Romantic SF & Fantasy Novels

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Wednesday, November 30, 2005
WINTER MOON anthology -- One-third Good (Preeti)

I bought this Luna anthology WINTER MOON mainly for the Tanith Lee story, and then perhaps not coincidentally, that's the only story I liked. Here's a rundown:
Moontide by Mercedes Lackey
Moira is summoned back to her father's coastal keep from the ladies' academy where she'd been dumped by him many years ago. The academy also secretly trained her in warrior and spying skills. Her father may be a traitor, and Moira has to uncover a conspiracy and figure out whether the deformed yet rather noble Fool at her father's keep is friend or foe.
This story was notable for the description of the sea-keep, which is carved out of a cliff face facing the sea and is made to withstand brutal winter storms, and of the sea holders' way of life. The characters and the plot didn't interest me nearly so much. It's supposedly set in the world of her THE FAIRY GODMOTHER.
The Heart of the Moon by Tanith Lee
Clirando is the young leader of a band of warrior women in an ancient-Greece-like land. When she finds her lover cheating with her best friend, Cliro defeats them in a duel and exiles them. But she is then deeply haunted and somewhat broken by the episode, especially as her ex-friend cursed her before leaving.
Cliro is sent on a pilgrimage to a mystical island during a period where there are seven nights each with a full moon, which happens every 17 or so years. There she encounters another warrior, who may or may not be a figment of her imagination, as she tries to rid herself of her haunts.
Loved the message of this story, loved Cliro, loved the romance. Could have stood a little less of the new-age type stuff.
Banshee Cries by C.E. Murphy
Set after the events in her debut novel, URBAN SHAMAN, Banshee Cries sees the annoying Joanne Walker having to deal with ritual murders mystically connected to her mother in Ireland thirty years ago. She gets to make peace with her now-dead mother, who abandoned her as an infant. I did not warm up to Joanne at all, which pretty much killed the story for me. She's facetious, prickly, and stubborn, which can be difficult to pull off in a lead character. It made me, anyway, want to stay far away from other stories featuring her.--Preeti
--WINTER MOON at Amazon (Book 1)
--WINTER MOON review page
Posted by Preeti [Link]

Monday, November 28, 2005
GOING POSTAL by Terry Pratchett -- Fun, Fast, Witty (Rebekah)

Moist Von Lipwig was an unrepentant con man and swindler who was finally caught and executed. Which is why Moist is stunned to find himself alive and sitting in the office of Lord Ventinari, the ruthlessly pragmatic ruler of Ankh-Morpork. Ventinari offers him a second life--but only as the city's Postmaster. Moist accepts, planning on leaving town immediately, only to find that Ventinari has assigned him a golem as a "parole officer". Since golems are impervious to harm or bribery and never sleep, Moist reluctantly takes a look at this job he has been given.
Moist soon discovers that the Post Office is a decrepit building, packed from floor to rafters with undelivered letters, and that his two employees are an ancient policy-loving postman and an unstable pin-collecting clerk. Also, Moist learns that the job has ended in death for his five predecessors. Perhaps because the undelivered letters began speaking to them too.
The fun of this book is watching Moist using his swindling skills to deal with every impossible obstacle to resurrecting the moribund Post. By doing this, he inadvertently takes on the powerful Grand Trunk Company who runs the "clacks" system, a semaphore-based telegraph. The Grand Trunk Company sees the post office as a possible threat to their communication monopoly. Moist quickly runs afoul of their CEO, Reacher Gilt--and recognizes in him a con-man far greater than himself.
In his wild, never-let-them-see-you-blink career as Postmaster, Moist meets Adora Belle Dearheart--a bitter, chain-smoking, and un-playable woman. Miss Dearheart is coordinator at the local employment office for golems, where Moist has gone in search of indestructible postal carriers (there have been Incidents). Moist is immediately fascinated by her. By her angry morality, Miss Dearheart helps Moist discover that tricking people in a good cause can be just as exciting. Their romance is bumpy and strange, which quite fits their characters, but they get together in the end.
Yet again, Pratchett has created a story that works on many levels. Fun, fast, witty satire full of odd but endearing personalities. A con-man as hero is hard to manage but Pratchett pulls it off. GOING POSTAL takes place in the famous Discworld city of Ankh-Morpork but it is entirely stand-alone. (The only previously-seen character is Ventinari.) If you’re looking for an entrance into the complex world of Discworld, this is a good option. If you're a Discworld fan already, grab this one. Pratchett just keep gets better and better.--Rebekah
***
And Captain Carrot and Sergeant Angua and Sacharissa Cripslock (with wedding ring) and Otto Chiek.--Margaret
You're right, we do see them but not a lot, not as full characters. :) It is interesting to hear the Watch talked about from the viewpoint of a criminal. (He thinks a great deal about that werewolf...)--Rebekah
--GOING POSTAL at Amazon (Book 29)
--GOING POSTAL review page

