Book Review Teaser :: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

New on Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's review of Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. This book is one of the current 2010 Hugo award nominees for Best Novel.

From Aaron's book review of Boneshaker :
"Boneshaker is a steampunk zombie novel, but much less gimmicky and more accomplished than this label suggests...."

"Boneshaker is set in Seattle circa 1880, but a steampunk alternate version of Seattle largely destroyed when Dr. Leviticus Blue's massive "boneshaker" drill undermined the city's foundations while simultaneously releasing a lethal subterranean gas that renders its victims zombies. Blue was never heard from again after the disaster, but his wife Briar Wilkes and son Zeke - unborn when Blue disappeared but now fifteen years old - scratch out a living in the outskirts of the ruined city, outside the immense walls that hold in the gas blight and zombies"

"Convinced history has treated his father unfairly, Zeke puts on a gas mask and follows an underground tunnel into the city on a quest to clear Leviticus Blue's name. With impeccable teenager logic, he braves the city alone, without telling his mother of his plans. The story begins in earnest...when an earthquake collapses the tunnel, and Briar sets out to rescue Zeke by airship...."

To read the entire review -> Boneshaker

Fantastic Reviews :: interview with Paolo Bacigalupi

New on Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's in-depth interview with Colorado author Paolo Bacigalupi.

Paolo Bacigalupi is a new author, but his powerful short fiction has quickly established him as a rising star of science fiction. His stories "The People of Sand and Slag", "The Calorie Man" and "Yellow Card Man" were nominees for the Hugo Award between 2005 and 2007. "The Calorie Man" won the 2006 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and "The Fluted Girl" was on the shortlist for that award in 2004. Paolo's first book, Pump Six and Other Stories, is just out from Night Shade Books. It collects all of his short fiction to date, plus the original title story.

To read the interview -> Fantastic Reviews author interview with Paolo Bacigalupi

Book Review Teaser :: Summer of the Apocalypse by James Van Pelt

New on Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's positive review of Summer of the Apocalypse by James Van Pelt (along with a lukewarm review of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, see previous post). The Road is more widely known, but Aaron found Summer of the Apocalypse to be the more compelling book.

From Aaron's review of Summer of the Apocalypse:
"...Today, the best writers in the science fiction and fantasy genre are equal or superior to their mainstream colleagues at the craft of writing. To illustrate the point, compare The Road with Summer of the Apocalypse by James Van Pelt. These two novels share a strikingly similar premise: an older man and young companion(s) travel on foot over a derelict highway through a ruined America. Consistent with Cormac McCarthy's sterling literary reputation, The Road won the Pulitzer Prize and has spent much of the past year on all the national best-seller lists. In contrast, as befits James Van Pelt's lowly status as a mid-list writer in the science fiction genre, Summer of the Apocalypse was entirely ignored by the mainstream press."

"Yet Summer of the Apocalypse is the far better novel. The writing of Summer of the Apocalypse is subtle where The Road is only brash. Summer of the Apocalypse develops believable, three-dimensional characters; the characters in The Road are nameless (literally) figureheads. In The Road, Cormac McCarthy attempts to compensate for awkward writing, lack of characterization, and an aimless plot by dazzling readers with the utter bleakness of his vision of the future. Summer of the Apocalypse is also very bleak at times, but in the framework of a compelling story...."

"...James Van Pelt's Summer of the Apocalypse alternates between two different cross-country trips. In the earliest, set in the very near future, 15-year-old Eric travels across the western slope of Colorado in search of his father, shortly after nearly all of mankind has been wiped out in a pandemic. The second journey takes place sixty years later, as 75-year-old Eric retraces his earlier trip while leading his 10- and 12-year-old grandson and friend to a greatly altered Boulder."

To read the entire review -> Summer of the Apocalypse

Book Review Teaser :: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

New on Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's review of The Road by Cormac McCarthy (along with a review of Summer of the Apocalyse by James Van Pelt, which is featured in this post). The Road recently won the Pulitzer Prize and was selected for Oprah's book club, but is it a good science fiction book?

From Aaron's review of The Road:
"...The Road is the dismal story of a father and son, walking together through a world that has been almost entirely obliterated. McCarthy never tells us what caused the devastation, although he hints at a nuclear war. Nearly everything has burned and the sky has turned permanently gray, presumably by nuclear winter, although the characters in the book are strangely unconcerned about radiation poisoning."

"Nothing will grow, and so most of the few remaining survivors have stayed alive only by cannibalism. The man and his son have not resorted to this, so they face a constant struggle to find shelter and food enough to keep themselves alive while avoiding their dangerous fellow survivors...."

"...In The Road, McCarthy very convincingly demonstrates that it would really suck if the world were destroyed...but perhaps you already knew that."

To read the entire review -> The Road

Book Review Teaser :: Fort Pillow by Harry Turtledove

New on Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's favorable review of Fort Pillow by Harry Turtledove. Many SF readers are familiar with Turtledove for his SF alternative history books.

