Enchanters’ Endgame (1984) David Eddings The Belgariad concludes with Enchanters’ Endgame. This is another of my favorite books, primarily because I love Garion and Belgarath and Silk traveling through Gar Og Nadrak. And Silk and Yarblek are perfect partners. But not only is it fun to see them travel through Gar Og Nadrak, I quite [...]
Queen of Sorcery (1982) David Eddings The cover is coming off my copy of the second book of the Belgariad, Queen of Sorcery. As with the previous book, the spine is bent and the corners are rounded, but like the first book it’s from multiple readings and being carried around and shoved into pockets and [...]
Pawn of Prophecy (1982) David Eddings I was given a used copy of The Belgariad series in college as part of a gift exchange where I worked. This was the series that returned me to being a reader and got me back into reading fantasy, which I hadn’t done since I was much younger. My [...]
Last Watch (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko Translated by Andrew Bromfield I’d been thinking recently about rereading Sergei Lukyanenko’s Night Watch series, so when I stumbled upon Last Watch, my first thought was, “Why the hell didn’t I know this was out?!” my second thought was that this was the excuse I needed to reread the Night [...]
Twilight Watch (2007) Sergei Lukyanenko Translated by Andrew Bromfield Just finished re-reading Twilight Watch, the third book in the Night Watch series. Now I can start the new book in the series, and find out what Anton’s been up to. Rating: 9/10
Day Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko Translated by Andrew Bromfield Just re-read Day Watch. As with Night Watch, I found that I understood and enjoyed the book better the second time around. Especially since I understood where the first story was going. Rating: 9/10
Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko Translated by Andrew Bromfield Been wanting to re-read this series for awhile. Discovering a fourth book in the series was just the push I needed. I liked it even better the second time through, mostly because I already understood what was happening, so I was able to pay more attention [...]
Deathwish (2009) Rob Thurman This book too me far longer than I expected to finish. I started reading, and then decided it felt like the final book in the series, and that was followed by the thought, “this can’t end well,” (after all, consider the name of the book) so as much as I desperately [...]
Mean Streets (2009) Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson, Thomas E. Sniegoski OK. I admit it. I’m an Amazon junkie. I often search for my favorite artists and look at coming releases to see if anyone I love has something new coming out. Which is how I stumbled upon Mean Streets. I believe it [...]
Rounding the Mark (2003) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Inspector Montalbano is mad. Very mad. Police raids in Genoa have made a spectacle of Italian police, and Montalbano feels as if he has been betrayed by a system that ignores that ideals he holds dear. He says he’s going to resign, but then he [...]
Where Serpents Sleep (2008) C.S. Harris I really like C.S. Harris’ Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries. In fact, now that I’ve finished the latest, Where Serpents Sleep I’m depressed I’ll have to wait at least a year before the next book in the series comes out. Sebastian has been leading a dissolute life following the events [...]
Why Mermaids Sing (2007) C.S. Harris I really like Sebastian St. Cyr Viscount Devlin, and look forward to new books in the series as they come out. Unfortunately for me, others seem to like him as well, and Why Mermaids Sing came out in hardback. I really do not like reading hardback books (I’ve got [...]
Fables Vol 11: War and Pieces (2008) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Niko Hearichon, Andrew Peopy So there are added advantages to pre-ordering from Amazon. I got Fables Volume 11 today! It’s very very good. As a matter of fact, I started to panic while I read it, fearing that this was going to [...]
Fables Vol 10: The Good Prince (2008) Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Peopy I’ve been reading Fables since 2005. And since then, I’ve pre-ordered the next in the series to get it the day it was released. Which tells you that this series is pretty fantastic. For those who haven’t been playing along [...]
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (2007) Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling I love short stories. Aside from collections by Charles de Lint, I best love anthologies by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling best. Their books are like comfort food, and I save them up for when I’m sick or feeling low. In the same vein [...]
Serenity: Better Days Vol 3 (2008) Joss Whedon And now I have to close yet another chapter of the Firefly/Serenity story. I actually had to go back and reread the previous two, because I had forgotten some of the details, but that only drew me back further into a story and character that I enjoy. [...]
THUD (2005) Terry Pratchett I’m not sure what it is about Terry Pratchett. I’ll see a new Discworld book, and think, yeah, he’s good, but I’m sure it can’t be as good as I remember, and so I’ll put off getting or reading the book for awhile, till several have backed up, then I’ll decided [...]
Iron Kissed (2008) Patricia Briggs I really like Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, so I’ve had Iron Kissed on pre-order since I found out it was available. I had to finish the book I was currently reading before I started this, but yesterday afternoon I picked it up and didn’t want to put it back [...]
