Tag: reviews

New reviews!

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A nice mix of new reviews to report – thank you as always to the amazing readers who take the time to share their thoughts.

CLOH cover smallIn a truly wonderful review of Cranky Ladies of History over at Goodreads, Catherine Heloise notes (among lots of other lovely things) that: the truly impressive thing about this anthology was that there really were no weak stories. Every story was compelling and fascinating in a different way; some were strict historical fiction, others had a touch of fantasy, fairy tale, myth, or even science fiction to them, and all were ordered with a keen eye to the stories that surrounded them. I’m not sure how best to describe this, but in my experience, at least, it’s rare to find an anthology which is put together in such a satisfying way.

ITH CoverOver at Marianne de Pierres’ blog, Joelene Pynnonen reviews Insert Title Here, noting it has: …consistently astounding world-building. Story after story explores unfamiliar realms – and story after story succeeds in making those realms blindingly convincing. As the title suggests, the possibilities in these stories are endless, and some of the worlds are so lovingly rendered that they would be more suited to a novel.

Screen Shot 2014-09-13 at 9.55.45 amIn a lovely review of Phantazein in Aurealis #79, Deanne Sheldon-Collins calls the book: Atmospheric and lyrical, confronting but readable, it proves that even something not meant to exist can be worthwhile.

Guardian coverCybelle over at Heroines of Fantasy discussed Guardian, calling it: “an outstandingly engaging read and works well as a stand-alone novel” and noting that “the pacing of this novel is impressive, and the characters are wonderfully rich”.

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New reviews and news

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

CLOH cover smallWe’re chuffed to see some wonderful reviews of Cranky Ladies out there. One new one is from Marlene at Reading Reality, who says of the book: The historical women in these stories kicked ass and took names. Sometimes literally, sometimes just figuratively. They are individually and collectively awesome, even if they are not all familiar.

It’s not all about Cranky Ladies though. Our new unthemed anthology, Insert Title Here, is also getting some love!

Katharine at VentureAdlaxre reckons of Insert Title Here that: every single story is heart-breaking or grim or absurdly strange and wonderful, and all are incredibly readable.

Speaking of Insert Title Here, you can win one of two copies over at Goodreads – enter here!

 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Insert Title Here by Tehani Wessely

Insert Title Here

by Tehani Wessely

Giveaway ends April 05, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/130359

Cranky Ladies bits and bobs

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Cranky Ladies boxes 1Tansy and I wrote a post for John Scalzi’s Big Idea series over at his blog. If you are interested in knowing more about how Cranky Ladies of History came to be, check it out here!

Some of our wonderful authors have given us guest blogs about their cranky lady and the writing of their stories. So far we have shared Havva Murat’s journey with Nora of Kelmendi and Juliet Marillier has talked about Hildegard of Bingen.

We’re starting to see some lovely reviews for the book:

Shelleyrae at Book’d Out said: “Cranky Ladies of History is an important collection of fiction that gives voice to an extraordinary selection of women from a broad range of backgrounds, eras and cultures. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.”

At Adventures of a Bookonaut, Sean was very complimentary about Cranky Ladies, saying the book is “a unique project in that it delivers entertainment while spotlighting 22 women of history that we should all know more about, even if it’s for the simple reason that their stories are different to those we are used to hearing.”

Katharine at VentureAdlaxre comprehensively considered the anthology, giving it five stars!

New Reviews

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Some lovely new reviews around the internet!

Screen Shot 2013-10-09 at 9.50.34 AMKyla Lee Ward at Tabula Rasa gives an entertaining review of Dirk Flinthart’s Path of Night, noting: “Flinthart delivers a thoughtful and entertaining take on his material.”

Elizabeth at Earl Grey Editing Service says of Phantazein: “The stories that make up the anthology had a nice mixture of cultures” and “…I’d definitely recommend it…” while Tsana Reads and Reviews declares: “there’s something here for all kinds of fairytalesque fantasy fans.”

We really appreciate all the reviews from our readers – if you have read one of our books, please post (or cross-post) a review on Amazon or Goodreads, as they do help!

News, reviews and NEW BOOKS!

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Guardian coverTsana at Tsana Reads and Reviews has lovely things to say about Guardian by Jo Anderton, including: I highly recommend it to fans of technological fantasy or just fantasy which differs from the mainstream. The worldbuilding is very original and one of the real strengths of the series. The magic is very structured; leading some to call the series science fiction. In that light, fans of slipstream and genre-bending fiction should find much to like here.

We’re delighted to see people talking about Tansy Rayner Roberts’ essay collections 50 Roman Mistresses and Pratchett’s Women, saying things like: “Thoughtful and entertaining“, “wonderfully useful and interestingly corrective“, and “makes learning history a fascinating experience“.

We’re counting down to the release of Phantazein, a new anthology of fantastical short stories (and poems), out in early October. We are launching the book in style at Conflux, the annual Canberra speculative fiction convention, 5.00pm Saturday 4 October. Come along if you can! What is Phantazein? Well, if you were one of those readers who enjoyed To Spin a Darker Stair but bemoaned the fact it was too short, Phantazein is TOTALLY the book for you!

