Smorgasbord Fantasia

In continuation of our wednesday meme ( originally by hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine , that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.) And this week, we shine our lights on Hope and Red, an epic fantasy adventure by Jon Skovron touted to be a mix of the Night Angel by Brent Weeks, Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora and the brilliant characterizations of Brandon Sanderson. Does that get your antennas up? It damn well should! In a fracturing empire spread across savage seas, two young people from different cultures find common purpose. A nameless girl is the lone survivor when her village is massacred by biomancers, mystical servants of the emperor. Named after her lost village, Bleak Hope is secretly trained by a master Vinchen warrior as an instrument of vengeance. A boy becomes an orphan on the squalid streets of New Laven after drugs and disease take the lives of his bohemian parents. He is adopted by one of the most notorious women

Rob Boffard breaks new ground with this epic rap song that features 64 SFF Books. LOVED IT. Take a listen.

Disclaimer: This reading was my attempt to go back and claw through my towering pile to backed up TO_READ novels. Something about the book struck me and before long, I was being swept along in this pulpy action packed, almost cinematic thrill ride of a science fiction novel. This book blew me away. I cannot believe this is the FIRST novel by Ted Kosmatka , the man who had won Nebula/Hugo for his shorter works, really creates a pitch-perfect science fiction thriller that is executed in the most stunning manner for his first book. I was hooked right from page one - I was taking a break from my "newer" novels to be reviewed and bought this book as I've 'heard' great things. You know, SF is no longer my thing. But the way Ted writes, he'd got HUGE TALONS hooked deep into me, right from the first chapter on. Olympic games that involves genetic monstrosities fighting each other ? Intriguing. In America, in 2044 where each country is out to prove its supre

I don't read much of SF. Definitely not the stuck-in-space-survival drama variety. Though I admit, The Martian was a tale I enjoyed. So I surprised myself when I picked up Admiral , the new SF-thriller by Sean Danker from ROC  books. Crashed spaceship on an unknown alien planet and an unreliable narrator who may or may not be who he claims to be - and the creeping sense of dread in the atmosphere ( or the lack thereof!) has just been dialed up all the way past eleven. Bang-up premise huh? Admiral crash-lands us straight into alien territory ( uncharted planet !!) armed with nothing but our wits, paired up with an "Admiral" ( as is claimed by the sign above his cryosleep quarters and nothing else to verify it with!) and three green recruits straight from the academy. The war between the Empire and the Ganraen Commonwealth is at an uneasy truce and there is enough and more reasons for the recruits to suspect that the Admiral maybe the enemy. But these guys have t

The jury is still out on whether it's better to be on Team Cap or Team Iron Man - but hey, I am a huge Steven Rogers ( Chris Evans ) fan and will stick by my idol! So yesterday, we caught Captain America: Civil War first day first show - and I put my neck on the line when I say, this must be the most intense, emotionally-draining but nevertheless, spectacular Marvel Comics Universe movie made till date. There, I said it. The movie franchise finally tackle the big question of collateral damage to the civilian life as our superheroes are locked in slugfests with aliens, ego-crazed robots and fanatic terrorists - Great Power comes with Great Responsibility ( And hell yeah - this is the like the perfect entry point for that superhero who came up with that maxim, Spiderman, into this franchise!! More on that in just a little while.) The government factions want to lock down the "vigilantes" who do not "respect the sovereign borders" in their quest to do t