Author Archives: Barbara Howe

Cunning Devil

Posted on 12 May 2018 by Barbara Howe

Ozzy Turner is a man you don’t want to cross. He is a cunning man, aka white witch; a magic user specialising in breaking curses and finding lost items or people. A man dedicated to protecting his community, the town … Continue reading →

Posted in Urban Fantasy | 1 Comment

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Posted on 5 May 2018 by Barbara Howe

Imagine a world where a human raised by fairies rules three kingdoms: one in Faerie, one in the human realm of northern England, and the third on the far side of Hell. During his three hundred year reign in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternate History, Fantasy | Leave a comment

The Traitor and the Thief

Posted on 20 April 2018 by Barbara Howe

In The Traitor and the Thief, debut novel by Gareth Ward, a fourteen-year-old boy named Sin is plucked off the streets and given an opportunity to earn a place in the Covert Operations Group (COG). COG is a clandestine organisation … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Noblebright Fantasy | Leave a comment

Matters Arising from the Identification of the Body

Posted on 7 April 2018 by Barbara Howe

In Matters Arising from the Identification of the Body by New Zealand-born author Simon Petrie, hard science fiction intersects with another of my favourite genres, crime fiction. In a mining colony on Titan, Saturn’s moon, a young woman, Tanja Morgenstein, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mysteries, Science Fiction | Leave a comment

ConClave3

Posted on 2 April 2018 by Barbara Howe

ConClave3, New Zealand’s 39th National Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, was held this past weekend in Auckland. I did not, as I had hoped, win a Sir Julius Vogel award for either Best New Talent or Best Youth Novel (for … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | Leave a comment

In Memoriam

Posted on 10 March 2018 by Barbara Howe

Two weeks ago, the world lost a wonderful teacher. In her ninety years, Sarah Lucinda Davison Howe touched many lives. As a professional, early in her career she taught in the public schools and later gave music lessons out of … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | Leave a comment

WOW

Posted on 17 February 2018 by Barbara Howe

We were down on the South Island this past week, taking a short family vacation before delivering our daughter to the University of Canterbury for the start of the school year. For me, the highlight of the trip was the … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life | Leave a comment

Year of Wonders

Posted on 3 February 2018 by Barbara Howe

The year is 1665. Bubonic plague is sweeping through London. Further to the north, in Derbyshire, the plague comes to the mining village of Eyam through a delivery of flea-infested cloth. The journeyman tailor sewing the cloth sickens and dies, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction | Leave a comment

The Five Hundred Kingdoms

Posted on 20 January 2018 by Barbara Howe

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a sucker for fairy tales. It shouldn’t be surprising then that Mercedes Lackey’s Five Hundred Kingdoms series appeals to me. In this fantasy world, the magic system is The Tradition: a mindless force that tries … Continue reading →

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Children of the Black Sun

Posted on 12 January 2018 by Barbara Howe

What choices can you make when there are no acceptable choices left? That seems to be the question raised in Australian author Jo Spurrier’s Children of the Black Sun trilogy. This is one of the best fantasies I have read … Continue reading →

Posted in Epic Fantasy | Leave a comment