Category Archives: Speculative Fiction Reviews

Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi

By Jon Magne | Published: September 8, 2008
I would not say that I stalk John Scalzi in the strictest sense of the word. I have for example never met the guy or even followed him surreptitiously down a street. Hell, the closest thing I’ve ever come to trespassing on his property is when I sling off a random comment on his monster-of-a-blog, [...]
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Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

By Jon Magne | Published: August 31, 2008
This is the first of what is sure to be a long series of Neil Gaiman reviews here on A Slight Apocalypse. Graduating students in Norway’s high schools are required to hand in something a little more substantial than the usual stuff when spring comes a-knocking, and while there’s a lot of time left until [...]
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The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan

By Jon Magne | Published: August 17, 2008
Richard Morgan and I don’t always get along. And no, I don’t mean on a personal level. It’s not like I’m claiming to have met him or even chatted with him under the most informal of circumstances. I’m sure I’d think he’s a terrific guy if I ever got so lucky, but that’s kind of beside [...]
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Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark “E” Oliver Everett

By Jon Magne | Published: July 31, 2008
It’s time for something outside of the norm. My usual topics usually revolve around the fantastic side of entertainment, and while this is a book review of sorts, it isn’t what I usually pull out of my hat. Why? Well, because “Things the Grandchildren Should Know” is not an epic fantasy book or a space [...]
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Unholy Domain by Dan Ronco

By Jon Magne | Published: July 22, 2008
I have a confession to make: I don’t know anything about Dan Ronco, nor had I heard anything about “Unholy Domain” before the author sent me an e-mail, asking if I’d be interested in reading and perhaps reviewing it here on my blog. Me, being the book-loving guy that I am, said, “Yes, please!”, and [...]
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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

By Jon Magne | Published: July 19, 2008
The speculative genre is not small any longer. It has countless of sub-genres and cult-symbols, its followers occupy at least half of the Internet and the movies with the biggest revenues aren’t exactly the kitchen-sink dramas of yore. However, if we take a quick look at the literary side of things, we discover that there [...]
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Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson & Misc. Spoiler-Free Malazan Thoughts

By Jon Magne | Published: July 15, 2008
“Ding, ding, ding,” the bell rings and the referee declares me the winner. I’ve just gone twelve rounds with “Toll the Hounds”, the latest 923-pages addition to the “Malazan Book of the Fallen” saga. At the start we both ran circles around each other; me trying to catch it, and TtH cunningly evading my every [...]
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The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

By Jon Magne | Published: June 26, 2008
As I turned the last page of this book late Sunday afternoon, I began to contemplate the glowing review I was going to write about it. I envisioned a vast array of hyperboles and interesting comparisons, and then I’d end it all with saying “Yes, this is definitely the début of the year. Read it [...]
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Thoughts On ‘the Amber Chronicles’ by Roger Zelazny

By Jon Magne | Published: June 7, 2008
When you buy as many books as I do, you always end up having to put some of them aside for later. “For when I have time,” you think, or, “when I’m in the right mood”. Well, I have a lot of such books that I really should get around to, but that never seem [...]
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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

By Jon Magne | Published: June 1, 2008
If you’re remotely interested in blogging, science fiction or maybe just the internet in general, then you’re bound to have encountered Cory Doctorow. He’s like a the bespectacled little demi-god of the intertubes; even if you don’t worship him, you know he’s out there, looking down at you from somewhere… preaching knowingly about Creative Commons… [...]
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