A New Name to Look Out For in Fantasy and Science Fiction
921995
Schuyler Hernstrom brings the truly epic and poetic feel back to fantasy and science fiction.  He's an absolute must read for anyone who is a fan of Jack Vance, Robert E. Howard or Andrew J. Offutt.
4347592
I've previously read THE GODGAME and THE BLOOD OF TALOS when they were released individually last year, and thought they were terrific books. With these installments, Deininger introduces us to a new fantasy world and a long-term project that looks to eventually span a number of books. Below are the original reviews I posted for these two titles, collected here in a new ebook compendium with exclusive bonus features previously only available to the print edition.

THE GODGAME - 4/5 stars

Keith Deininger's THE GODGAME is a terrific work of dark fantasy, picking up right on the heels of the prologue novella, Marrow's Legacy (The Godgame Book 0).

Readers are taken to the lands of Talos and Nova, where war is ready to erupt, and Deininger does a proficient job building up both the world outside of The Machine, where LEGACY was set, and a cast of new characters. The descriptions of war are very well done, and the technological advancements (or perhaps leftovers is more accurate) that Talos possesses gave the climax's conflict some small, and welcome, shades of Mad Max chaos. I also really liked the way Deininger describes the opulence and self-entitlement of the Archons, the ruling elite in Talos; obese and situated on floating mechanical platforms and hooked up to life-sustaining tubes, there's some really fantastic and gruesome depictions of these warmongers.

I was a bit surprised to discover that Eli Sol, the protagonist of MARROW'S LEGACY who received the cryptic warning that the Flood Is Coming, was almost entirely absent here after this book's opening chapter. One more than one occasion I found myself wondering what he was up to and how the denizens living in The Machine were holding up in the aftermath of Legacy's finale. I really would have liked for Deininger to check in on him from time to time. However, my frustrations with the sudden absence of Eli are somewhat eased with the author's afterword admission of this being a fairly long series, with six books planned. I guess that gives us plenty of time to return to Eli's story; I just need to be a bit more patient!

So, the absence of Eli aside, what we're given here, in this proper Book 1 of this series, is some really great stuff. Excellent attention to detail, an interesting premise and cast of characters, particularly the Novan child-soldier of Ash, and a great mix of action and nefarious Talosian politicking make this one a winner. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to start in on Book 2, The Blood of Talos (The Godgame Book 2).

THE BLOOD OF TALOS - 5/5 stars

With THE BLOOD OF TALOS, Kieth Deininger continues moving the pieces of his expansive Godgame series into place and offers up a richly engaging narrative that has more than a few surprises and plenty of rewards for readers of the prior installment.

The world-building continues to impress, and is given even greater depth with the infusion of metaphysical constructs, like the Umbra Ina, and insight into the magical and mystic wonders slowly coming to bear in the world of Meridian. Equally impressive is the attention Deininger pays to his characters, their motivations, and in the case of the archiane, their history. We get a rich and gut-wrenching look at the backstory of Skin, which I won't go into here but will say that it was easily my favorite part of the book and the circumstances surrounding her current situation give this series an intriguing twist that I've yet to see in the fantasy genre. Deininger also proves himself to be wonderfully capable of orchestrating a fairly large action set-piece, juggling the narration between its observers and its battlefield participants.

