Reviews
'A pervasive dynamism ... McMullen's brand of heady and headstrong fantastic adventure is sure to remain addictive, and I for one will follow its siren call anywhere, on Verral or off.'
Locus, March 2004
BEFORE THE STORM
"... non-stop action from first page to last. The strong characters drive the story, which will keep readers enthralled from the opening passage. 'Before the Storm' is highly readable, eminently enjoyable and thoroughly recommended."
Good Reading, August 2007 - 4 star review
"Think Terminator 2 meets Playing Beattie Bow";
" ... an action-packed YA adventure novel, with some lovely characters ... ";
"McMullen's writing just seems to get sexier and funnier with every book."
ASIF, June 2007
"Laser Guns and Old Lace";
" ... offers a rich depiction of life in Victorian Melbourne, and nicely balances the need for plausibility of period with the development of character."
Farah Mendleson
"McMullen is one of Australia's most successful writers of science fiction and fantasy, and Ford Street is one of the country's newest smal presses. It's a successful combination."
Courier Mail, 7 July 2007
"... and enthralling and thoroughly engaging novel";" ... an intriguing, well-paced plot ... never strains credibility. The action and adventure are tempered with moments of deftly handled humour, which are always complimentary to the story rather than intrusive."
Buzzwords, June 2007, George Ivanoff
"... a highly original tale";" ... marriage between The Terminator and the Bronte sisters";" ... expertly written mix of SF, heart-thudding adventure and humour (with the merest hint of romance). This story delivers on so many levels ...";"A thoroughly riveting read, Before the Storm will appeal equally to male and female YA readers everywhere."
Buzzwords, June 2007, Jenny Mounfield
"... lively characters and humour add to the reader's enjoyment, while issues ... are explored with a light touch";
" ... interesting speculative approach to Australian history.";
"Recommended for lower to middle school secondary readers ..."
Magpies, July 2007
VOIDFARER
"... passionate, headstrong characters, ... fine repartee, opulent local colour ...";
"... his actions sequences splendid, his comic timing impeccable" ;
"The Moonworlds series has become addictive reading."
Locus, January 2006
"Superb storytelling and an unusual setting make this a first-rate addition to mostfantasy collections."
Library Journal December 2005
"Fans of Wells's masterpiece will revel in this fantasy." Publishers Weekly February 2006
"McMullen's narrative powers continue to grow with each new volume in the series, as he doles out equal measures of wit, intrigue, and colourful characterisation. At this rate, McMullen's further books should attain the status of must-reads."
Booklist
"A vibrant, thoughtful, spectacular adventure-drama ... McMullen borrows freely, but weaves his own magical comedy of horrors. The result is a blast."
Kirkus 15/9/2005 - starred review
Romantic Times - 4.5 stars
"... far above the typical fantasy novel ...";
"Highly recommended."
sfrevu.com (by March 2006)
"This is a wonderful book in a great series, though it stands alone perfectly well. Anybody who has enjoyed Terry Pratchett's tales of the Night Watch should try this one"
SF Book Club
GLASS DRAGONS
'Like 2002's well-received Voyage of the Shadowmoon, this second novel in Australian author McMullen's Moonworlds Saga expertly blends fantastic melodrama and broad farce ... the book is especially attractive for its tricky shifts from dark, passionate intrigue to sly but rowdy slapstick, like a Storm Constantine plotline performed by Monty Python. There may be a lot of story to come before the world's balance of magical powers is restored, but readers won't mind if additional books in the series are as entertaining as this one. Forecast: McMullen at first comes off as a cheekier version of Terry Pratchett, but he also has a serious side that will attract Pratchett fans and others who prefer substance to their humour.'
Publisher's Weekly, 16 February 2004.
' McMullen has a gift worthy of the best mainstream authors for creating memorable, finely nuanced characters, making him must-reading for fantasy enthusiasts weary of the routine sword and sorcery outings.'
Booklist, 3 January 2004.
