open
Upgrade to a better browser, please.

Worlds Without End Blog

Five SF/F Book Review Blogs Worth Reading Posted at 12:14 PM by Dave Post

Dave Post

Books!

The interwebs abound in science fiction and fantasy book review blogs – but how do you find the really good ones? The best sites I’ve found have come by way of chance discovery or through recommendations from other fans or blog rolls on other sites. I’ve compiled a list of nearly 100 for the SF/F Blog Roll you see in the sidebar but it’s still a bit much to pick through so I thought I’d highlight a few in particular that I want to share. I’ve limited my selection to five single-author blogs that you may have missed rather than point out the obvious ones you’ve likely already found.

Tethyan Books
Reviews of Science Fiction and Fantasy novels by a finicky physicist

Tethyan Books is only a few months old but already has a plethora of great reviews. From classics like Frederick Pohl’s Gateway to cutting edge new books like Lauren Beukes’ Zoo City, Allie reviews a wide variety of books from many different sub-genres of SF/F. She’s also a WWEnd member and posts a lot of her reviews here so she gets bonus points in my book.


Blogging the Hugo Winners

Like the title says, this blog is about the Hugo Award – but not just books and not just the Hugo. Ryan’s focus is Hugo winning books, movies and television but he’ll dip into other awards like the Clarke and BSFA from time to time. He’s been at it since 2009 – posting an average of 10 reviews a month so there’s plenty to chew on here – you’ll want to dig deep.


Top Science Fiction Novels of All Time

This blog is dedicated to reviewing the top 100 Science Fiction novels of all time – as selected by Sci Fi Lists. A pretty big task if you ask me but Andy has posted 57 reviews thus far. The blog is a bit quirky though. To keep the reviews in order from 1-100 Andy has posted them with bogus dates far in the future. For example, his Ender’s Game review, #1 on the list, is posted October 1, 2014 so you have no idea when he actually posted it. Kinda’ strange but the reviews are good quality and include the usual suspects you’d expect in a "best of" list.


The Little Red Reviewer

The Little Red Reviewer boasts an eclectic blend of SF/F sub-genre reviews from classic old-school SF (Asimov and Heinlein etc.) to hard-core blood-and-guts fantasy (Abercrombie and Martin etc.) and most everything in between. Redhead’s got over 100 reviews so be sure to look over her review index.


Val’s Random Comments
Almost entirely random comments on whatever it is I am reading at the moment…

Val, not his real name, offers up science fiction and fantasy reviews that are much more than random comments. Confused? Just go with it. The reviews are excellent and plentiful with almost 200 to choose from so don’t stop after the first page.


Bonus blog:

The Giant Floating Head of James Doohan

Good Show Sir
Only the worst Sci-fi/Fantasy book covers

While not a review site, this blog is still awesome. It’s a pictorial romp through the horrible cover art that too often adorns genre books – the ones that you’d be embarrassed to read in public. I’ve got some of these in my own collection and I’m sure you’ve run into many of them on the bookstore shelves yourself. The best thing about the site is that you can submit your own pics and snide remarks. I’ve been doing this for years with my friends so you can bet I’ll be snapping some shots the next time I go book shopping. I’ll be looking for The Giant Floating Head of James Doohan.™

 

Check out these sites and, if you like them, help spread the word by liking them on your Facebook or tweet ’em or join or add them to your RSS feed or, even better, tell your friends about them.

So what sites do you frequent for reviews and why?

16 Comments

redhead   |   23 Apr 2011 @ 15:32

thanks for the plug! i just added everyone else you mentioned to my reader. good stuff!

Dave Post   |   23 Apr 2011 @ 15:54

@ redhead: No problem – just keep the reviews coming. I’m glad you like the others too. We’re looking at around 500 reviews taken all together!

Ryan F   |   23 Apr 2011 @ 16:24

Yes, thanks for the plug! I know Worlds Without End has been invaluable in building my reading list (though maybe I should be angry at you for enabling its constant expansion).Thanks for the suggestions too. These sites all look great.

Dave Post   |   23 Apr 2011 @ 16:50

@Ryan F: No problem. I’m glad you’re finding WWEnd useful and I know what you mean about the exspansion being a mixed blessing. I’ve got almost 100 books on my to-read list already!

Mattastrophic   |   23 Apr 2011 @ 21:21

Indeed. Damn you WWEnd! Your comprehensive lists of award winners, handy reading list function, and daily picks have made me much more of an avid SF reader. Now I’ll never get caught up with my reading. How can I? It doesn’t stop growing because of this site and the way it opens new vistas of SF to me on a daily basis. Curses! I’ll get you one of these days!PS: I also enjoyed the shortlist of blogs. Thanks…and curses.

Dave Post   |   23 Apr 2011 @ 22:07

@Mattastrophic: I see I’m not the only one going crazy trying to keep up! I like your intensity. Muwhahaha! A lot of guys ignore the laugh – and that’s about standards.

Emil   |   24 Apr 2011 @ 04:28

Thanks for this plug. WWEnd has certainly expanded my reading experience sevenfold! Sadly, in the other side of the coin, it has considerably deflated my savings 🙂 Seriously though, plugs like these and the ever-escalating lists here at WWEnd continue to expose magical worlds and possibilities, without which my first serious foray into the fantasy genre would not have been the exhilarating ride it currently is. And without the reviews I would certainly not have invested wisely.

Val   |   24 Apr 2011 @ 10:38

So that was where the spike in my traffic came from … Glad to hear you like Random Comments. WWE funnels quite a lot of readers my way on a number of award winning SF novels, for which I am very grateful since I am not too good at promoting myself 😉

Dave Post   |   24 Apr 2011 @ 11:53

@Emil: I’m happy to hear that WWEnd is expanding your horizons! That’s pretty much the whole point of the site so it’s good to know it’s working. @Val: A spike! Excellent. I was hoping we could send some traffic your way. It’s hard to get noticed in such a crowded space and all these sites deserve more attention. I’ve written just a few reviews myself but I know it takes a lot of work to write quality with consistency and your sites work hand in glove with WWEnd’s mission.

Mattastrophic   |   24 Apr 2011 @ 13:02

Nice use of Dr. Horrible there, Dave. Been working with a vocal coach on the laugh?

Dave Post   |   25 Apr 2011 @ 22:47

@Mattastrophic: You caught me. The laugh is coming along nicely.

Allie   |   26 Apr 2011 @ 15:06

Thanks for mentioning me! I’ve added the others to my list of blogs to read. And I agree with what other commenters have said, WWend is an incredible resource. Thanks for everything!

Dave Post   |   26 Apr 2011 @ 17:44

@Allie: Glad to be of service and thanks for the props!

Wintermute   |   21 May 2011 @ 19:45

One site I would like to add to the list is the Hugo Nebula ( Locus) Science Fiction Review Project. I find his reviews particularly insightful and interconnected to other novels (i.e. one novel is reviewed but also compared to similar novels to see what makes them different). The review is chronological and is currently in the 1970s with a neat little summary review of each decade (50s, 60s so far) plus some discussion about the awards themselves (Nebula, Hugo, vs Locus). I recommend people check it out: http://hn-review.blogspot.com/Recent reviews included the classics: Rendezvous with Rama, The Forever War, and The Gods Themselves. Love it.

Wintermute   |   21 May 2011 @ 19:47

http://hn-review.blogspot.com/

Dave Post   |   21 May 2011 @ 21:57

@Wintermute: That is a pretty cool site. I haven’t been there in some time. Thanks for the reminder. I have some catching up to do.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.