We're only two novels, and one prologue novella, into the Gogame series, but it's quickly shaping up to be a wonderful dark fantasy epic, one that grows stronger with each new installment. And, thanks to a cliff-hanger ending, I'm now pining for the next book to release. I can only hope that it's soon!
3383884
I really enjoyed the old-style sci-fi adventure vibe of this story.  It does have a few issues that should be easily remedied by the author - of course it's the usual suspects that seem to be prevelant in ebooks, that is, proof-reading errors mostly.  Secondly, readers need to be aware that there is jargon that is unique to the "Participant" universe that is frequently used and some may have trouble figuring out what the terminology means.  I believe that placing a glossary of terminology and abbreviations may go along way to enhancing the reading experience and being able to understand the Participant universe - maybe this is something the author could do in either a revised edition of this book or in the next book in the series.  All that said, is this a good book - short answer: yes.
This book treks along at a bubbling pace with nice bursts of action in between story explanation.  Their are some interesting tech and scientific ideas - people are linked into the "net" and you get to see a battle through the net-vision of the main character, Asher.  There is a bit of mystery: how to explain the Cythran ability to assimilate tech quickly - 20 years ago they were little more than primitives, now they are piloting shuttles and developing their own Corp.  Why are "female" Cythrans seemingly smarter than their "male" counter-parts? What game are the Fetheren playing? There is an interesting universe to investigate that is heavily influenced by different Corporations, with their own Intelligence, military, exploratory, cultural, language/linguistic and diplomatic divisions - sometimes war breaks out between different Corporations as it does within the pages of this story.  All in all a solid first story from a new indie author - looking forward to the next installment.
1270382
Noah K. Mullette-Gillman latest book, The Brontosaurus Pluto Society: Magic Makes You Strange, is a delightful journey into the world of science fiction and wizardry, setting the stage for what I can only hope is a series of books about the Brontosaurus Pluto Society, and the bizarre, but recognizable world the author has crafted.

Edward Whistman is the sole apprentice to renown magician, Nevil Dever, and has followed him for years, learning bits and pieces of his magic, but never really grasping the reality of Nevil secret. A dark secret that attracts the attention of aliens, and lands Edward onboard a spaceship headed toward Pluto. Confused, indignant, and slightly resourceful, Whistman defies the aliens with some otherworldly help, and returns to earth...many years in the future.

And so the hunt for Whistman begins, and the Plutonians are not the only group hot on his trail. Left with a single spell by his otherworldly accomplice, Edward starts to understand the true nature of magic, and the consequences it can wreak upon everyone, including the caster.

The author has created a fascinating world, with complex, well drawn characters and dangerous, beautifully crafted settings. The story is fast paced, well-constructed...and wonderfully strange. Noah's story has the potential to extend into a successful series, appealing to young adult readers and adults alike. I look forward to the second installment of his story. Strange title, fantastic concept and wonderful story.
4475696
In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that I am a big fan of book lists.  I have used the Modern Library fiction and non-fiction lists to find referrals and lists by Pringle and Moorcock to locate works of fantasy.  The CWA British and US lists have suggested a number of mystery gems I would not likely have found on my own.  For science fiction ideas, I have utilized a list of the 100 best novels from 1949 to 1984 by David Pringle.

Broderick and Di Filippo have updated Pringle's work by compiling a new list of SF novels from 1985 through 2010.  A foreward by David Pringle provides continuity with the earlier list.

The new collection resembles the earlier one in that it is chronological rather than providing a countdown to the best novel of the period.  It covers a shorter time by ten years and includes a much larger selection of female writers than the earlier book given the work produced in the period from which selections were made.  I find this new list to be better written and to have more value than the prior one.  Broderick and Di Filippo spend far less space than did Pringle on plot summary and provide more context regarding the subject matter in each book.  For example, the plot of Handmaid's Tale is compared to 1984 as well as to the way power relationships in society actually developed.  There is also more discussion of how some volumes came to be written.  The authors explain that Orson Scott Card expanded Ender's Game from a short story by changing the narrative viewpoint to that of an adult telling his story in retrospect.  The authors also take the time to think through where each work and author rests in SF history.  Ender's Game is compared to Starship Troopers, A Case of Conscience and The Female Man while China Meiville is expansively mentioned in the same breath as Mervyn Peake.

The authors demonstrate their considerable genre knowledge by recounting the literary history of certain tropes in the works represented.  In discussing Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, they talk about the development of stories dealing with black market body parts from Niven's Known Space in the sixties to current works.  Broderick and Di Filippo also show some courage in evaluating the overall output of some of the authors contained in their list as when they suggest that Card would be regarded as "a minor, respectable, forgotten craftsman" if not for the Ender series.

