Soulless – Gail Carriger
Orbit, 2009
384 pages
RRP: US$7.99
ISBN: 9780316056632

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Soulless is the first in a series of steampunk whodunits, The Parasol Protectorate, set in an alternate Victorian era, where werewolves and vampires have their own niches in Society just like the rest, and where the rules of etiquette apply to them just as much as everyone else. The heroine of Soulless is Alexia Tarabotti, is a spinster of the advanced age of twenty-six, whose prize possession is her trusty brass (but silver-tipped) parasol.

(more…)

Conan the Barbarian Omnibus – Robert E Howard
Allen & Unwin Crows Nest, 2009
653 pages
RRP: AU$29.99
ISBN: 978-1-74175-851-1

Reviewed by Kate Smith

Conan the Barbarian was excellent.  It was an easy enough read to be enjoyable, with enough in what would appear to be a fairly basic premise to be interesting.  Many people are acquainted with Conan at least in passing but this will be knowledge from the movies that have been made at various times.  Less people, perhaps, will be familiar with the novels that have been written by others.  I have enjoyed the movies but not so much the novels, and I approached this volume of short stories curious but without any great expectations.  Very quickly I was engaged.

(more…)

The Best of his Macabre Tales – Edgar Allan Poe
Crows Nest Allen & Unwin, 2009
652 pages
RRP: AU$29.99
ISBN: 978-1-74175-850-4

Reviewed by Russell B. Farr

It should have been an easy, quick review. Get in, talk about how great it is to have a big, hefty, fine looking volume of Poe, collecting so many fine stories, including all the big ones. Talk about how great it is to have them all in one place, complete and unabridged (I always wonder how much of my childhood was abridged). If I felt like putting myself into the review, I could throw something in about the merits of reviewing the work of someone who has been in the ground for 160 years, after all, it’s not like he’ll really care what I say.

(more…)

A Madness of Angels – Kate Griffin
Hachette Livre Orbit, 2009
472 pages
RRP: AU$22.99
ISBN: 978-1-84149-733-4

Reviewed by Kate Smith

A Madness of Angels was a read that I could not put down, enjoyable not only because it was an interesting story but also because it was different to the norm of this genre of novel.  While the plot for the story does not appear to be particularly distinct from the blurb, from the first chapter it is clear that there is something different to Griffin’s work.  Matthew Swift is a sorcerer who has been fundamentally betrayed by his mentor and friend.  He must bring together groups with little in common apart from their enemy to find ways to trust each other and to work together to bring about the demise of the monolithic organisation that is the evil within London.  However, despite what appears to be several familiar story lines, including the seeking of revenge, there is so much more to this novel.

(more…)

Heart’s Blood – Juliet Marillier
Pan Macmillan, 2009
410 pages
RRP: AU$32.99
ISBN: 978-1-4050-3943-7

Reviewed by Liz Grzyb

Heart’s Blood is an enjoyable fantasy story, loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, set in Medieval Ireland. Since B&B has always been my favourite fairy tale, I jumped at the chance to read this novel written by Western Australian author Juliet Marillier. I’d only read Marillier’s young adult titles before (Wildwood Dancing and Cybele’s Secret), so I didn’t have many preconceptions about what I would find. I ended up staying up almost all night to finish it, so it’s safe to say that this was a great read.

(more…)