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Small Press and Independent Books on FBC in 2010 - Part 1 (Liviu)

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Written by Ares

Sunday, 29 August 2010 11:15

Since there has been about this topic, I would like to highlight some titles I have read and reviewed as well as some titles I am currently reading or looking forward to. I also have a list of .

Mihir and Cindy have reviewed quite a few titles that qualify, so hopefully we will follow with a Part 2 post with the small press/independent books they have reviewed or are planning to do so.

The main rule for consideration here is that the author's book-length work is essentially all small press/independent since of course there are many established authors that occasionally publish with smaller presses or more recently that even offer their work independently and the main focus for me here is to highlight newer, less well known authors.

A notable example of the above is Beth Bernobich's superb collection from smaller specialized which does not really qualify for this post since her wonderful debut novel (review closer to publication date) will soon come out from as-major-publisher-as-it-gets-in-sff Tor.

Currently I am reading four small press/independent books:

by SJA Turney - standalone set in the universe and one of those "drop everything I read" on arrival books; will be one of my next 3 reviews.

by KC May - originally published in 2005 by a small press and by the author on rights reversion; standalone (I think) in a more traditional fantasy universe, but quite engaging so far - will finish and review soon, by mid-September most likely.

by Mark Mellon - a standalone short novel with a horror theme set in Roman times and involving the poet Martial; in this one I got stuck a bit when some werewolves (re)appeared since I kind of dislike that trope, but will resume, finish and review in September too since I like the author's writing style a lot and is still one of my top short novels of last year.

by Ginn Hale - a standalone fantasy published by small specialized press ; I got interested in this one a while ago but sort of forgot about it until I saw some reviews of the author's new series - a duology published in consecutive months - and I remembered I had Wicked Gentlemen waiting... Quite interesting so far and another September read most likely.

Highly expected (and hopefully arriving soon) are the sequel to Field of Fire by Jon Connington and Wintertide by Michael Sullivan, both "drop everything I read" on arrival too...

And now for the 2010 reviews in chronological order:

Mellon, Mark, - alt-history standalone from the author of Escape from Byzantium and Roman Hell
Smith, Douglas, - collection from the author of another superb collection from
Lalumiere, Claude, - collection
Wisoker, Leona, (reviewed together with Cindy) - debut of an epic fantasy series from

Sullivan, Michael, (reviewed together with Cindy) - adventure/epic fantasy #3/6
Sullivan, Michael, (same as above) - #4/6
Connington, Jon, - debut steampunk fantasy series; book 2 imminent
Davidson, Rjurik, - PS collection of stories
Zarioiu, Dorin Cristian, - standalone contemporary fantasy

Kornher-Stace, Nicole, (story from the anthology) - story by the author of the superb which was one of my two top small press novels of 2009; we also have an online story from the anthology: by Kenneth Schneyer which you can judge yourself by reading it for free on FBC.

Hamerton, Greg, - traditional epic fantasy and sequel to ; both novels wrap up their main threads, while this one offers a very satisfying ending so while further Tales of the Lifesong may be published these two have enough completion to satisfy people wanting that. Check the .

Northern, Chris, - series debut adventure/epic fantasy; together with immediate sequel The Key to the Grave the book forms a duology with complete resolution of all main threads; while further books featuring the main hero Sumto are planned, these two have enough completion to satisfy people wanting that.

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A military cargo plane, flying over a populated area, suddenly loses power and starts to nose down. The pilot tries to pull up, but with all their cargo, the plane is too heavy. So he yells to the soldiers in back to throw things out to make the plane lighter. They throw out a pistol. "Throw out more!" shouts the pilot. So they throw out a rifle. "More!" he cries again. They heave out a missile, and the pilot regains control. He pulls out of the dive and lands safely at an airport. They get into a jeep and drive off. Pretty soon they meet a boy on the side of the road who's crying. They ask him why he's crying and he says "A pistol hit me on the head!" They drive more and meet another boy who's crying even harder. Again they ask why and the boy says, "A rifle hit me on the head!" They apologize and keep driving. They meet a boy on the sidewalk who's laughing hysterically. They ask h im, "Kid, what's so funny?" The boy replies, "I sneezed and a house blew up!"