The true value of the list, of course, is not in the reading pleasure it delivers but in leading the discerning user to new books and authors.  Even though I thought I had consumed modestly in the SF field in recent years, I still found 87 books I had not read, many of which I had not come across in any other forum.  There are actually far more than 101 books considered as the authors list all 3 of Meiville's Bas-lag books when discussing Perdido Street Station and 4 of Gene Wolfe's series in the entry for Nightside the Long Sun.

In using lists as sources for reading referral, not only have I located hidden classics but I have found that virtually all recommended books reach at least an acceptable level of literary merit.  In a genre such as SF, where there is a very large range of quality exhibited in what is published, lists like those of Pringle and Broderick/Di Filippo can improve and enrich the reading selection process.
760210
A very good short story introducing a new literary world in which magic publicly exists in 19th century New York City with people writing hexes and witches often aided by familiars, human shapeshifters. There is a police branch that monitors and investigates criminal activities involving magic with witches and their familiars teaming up. However, many familiars are not bonded or have not found a witch to bond with, and there's a group of unbonded familiars that live and work at this police headquarters, sheltered there with the promise of food and pay so long as they eventually find a witch to work with and bond.

The issues involving these familiars are complex and is explained more in future novels. In this story, a non-magical hex investigator picks up on a problem with a hex that has caused numerous deaths, and he needs help. A couple of the unbonded familiars, Rook the raven and Cicero the cat, help him out and he's quite attracted to Rook, but he doesn't believe anything will come of it. You probably knows how that goes if you're familiar with Jordan L. Hawk's work from the Whyborne and Griffin series. A very good, exciting short story with some good protagonists.
2551801
I gave up on the fantasy genre long ago.  I have nothing against it; I just stopped enjoying fantasy even before the end of high school.  This is the first fantasy novel I've picked up in over 20 years, and I did so specifically because I liked Wright's SF novels so much.  I'm glad I did.

This fantasy is grounded in our present, in Greek and other mythology, and in science, so it provides you with some reference points rather than abandoning you out on the Windy Sands of Mrrhkyirgh or some other implausible fantasy location.  The realities of the school, on which the book focuses at the beginning, provide grounding for and contrast against the fantasy elements that are later introduced.  The characters are interesting, although at certain points of the novel they undergo some abrupt and jarring changes that don't ring quite true.  The plot is interesting, and sets up some good possibilities for the next book.  This is a good choice for casual readers of the fantasy genre.
2549490
I found this book intriguing even though I rarely read fantasy fiction. I was enticed to read it because the protagonist is a female computer wizard. As a science educator, I applaud the author for setting her book around a talented role model for girls in the computer science and technology field. In addition, the protagonist is an accomplished scuba diver, another area that still has more males than females participating. I look forward to the other books in the series. For neophytes like me to this genre, it would be really helpful if the author decided to include some type of "family tree" diagram to help keep all the characters and their interrelations clear to the reader. Also, a map showing where all the action takes place would be really welcome. Best wishes to Elaine T. Cook in her multiple book writing endeavor.
2704485
I am a reader.  I have lost count of how many books I have read in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres, and at times have read 10 novels in a week.

While this may be a first novel, the story is well organized and professionally presented.  I have read novels from established writers which felt less well organized.  The story quickly reaches out and pulls you into its world, driving you to keep reading.  The ending nicely completes the story without locking the story-world away with it.  I look forward to seeing what else will happen in this series.

If you are a fan of the alternate world style of stories where magic and technology can coexist in some fashion, you will probably enjoy this book.  If you enjoy seeing how the adventures of a character will change that character, you will probably enjoy this book.  If you want a book that will push you to re-consider the nature of reality, this book may just give you that push.