'A pervasive dynamism ... McMullen's brand of heady and headstrong ... fantastic adventure is sure to remain addictive, and I for one will follow its siren call anywhere, on Verral or off.'
Locus, March 2004
'... ingenious adventure, wit, and good humour, and a large helping of heart."
Locus, August 2004
'This one is much better than its predecessor, which was pretty good itself, and suddenly McMullen is threatening to emerge as one of the leading names in fantasy.'
Chronicle, 2004
'... fans of Terry Pratchett and Dougles Adams will appreciate McMullen's dry wit, shifting points of view ... highly entertaining and far from typical fantasy adventure.'
Romantic Times, 2004.
'A captivating and unique blend of fantasy, comedy, cloak and dagger, sword and sorcery, blood and thunder and almost any other pair of linked ikons you care to name ... Such is McMullen's expertise at action-packed scenes, so admirable is his spare yet evocative prose, and so fecund is his sense of invention, that you will finish this book in a gallop, eager for a third foray into the Moonworlds realm.'
scifi.com 2004.
VOYAGE OF THE SHADOWMOON
'... a brilliantly inventive, marvellously plotted sea-faring fantasy that both mocks and surpasses genre expectations ...' Kirkus Review, 1 November 2002.
' The wit. The ferocious personality clashes. The Perverse armours. The set-piece combats. The brilliant oppositions of temperament and ideology. The sheer cerebral slapstick. Voyage of the Shadowmoon is a marvellous entertainment and an accomplished novel of ideas.'
'... perhaps the foremost contemporary master of manic intellectual swashbukler, that subcategory of adventure fiction in which arcane or natural is looted, and esoteric philosophy debated, with equal sharpnesss of tongue and sword.'
Locus, November 2002.
'One of Australia's most inventive authors demonstrates his prodigious talents for fantasy in a standalone novel that belongs in most libraries. Highly recommended.'
Library Journal, December 2002.
'a marvellously unpredictable and intricate story.'
Publisher's Weekly, 18 November 2002.
EYES OF THE CALCULOR
"Deadly monks, harassed bird people, daring pilots and a vivious amnesiac are but some of the disparate personalities enlivening the intricate future world upended in Australian author McMullen's latest SF epic ... enjoyable addition to the McMullen canon." Publishers Weekly
"... one of Australia's best SF writers. Interzone
A captivating conclusion to a brilliant series."
Booklist, (starred Review)
"... one of the best epics I've read. ... If you're read the first two books, no doubt you need little urging to read this one ... the Greatwinter Trilogy is certain to become one of science fiction's master story arcs, and the author will no doubt continue to provide us with good reading for some time to come."
SFRevu - Ernest Lilley
"In Eyes of the Calculor, Sean McMullen expands even further the busy, sprawling, and quite engaging series that began with Souls in the Great Machine ... Not many thousand-and-a-half-page adventure epics have managed to hold my attention for the whole span, but this one has left me willing to read more."
Locus - Russell Letson
"These characters (in the Greatwinter books) are much larger than life, devious, courageous, lovelorn, of huge appetites, ever comically or tragically at odds, they make these books, already rich in concepts and diction, utterlly enthralling. In McMullen's hands, the subgenre of medieval steampunk is a thriving, optimistic enterprise ... Eyes of the Calculor is something of a technical wondow in its purely literary dimensions."
Foundation - Nick Gevers
THE MIOCENE ARROW
"... remarkable imagination and insight ... A complex and lively story, rich with the action and reaction, courage, battle fuelled courage, and quiet devotion."
Booklist, July 2000: Roberta Johnson
"... every bit as much ingenious fun as the first book. ... up in the circuitry of the Mirrorsun we might still encounter the shades of some of the sympathetic dead who made these books such a pleasure."
Locus, September 2000, Russell Letson (p. 27)
"This tale features labyrinthe politics, a large cast of engaging, thorny and occasionally rather cartoonish characters, and many well-depicted scenes of aerial warfare. The author's inventive use of severall oddball technologies is particularly noteworthy, and veteran SF readers may well be reminded of the best work of L. Sprague de Camp."
