These are some of the better fantasies I read this year, most of them falling into the urban\/supernatural category, but with a couple historical fantasies thrown in (from when I couldn’t find a historical mystery I wanted to read).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Supernatural and Urban Fantasy<\/strong><\/p>\n Paul Cornell<\/a> : Lychford<\/strong> \u201cYou said he was a being of tremendous power and evil, but I\u2019ve looked him up. He\u2019s got a wife and family. He\u2019s on LinkedIn.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The telemarketers who called her up now seemed either desperate or resigned to the point of a mindless drone, until Judith, who had time on her hands and ice in her heart, engaged them in dark conversations that always got her removed from their lists.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Witches of Lychford<\/a><\/em> (2015) Paul Cornell<\/a>\u00a0 10\/10<\/strong> Shadow Police<\/strong> This is the second book in his Shadow Police series, and although you could read it on its own, I think you\u2019d be better served going back and reading London Falling<\/a><\/em> first, because a LOT happens in that first book. <\/p>\n Charles de Lint<\/a> : Newford<\/strong> He writes urban fantasy\u2014magic\/fae exist, but they\u2019re not the super-sexy, uber powerful creatures of supernatural fantasy. The magic in his books is that of folklore and myth\u2014the Green Man, the Raven. It is the magic that exists just out of the corner of your eye.<\/p>\n Charles de Lint also writes some of the strongest female characters of any fantasy writer today. And I read a LOT of fantasy with female characters. His women are faliable creatures with whom you\u2019d love to have coffee or go to a show with.<\/p>\n But these are not children\u2019s stories any more than the original Grimm\u2019s tales were stories for modern children. There are often monsters in his stories, but they tend to be human.<\/p>\n How can a smile, a laugh, a good deed, stand up against the weight of such a history?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026 I guess it can\u2019t,\u201d Jilly said. \u201cBut you still have to try.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause that\u2019s all you can do. If you don\u2019t try to stand up against the darkness, it swallows you up.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And I adore the Crow Girls.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cAnd now I feel like I\u2019m forgetting what it\u2019s like to be happy,\u201d I said, finishing up. \u201cIt\u2019s like that stupid ghost boy stole all my happiness away, and now, ever since I talked to him, all I meet are unhappy people with very good reasons to be unhappy, and that makes me wonder, how could I ever have been happy? And what is being happy, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n Zia gave a glum nod. \u201cI think it might be catching, because now I\u2019m feeling the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou see? That\u2019s just what I mean. Why is it so easy to spread sadness and so hard to spread happiness?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n All of these books are short story anthologies\u2014you don\u2019t need to read them in any order, because in addition to being one of the best writers of strong female characters, he is also the best short story writer of any I can think of.<\/p>\n I just wish his Dreams Underfoot<\/a><\/em> would come out as an ebook so I could easily reread it. <\/p>\n Daniel Jos\u00e9 Older<\/a> : Bone Street Rumba<\/strong> The Bone Street Rumba books are not YA books, but they have an utterly marvelous teen character, Kia.<\/p>\n A textbook lies open on the counter in front of me; I don\u2019t even remember taking it out. It\u2019s trig, some shit I already know how to do, and can\u2019t be bothered answering a bunch of mindless questions about. I know this is a terrible reason to be getting Cs, but the truth is, I\u2019m bored out my mind almost every day in school.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I also don\u2019t have enough squees for how much I love Kia.<\/p>\n I mute the TV\u2014 you have to stand up and turn the remote at some hypotenuse-ass angle while pressing the button eighteen million times to get it to work\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Midnight Taxi Tango<\/a><\/em> is the second book in this series; you should definitely read the first book before this one, because it\u2019s just as awesome. But if you\u2019re not sure if this is for you, check out his short story collection, Salsa Nocturna<\/a><\/em>. <\/em>It\u2019s also marvelous, and will give you an idea of whether you\u2019ll like his stories or not.