Posted by Preeti [Link]

Saturday, November 26, 2005
Dawn Cook's THE DECOY PRINCESS -- For Fans of Light Fantasy (Danielle)

The Amazon blurb for Dawn Cook's THE DECOY PRINCESS sets up the premise in a nutshell: "Princess Contessa's dreams of living happily ever after marrying a prince are shattered when her 'parents' reveal that she's actually a street urchin they raised as their daughter to thwart assassins from their real target."
Tessa's first-person POV is entertaining but not particularly deep. She talks a lot about the angst of having her "parents" killed in front of her, but it's not backed up by reaction. There's no real romantic subplot, either -- Tessa is attracted to two different men, neither of whom she gets to know well enough to trust, and that's about it. The villain is cardboard; he might as well have a mustache to twirl.
I did like the fact that Tessa isn't merely a decoy; she turns out to have been taught some rather specialized skills by her mentor the chamberlain, who has been grooming her for another career all along. And Cook sets up an interesting twist in her quasi-monarchic world: the real power is held by "players", undercover wizard-spies who manipulate people and events from behind the thrones. The rules of this game weren't elaborated enough for my tastes -- why only one player per country, for example? -- but I suppose more will be made known in the sequel(s).
I didn't hate THE DECOY PRINCESS, but I didn't find it very appealing either, and that sort of book is always harder to talk about than one you loved or hated -- if it had been entertainingly awful (like the infamous venom book) it would have been easier to write a useful review. As it is I find myself struggling for something to say beyond the fact that THE DECOY PRINCESS held my attention for a few hours, but I don't expect to remember anything about it after a couple of weeks. Still, fans of Lackey and other light fantasies may want to give it a try despite my lukewarm review.--Danielle
--THE DECOY PRINCESS at Amazon (Book 1)
--THE DECOY PRINCESS review page
--FIRST TRUTH review page (Book 1 of her previous series)
Posted by Preeti [Link]

Thursday, November 24, 2005
Tor Paranormal Romance forthcoming books

I checked out forthcoming Tor Paranormal Romance author Jenna Black's Web site after an email request. Although our site skews toward books found in the SF section of the bookstore, I decided to lift and reproduce the Tor Paranormal Romance forthcoming books schedule for my pleasure from her site.
I'm especially interested in the potential for something great embodied by new, unknown (to me) authors like Kassandra Sims and Jenna Black. I read the excerpt of Sims' book, THE MIDNIGHT WORK, which is yet another vampire novel. Ditto on the Black. Both were OK.
The excerpt that sucked me in and made me want to read the book right now was not from a debut author, however; it was from C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp's TOUCH OF EVIL. Er, this story also seems to be a variation on vampires.
I know many of you would pick Elizabeth Vaughan as the breakout author from this line, but my favorite by far is the Adams & Clamp duo.
December 2005
THE MIDNIGHT WORK by Kassandra Sims
February 2006
The ULTIMATUM by Susan Kearney
March 2006
TOUCH OF EVIL by C. T. Adams & Cathy Clamp

April 2006
WARSWORN by Elizabeth Vaughan

May 2006
MIDNIGHT MAGIC (A Collection of Novellas) by Rebecca York, Susan Kearney, & Jeanie London
June 2006
BEST LAID PLANS by Constance O'Day-Flannery
ISBN: 0-765-35403-9

