Tag: SPSFC 3

Wistful Ascending is a book that’s much like it’s protagonist – muscular, straightforward, and given to pull its punches and spend a lot of time withholding secrets in an attempt to keep things quiet. Accessible, but what it has to say is stretched across episodic and disconnected subplots. Rohan has retired – from what, he… Continue reading SPSFC 3 Review: Wistful Ascending

I didn’t get along with The Complete Guide To Exploring Your New Planet, but I can tell the author had a blast writing it. The trouble is, the author spent more time having fun and enjoying their love of works like Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy than they did considering how to make the… Continue reading SPSFC 3 Review: The Complete Guide To Exploring Your New Planet

At long last, after getting through the bulk of the required slush reading, I have finished and written some reviews for books entered into SPSFC this year, which I am helping judge as part of Team Red Stars. As I have mentioned previously elsewhere, I am a picky reader. This isn't helped by my tendency… Continue reading First three SPSFC3 reviews

Clearly built on the bones of a thousand things the author loves geeking out over, The Rave is a book about a rising heroine making her start in a world of rockstar monster-hunting heroes. Drawing inspiration from a thousand sources, from Battle Angel Alita to Fantastic Beasts by way of Avatar: The Last Airbender, it… Continue reading SPSFC 3 Review: The Rave, by J.R. Traas

This book is simultaneously wildly appealing and viciously disappointing. Jake’s Magical Market has reached a large and appreciative audience, deservedly, but its huge length, strong pacing, and moment-by-moment character studies all serve to conceal a multitude of weaknesses and missteps. This book is the equivalent of tasty popcorn covered in sticky syrup – delicious in… Continue reading SPSFC 3 Review: Jake’s Magical Market, by J.R. Mathews

This book, Fog of War by Forest Wells, hit me right in the sweet spot between ‘too compelling for me to give up on’ and ‘so frustrating I want to put it down and forget about it’. As you can likely guess, this is not going to be an easy book for me to structure… Continue reading SPSFC 3 Review: Fog of War, by Forest Wells