Publishers Weekly, 17 July 2000, (pwforecasts, p 179)
"... immense momentum. ... a classic 'good read'..."
Analog, Feb 2001, Tom Easton
"The Miocene Arrow is a panorama as broad and crowded as one of these Breughel canvasses ... McMullen's prose is plain but lucid, and, nicely enriched with low human comedy, coincidence and farce, is perfectly suited to explication of his crowded story of heroism and cupidity in this cross between an old-fashioned air ace adventure and Arthurian romance. McMullen ties up the numerous plot twists with an admirable facility, and the final pages are imbued with the burgeoning sense that the diptych of Souls of the Great Machine and The Miocene Arrow is destined to become a classic."
Interzone: October 2000, Paul J McCauley
SOULS IN THE GREAT MACHINE
"A stunning idea -- the Calculor's as real as if McMullen had built it in his backyard -- with an utterly convincing setting, breathtaking developments, and a captivating narrative."
Kirkus
"...a complex, well-crafted novel ... a marvellous inventiveness which pervades Souls ..."
Locus - Jonathan Strahan
"Decidedly original, sometimes whimsical, and captivating, this is a genuine tour de force."
Booklist - John Mort
"Numerate adventure, spiritus machina ... a calculating machine that would have made Babbage proud ... McMullen weaves these characters and several others together effectively to produce a very satisfying tale of politics, religion, and social upheaval."
New York Review of Science Fiction - Mark W. Tiedmann
"Give this one a try; I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
Davis Enterprise
"It really is a great machine, in concept, and a great book in the reading. Highly recommended."
Union Tribune San Diego - Jim Hopper
Headline: Librarian commands firing squad in Australian tale: 'There are many fascinating concepts and images in the book's great beginning, but it should be twice as long to include all the events that follow.
Denver Post - Fred Cleaver
The novel's vast canvas and ironic, omniscient narration are reminiscent of Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz and Keith Roberts' Pavane.
Interzone - Paul J. McCauley
displays considerable cleverness ... very satisfying saga of empire and technology.
Analog - Tom Easton
McMullen's writing is energetic, imaginative and humorous. Souls in the Great Machine is an appealing book, crammed with gems that are sure to please almost every kind of reader.
Netreview - A.M. Dellamonica
an entertaining novel from a writer rapidly carving out an international reputation ... for sheer inventiveness and an ability to engage with his ideas, McMullen has no peer.
Foundation - Peter McNamara
This book gives one of the most distinctive and unforgetable Down Under futures ever created ... It's fascinating, medieval cyberpunk all the way, a riotous, swashbuckling, high- and low-tech adventure filled with heroes and varlets, quests, assassinations and battles, with humanity ultimately triumphing over its own limitations. As a a narrative canvas, they don't come much larger.
The Bulletin - Terry Dowling
The acclaimed Australian-born Sean McMullen is now waking SF readers in America to his unique storytelling ability and mind-bending imagination. Barnes & Noble Website:
Best Novels of 1999 list.
THE CENTURION'S EMPIRE
A tightly woven, intricately plotted tale of future intrigue that should appeal to fans of high-tech sf. Library Journal
The Centurion's Empire is a must-read: It has history and the future, action and speculation, a strong main character and nasty villains. A fine time to be had by all.
Davis Enterprise
The Centurion's Empire shows the same attention to detail and the sense of intricate design that made McMullen's Greatwinter books so much fun. This novel's ending offers both a bittersweet closure and an option for continuing adventures that I would not mind seeing picked up.
Locus
McMullen's strength as a storyteller lie in his ability to take the reader smoothly from ancient times to the future, and to blend history and technical jargon in an extremely entertaining and fascinating manner.
Booklist
highly readable ... the most important Australian SF novel of the year ...
Australian Book Review - Russell Blackford
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