July 2006
THE QUEST by Susan Kearney
ISBN: 0-765-35449-7

August 2006
CAPTIVE MOON by C. T. Adams & Cathy Clamp
ISBN: 0-765-35401-2

September 2006
WATCHERS IN THE NIGHT by Jenna Black
ISBN: 0-765-35451-9

October 2006
TRUE BLOOD by Patricia Waddell
ISBN: 0-765-35422-5

November 2006
RETRIEVAL by Jeanie London
ISBN:0-765-35464-0

June 2006
TWICE IN A LIFETIME by Constance O'Day-Flannery
ISBN: 0-765-35404-7
Posted by Preeti [Link]

Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Charlaine Harris' GRAVE SIGHT - good book (Lynn, Linda)

Harper, the heroine of GRAVE SIGHT, doesn't actually see ghosts or talk to them. When she is near where someone died, she knows who they were and experiences their death. She makes her living doing this, cash in advance, along with her stepbrother, who provides management and support, both logistical and emotional.
One thing that is a little weird is that some of what she does echoes a little the necromancy from Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake, but as with the Sookie books, they are so completely different in tone, affect, and character that it is merely weird.
Harper has a deeply troubled background that unfolds gradually during the course of the book, as does some understanding of her relationship with her stepbrother and her (and his) relationship with the blended family they were a part of for a while.
Her power also doesn't come without cost. The lightning strike that gave her the power also left her with long term physical disability. That, combined with things that happened as she grew up, gave her strengths but also left her emotionally scarred as well as physically scarred. (A trait she shares with another Charlaine Harris heroine, Lily Bard of the Shakespeare mystery series.)
I actually found the mystery part of this pretty transparent, but the working out of what such abilities would be like was unflinching and powerful. I also like Harris's ability to be realistic, affectionate, clear-sighted, and unsentimental about the South and class issues, including issues involving loss of class status.
Realistic may be an odd word to apply to a story that involves a "fantastic" power, but realism, the "real toads" in the imaginary gardens (or wild woods, or small town tangles) of the story are part of what make Harris's work irresistible to me.--Lynn
***
When I first heard what GRAVE SIGHT was about, I couldn't help but think it sounded familiar. The heroine in the 1-800-Where-R-You series by Meg Cabot and the Rowan Gant series by M. R. Sellars came to mind--the Cabot heroine is struck by lightning and then gets certain abilities, and Rowan Gant is a practicing witch who also can see the last moments of the victim's life. Harper, though, also has the ability to find dead bodies in her vicinity, which was very interesting.
Unlike Lynn, I never even thought of the Anita Blake books while reading this despite some similarities. I think it's because the atmosphere and characters are so different. Harper doesn't try to deny her ability as strange as it is. She has totally accepted it as part of her life and is very practical about making a living by using it. The use of her power isn't sensationalized as much though you still see the impact it has on her.
Her emotional dependency on her stepbrother is very strange at first, but as Lynn mentioned, you understand as you slowly learn about their background.
I love Harris' heroines. They are never simple. While they aren't as dramatic as Rowan Gant or Anita Blake, they are always very brave in a quieter, more subtle kind of way. They actually seem more believable to me. The investigation into the killings kept my interest and there was a slight love interest though it was more comfort than romance. Very good book.--Linda
--GRAVE SIGHT at Amazon (Book 1)

Posted by Preeti [Link]

Sunday, November 20, 2005
New Bujold announced

Lois McMaster Bujold has sold THE SHARING KNIFE to Eos/HarperCollins. The book, which is to be published as a duology, takes place in a new world and is about "an unlikely romance and the intolerance the couple encounter, as well as battles and skirmishes against evil beings that rise from the ground". The first volume is planned for release sometime in the fall of 2006, and the second six to nine months later.
Since book is being split into two, Bujold is now trying to decide on the titles of the individual books. She's conducting a sort of market research on possible subtitles for the two volumes, which a Bujold list member put into a LiveJournal poll.
More info on the Bujold mailing list.
Posted by rebekah [Link]

Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Carrie Vaughn's KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR - A Hit! (Linda)