<\/p>\n Also, he is the reader on his audiobooks, which initially concerned me, but he is quite good. (Although I\u2019ll admit that although I like the idea of his daughter reading the raps Kia listens to, I\u2019m afraid she\u2019s not quite strong enough to do them justice.) YA Standalone<\/strong> But he understands teens\u2014and women\u2014very well.<\/p>\n (T)he words crept in, made a home in Sierra\u2019s mind no matter how much she fought them off. Her wild, nappy<\/em> hair. She ran her hands through her fro. She loved it the way it was, free and undaunted. She imagined it as a force field, deflecting all Rosa\u2019s stupid comments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Further down Gates Ave, a couple of guys were throwing dice in front of the Coltrane Projects. \u201cWhy you frownin\u2019, girl?\u201d one of them called out as Sierra walked past. \u201cSmile for us!\u201d<\/p>\n Sierra knew the guy. It was Little Ricky; they\u2019d played together when they were small. He\u2019d been one of those boys that all the girls were crazy about, with big dreamy eyes and a gentle way about him. A few years ago, Sierra would have been giddy with excitement to have his attention. Now he was just another stoopgoon harassing every passing skirt.<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t in the mood, jackass,\u201d Sierra muttered, hugging herself. She was still shaky from the horrible night and she knew any sign of weakness would encourage them.<\/p>\n The guys let out a chorus of ohs and pounded one another. \u201cI\u2019m just saying, Sarcastula,\u201d Ricky called after her. \u201cC\u2019mon back when you in the mood \u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is such an amazing book, I really cannot encourage you enough to read it. <\/p>\n Mercy Thompson<\/strong> Mercy is a half Native American WV mechanic who can change into a coyote, but aside from that doesn\u2019t have much in the way of super powers, although she does have a propensity for getting herself into trouble.<\/p>\n This book continues the issues with the Fae and the rest of the US, and takes us for the first time Underhill.<\/p>\n This is the 9th<\/sup> book in this series (there are currently four books and a novella in the Alpha & Omega series) AND graphic novels, so if you want to start at the beginning you have your work cut out for you, but I do love this series, so I think it\u2019s well-worth your time to do so. Additionally, there are generally no cliffhanger endings, so you can read a book and then stop with no ill effects. <\/p>\n Faith Hunter<\/a> : Jane Yellowrock<\/strong> Jane Yellowrock is a skinwalker and a vampire hunter. She is also currently the enforcer for the head of the New Orleans vampires.<\/p>\n Shadow Rites<\/a><\/em> is book ten of the series, and although you could start here, you probably want to go back to the beginning, because Jane does a lot of growing and learning through this series.<\/p>\n And there is Beast.<\/p>\n Beast perked up at the description of the food. Gator. Human killed gator? Human man is good hunter! Hungry for gator. And the picture she sent me was a whole gator, snout, teeth, feet, claws, tail, skin, and all, crusty with batter. I chuckled and sent her a more likely mental picture. Inside she huffed with disappointment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n You can, however, pick up the short story collection, Blood in Her Veins<\/a><\/em>, if you\u2019d like an idea of Faith Hunter\u2019s writing and Jane\u2019s world. The Jane books do not have cliffhangers, so you can read one and come back to the series. Soulwood<\/strong> Nell Ingram appears in a Jane Yellowrock short story, and I was quite pleased to discover that these is also a good series. Some of the characters from the Jane stories appear here\u2014one being Rick LeFleur, who I don\u2019t much care for. But at least he isn\u2019t a love interest for Nell.<\/p>\n One thing I especially liked about this series is that although Nell left the religious cult in which she was raised, and the cult is seen as very negative in the short story, Nell\u2019s relationship with her family is far more complicated than \u201cescaping a cult\u201d would make it sound. I may not be religious, but I appreciate the effort to make Nell\u2019s family and religious faith complex.