Saturn’s Children – Charles Stross
Orbit Hachette Livre, 2009 (reprint)
372 pages
RRP: AU$19.99
ISBN: 978-1-84149-568-2
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
Saturn’s Children is about Freya, a humanoid robot designed as a concubine for the human race. Unfortunately, the human race has been extinct for 200 years and the new aristos don’t have much of a fondness for humanoids.
Angel Rising – Dirk Flinthart
Twelfth Planet Press, 2008
53 pages
RRP: AU$10
ISBN: 978-0-9804841-1-3
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
Angel Rising is a novella set in the world of New Ceres, a human colony that has embraced the social rules of 17th Century Earth, and rejected or at least regulated all modern technologies. However, no prior knowledge of this world is necessary for enjoyment of Flinthart’s contribution to the New Ceres group story.
Dead Witch Walking – Kim Harrison
Harper Collins, 2007
432 pages
RRP: AU$20.99
ISBN: 9780007236091
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
Dead Witch Walking is the first in Kim Harrison’s prolific The Hollows series about Rachel Morgan, a witch (and bounty hunter) who lives in an alternate Cincinnati where vampires, ghosts and other interesting paranormal types roam. Rachel’s job is to apprehend paranormal criminals for Inderland Security; we first meet her as she is stalking a tax-evading leprechaun.
Gladiatrix – Rhonda Roberts
HarperCollins, 2009
592 pages
RRPS: AU$20.99
ISBN: 9780732288556
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
The first novel in the Timestalker series by Rhonda Roberts, Gladiatrix, is an intriguing and fast-paced novel that stands alone very well. It tells the story of Kannon, an Australian girl who has recently lost her foster mother, fighting to find out the truth about her birth. Kannon then discovers evidence to prove she is the daughter of the US Time Warden, Victoria Dupree, jut as Victoria goes missing on a mission to Ancient Rome. After uncovering a plot to kill Victoria, Kannon decides to follow her.
Lord Sunday – Garth Nix
Allen & Unwin Children, 2010
324 pages
RRP: AU$15.99
ISBN: 9781741145915
Reviewed by Kate Smith
The Keys to the Kingdom series has been a thoroughly enjoyable read and the final part of the tale does not disappoint. While the series is aimed at younger readers, adults will also be able to enjoy a diverting story if they allow themselves to read Lord Sunday for what it is and what it is meant to be – a well written and simple tale. It is not absolutely necessary for someone to read the first six novels in order to understand events, however it is advised in order to understand why the different characters are motivated as they are.
Chasing the Dragon – Justina Robson
Hachette Livre Gollancz, 2010
400 pages
RRP: AU$32.99
ISBN: 978-057-508562-6
Reviewed by Liz Grzyb
This is the fourth instalment in Justina Robson’s Quantum Gravity series. I enjoyed the first two, but missed #3, Going Under. When reading Chasing the Dragon, I noticed quite a few story arcs and characters that would be confusing to the new entrant to the series or if you missed one or more of the novels. If you enjoy a mix of SF and fantasy, cyberpunk mixed with magic and dragons, you’ll enjoy reading the whole series.
Ambulances and Dreamers – Bel Schenk
Wakefield Press, 2008
82 pages
RRP: AU$19.95
ISBN: 978-1-86254-818-3
Reviewed by Lynne Keenan
Bel Schenk’s collection of poems Ambulances & Dreamers captures some truly insightful moments in life which explores to some extent, the angst of the human condition. She is obviously well-travelled and draws on her experiences in far-off places to fuel her creativity. Her settings are urban and her often fragmentary style suits the themes she explores.
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.
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.
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.
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