Civil War: Runaways & New Avengers (2007) Zeb Wells, Stefano Caselli As I have mentioned previously, I love Runaways and what Brian K Vaughan has done with the series. So I hesitated to pick up this tie in, because I know nothing about the whole Marvel “Civil War” storyline, and know nothing about the New […]
Poltergeist (2007) Kat Richardson I enjoyed Greywalker enough that I pre-ordered Poltergeist when I came across it. This was a decision I did not regret. I liked Poltergeist even better than I liked Greywalker. Harper Blaine is still coming to terms with her ability to see and move into the Grey, the paranormal realm populated […]
Cast In Secret (2007) Michelle Sagara Cast In Secret is the sequel to Cast in Courtlight, and takes off not long after the events of that book. Kaylin is still learning magic–and still not succeeding very well in her attempts. She terms with the fact that Severn is both her partner, and the keeper of […]
The White Mists of Power (1991) Kristine Kathryn Rusch I found this story both enjoyable and maddening. Enjoyable because it was a very interesting story, but maddening, because the “twist” in the story felt more like a trick than a twist. I also wasn’t quite clear about the Enos and what the difference was between […]
The Line Between (2006) Peter S. Beagle The Line Between is a collection of short (and some not so short) stories by Peter S. Beagle. It contains two short stories that are related to two of his books. Two Hearts is a sequel to The Last Unicorn and looks at some of the characters from […]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (2007) J.K. Rowling Seven and a half hours. Although not seven and a half hours straight, since there was a very large break in the middle to have dinner with my family. Which was good, because I had to hand it off to Michael, so hopefully he’ll be able […]
Destiny (2001) Elizabeth Haydon After reading Rhapsody and Prophecy I wanted to finish re-reading the series and the story, but I just wasn’t thrilled about reading more about Rhapsody. So I put Destiny in my pocket as my waiting and transportation book. Unfortunately, an 850 page book is large and unwieldy, and after almost two […]
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 […]
Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls (1994) Jane Lindskold Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls is an urban fantasy set in the future, with bits that remind me of The Velveteen Rabbit. Sarah lives in the Home–an asylum for the insane. Her past–adn even her last name–are unknown. She was initially diagnosed as autistic and […]
Runaways 7: Live Fast (2007) Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, Mike Norton, Craig Young After ordering and reading volume 6, Parental Guidance, I was able to read volume 7, Live Fast, and I have to say that the beginning made a lot more sense. The Runaways are dealing with their losses, and attempting to adapt […]
Runaways 6: Parental Guidance (2006) Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alpohna, Craig Yeung I somehow missed publication of volume 6 of Runaways, but saw when volume 7 came out. Considering the events in Parental Guidance, I was quite confused when I started to read volume 7, and quickly realized I’d missed several important events. Luckily, Amazon […]
Sea Without a Shore (1996) Sean Russell Sea Without a Shore takes up immediately after the close of World Without End. Tristam is recovering from the events on the Lost Island, Averil Kent is further embroiled in politics and working with the Countess of Chilton to keep Palle and his followers from creating a mage […]
World Without End (1994) Sean Russell Reading “The River Into Darkness” series made me want to read another series written by Sean Russell, so I picked up the “”Moontide and Magic Rise” series, for which “The River Into Darkness” is the prequel. I was surprised to discover that I found this series much easier to […]
The Compass of the Soul (1999) Sean Russell The sequel (and conclusion) to Beneath the Vaulted Hills, The Compass of the Soul continues the story of Erasmus Flattery, Countess Chilton, Anna Fielding, Lord Eldrich, and those who have gathered around them in the struggle for the fate of magic. As with the previous book, the […]
Beneath the Vaulted Hills (1997) Sean Russell I’ve always been fond of Sean Russell’s books. They’re dense and complex, and I often understand them better on the second reading. But they’re also beautifully crafted works full of marvelous characters. Unfortunately, Sean Russell has not published many books. Nine fantasy novels I believe (three duologies and […]
Twilight Watch (2003/2007) 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 […]
Five Hundred Years After (1994) Steven Brust Because I re-read Phoenix Guards, I had to follow it up with Five Hundred Years After But really, I’m not going to re-read any of the Vlad books until I get my copy of Dzur when it comes out in paperback in the fall. I mean it.
Phoenix Guards (1991) Steven Brust In the mood for re-reading favorites, I just finished Phoenix Guards. Phoenix Guards is one of the books that falls into my “pretty much perfect” category.
Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners (1987) Ellen Kushner I couldn’t help myself. I re-read Swordspoint. Sometimes when you’re feeling bad, you just have to turn to favorites.