This story has aspects of the telling that remind me of Neil Gaiman, aspects that remind me of Isaac Asimov, and aspects reminiscent of authors too numerous to name.  At the same time, this author's voice is also his own, and not attempting to be the same as anyone else.  I look forward to future books from him.
1939254
I am generally not a fan of fantasy novels, but I had heard good things about the World of Prime series and decided to take a look. Its premise is enticing: An Arizona mechanical engineer suddenly finds himself in a world of magic, monsters, shape-shifters, medieval privilege and seemingly endless war, and he must try to figure out how to get back to his wife, home and time. I don't want to give away much of what happens in this book, the third in the series. Indeed, this book has been my introduction to the World of Prime, but I have gone back and taken looks at the two previous books in the series: "Sword of the Bright Lady" and "Gold Throne in Shadow." I can tell you that M.C. Planck's writing has improved over time. In this book, there some fine moments of dark humor amid the tension, grimness and desperate battles. Meanwhile, Christopher Sinclair's penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time is still very strong and keeps stirring  up a lot of trouble that others must help him fight. Now leading a powerful army, Christopher has advanced in rank (to war priest and beyond), and so have some of those who are loyal, semi-loyal, or ultimately disloyal to him. And rank does indeed have its privilege--and likewise can be a source of conflict and confusion--in this strange world. I had heard that the World of Prime books were supposed to constitute a trilogy. But I can tell you that the ending of "Judgment of Verdant Court" has some surprises. And a way is left for Christopher's story, and the series, to perhaps keep moving in some direction. Bottom line: "Judgment at Verdant Court" can be absorbing and entertaining reading, even if you are not generally fond of fantasy novels. However, I am still not ready to declare myself an avid fan of this genre. despite M.C. Planck's good writing. (My thanks to Pyr Books for providing an advance review copy.)
1930696
TBH Mythic Orbits wasn't exactly what I expected. (Actually, I don't really know what I expect these days.) The title and the cover made me think that it might be more space/scifi than it actually turned out to be; 'speculative fiction', of course, is a rather large umbrella term (though 'Mythic' is also another clue). The actual stories, however, are skewed to the more paranormal/fantasy side of things.

There isn't any single unifying factor that ties these stories together, other than that large umbrella term 'speculative fiction' and the fact that all writers are professing Christians. This resulted in a rather mish-mash offering (this is explained in the Editor's Introduction), in which case it comes across as more of a sampler than anything else.

Mark Venturini's The Bones Don't Lie is a stellar start to the book; fantasy with a slight religious bent.
The Disembodied Hand (Jill Domschot) turned a little more paranormal (and slightly creepy) as was Richard New's Escapee. Though I have to say I didn't quite expect the twist at the end of the latter.
Nether Ore by Kirk Outerbridge was another excellent piece -- and one of the more scifi ones, also with a lovely twist at the end! I'd like to read a sequel to this if there is one. (It's also a story I could imagine becoming a full novel, if it isn't already one)
Cindy Emmet Smith's A Model of Decorum was slightly predictable as a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, but still very well-crafted. I rather enjoyed it, even though I could see the ending from miles away.
Dental Troll (Lisa Godfrees) was sheer fun -- and a little younger, whilst L Jagi Lamplighter's HMS Mangled Treasure kept that light, humorous tone in a rather more serious (and disturbing) story.
Another more scifi offering was Domo by Joshua M Young, with sentient robots slightly reminiscent of Asimov.
Cameo (Linda Burklin) went back to something more fantasy, featuring a magical artifact with time-travelling properties and a murder mystery to solve. It had me thinking of Skyping Back in Time which has roughly the same premise.
Going back to the more freaky/weird were Clay's Fire (Kat Heckenbach), Ghost Roommate (Matthew Sketchley) and Baby, Don't Cry (R V Saunders) in a WTH, Paranormal, and Scifi way respectively. Oh wait, and
The Water Man (Sherry Rossman) as well, which I don't think I really got.
The final story in the anthology was Kerry Nietz's Graxin. It's a well-written story about an AI in space, reminiscent of Quinn's Containment. (Though Graxin was first published in 2012, so should that be the other way around?)