Kitty Norville is a DJ for radio station KNOB in Denver. While filling in on a midnight shift, she starts a conversation about a supposed sighting of "BATBOY" from a write up in the newspaper. Overnight, the popularity ratings go up, and now she has a late night advice show for people who claim to be or know of vampires, werewolves, and such. Although the world at large is unaware of it, werewolves do exist. Kitty is one. Soon she is getting pressure from the paranormal community, vampire and werewolf alike.
I loved this book! Kitty's advice to the call-ins, paranormal creatures and humans alike, is great. It can be insightful, touching, or snappish. You become very engrossed in Kitty's life and her struggle to keep her humanity, her relationship with her pack, and her dual nature. Her human side is fighting for recognition against her submissive wolf wanting just to give in to her pack. There is also a plot--a threat on Kitty's life and serial killings taking place that look to be the work of another rogue werewolf.
This story is complete in itself but is going to be followed by another, KITTY GOES TO WASHINGTON. In KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, there is an attraction with an assassin hired to kill Kitty, but you really can't tell if you are going to see him again in the next book. I hope we do, because this was a fun touch. High recommend!--Linda
--KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR at Amazon (Book 1)
--KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR review page

Posted by Preeti [Link]

Monday, November 14, 2005
Cover art for forthcoming books - LKH, Jacqueline Carey, Briggs, etc.

Katherine keeps emailing me all this great cover art for eagerly-anticipated books, but I haven't had time to update the forthcoming books page yet. Here are the pictures in the meantime. Clicking on them takes you to Amazon.com.
DANSE MACABRE--Although the books no longer grab my interest, the covers are still arresting. The ballet slipper made me look twice. July 2006.
KUSHIEL'S SCION--I believe this is being released in June 2006. Interesting choice to get away from the dark blues of the first trilogy, but otherwise, eh. Jacqueline Carey has a synopsis of KUSHIEL'S SCION on her site.
DEFINITELY DEAD--The next Sookie Stackhouse book by Charlaine Harris. The cover makes me smile. Do you think that's Bill trying catch the tiger by the tail? May 2006. Here is the first chapter of DEFINITELY DEAD.
MOON CALLED--This marks the beginning of a new contemporary werewolf series by Patricia Briggs. I wonder if the sexiness level of the book will live up to the image on the cover? It'll be available in February 2006. Sample chapter of MOON CALLED on Briggs' site.
DOPPELGANGER--This is the first of two books by Marie Brennan about a witch versus her doppelganger, who is a magic-less bounty hunter. Coming from Warner in April 2006. Looks interesting. Here is Brennan's site, but she doesn't have an excerpt up yet.
UPDATE: MOON CALLED's Amazon link corrected.
Posted by Preeti [Link]

Friday, November 11, 2005
Rachel Caine's Latest - WINDFALL - Entertaining as Usual (Preeti)

WINDFALL is another exciting entry in Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series. I didn't remember where we'd left off in the third book, but WINDFALL did a good job of not confusing me.
Our heroine, Joanne Baldwin, is no longer an official Weather Warden. She's not allowed to use her powers, what little she has left, or the Wardens will lobotomize them out of her. Her lover, the genie David, is turning into an evil ifrit. She's doing degrading (but comical) work as a weathergirl at a Florida TV station. And per usual, everyone seems out to kill her for one reason or another.
I do find it unbelievable that a lot of people want to kill Joanne a lot of times, but somehow they never do when they get the chance. Sure she gets physically injured and even killed once in the series, but too often she's inexplicably spared. But I guess it keeps the intensity of the book high.
There's big changes afoot in the existing order of Wardens and djinns, and Joanne gets drawn into the middle of events. Not surprising as Caine has Joanne connected to all the power players in this magical world.
Aside: I can't seem to keep track of Joanne's motivation for either enslaving or freeing David over the course of the series. I just shrug and figure Caine's need for plot expediency is showing more than it should.
Overall, the fast pace, intense emotion, cool magics, and a sense of hurtling momentum toward some planet-sized conclusion to the overarching story are keeping me a fan of the Weather Warden series. I continue to enjoy Joanne's girly-girl yet kick-ass nature. I love the tortured romance Joanne has with David and am still really curious as to where Caine is eventually going with the character of Lewis, the uber-powerful Warden with whom Joanne's life seems linked somehow.
I'm very much looking forward to FIRESTORM, which is due out September 2006. Anyone want to guess where Caine's heading with the series? --Preeti
--WIND FALL at Amazon (Book 4)
--WINDFALL review page
--CHILL FACTOR review page (Book 3)
--HEAT STROKE review page (Book 2)
--ILL WIND review page (Book 1)

