SciFi / Fantasy / Horror
Plot/Idea: Ultimately, Minimum Safe Distance is a fascinating novel about an intergalactic threat and how humanity responds in kind. Ho Yen's novel hosts an intriguing storyline with identifiable development throughout. The work suffers from narrative fragmentation, however, which results in a sometimes disjointed reading experience.
Prose: Ho Yen's prose is readable and generally well-executed, though a degree of stiffness pervades much of the writing.
Originality: Conceptually, Minimum Safe Distance is strikingly fresh and unique. Most notable is the work's detailed worldbuilding surrounding the nature of the SelfMades and the relationship between the Cosmologist and the Ethnologist.
Character/Execution: Minimum Safe Distance features a number of potentially rich and broad-ranging characters. However, due to the fragmentation of the plot, it is difficult to grasp the whole development of these characters; while they are intriguing, readers only have brief glimpses of their collective journeys.
Plot/Idea: Hill unites dark magic, mythical creatures, and a hero crusade in this well-developed fantasy. Moments of intense action are well-crafted and keep the story’s pace brisk, as the Order of the Brothers of the Holy Sword fight to overcome their past, while trying desperately to survive against new forces that are far more dangerous than any they’ve ever faced. When central characters fall in battle, Hill renders their deaths as tragic as they are memorable.
Prose: Hill’s prose holds a poetic beauty in places that subtly builds the story’s setting while advancing the action at the same time, and the story’s structure holds throughout, despite the complexity of the plot.
Originality: Striking a nice balance between the magic, religious, and political systems in the story, Hill delivers skilled worldbuilding that makes From a Broken Grail stand out. That, coupled with the story’s arresting characters, transforms the storyline into an exceptional read.
Character/Execution: Hill fine tunes his characters, with special attention to their internal battles and backstories. Godfrey, in particular, is carefully wrought, with inner conflict that is both vivid and, in places, heartbreaking.
Plot/Idea: Hecate's Labyrinth is a high-octane fantasy mystery which traverses history and mythology. The plot is adrenaline-fueled, fantastical, and enormous fun.
Prose: Lightsey's text is passionately written and moves at an electrifying pace. The foul-mouthed characters of Hecate's Labyrinth enliven the text in an often invigorating read which confidently blends folklore and mysticism.
Originality: On the surface, Hecate's Labyrinth is a fairly typical fantasy tale, but is written with such vim and conviction, that it is very hard to ignore. A must for lovers of fantasy fiction, Hecate's Labyrinth is full of interesting and enlightening ideas.
Character/Execution: Lightsey's central relationship between Dmitri and Helena is intriguing and the supporting characters are impressively woven into the story. His dialogue is regularly sharp, witty, and of course, delightfully full of expletives.
Blurb: A rip-roaring fantasy adventure.