Speaking of Conflux, FableCroft is hosting a pitching session for novels (also on Saturday, midday!) – we aren’t open to submissions, so it’s you’re only chance to hit us with your best book!

We really appreciate ratings and reviews on Goodreads and Amazon – a big thanks to our wonderful readers who share the love!

Roundup time!

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It’s been a busy busy couple of weeks for interviews, with the 2014 Australian Spec Fic Snapshot taking place. Many of FableCroft’s creators have been snapshot already, and it’s been great reading the interviews from all facets of the Aussie Spec Fic scene! I particularly enjoy seeing what people are working on, and what they’ve been reading.

SnaphotLogo2014Tehani

Katharine Stubbs (our wonderful intern!)

Jo Anderton

Tansy Rayner Roberts

Dirk Flinthart

Kathleen Jennings

Amanda Rainey

And many many more writers we have published are part of the Snapshot – check out the hashtag #2014snapshot on Twitter or follow the tag links in one of the posts to see them!

Some other reviews and interviews around the traps! Dirk Flinthart is interviewed as part of Simon Petrie’s Use only as directed series.

There’s a lovely review of Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts new on Goodreads, which says:

Tansy Rayner Roberts has a gift all her own that sets her apart from all other fantasy writers.

and

…it is a story marvellously complete in itself. So do read and love the Mocklore Chronicles in any order you like, because that’s what I intend to do.

Thanks Carol on Goodreads!

If you’ve reviewed any of our books, please let us know! And we really appreciate cross-posted reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Reviews, interviews and things

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Guardian coverAlex Stephenson has written a fantastic review of Guardian in Aurealis #72 – among other things, Alex says:

Guardian is a tremendously satisfying conclusion to an already celebrated series.

…Anderton is to be commended for her ability to create such rich and original settings.

A fitting end, or entry, to the trilogy, Guardian is as excellent as Anderton’s fans deserve. It is a pleasure to read modern science fiction driven by a female lead as strong and nuanced as Tanyana.

Thanks Alex! You can read the whole review (and new fiction and other things as well!) in the issue, just $2.99 at Smashwords.

Another review of Jo’s Veiled World books comes from Paul Bonamy on Goodreads, who calls them: “…an excellent series, and well worth reading.”

Jason Franks has interviewed Dirk Flinthart over at his blog, talking a lot about Path of Night and what’s coming up next. Don’t forget that while you wait for book 2 in the series, “Sanction”, a short story set after the events of Path of Night, is available super cheap from Amazon!

Did we mention that The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories won Best Collection at the Australian Shadows Awards last month? It DID! Nice double with the Aurealis Award – congratulations Jo!

Speaking of The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories Dave Versace reviewed the book on Amazon, saying it’s full of, “Beautiful, dark stories of humanity on the fringes of normality or the verge of extinction.” Much appreciated Dave!

Elanor Matton-Johnson gave Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts five stars on Goodreads, saying it’s, “A brilliantly batty romp…” – we agree! And Cissa on Amazon said, “VERY recommended, especially if you like surreal mash-ups.” Thanks Cissa!

Let us know if you review a FableCroft book on Amazon, Goodreads or your blog, and we’ll happily link to it!

New reviews!

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

We’ve been fairly focused on Cranky Ladies for the past few weeks, but of course there is always more going on behind the scenes!

Firstly, we’re almost halfway through the first round of reading for Insert Title Here, and hopefully will have responded to all authors within the next fortnight.

Secondly, new reviews! We love seeing these appear around the ridges, so please let us know by email or Twitter if you write a review of a FableCroft book!

BoneChimeCoverDraftBlack Static #39 has a great round up of recent Australian short fiction anthologies and collections, and Joanne Anderton’s The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories is part of that. The reviewer calls Jo an author “who deftly blurs the lines between horror, fantasy and science fiction”, and looks at each story. Of particular interest, the two original stories have thoughtful comments, and the reviewer calls “Mah Song” rich in detail and says of “Fencelines”, a slowly burgeoning mood of unreality settling over the text as the narrative unfolds. Nice!

Reviews and news roundup

~ Tehani

1890436_10202652074879534_690952886_oA few bits and bobs for linking!

  • Cheryl Morgan congratulates FableCroft and Twelfth Planet Press on their Aurealis Awards shortlistings, and links to the books for sale in the Wizard’s Tower Books store.
  • Over at 13 O’Clock, Alan Baxter reviewed Path of Night, calling it, “excellently written and very well paced” – thanks Alan!
  • Speaking of reviews, Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts was reviewed in the February edition of Locus! Can’t link to it, unfortunately, but Carolyn Cushman said the book is, “a fun fantasy adventure with considerable satire…that brings to mind Terry Pratchett’s Discworld” – thanks Carolyn!
  • Tansy and other Aussies Alex Pierce and Gillian Polack, along with several other well know folks were mind-melded over at SF Signal, on the topic of “secondary characters who take center stage” – some interesting thoughts presented!
  • We’re looking forward to our big Book Party in Hobart on March 9 – who will be there to celebrate with us?
  • While we’re on the topic of parties, don’t forget that tickets to the Aurealis Awards ceremony (and the preceding Conflux Writers’ Day) are on sale! It’s going to be a blast!
  • And finally, submissions to Insert Title Here close on February 28 – have you got your story in?