SciFiFan

Science Fiction and Fantasy Books and Author reviews.

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Monday, July 10, 2006

Cast in Shadows

Definitely a must read and an up-coming author.

Michelle Sagara's probably one of the most interesting fantasy writer's I've come across in a while. She creates an interesting and unique fantasy world with multiple races vying for supermacy and a nasty, nasty bad guy. And unlike many female writers, she doesn't let the 'romance' take over from the story. Which is great, considering my own taste leads to more action and less people. Still, we shall have to see where she goes from here.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

Matthew Woodring Stover

An interesting writer. Certainly he writest the action sequences well, with his knowlege of the martial arts he brings a level of realism to the writng that is hard to find in other novels.

Hereos Die is an interesting book, mixing both science fiction and fantasy with its caste riddled view of earth and the fantasy world of Overworld. An interesting if not entirely original view of Earth in a few years time, with the inreasing gaps between social levels solidfying. Overworld is pretty much your regular fantasy world, filled with elves, dwarves and the like.

His protagonist Caine is quite human, and his desires and motivations are quite clear. The first book is quite fun to read through and certainly worth picking up

Blade of Tyshalle on the other hand tries too hard I feel. While a good read, it strives to be too much and Stover just cannot get the final grasp of it. there are too many conflicting forms of writing going on, too many conflicting characters and viewpoints and no underlying thread, in the end diffusing the tension he tries to build up. It is an interesting premise but the tension is never truly built up, and the conflict in the end is too simple an answer. Quite literally using th gods to finish it up.

All in all, an interesting author to pick up who given time could become a great author. Possibly.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

Do not stand at my grave and weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunglight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
--Anonymous

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Charles de Lint

Urban Fantasy Maestro. Canadian, so his writing is somehow less edgy (or dirty) than say the British writers in general, but somehow they come across with a sense of realism that is refreshing. He tackles a lot of hard, difficult topics like homelessness, rape, outsiders and the counter culture movements and he does it with flair.

A variety of books, most set within an urban (read city) environment. Very well written, very believable and likeable characters. Definitely one of th best authors we have out there in this genre. His books are not action packed, gun wielding types so it might not be for everyone, but if you like thoughtful, well written character driven books, then definitely pick up one of his.

I suggest Onion Girl or a collection of his short stories as a good starting point.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

SciFiFan

Just a quick update post for this one

http://www.scifan.com/

Yay! A site to check out on tons of information.

I'm feeling redundant

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

The Mission

This here blog is my post for all things Science Fiction and Fantasy. Aka my Fanbox.

So from discussion Science Fiction and Fantasy authors to genres within each form to specific books I'm reading, this blog will let me put my thoughts into writing.