Category: Science Fiction/Fantasy

  • Young love in this world and beyond

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson MY LIFE ON EARTH AND ELSEWHERE. By Peggy Payne. Hydra Publications. 332 pages. $18.99, paperback. Peggy Payne’s new novel is both a bold departure from her past books and another way of exploring the themes that have run through her fiction from the start. Payne, who lives near Chapel Hill,…

  • In the swamps, Burke takes it up a notch

    Bob Moyer has been busy, moving to a new home and doing all the other things Bob Moyer does. Including reading. Now, at last, he’s found time again to write some book reviews and share his literary finds with us. Thank goodness. Reviewed by Robert P.  Moyer A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL: A Dave Robicheaux Novel. By…

  • A fresh perspective: The cursed Harry Potter

    Again this year, students in Paul T. O’Connor’s opinion-writing class in the School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have contributed book reviews to Briar Patch Books. We welcome these reviews, which offer some different fare as well as fresh perspectives. Thanks to these bright students! Reviewed by…

  • “A true masterpiece”

    Steve Wishnevsky, who knows a lot about the subject, takes a look at a classic collection by one of the giants of science fiction and fantasy. Reviewed by Stephen Wishnevsky THE COMPLETE LYONESSE. By Jack Vance. Gollancz. 1,040 pages. Hardcover, 2000. (The trilogy was first published separately in the 1980s.) The late Jack Vance, who…

  • Wishnevsky a la Lincoln

    Steve Wishnevsky weighs in with a review that reminds me of a quote that’s been widely circulated as having been written by Abraham Lincoln when reviewing a book: “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” Whether Lincoln really said it, I have no idea. One can…

  • Of witches and satire and a universe

    Steve Wishnevsky takes a look at the latest book in the Discworld series, one in the subset of Tiffany Aching books. The Tiffany Aching books are technically classified as young-adult novels, suitable for high-school age readers. But as Wishnevsky well knows, that classification just means teenagers will also enjoy the books, not that older adults…

  • Here’s where the twain shall meet (pun intended)

    Stephen Wishnevsky must have … jet lag? Airship lag? In no time at all, he’s traveled from Mark Twain and The Gilded Age to Agatha H and a wild Girl Genius fantasy. Who knows where he will venture next? By Stephen Wishnevsky AGATHA H AND THE AIRSHIP CITY.  By Phil and Kaja Foglio. Night Shade…

  • The Fuller Memorandum

    Here’s our latest post, a sci-fi/urban fantasy book reviewed by Steve Wishnevsky of Winston-Salem.  Steve says he’s also reading some more serious fare to review later. By Steve Wishnevsky THE FULLER MEMORANDUM. By Charles Stross. Ace: Berkley Publishing. 320 pages. $24.95. Bob Howard is sort of the anti James Bond, working for “The Laundry,” an…

  • Anno Dracula

    Just in time for Halloween, Steve Wishnevsky offers a review of a spooky classic. By Steve Wishnevsky ANNO DRACULA. By Kim Newman. Simon and Shuster. 1992. There is a minor branch of Fantasy known as the Pastiche, where the author will jam together fictional and historical characters in a familiar setting, usually for the purposes…

  • White Night

    Our latest book review is not of a newly published book, but rather of one representative book in a series that our reviewer considers worthy of discussion. The book can be found in hardback and paper editions. The reviewer is Steve Wishnevsky of Winston-Salem, an accomplished writer who also has many other creative talents. Here’s…