Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel (2011) Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris I was a lot happier about this book before I discovered I’d paid full price for it. Eliza D. Braun and Wellington Books are agents of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences who met when Braun rescued Books from Antarctica after he’d […]
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After (2006) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Kate and Cecy are once again embroiled in magical mysteries. James is called to investigate the disappearance of a magician who was inspecting the rail lines up north. Thomas and Kate thus get to care for James and Cecy’s brood, and […]
The Story of the Stone (1988) Barry Hughart Master Li has taken Number Ten Ox on as his assistant. The Abbot of the monastery of the Valley of Sorrows comes to Master Li asking for help resolving the unexpected death of his librarian, and the strange dead spots in the Valley. Along the way they […]
Bridge of Birds (1984) Barry Hughart A year or so ago I ordered The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, because I’d read Bridge of Birds, loved it, and wanted to read more. Unfortunately for me, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox is a BIG book. It’s three volumes: Bridge […]
Boneshaker (2009) Cherie Priest I started this book the week Grandmom went into the hospital. Unsurprisingly, it took me a bit to get back to it, as I remembered almost nothing of what I read–not because of the story, but because I was distracted. Briar Wilkes had been married to a man claimed to have […]
Last Watch (2009) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Fourth (and last?) book of the Night Watch series. I’d actually forgotten a good deal of this, probably because I’d only read it once. Published by Mirimax Books
Twilight Watch (2003/2007) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Third book of my reread of Night Watch. This one contained some of the must surprising events. Published by Miramax
Day Watch (2000/2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield Second book in the Night Watch series as I continued my reread. I love his world building. Published by Miramax
Night Watch (2006) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield I have a HUGE to-be-read pile, so what do I want to read? Things I’ve read before. Go figure. However, Night Watch is well worth a re-read. Published by Miramax Books / Hyperion
Dark Entries (2009) Ian Rankin, Werther Dell’Edera I have a conflicted relationship with John Constantine stories. I love the idea of who Constantine is, but for some reason the stories always fall short of my expectations in some manner. But when I saw that Ian Rankin–whose John Rebus mysteries I love–had written a Constantine graphic […]
Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede I discovered Patricia C. Wrede’s writing when I couldn’t resist the title, Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. I also read and enjoyed A Matter of Magic. Both are alternate histories where magic is an integral part of the world, however, in Thirteenth Child they live in […]
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (2010) Lish McBride Sam can’t decide what to do with himself, which means that by default he has fallen to the painful default of food service. His life is going nowhere, he’s job is crap, but he has friends, and friends can make anything easier. Even drawing the attention of a […]
The King of Attolia (2006) Megan Whalen Turner The sequel to The Queen of Attolia and The Thief, we see Gen this time from the outside–from the view of a guard who doesn’t like–but yet must work with–Gen. As with previous books, there is a great deal of intrigue, and we’re a step removed from […]
The Devil You Know (2009) P. N. Elrod I like PN Elrod’s Jack Fleming series. Jack is a vampire, living in the 1930s, who works as a private eye, owns a nightclub, and quite accidentally developed ties to the Chicago mob. It’s fun, and I enjoy the setting immensely. In this story, Jack receives a […]
Instead of Three Wishes (2006) Megan Whalen Turner This is an absolutely wonderful collection of fantasy short stories for the pre-teen set. Although some of the stories are dark, they are still fabulous, and far less dark than real life. The story “A Plague of Leprechaun” had a feel reminiscent of Charles de Lint. Someone […]
One Salt Sea (2011) Seanan McGuire Most fantasy series, the longer the series goes on, the weaker the stories get. Or perhaps the series remains strong, but for a book or two it seems like the author is struggling to figure out where they are going with the characters. Or, to work with the overarching […]
Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners (1987) Ellen Kushner I just couldn’t help myself. Every year or so I need to reread this book–because it’s simply that awesome. Rating: 10/10
