science fiction, fantasy, and horror book reviews and news
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“And now, as grapes are pressed into wine, we press this slave into something greater,” the Master said . . . . “You knew the grapes in the crush were weak. You sensed the difference between the pours, and were able to think it through to determine why. And you have not allowed servitude in [...]
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Readers of this blog know that I often decry the lack of publications that feature secondary world fantasy — especially of the action-packed, fun sort that is called variously Sword & Sorcery, Heroic or Epic Fantasy, or just plain old pulp. Recently, we’ve been lucky to get two new online venues that cater to just [...]
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Sometimes there are these markers of change that are unmistakable — for example, when I was a kid, people walking around talking to themselves were given a wide berth in the street, now they are just one more person jabbering into their hands-free cell phone headset — it’s the sort of thing that, if you [...]
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This week at Black Gate I was thrilled to step back into the lands of Nyumbani in my review of the third book in Charles R. Saunders’ superb Imaro saga. Imaro: The Trail of Bohu ramps up the action and increases the stakes over the previous two volumes (both of which I reviewed here), and [...]
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Prolific online reviewer John Ottinger of Grasping for the Wind has just posted an early review of Rogue Blade’s forthcoming Rage of the Behemoth anthology, the follow up to 2008’s Return of the Sword. Behemoth has a more focused theme than Sword, as it deals specifically with the confrontation between man and large, powerful, fantastical [...]
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Courage can come from many places, and be made of many things, and yesterday’s coward can become tomorrow’s hero in an instant if the time is right. The giddy flood of bravery which Jezal experienced at that moment consisted largely of guilt and fear, and shame at his fear, swollen by a peevish frustration at [...]
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Honor can exist anywhere, love can exist anywhere, but justice can only exist among people who found their relationships upon it.
Title: Powers
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Genre: Fantasy
Year:2007
As with Voices, the second book in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore series, knowledge of previous books in the series is not necessary for the [...]
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The dark came down on the world and world moved on. The gunslinger . . . dreamed his long dreams of the Dark Tower, to which he would some day come at dusk and approach, winding his horn, to do some unimaginable final battle.
Title: The Gunslinger
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Year: 1982
“The man in black fled [...]
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