Category Archives: fantasy

Book Review: “The Magician King” by Lev Grossman

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Josh Roseman

I enjoyed reading the book, and there were a lot of clever and funny things to keep me interested until I got to the next plot point. And, unlike the first book, The Magician King clearly sets up another sequel. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “Spectyr” by Philippa Ballantine

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Josh Roseman

As I said in my review of Geist, Philippa Ballantine’s writing is well-paced, not overly laden with exposition (a major flaw in several fantasy novels I’ve read), and tends to leave tropes for readers to trip over. Book Review: “Spectyr” … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “Geist” by Philippa Ballantine

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Josh Roseman

Geist combines the best of what I like in 1990s fantasy fiction with the scope of a doorstop novel… and then pares out all the extraneous crap that makes a fantasy novel into a doorstop. What’s left is 300 pages … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “Hit List” by Laurell K. Hamilton

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Josh Roseman

I don’t think Hit List is a really good book, especially when held up to others in the Anita Blake series. While the writing is definitely better and tighter than the past couple of Anita Blake novels, this one doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms” by N.K. Jemisin

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Josh Roseman

To go back to my comment on storytelling style — the best way to explain it is that I felt like I was reading Anita Blake: God Hunter. The same problems I have with Laurell K. Hamilton’s storytelling, I had … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “Dancing with Bears” by Michael Swanwick

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Josh Roseman

Book Review: “Dancing with Bears” by Michael Swanwick

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Book Review: “Agatha H. and the Airship City”, by Phil and Kaja Foglio

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Josh Roseman

Agatha H., in one sentence: it’s a fun book. I immensely enjoyed reading it. It’s a madcap comic adventure combined with steampunk (or “gaslamp”, as the authors say on their site), a little Bas-Lag, and some well-used adventure fantasy tropes. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “Kraken” by China Mieville

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Josh Roseman

There’s a loldog present in my review of China Mieville’s “Kraken”. You can guess which one it is. Book Review: “Kraken” by China Mieville

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Escape Pod

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Josh Roseman

A couple of months ago, I became a regular blogger for Escape Pod. (They only put up one post a day, so “regular” is subjective.) Mostly I write reviews, but I also do thought pieces about sci-fi as a genre. … Continue reading →

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