.
New Worlds edited by David S. Garnett
reviewed by Steven H Silver
The magazine New Worlds was first published in England in 1946. It is
important to establish this anthology's pedigree, for Steven imagines there
are many SF readers almost completely unaware of both it and
Interzone. These two British SF magazines have had an important
influence on the cutting edge of science fiction, both in England and in the
United States.
The Changeling War by Peter Garrison
reviewed by S. Kay Elmore
There are countless old folk tales of Changelings; creatures left behind by fairies when the
real human child has been stolen. In this world, there is an unseen world of magic and
mystery, inhabited by creatures strange and fantastic.
The Time Ship: A Chrononautical Journey by Enrique Gaspar
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
Jules Verne sent his travelers on extraordinary voyages into space and into the bowels of the earth, through the skies and
through the ocean depths, but he didn't send his characters on journey through time.
That lack seems to have been filled by this Spanish writer who indeed specifically mentions Verne in
the penultimate paragraph of this curious novel.
The Wizard's Wife by Becky Gauger
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Marela needs to make her way across the Scar; a place of deep woods and
rough terrain. She thinks that she's lucky to fall in among a travel group lead by her adopted uncle Shap, until she wakes up one morning
to find that all of her fellow travelers are gone. Completely, without so much as a footprint to prove that they
ever where there. She makes her way out, but is much further from her destination than she expected. She finds herself at the keep of
Grendelire, were the wizard AErin lives and conducts his work in solitude during the winter.
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Thief With No Shadow by Emily Gee
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Driven by the need to ransom her brother back from a vicious group of inhuman creatures known as salamanders, Melke steals a necklace
whose value is greater than she could ever have imagined, for it's actually the key to breaking a deadly curse laid upon the sal
Vere family. Caught between honor and desperation, Melke makes a deal with Bastion sal Vere and his sister, Liana: if they'll take
care of her grievously wounded brother, she'll steal the necklace back from the salamanders, using her bizarre ability to become unseen.
The Zombies of Lake Woebegotten by Harrison Geillor
reviewed by Christopher DeFilippis
So here you are, a longtime fan of Garrison Keillor's folksy yarns chronicling the ordinary goings-on in his
fictional hometown of Lake Woebegone, Minnesota -- as featured weekly on his radio show A Prairie Home
Companion and in many books and short stories -- and you're wondering, should I even bother
with The Zombies of Lake Woebegotten by the pseudonymous Harrison Geillor?
Faces of Mist and Flame by Jon George
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Phoenix Lafayette is a combat correspondent following the exploits of a group of Marines during World War II, starting with their
days in boot camp, all the way up to now, as they slog through the jungles of 1941 Guam, fighting "the Enemy" for every inch, every
step of territory. He'll make sure the people back home know and appreciate exactly what's happening out there in the middle of
nowhere, turn these boys into heroes and martyrs, and open their eyes to the grim realities of war. But he secretly fears that the
stress of war is driving him mad. Why else would he be hearing a soft female voice in his head?
Stormrider by David Gemmell
reviewed by Ian Nichols
There's nothing quite like a good war to keep you interested, and he creates a terrific one in thsi novel. It is a war
of extinction, the extinction of the Rigante by the Varlish, their deadly opponents. It is a conflict which has endured for years,
and driven the Rigante into the high mountains, where their greatest leader, the outlaw Ravenheart, continues the fight against the
conquerors.
The Egerton Hall Novels by Adèle Geras
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
First published between 1990 and 1992, these three novels, set around three young women at a British public school,
Egerton Hall, are tenuously based on the well-known fairy tales of Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and
Snow White, respectively. Certainly these are no simple retellings
of these tales, but stories built around selected elements of the tales, adapted and interpreted in terms of the
issues and emotions of young women.
Ralph 124C 41+ by Hugo Gernsback
reviewed by Neil Walsh
This novel is definitely worth a read if you are at all interested in the roots of science fiction in the 20th century, or if you
are curious about how the future may have looked from an SF perspective in the early part of the 20th century.
But once you've read it, you'll also understand why the author is remembered for his
contribution to the genre as a magazine editor rather than as a writer.
Get Medieval
a game review by Steve Lazarowitz
Some 15 years ago, a game called Gauntlet made its debut
in the arcades. I pumped enough quarters into that machine to put my daughter through
college. I don't regret a single cent of it. This game is so similar
to that classic, they should have called it Gauntlet II.
Gravity by Tess Gerritsen
reviewed by Victoria Strauss
A tightly-constructed plot spins forward at a breakneck pace, and the
progress of a space station epidemic, rendered in cinematic detail, is
fascinatingly horrific. Especially good are the descriptions of
life aboard the Space Station, which read with the authority of
first-hand experience -- an impressive testament to the author's research.
Star Trek: The Galactic Whirlpool by David Gerrold
reviewed by Todd Richmond
The book is worth reading if just for the story of how Captain
James T. Kirk once surrendered all of Starfleet and the entire
Federation and gained the title of Royal High Minister Plenipotentiary
in Total Command of the Universe.
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