<\/p>\n One thing I did not like is that the second book ended on a cliff-hanger of sorts. I despise cliff-hangers. Let me be clear, I like story arcs that develop over the course of several books. I love bits that crop up again several books later. But I hate left in the dark as to what has happened when the narrator knows damned well what has happened. So the second book was dinged for the ending. <\/p>\n SPI Files<\/strong> Mac knows her limitations. Which is something I very much appreciate.<\/p>\n As soon as the elevator doors closed, Ian drew his gun, which was loaded with silver-infused hollow points. \u201cStay here,\u201d he told me.<\/p>\n \u201cI can do that.\u201d Not only could I do that, I was glad to do that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We\u2019ve also listened to the first two books of this series, and they were quite enjoyable. <\/p>\n Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls<\/a><\/em> (1994) Jane Lindskold<\/a> : 9\/10<\/strong> <\/p>\n The Dark Side of The Road<\/a><\/em> (2015) Simon R. Green<\/a> : 8\/10<\/strong> I tend to either love or hate Simon Green\u2019s series. I adore the Nightside series, but didn\u2019t care for his Secret histories. This book fell into the Like Very Much category.<\/p>\n My reflection met my gaze with a cold, mistrustful stare. A very familiar face because it hadn\u2019t changed in so very long. Not the one I would have chosen; but good enough. I was tall, slim, dark-haired and handsome enough if you weren\u2019t too choosy. A long rangy figure who appeared to be in his mid twenties. Dressed well, but anonymously. The kind of stuff you can buy anywhere, so you can fit in anywhere. An easy smile, a casual look, and dark eyes that gave away absolutely nothing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Historical Fantasy<\/strong><\/p>\n The Sarantine Mosaic<\/strong> This series is set in alternate Byzantium, and the main character is a mosaicist, gone to the capital to decorate the rebuilt sanctuary.<\/p>\n To say of a man that he was sailing to Sarantium was to say that his life was on the cusp of change: poised for emergent greatness, brilliance, fortune\u2014 or else at the very precipice of a final and absolute fall as he met something too vast for his capacity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Although there are touches of magic, this isn\u2019t a fantasy in the traditional sense. It is instead a past the was never quite ours, and a glimpse into a great empire at its peak.<\/p>\n If this was the world as the god\u2014 or gods\u2014 had made it, then mortal man, this mortal man, could acknowledge that and honor the power and infinite majesty that lay within it, but he would not say it was right, or bow down as if he were only dust or a brittle leaf blown from an autumn tree, helpless in the wind.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Do not look to Guy Gavriel Kay if you are looking for a quick read, or a book you can easily put down. Look here is you want to become immersed in a world so like our past, yet that never happened. <\/p>\n Magic and Manners<\/a><\/em> (2016) C.E. Murphy<\/a> : 9\/10<\/strong> I was looking for some escapism, this fit the bill to a T.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tremontaine: Season One Volume One<\/a><\/em> (2016) by Patty Bryant, Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner<\/a>, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Paul Witcover : 7.5\/10<\/strong> If you click through any of the Amazon links and buy something, it’ll get me hapenny or so, which will eventually let me buy another book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These are some of the better fantasies I read this year, most of them falling into the urban\/supernatural category, but with a couple historical fantasies thrown in (from when I couldn’t find a historical mystery I wanted to read). Supernatural and Urban Fantasy Paul Cornell : Lychford These are two utterly delightful urban fantasy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,1090],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books-reading","category-years-favorites"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pefxA-3oe","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13034\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/notreally\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThese are two utterly delightful urban fantasy novellas. The three main characters are women, one of whom, Judith, is elderly. All are strong characters\u2014and highly amusing.<\/p>\n