From Aaron's review of Fort Pillow:
"In April 1864, Confederate troops attacked Fort Pillow, Tennessee, defended by a Union garrison of both white and black soldiers. The Rebel commander General Nathan Bedford Forrest gave the Federals one chance to surrender, which they declined. When the Rebels later overran the fort, they slaughtered many Union troops who were wounded or had yielded, particularly the black soldiers, few of whom survived. The battle carried little strategic significance, yet played an important role in the Civil War, because outrage at the Fort Pillow Massacre helped harden the North's resolve to see the costly War through to victory."

"Fort Pillow by Harry Turtledove tells the story of the Fort Pillow Massacre from the point of view of the combatants on both sides, including several actual historical figures.  Harry Turtledove has often written alternate histories of the Civil War, but Fort Pillow is his first Civil War novel to adhere strictly to the historical record (although he has published historical fiction set in ancient times under the pseudonym H.N. Turteltaub."

"It is not science fiction by any definition, but we are reviewing Fort Pillow at Fantastic Reviews because it is a book that deserves an audience. Turtledove fans should not shy away because it is not SF, and readers interested in the Civil War should not be put off by the fact that Turtledove is a science fiction writer. Fort Pillow is an entertaining and thought-provoking story that will appeal to both groups of readers....."

To read the entire review: Fort Pillow

Book Review Teaser :: Genetopia by Keith Brooke

Aaron recently favorably reviewed for Fantastic Reviews the science fiction book Genetopia by British author Keith Brooke.

From Aaron's review of Genetopia:
"In the next century, advances in biotechnology will dramatically reshape the nature of mankind, statutes against cloning and genetic engineering notwithstanding. In Genetopia, Keith Brooke takes a fascinating look at the consequences when the nature of humanity begins to change at a genetic level....."

"...The plot of Genetopia is deceptively simple: a young man coming of age on a lonely quest. Flintreco Eltarn - meaning Flint of Clan Treco, child of Tarn - searches for his younger sister Amber (Amberlinetreco Eltarn), who he hopes has run away but fears has been abducted."

"If this sounds like something you've read before, it isn't. The strangeness of this disturbing future world is clear from the book's opening scene, when Flint and Amber wander to their village's Leaving Hill, stepping over the bones of infants and youths left to die because they did not look and act enough like True humans...."

To read the entire review: Genetopia

Book Review Teaser :: The Draco Tavern by Larry Niven

Recently added to Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's review of Larry Niven's latest book, the science fiction story collection The Draco Tavern.

From Aaron's review of The Draco Tavern:
"A fun subgenre of science fiction and fantasy is the intergalactic tavern story, in which different species or fantastic creatures gather together for a drink and to swap tall tales...."
"The Draco Tavern is a collection of Larry Niven's SF tavern stories, which Niven has been writing since 1977. In The Draco Tavern, Earth of the near future has been contacted by a galactic civilization teeming with different types of intelligent life. Dominant among these are the Chirpsithra, resembling twelve-foot tall lobsters, whose huge spacecraft facilitate interstellar trade. The Chirpsithra boast that they own the galaxy, but thankfully they prefer planets around red dwarf stars, so they have no interest in conquering Earth....Rick Schumann, our unflappable hero...builds a tavern to cater to the tastes of the various species visiting Earth...and before long every alien comes to Rick's."

To read the entire review: The Draco Tavern

Book Review Teaser :: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Added this week to Fantastic Reviews is Aaron's review of A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin. This book was featured as a previous Book of the Week.

From Aaron's review:
"A Feast for Crows is the long anticipated fourth volume in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which depicts the struggle for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The Seven Kingdoms' most powerful "houses" battle each other for domination, largely ignoring the potential threats of supernatural beings from the north and dragons from across the sea. A Song of Ice and Fire is a continuous narrative, and the individual books do not stand alone, so readers new to the series should begin with the first volume, A Game of Thrones, rather than jumping right into A Feast for Crows...."

"A Song of Ice and Fire is an engrossing series sure to entertain any reader of high fantasy, but with a feel of gritty realism that appeals to many who usually don't care for long fantasy series. Thanks to this broad appeal and word-of-mouth from Martin's many devoted fans, sales of A Song of Ice and Fire have increased with every volume, culminating with A Feast for Crows recently opening at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list...."

To read the entire review (warning: there are spoilers):
A Feast for Crows

Book Review Teaser :: A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire is setting the standard for epic fantasy. Earlier this month the fourth book, A Feast for Crows, was published in hardcover. The previous books are A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords. If you like fantasy and you are not yet acquainted with this series of novels, as Aaron said in his review of A Storm of Swords on Fantastic Reviews, "get your tail to the book store."

From Aaron Hughes' review of A Storm of Swords:
"This is the third volume of Martin's highly successful series, A Song of Ice and Fire. The series is epic fiction on a grand scale. A Storm of Swords jumps between no fewer than ten different viewpoint characters, twelve if you count the prologue and epilogue...."

"We knew from A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings that Martin has succeeded in creating a fascinating world peopled with believable characters entangled in a powerful epic story. This is no small feat, but it is another matter again to draw together the disparate elements of such an epic tale into a satisfying resolution. I am delighted to report that A Storm of Swords strongly evidences that Martin is up to that challenge."

To read the entire review (warning: there are spoilers):
A Storm of Swords