Vampires: The Recent Undead (2011) edited by Paula Guran As with many anthologies, this one has some stories I especially liked, and others I didn’t care for at all. I believe I’ll focus on the ones I liked. The anthology opens with Holly Black‘s story, “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.” This was an unusual take […]
Eye of the Tempest (2011) Nicole Peeler There are so many things about this book I should hate–boinking and cliffhangers being the top two–yet I love Jane True and this series. The story takes off where the previous book ended. Jane and Anyan are newly returned to Rockbill after the dire events of the previous […]
Ghost of a Smile (2011) Simon R. Green As much as I enjoy Simon R. Green’s writing, and as much is it frequently makes me laugh, I found Ghost of a Smile to be disappointing. There is still plenty of dialogue to make me happy: “That’s it?” said JC, after Happy had been quite for […]
Kiss Me, Kill Me: A Paranormal Anthology (2011) Definitely a mixed bag. But for 99 cents, it’s hard to complain too much. “Impulse Control” by Susan Bischoff was very very good. It’s about teens with superheroes in a “school” for kids with “Talents”. Or more accurately, it’s little better than a prison for kids who […]
Kitty’s Greatest Hits (2011) Carrie Vaughn Kitty’s Greatest Hits is a short story anthology, so its timeline is interwoven between the various Kitty books. There are also several stories that don’t have Kitty in them at all, although most of those stories contain peripheral characters, and all are set within Kitty’s world. I’d read several […]
Kill the Dead (2010) Richard Kadrey If you read Sandman Slim, you’re familiar with James Stark, who escaped from Hell to seek revenge for his imprisonment there and the murder of his girlfriend. Now he’s at loose ends, drinking himself into oblivion, living with a disembodied head for a roommate, and trying to make ends […]
Madame Xanadu Vol 4: Extra-Sensory (2011) Matt Wagner, Marley Zarcone, Laurenn McCubbin, Chrissie Zullo, Celia Calle, Marian Churchland I really like the layout for this volume. We see slices from several years in the 1960s in which Madame Xanadu took part. The first several stories only have Madame Xanadu in the periphery–she steps in to […]
Quatrain (2009) Sharon Shinn Four novellas set in four different worlds: Samaria (Archangel), the land of Gold Mountain, Alora (Summers at Castle Auburn), and Gillengaria (the Twelve Houses). I have purchased the first book in the Archangel series, but had not read it, so I saw this as a nice introduction to that world. In […]
The Queen of Attolia (2000) Megan Whalen Turner I really loved The Thief, so when I realized The Queen of Attolia was a sequel, I wanted to read it, in the hopes that Eugenides would be one of the main characters. He was. And as with the previous book, I could hardly stop reading. Attolia […]
Shadow Touch (2006) Marjorie M. Liu Elena Baxter has powers she doesn’t understand. She can heal by touch, but has worked hard to keep her gifts hidden, lest she be studied in a lab and kept from her calling. Artur works for Dirk & Steele. He escaped from the Russian mafia to the United States, […]
The Red Heart of Jade (2006) Marjorie M. Liu Dirk & Steele have been very good to Dean Campbell. They allow him to use his powers to help others, but also to have adventures–going out in the world and rescuing the innocent from evildoers. He also continues to mourn the loss of his first love […]
Silent Blade (2009) Ilona Andrews Meli is an assassin who has inherited gifts from her family that make her an excellent assassin. However, after years of killing for her family, she has decided to retire. And she enjoys her retirement until her family asks her for one last death–the death of the very man who […]
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agness Nutter, Witch (1990) Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett With so much recent discussion of Good Omens on the web recently, what with its anniversary, and with my recent rereading of American Gods, I’ve been wanting to reread Good Omens. So a long flight seemed like a […]
Kitty’s Big Trouble (2011) Carrie Vaughn Kitty’s latest interest is finding historical figures that may have been supernatural creatures. Someone sends her some indirect evidence that General Sherman may have been a were, but Kitty’s attempts to have his body exhumed and tested are adamantly denied (and rightfully so). Then she comes across a story […]
Girl Genius Vol 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse (2011) Phil & Kaja Foglio It was reading Agatha H and the Airship City that made me realize it had been awhile since I read a new Girl Genius comic. (Yes, I know you can read them online, but I just like having the bound […]
American Gods (2001) Neil Gaiman It’s the 10th anniversary of American Gods, so after seeing everyone write so much about it, I decided I needed to reread it. It’s still awesome.