Bangkok 8 (2003) John Burdett Sonchai and his life-long friend and now partner in the Bangkok police force, Pichai, are following an American Marine through Bangkok, on the orders of the Colonel, the head of the police department in his sector. When the Marine is murdered and the woman he was with has disappeared, Sonchai–for [...]
Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was (1984) Barry Hughart I have a weakness for fantasy novels set in Asia–especially those set in ancient China. So when I saw Bridge of Birds on the shelf I immediately snatched it up. A strange malady has struck the children of the village [...]
New Amsterdam (2007) Elizabeth Bear Imagine North America where there was never a Revolutionary War against the British. Where England and France and Spain control North American colonies. France controls Canada and Louisiana. Spain controls the West Coast. And England still controls the original colonies. It’s 1899. Magic and technology exist together. Despite the tensions [...]
Twilight Watch (2007) Sergei Lukyanenko Translated by Andrew Bromfield I tend to hoard books–when I buy a book I expect to be good, I’ll often wait several weeks before reading it, because it’s nice to have something I expected to be good in the line-up. But sometimes I’m looking forward to a book so much [...]
Summers at Castle Auburn (2001) Sharon Shinn I picked up Summers at Castle Auburn because I’d read another Sharon Shinn book and thoroughly enjoyed it. So when I came across Summers at Castle Auburn used I snatched it up, since I hadn’t seen it before. Corie is the bastard daughter of a bastard lord. After [...]
Moonshine (2007) Rob Thurman Moonshine is the sequel to Nightlife. Now that Cal and Niko have defeated the monsters who were trying to possess Cal, they have moved onto the more mundane task of simply living their lives–something they were never given the luxury to do when they were constantly on the run. They’re currently [...]
What Angels Fear (2005) C.S. Harris Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is a somewhat dissolute young noble who returned from the Napoleonic wars far more bitter than when he left. A prickly relationship with his father and a willingness to fight duels have not helped his reputation, but he doesn’t much seem to care. However, [...]
Day Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko Translated by Andrew Bromfield The sequel to Night Watch, Day Watch contains another trio of stories about the Day and Night Watches in Moscow. The first story, Unauthorized Personnel Permitted is the story of Alisa Donnikova, a witch, and Other member of the Day watch we first came across in [...]
The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006) Scott Lynch It’s somewhat difficult to classify The Lies of Locke Lamora. It’s definitely fantasy, but I haven’t come across a lot of fantasy like it. The closet comparison I can think of is Thieves’ World; the main characters are scoundrels and thieves, and no one is up to [...]
Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko Translated by Andrew Bromfield I picked up this book a month or two ago, even though I didn’t have time to read it, because I was afraid it would be one of those books that I never saw again if I didn’t get it then. Having read it, I am [...]
Fables: 1001 Night of Snowfall (2006) Bill Willingham If you haven’t read Bill Willingham’s Fables series, then you have really been missing out. Fables tells of the characters–Fables–who have escaped the lands of fairy tales after they were drive out by the adversary, and are now living in New York, hiding their true nature from [...]
Swan Sister (2003) Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling I don’t think I’ve come across a short story collection put together by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling that I didn’t like, and Swan Sister is no exception to the rule. The stories are fairy tales retold, by a variety of authors–many some of my favorites. The [...]
The Privilege of the Sword (2006) Ellen Kushner There are a handful of authors whose books I actively seek out, looking for crumbs of news of upcoming books: Sean Russell, Guy Gavriel Kay, Charles de Lint, and also Ellen Kushner. Well, July has been a good month for me; new Charles de Lint, and even [...]
War for the Oaks (1987) Emma Bull Wow. I’ve been bypassing this book for years. Initially, because wasn’t on the shelves. Then when the reprint came out, because the cover made it look like something I wouldn’t like. Boy was I wrong. And I shouldn’t have been, because I liked Freedom & Necessity, which she [...]
Past the Size of Dreaming (2001) Nina Kiriki Hoffman The sequel to A Red Heart of Memories, Past the Size of Dreaming is superior to its predecessor. Which is impressive, because A Red Heart of Memories is very good. Edmund and Matt and Suki are back at the House, and are gathering together Edmund and [...]
Mystic and Rider (2005) Sharon Shinn I really liked this book. It’s a good, solid, and lovely fantasy. Senneth is a mystic, leading a group through the country of Gillengarin upon the orders of King Baryn. In her group are two King’s Riders, sent along, but unsure of Senneth and where her loyalties lie. First [...]
Fables Vol 6: Homelands (2005) Bill Willingham I broke one of my cardinal rules with Fables, which is don’t get involved in an ongoing series. Of course, I didn’t realize I was breaking my rules at the time, but I could have stopped earlier in the series, and waited. But I didn’t. Because the story [...]