Posted by Preeti [Link]

Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Warrington withdraws novels

UK Author Freda Warrington recently posted the following to her website:
"Meisha Merlin - the US publisher that was supposed to be publishing my vampire trilogy - has let me down. They brought out the first book A TASTE OF BLOOD WINE in 2002 but have since dealt most unscrupulously with [...] me! We've reluctantly had to withdraw the rights to the second two books, A DANCE IN BLOOD VELVET and THE DARK BLOOD OF POPPIES. This is very disappointing for everyone. However, I am determined that these books will be re-published eventually and - I hope - followed by a brand-new vampire adventure!"
For more info, go to Freda Warrington's website.
Posted by rebekah [Link]

Monday, November 7, 2005
Maria Snyder - POISON STUDY - Worth Every Penny (Lynn)

I had to take time to strongly and unreservedly recommend Maria V. Snyder's POISON STUDY.
Yelena, the heroine, is in prison and scheduled for execution but reprieved to take the job of food taster to the "Commander" who has overthrown the king. She had killed the son of a powerful man, who still wants her dead. Her relationship with Valek, the head of security for the general, is complex and nuanced, and doesn't dumb down some of the very real conflicts that they experience, especially as she begins to develop powers as a sorceress/magician that are completely despised in this culture.
The politics and intrigue within the palace are well drawn and original. Yelena discovers that friends and enemies are not so clear a concept as you might think.
Her role is much more interesting than your standard healer/princess type. Yelena had been educated as part of a cadre of intelligent, specialized orphans by the father of the man she killed. That background also provides some welcome realism to the types of skills that heroines seem mysteriously to come by in a lot of fantasy novels.
I particularly liked the comparative lack of glamorization of the overthrown king and the comparatively positive view of the general who is ruling. I get really tired of the "innate nobility of the nobles" type of book.
I am really surprised to see this kind of power and expertise in a first novel. Her website shows a lot of other writing chops so that may be it.
Luna obviously thinks well of the author, since this book is a hardcover. It's worth every penny, folks.--Lynn
--POISON STUDY at Amazon (hb)
--POISON STUDY review page

Posted by Preeti [Link]

Saturday, November 5, 2005
Holly Black's VALIANT - Uncomfortable-Making (Linda, Lynn)

Well, after hearing how Margaret and Preeti didn't know what to say about this book, it puts the pressure on. :-)
The heroine of Holly Black's VALIANT is 17-year-old Valerie Russell. After unexpectedly discovering an unforgivable betrayal by her mother, she reacts by taking off from home to New York City using some tickets she had already bought for a game. But, angry and hurt, she wanders around til she falls in with some other homeless teens that are living in the tunnels of the city's subway system.
A girl named Lolli quickly accepts Val and shares secrets about the existence of faerie folk living around them, using glamor to stay hidden. Dave is more reluctant to talk but can't control Lolli in any way and seems to live to try to please her. Luis, Dave's older brother, is not happy at all about the addition of Val to their band. Luis, it turns out, has "the sight" and can see the faerie through their glamor. But he doesn't take them as lightly as the others because he knows how dangerous they are. He's already under obligation to the troll, Ravus, to carry out his errands for a specific time before he can be free again. To add to the mix, there are faerie being killed.
I'm always amazed by how dark and gritty teen books can be nowadays. I can certainly see how this would be an attractive story to today's teen, so I don't know if it's the generation thing, but there is an introduction to the mix of a drug called Never that disturbed me. The things that were done while under the influence and the fact that the heroine fell so easily into using it bothered me a lot and took away a lot of enjoyment for me. On the other hand, Val reprieved herself in the end and was very heroic.
I did find the existence of the faerie in the modern world intriguing. There eventually was a romance in it that I enjoyed but also found rather unbelievable. But while I enjoyed probably two-thirds of the book, the third that I didn't like makes this a discommend for me.--Linda
***
Linda caught a lot of my problems with this. The heroine becomes addicted to the "drug" in the book and does some very distasteful things under its influence for a long enough period that I was uncomfortable with the story.
A lot of teen books seem to tell these kinds of redemption stories now, and that's a good thing in some ways, but in another way it just seems to me to be a fine line between redemption and another sort of morality tale, going thud, thud, thud over your head.
I'll definitely pick up another Holly Black book because VALIANT and TITHE both had elements I really liked. I'd give this a recommend as a one-time read, but I am not as likely to reread it.
I also am not sure that the short form of the young adult novel allows Black enough space. Both books felt a little skimpy.
(For TITHE, I was also frustrated by the undercutting of the heroine's apparent ethnic heritage by her real heritage.)--Lynn
--VALIANT at Amazon (hb)
--VALIANT review page
--TITHE at Amazon (pb)
--TITHE review page

