EW Reviews SF/F
Issue #904 (October 27, 2006) of Entertainment Weekly offers some brief reviews of science fiction and fantasy books. Here’s a snippet…
Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury
For Fans of: Sherwood Anderson and Bradbury.
Lowdown: Summer draws poignancy from the half-century dividing it from Dandelion Wine, but feels like an afterthought.
Grade: B.
The Toyminator by Robert Rankin
For Fans of: Douglas Adams, Mother Goose, and masochism.
Lowdown: Some clever running gags don’t make up for the self-conscious cheekiness or witless plot.
Grade: D.
Eifelheim by Michael Flynn
For Fans of: Brainy first-contact tales (Carl Sagan meets Umberto Eco).
Lowdown: Bursting with pungent historical detail, and Big Theme musings, this dense, provocative novel offers big rewards to patient readers.
Grade: A-.
Sagramanda by Alan Dean Foster
For Fans of: “Johnny Mnemonic” (the Gibson, not the Keanu), Blade Runner, and Monsoon Wedding.
Lowdown: Foster’s world is convincingly thought-out, but there are too many plot threads (even a man-eating tiger).
Grade: B.
Hot dog. I’ve been waiting for the Flynn book to come out ever since he announced it!
😀