\nThe Lost Child of Lychford<\/a><\/em> (2016) Paul Cornell<\/a>\u00a0 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nPaul Cornell\u2019s other series is very<\/em> different from his Lychford series; I can see that it may well not be to everyone\u2019s taste. I, however, really like it.<\/p>\n
\nThe Severed Streets<\/a><\/em> (2014) Paul Cornell<\/a>\u00a0 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nCharles de Lint is one of my favorite authors.<\/p>\n
\nMuse and Reverie<\/a><\/em> (2009) Charles de Lint<\/a> : 10\/10<\/strong>
\nTapping the Dream Tree<\/a><\/em> (2002) Charles de Lint<\/a> : 10\/10<\/strong>
\nNewford Stories: Crow Girls<\/a><\/em> (2015) Charles de Lint<\/a> : 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThere are not enough squees in the world for how I feel about Daniel Jos\u00e9 Older.<\/p>\n
\nMidnight Taxi Tango<\/a><\/em> (2016) Daniel Jos\u00e9 Older<\/a> : 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is a standalone set in a similar (the same?) world as the Bone Street Rumba series, but is not a part of that series, and doesn\u2019t have boinking and quite as much language as that series.<\/p>\n
\nShadowshaper<\/a><\/em> (2015) Daniel Jos\u00e9 Older<\/a> : 9.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m currently re-reading this series for the second time this year, which probably tells you how I feel about it.<\/p>\n
\nFire Touched<\/a><\/em> (2016) Patricia Briggs<\/a> : 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nI am a huge fan of the Jane Yellowrock series\u2014in fact I\u2019ve been slowly working through the audio versions (I listen to audio books when I\u2019m doing repetitive tasks or exercising, but it has to be something I\u2019ve read before or else I get nothing done).<\/p>\n
\nShadow Rites<\/a><\/em> (2016) Faith Hunter<\/a> : 8\/10<\/strong>
\nBlood in Her Veins<\/a><\/em> (2016) Faith Hunter<\/a> : 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSoulwood is a new series that parallels the Jane Yellowrock books.<\/p>\n
\nBlood of the Earth<\/a><\/em> (2016) Faith Hunter<\/a>\u00a0 : 8\/10<\/strong>
\nCurse on the Land<\/a><\/em> (2016) Faith Hunter<\/a>\u00a0 : 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is an utterly delightful series. Mac is a seer for the SPI\u2014the group in charge of policing the supernatural. Her only talent is that she is a seer, which puts her at a disadvantage when going up against supernatural monsters, which is one of the things I like about this series.<\/p>\n
\nThe Brimstone Deception<\/a><\/em> (2016) Lisa Shearin<\/a> : 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is a single book story that is part fantasy, part SF, but only that there is advanced technology (a technology that is in some cases indistinguishable from magic). I read this years ago and was pleased to enjoy it just as much coming back to it the second time.<\/p>\n
\nThis is a Simon R. Green story that is\u2014best I can tell\u2014not part of a series, which is unusual for him. Nope. Just checked, it\u2019s a new series, but it\u2019s certainly written as a stand-alone.<\/p>\n
\nGuy Gavriel Kay is an author I absolutely love, but whom I have to be careful reading for two reasons. First, his books are complex and absorbing\u2014not something I can pick up and put down, or read in a couple hours. Second, his writing and story-telling are phenomal, and I usually have trouble finding something to read after I finish one of his books, because everything else pales in comparison.<\/p>\n
\nSailing to Sarantium<\/a><\/em> (1998) Guy Gavriel Kay<\/a> : 8\/10<\/strong>
\nLord of Emperors<\/a><\/em> (2000) Guy Gavriel Kay<\/a>\u00a0 : 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is historical fantasy of the what-if-magic-existed type. The world is much as we know of it, except that humans have the ability to use magic. It\u2019s a re-telling, of sorts, of Jane Austen.<\/p>\n
\nThis is a prequel of sorts to Swordspoint, written by various authors as a serial novel. If you have not read Swordspoint, there it is difficult to explain Tremontaine to you. There is no magic here, just a world and time that could have been our past, but wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n