Posted by Preeti [Link]

Thursday, November 3, 2005
Coming to a screen near you?
Scifi Wire recently posted news about a possible "Sookie Stackhouse" tv series and an already-in-motion movie based on Neil Gaiman's STARDUST!
"Ball Raises Southern Vampire
(From Sci-Fi.com)
Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball is developing a new HBO series based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire book series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project is the first under Ball's two-year deal with HBO to develop new original programming, the trade paper reported. HBO has ordered an hourlong pilot to be written and directed by Ball.
The Southern Vampire series chronicles the intermingling world of humans and monsters in contemporary rural Louisiana, particularly vampires, thanks to a synthetic blood formula that allows them to roam far from their coffins, the trade paper reported.
There is no timetable for shooting the Southern pilot, but Ball believes it will happen sometime next year."
--review page for DEAD UNTIL DARK (Southern Vampire 1)
--review page for LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS (Southern Vampire 2)
--review page for CLUB DEAD (Southern Vampire 3)
--review page for DEAD TO THE WORLD (Southern Vampire 4)
--review page for DEAD AS A DOORNAIL (Southern Vampire 5)

"Vaughn sprinkles Stardust
(From Sci-Fi.com)
Paramount is in final negotiations with British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) to direct and produce his adaptation of Neil Gaiman's adult fairy tale STARDUST, Variety reported. Vaughn penned the script with writing partner Jane Goldman.
Gaiman's novel, first published in 1997 as STARDUST: BEING A ROMANCE WITHIN THE REALM OF FAERIE, is set in a town in the English countryside where the magical and mortal mix. The story is centered on a young man who promises his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm, where he has to contend with witches, goblins, gnomes, talking animals and evil trees. STARDUST won the 1999 Mythopoeic Award for adult novel.
Vaughn produced and made his directorial debut on the gritty gangster thriller Layer Cake, starring Daniel Craig, who went on to be named the next James Bond. Vaughn was attached earlier this year to direct the third X-Men movie, but left the project."
--review page for STARDUST

Posted by rebekah [Link]

Wednesday, November 2, 2005
News from the November 2005 Locus

The November 2005 Locus features interviews with writers George R.R. Martin and Tim Pratt, a special report on The Spectrum Exhibition at The Museum of American Illustration, news stories about the the Sunburst Award, the British Fantasy Awards, Tachyon Publications' 10th anniversary, and the upcoming Narnia film.
News which caught our eye:
--"Kim Harrison" sold three new novels in a "major world rights deal" to Eos.
--Julie Kenner sold THE GOOD GHOUL'S GUIDE TO GETTING EVEN, first in a series, to Berkley in a pre-empt.
--Jim Butcher sold the ninth, tenth, and eleventh volumes of his "Dresden Files" series to Roc. The Sci Fi Channel has greenlighted filming of a pilot for The Dresden Files.
--Kate MacAllister sold GHOST OF A CHANCE, first in a new "darkly comic paranormal mystery series," and a second book to NAL.
--Patti O'Shea sold IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR and TWILIGHT SHADOWS to Tor Romance.
--C.E. Murphy sold the "Old Races" trilogy, beginning with HEART OF STONE, to Harlequin Luna.
--Delia Sherman delivered CHANGELING to Viking.
--Ellen Kushner turned in THE PRIVILEGE OF THE SWORD to Bantam.
Posted by rebekah [Link]