Anyway, as you can see, Mythic Orbits 2016 seems to have a little bit of everything, which makes it a rather hard thing to define.

Note: I received a sponsored copy of this book by the publisher for review purposes.
4228826
From now on, let it be known, that I am no longer searching for Narnia when I open doors. I am searching for the Library as invented by Genevieve Cogman in The Invisible Library series. This magic library exists between worlds and between times and contains more books than the most accomplished bookworm or book dragon could hope to acquire.

The Invisible Library, book one in this debut series by Genevieve Cogman, is a setup book. The narrative is a bit heavy and there were points where I felt the action was dragging and other points I was a bit overwhelmed. But this is the first novel in a series and the world is complicated. It takes a bit to get settled in and get used to the rules. Cogman reveals many details about the universe, inside and outside of the Library including the Librarys own special magic that requires mastery of The Language. I was fascinated by the secrets of the library (apparently you don't age when you are in the Library), however, there are hints throughout the novel that perhaps the Library isn't all its cracked up to be.

Theres a little bit of everything in The Invisible Librarymystery, magic, fae, vampires, werewolves, books and of course, DRAGONS. I am intrigued enough with the world of The Invisible Library to give book two, The Masked City, which releases soon a chance. I cant seem to resist decent books about libraries, fellow bookworms and dragons.
3238235
This is an exciting venture for the authors involved in this new and unique concept.

What excited me was not just the description in the Amazon blurb about this new concept, but how Johnson describes it from his Introduction,

"What about a collective anthology?...An anthology? No one likes anthologies, Besides, this has all been done before.....Not another "common setting, contributing authors" anthology made famous in the speculative fiction genre....but something new. What if, instead of a constant setting with varying characters, the characters were the varying characters, the characters were the anchoring constant while the settings were allowed to flow freely, bound only by the borders of the realm of speculative fiction?
....we need to collect ten to twelve contributing authors....each pitch a unique character with no set restrictions, then have each of the contributing authors write their own unique speculative fiction story involving all ten characters in some way. The result would be like a picture of alternate realities or parallel universes where these same characters had very different lives, experiences, and adventures. The normally unpopular format of an anthology would take on a life of its own as a doorway, which would transport the readers from world to world, from reality to reality, giving them a tour of the multiverse while also providing a tasty showcase for a collection of authors or would-be authors of speculative fiction."

So based on the above, I set out reading this volume, only because it is the first published days, I think, before the current three volumes had been released.

I really enjoyed this first story. This is the first story outside of the Chadash Chronicles trilogy where Johnson has a different writing style and it adds to the versatility of the talent of this author. Despite it being short, 41 pages, it grabbed me and I was instantly transported into this world of the bounty hunter. The main characters of Molon Hawkins and Karyn Littleton are very well cast and developed. Molon has lots of attitude and this adds to liking him as a loveable rogue while Karyn is very competitive and considers herself just as good as any male bounty hunter.

I loved the banter between these two as they sought to hunt down Indalrion Tay. Despite some angst between them at the beginning, they end up working very well together and make quite a team.

In true Johnson form, the world he creates in this short, is well thought out and developed. I loved the description of the Lubanians and the Garwafs and like the Chadash Chronicles, shows Johnson is a master of creating very convincing species and creatures. This helps in forming the basis of this world in this short. I also loved the political and economical landscape of this world being created in the mind of the reader by the account of Indalrion Tay as he describes his reasons for the theft of the weapon from Chronotech Industries.  This had me totally absorbed and due to this, I was frustrated when it ended as I was very content being in this world and I really wanted more of this. It would make for a really great full length novel if this was expanded into this length.

I am very impressed with this unique concept and I look forward to reading the next one, Rewind by Jeremy Bullard, again, only because it was the next one released after this short.

