The Innkeeper’s Song (1993) Peter S. Beagle I read The Innkeeper’s Song several years ago–probably soon after it was published, and I picked it up solely on the strength of its cover. I’m a sucker for fantasy books with strong females, and the three women on the cover–especially Lal on the left–look strong. Well, I […]
The Sandman Vol 10: The Wake (1996) Neil Gaiman The final book in The Sandman collection, volume 10, The Wake tells of the funeral of Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, and of how Dream rebuilds his realm, and meets the rest of his family. I particularly like seeing how Matthew comes to terms with Dream’s […]
Cryptonomicon (2000) Neal Stephenson It’s been awhile since I’d read Cryptonomicon, although it came out more recently than I remembered. For some reason I thought it came out in 1997. Memory is funny like that. It is a hard book to categorize. It’s part history, part fiction, part mystery, and very technical. As I read […]
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1999) John Berendt I read this book several years ago, after listening to the abridged version as an audio book. I was looking for something that I could read a little bit of and put down, so this seemed a good choice. Author John Berendt traveled to […]
Rising Stars: Visitations (2002) J. Michael Straczynski Published between Power and Fire and Ash, Visitations gives some background stories. The first story, Rising Starts, is a quick history of what caused the specials, an excerpt of Dr Wells’ diary, and the Supreme Court opinion on how the specials were to be treated as children. Plus […]
Anansi Boys (2005) Neil Gaiman All summer I went back and forth over whether I was going to get Neil Gaiman’s new book Anansi Boys in hardback, or wait until it came out in paperback. On one hand, I greatly prefer paperback books–they’re smaller and lighter. On the other hand, I really didn’t want to […]
The Sandman Vol 5: A Game of You (1992) Neil Gaiman Barbie, who we first met in The Doll’s House, has moved to New York City after her break-up with Ken. She hasn’t dreamed for two years, when she was pulled into the dream vortex created by Rose Walker, but Barbie’s Dreamworld is not content […]
Shakespeare’s Counselor (2001) Charlaine Harris My complaint about this book is that it was too engrossing. I laid down just to read a couple of chapters, and two hours later I found myself two-thirds of the way into the book, and not going to sleep early as I’d planned. Here I felt bad and wanted […]
Shadows of Myth (2005) Rachel Lee A woman awakens amidst carnage, with no memory of what has happened or who she is. Elsewhere, in her father’s inn Sara remembers her lost mother as she helps to prepare for the fall harvest, despite the fact that the harvest was bad and winter seems to have came […]
Fables Vol 2: Animal Farm (2003) Bill Willingham Fables who can’t pass as human live on “The Farm”, where they are hidden from the mundanes. Every year Snow White, the assistant mayor of Fabletown, visits “The Farm” to see how things are going. This year she takes her sister, Rose Red, partially as part of […]
The Firebird’s Vengeance (2004) Sarah Zettel The Firebird’s Vengeance is Sarah Zettel’s third book Isavalta book, set soon after the events of A Sorcerer’s Treason. Bridget Lederle is contacted by the Vixen, who warns Bridget that the Firebird is coming to take revenge upon Isavalta and Hung-Tse. She also poses an enigmatic question about Bridget’s […]
The Blue Girl (2004) Charles de Lint I love Charles de Lint. There is nothing he has written that I have read that I have not liked, and most of what he writes I absolutely love. Yet for some reason I was hesitant to read this book. Probably because the main characters are high school […]
The Iron Tower Trilogy: The Dark Tide (1984), Shadows of Doom (1984), The Darkest Day (1984) Dennis McKiernan The Iron Tower Trilogy tells the tale of the Winter War, Mordru’s final attempt to gain control of Mithgar and bring Gryphon back into the world. The story is told from the point of view of Tipperton […]
The Eye of the Hunter (1992) Dennis L. McKiernan If I remember correctly, this is the second Dennis McKiernan book I read–and the first novel. (The first book was the short story collection Tales of Mithgar.) In The Eye of the Hunter, the Lastborn Firstborns Gwilly and Faeril, join with Riatha and Aravan to fulfill […]
The Fencing Master (1988) Arturo Perez-Reverte translated by Margaret Jull Costa (1998) I initially didn’t realize that this books were originally in Spanish, and was a little unsure when I realized they were translated, but then decided that it shouldn’t make a difference, and so happily read the book. The Fencing Master is set in […]
Voyage of the Fox Rider (1993) Dennis McKiernan Dennis McKiernan is another author I appreciate for his ability to write duologies and single book fantasies. Of course as the Mithgar books all have the same setting, and contain recurring characters, I suppose that gives him the luxury of being able to continue in a known […]