Agatha H and the Airship City a Girl Genius Novel (2011) Phil and Kaja Foglio I stumbled across Girl Genius in 2007, and was immediately hooked. Phil and Kaja Foglio publish the Girl Genius comic online twice a week, and then publish a compilation graphic novel approximately once a year. Which is totally not frequently […]
Shades of Milk and Honey (2010) Mary Robinette Kowal Oddly, Shades of Milk and Honey is in some ways a parallel to Under Heaven, only set in an alternate England instead of an alternate China. I also wish I had not read this immediately following Under Heaven–I should have read a thriller or a detective […]
Under Heaven (2010) Guy Gavriel Kay A new Guy Gavriel Kay book is like a small discovered treasure, something to be saved until a time when it can be enjoyed and savored. Some books I love because they are romps, others because they are long slow strolls through another place and time. With that in […]
This Side of the Grave (2011) Jeaniene Frost The head of the ghouls is fomenting trouble, claiming that Cat is involved in an attempt to subjugate the entire supernatural world, and if they don’t take care of her now, they’ll end up her (and the vampire’s) slaves. Unfortunately, some of Cat’s unique abilities and needs […]
Magic Slays (2011) Ilona Andrews I’m starting to get nervous. We’re reaching the part of the series where it feels as if we are beginning to build to the final confrontation. Which often means cliff hanger endings. And I hate cliff hanger endings. But so far so good. Kate and Curran are (sort of) luxuriating […]
House of Mystery Vol 6: Safe as Houses (2011) Matthew Sturges, Luca Rossi, Werther Dell Edera, Jose Marzain Jr I was intrigued by the first volume of House of Mystery, and the subsequent volumes were also interesting, but this volume fell flat for me. I think the primary reason was that–for me–the best parts of […]
Nightside (1989) Mercedes Lackey Diana Tregarde and Andre are investigating a terrible something that is eating the souls of it’s victims. Another disappointment. Rating: 5/10
Satanic, Versus (1990) Mercedes Lackey As with the previous Diana Tregarde short story I got, it was ultimately disappointing. Diana and Andre go to a romance convention masquerade and trouble happens. I think that the root of the story would have been interesting if it hadn’t been wrapped in the romance convention package. That simply […]
Bitter Gold Hearts (1988) Glen Cook The second book in the Garrett PI series finds Garrett at loose ends–and not particularly wanting to take another job, however, a beautiful fairy makes him an offer he really should–but won’t–refuse. To look into the kidnapping of the son of the local Stormwarden–and hopefully get things resolved before […]
The Secret History of Fantasy (2010) edited by Peter S. Beagle This is an interesting collection of short stories, by some very good authors. I can’t say all the stories were to my taste, but they were all very good. The anthology opens with “Ancestor Money” by Maureen F. McHugh which is a story of […]
Lark and Wren (1992) Mercedes Lackey I read a LOT of Mercedes Lackey when I was in my 20s. Then, several years ago (and several years after I’d fallen off reading Mercedes Lackey) I all but stopped reading epic/high fantasy. Was there a single reason? Not really. The fact that high fantasy books tended to […]
Killer Byte: A Diana Tregarde Short Story (1994) Mercedes Lackey A really long time ago–a lifetime ago it sometimes feels like–I read the Diana Tregarde books. And was quite disappointed when Mercedes Lackey stopped writing them. But as I didn’t have ready access to MZB’s Fantasy Magazine, I missed all the short stories. So when […]
Necromancer: A Novella (2011) Lish McBride One of the things I’m coming to adore about the Kindle (and there are many) is authors can put up short stories and novellas–for free!–to give you an introduction to their work. Which is how I ended up downloading “Necromancer: A Novella” because who is opposed to a free […]
The Thief (1996) Megan Whalen Turner My friend Natalie has been pushing me for quite awhile to read this book. However, I haven’t been in the mood to read much in the way of fantasy, so although I bought the books months ago, it sat unread on my shelf, until last time I saw her […]
Uncertain Allies (2011) Mark de Franco This is the fifth book in the Connor Grey series. Boston–especially the Weird–is still reeling from the events in the past book (and seemingly doing little to recover from the destruction). Connor is now infamous for his participation in several catastrophic events, and doesn’t seem to receive much of […]
The Iron Khan (2010) Liz Williams I stumbled across The Snake Agent in 2007, and since then have eagerly bought books in the Detective Inspector Chen series whenever they came out. However, at some point finding those books was getting to be more and more difficult. Scuttlebutt has it that Night Share Books (the original […]
A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician’s Ward (1997) Patricia Wrede Kim is almost too old to pass for a boy, which means that when she is offered a significant sum of money simply to break into a magician’s wagon to see if a silver bowl is kept there, she […]