Photo: Uránia Filmszínház (Hannu Rajaniemi)/Karsten Moran (Peter V. Brett)/MidAmerican Fan Photo Archive (Brandon Sanderson)

THE Y LOGS was enthralled by the sold out HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION.

These short stories are a little easier to follow, while retaining this quality, as well as first sentences that almost always manage to pique my interest, combining as they do totally different elements. Typical example: “Before the concert, we steal the master’s head.” We often hear or read that first sentences and first pages are important to grab a reader’s attention, and I think this author manages to do that very well here.

Most of those stories kept me enthralled, although not always for the same reasons. Some of them were clearly set in a distant enough future that men had become digital gods, or launched starships meant to drop servers into spaces just like one would plant seeds, aiming to create a network spanning entire galaxies. Other stories felt closer to contemporary times, while toying with Finnish myths and legends (Tuoni…). Not to mention the inclusion of Edinburgh: I very often derive pleasure just from reading about a city I know well and/or live in.

(This review also appeared at YZABEL.)

RINN READS recommends Peter V. Brett’s THE GREAT BAZAAR & BRAYAN’S GOLD.

I’ve mentioned in previous reviews of short stories that I find them difficult to review, because often I’m left a little disappointed and wanting more. This volume does not suffer from this, being an accompaniment to a longer series, but it didn’t really add anything necessary. However, it was interesting nonetheless, and something to quench the thirst until I can get my hands on the recently released fourth book. A recommendation for anyone who enjoys Brett’s writing, and especially those who can’t wait for book five!

YUKI NO TOSHOKAN loved Brandon Sanderson’s award-winning THE EMPEROR’S SOUL.

This novella has really left a deep mark on my soul. I will never forget how the story and characters have made me feel. The story may be fiction, but it has changed how I see and feel about the real world, especially about humans. The thing I want to say about this novella has been said in the novella itself, as my feelings about this book somewhat mirror Gaotona’s feelings about Shai’s book, so I would like to close my review with the quote:

“These were the tears of a man who saw before himself a masterpiece. True art was more than beauty; it was more than technique. It was not just imitation.

It was boldness, it was contrast, it was subtlety. In this book, Gaotona found a rare work to rival that of the greatest painters, sculptors, and poets of any era.

It was the greatest work of art he had ever witnessed.”

For more info on HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Lius Lasahido

Design by Elizabeth Story

For more info about THE GREAT BAZAAR & BRAYAN’S GOLD, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story.

For more on THE EMPEROR’S SOUL, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Alexander Nanitchkov.

Design by Elizabeth Story.