Highly Recommended.
3164542
METAtropolis is an intriguing and fun effort from some of my favorite authors, and a great entry in the new urban fantasy genre that has been steadily growing over the past few years. The world of METAtropolis is one where our once-great metropolises are dead or dying. New technologies are helping people create new cities in which to live, or are driving them away to build a safe haven from the tech they can't or won't understand. The writing is crisp and imaginative, the stories range from economic theory to political intrigue to violent civil strife, all contained within this one world specially invented for this audiobook. While I believe this would've done better as a paperback anthology, or something similar, this is a very good piece of work and I would recommend it to any sci-fi or urban fantasy fan.
2503459
I liked this book but for being a new series there are a lot of similarities to the Brides of the Kindred books (to name a few: both series start out with three friends on Earth, healing your mate with your bodily fluids=blood Kindred, forming a psychic bond=just about any Kindred and his mate, and Count Creepy McGrabbyPants=Two).  Despite the similarities to the Kindred series, the author brings us a new universe and populates it with new and interesting races of people.  The La-ti-zal twist was a pleasant surprise.

The story was good, though it was a little slow in the beginning. It is also filled with pop culture references.  I am looking forward to see where this series will go.
2073452
Congratulations to the editor for doing a big job of introducing us to one of the first books of anthropomorphic fiction on the market.

You do not see too many sci-fi books around with stories featuring anthropomorphic characters. You can't be wrong saying that this is a pilot book. It's aimed at rather a wide audience so that any reader could find it interesting whether they are part of the furry fandom or not.

This book is worth reading because it shows you the difference between profound stories which raise personal, psychological and social questions--and satisfactory prose largely made of dialogues between characters of most typical species. Speaking of which, it is to be admitted that having read the book up to the end I failed to find a principle character belonging to species other than felines and canids which abound throughout the book. The lavish presence of these species cannot but hint at a somewhat limited approach to depicting furries in fiction. With every next story I started reading I was honestly expecting a story about a bird or a horse just to change the dog/fox subject. There exist quite decent examples of tales about other sentient animals or non-human people, like Charlotte's Web or The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, or Maggie Furey's Harp of Winds for that matter. Why not broaden the circle of species? Canines and felines are cute but after a few stories it gets a bit tiresome.

It's worth noting that in this book there are stories which make it worth acquiring. Wings and The Foxy Lady are definitely one of these. The plots of these two stories are not the main thing; it's the portrayal of characters and relations that matters. These stories leave a trail of compassion, they involve the problem of choice and touch upon moral aspects too. Speaking from a personal point, I found the characters vivid and unique in the sense that I could not only read about their appearance but also understand their values and personality.

I've read this book to see what furry writers have to offer us regarding the plot, characters and the language. As a person with strong interest in animal psychology, I was expecting a delicious mix of good science fiction topped with an insight into societies of sentient beings possessing animal characteristics. Maybe this book is not the right place to take this quest. I would love to see sentient anthro- or zoomorphic people stand against choices hard to make, get involved in situations which would require their personality to show itself. In most of the stories, however, I could replace character species with "human" without influencing the plot much. The word "shallow" is begging to be put here, but I have no intention of being evaluative.

In order to be shown to the public and sell in large book stores, furry fiction stories have yet to reach their maturity. In writing furry fiction it is not enough to dress your character as a rat or a cat; it's about knowing your animal's specific way of interacting with the world, with other representatives of their own species as well as with other species.

Impress me. Show me what makes a sentient deer take a certain decision. Tell me why a panther character did something that could look insane to a human. Bring up moral issues and problems of communication. Furry writing is a serious business requiring knowledge of human and animal psychology and language mastery. Let me express hope that future editions of Furry!: The Best Anthropomorphic Fiction! will be proud to present us with more thoughtful and vivid stories about characters that you would remember for longer than half an hour.
4672166
A great collection of sci-fi and Fantasy short stories, there's sure to be at least one that strikes your fancy!