Claimed by Shadow (2007) Karen Chance This book left me feeling…annoyed. I went and checked, and here’s how I summed up Touch the Dark: (I)t’s an interesting story with some flaws, but for a quick read it’s pretty good, and has potential to get more interesting. Well, unfortunately, it didn’t get more interesting. I mostly […]
Magic Bites (2007) Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels works as a mercenary in a world that used to be ours, where technology is losing out to magic. Vampires are not romantic creatures (think the older vampires on Buffy) the vampire faction is held at bay by the shape shifters–neither group can take control, which is probably […]
Murcheston: The Wolf’s Tale (2000) David Holland The story told in Murcheston: The Wolf’s Tale is of a werewolf, told years after the fact by one who had been his companion. In it, we are privy to the journal of a man who has become a werewolf, and watch in fascination as the transformation changes […]
The Demon and the City (2006) Liz Williams After reading The Snake Agent, I’ve been looking forward the reading the next Detective Inspector Chen book. (In fact, the paperback edition has been on pre-order for several months.) As with many authors I like, after getting a book, I’m hesitant to read it, for fear that […]
A Fistful of Charms (2006) Kim Harrison The fourth book in the Rachel Morgan series, A Fistful of Charms takes place several months after Every Which Way But Dead. Rachel and Ivy are still trying to figure out how to mend their relationships with Jenks, and Rachel is enjoying her relationships with Kistin, although she […]
Every Which Way But Dead (2005) Kim Harrison It actually took me several weeks to read Every Which Way But Dead. It ended up in my jacket pocket for riding on the PRT and sitting in waiting rooms, so I was only reading a few pages at a time. However, I eventually reached a place […]
The Stars Compel (1999) Michaela Roessner First things first… WAH! This was supposed to be book two of a trilogy–however, the third book was never published, and since The Stars Compel was published in 1999, it doesn’t look like I’m going to get the third book any time soon. Hence… WAH! On the bright side, […]
Prophecy (2000) Elizabeth Haydon The sequel to Rhapsody, Prophecy continues the story. They are still trying to find the F’Dor who escaped to Sendair. Achmed and Grunthor are continuing to build the Bolg into a nation. Rhapsody meets the dragon Elynsynos, and learns more about Ashe. As with the previous books, my favorite characters are […]
The Stars Dispose (1997) Michaela Roessner I picked up The Stars Dispose used, several years ago. But for one reason or another, never got around to reading it. However, when I was looking for something different to read, I finally picked it up. In the 1500s, there was a power struggle in Florence. The de […]
Rhapsody: Child of Blood (1999) Elizabeth Haydon I read this series (Rhapsody is book one) several years ago, and remembered enjoying it, but never re-read it, primarily because Rhapsody is 656 pages, and the remaining books in the series are just as long or longer. It’s one thing to start a 400 page book. It’s […]
The Repentant (2003) edited by Brian M. Thomsen and Martin H. Greenberg I love short stories, so I tend to pick up anthologies when I come across them–assuming they look even remotely interesting. The Repentant looked particularly interesting, since it had several authors I particularly like: Tanya Huff, P.N. Elrod, and especially Nina Kiriki Hoffman. […]
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 […]
The Wood Wife (1996) Terri Windling It took me a long time to read this book, however, you shouldn’t necessarily see this as a reflection on the quality of the book. I picked up The Wood Wife used, and it was a relatively slim novel, so it was perfect for sticking in my jacket pocket, […]
You Slay Me (2004) Katie MacAlister Just so you know that I’m not completely opposed to all sex in all books, I managed to pick up You Slay Me, which is a “supernatural romance.” Of course I picked it up not for the boinking, but because it looked funny. Aisling (pronounced ash-ling, which I never […]
The Banquet of the Lords of Night & Other Stories (2004) Liz Williams The Banquet of the Lords of Night & Other Stories is an anthology (obviously) of stories by Liz Williams. The stories range in style from the fantasy to science fiction. As with most mixed anthologies, I didn’t much care for the science […]
Shadows in the Darkness (2004) Elaine Cunningham Gwen Gellman is an ex-cop who was pushed off the force after a bust goes terribly wrong. So she sets up her own private investigation company. However, the latest case to walk in her door–a missing teenager–starts to go wrong almost from the start. There are actually several […]
Unshapely Things (2007) Mark del Franco Connor Grey is a druid who has lost most of his powers. An attack by radical environmentalist elf has left him crippled–not physically, but magically. So in addition to his disability payments, he takes occasionally jobs helping the Boston police department in attacks involving the fey. What I found […]
Labyrinth (2005) Kate Mosse This book could be classified in any number of ways. There are elements of fantasy, mystery, suspense, romance, and history. As such, I thought it worked best as an historical novel, because this was the strongest part of the book. The story of Alais and Guilhem and Sajhe was the most […]
Proven Guilty (2006) Jim Butcher I started this book several weeks ago, and then put it down because I remembered why Harry had been annoying me so much for the past several books.However, I decided to give Proven Guilty and Harry another chance. At the start of the book I was still annoyed with him–he’s […]
Mister Monday (2003) Garth Nix I absolutely loved Sabriel. The following two books were also excellent, but I just adored Sabriel. I also liked his collection of short stories, Across the Wall. So when I saw he had another series, The Keys to the Kingdom, I… hesitated. Sometimes when an author has written a book […]
Ex Machina Vol 5: Smoke Smoke (2007) Brian K Vaughan, Tony Harris, Tom Feister, JD Mettler Okay, I must be missing something somewhere, because this is the second volume in a row of Ex Machina that I found to be only so-so. Between the title and the cover, it should be obvious that one of […]
Runaways Vol 5: Escape to New York (2006) Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa Escape to New York is the fifth volume of the Runaways series. The Runaways are still trying to clean up the mess they created when they took out their parent’s crime syndicate, and for now they’re allowing Victor to remain […]
Ill Wind (2003) Rachel Caine If it wasn’t for the fact that I was too lazy to get off the sofa, I would have put this book down several times and gotten something else to read. However, I was lazy, and eventually I got into the story, but it took several chapters. Joanne Baldwin is […]
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 […]
Kitty Takes a Holiday (2007) Carrie Vaughn The third book in this series takes off where Kitty Goes to Washington left off. After being exposed on national television, Kitty has decided to take a holiday to escape for awhile, and to write her memoirs–or attempt to write her memoirs. Unfortunately, her rural isolated cabin doesn’t […]
Runaways Vol 4: True Believers (2005) Brian K Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, Craig Yeung True Believers is the fourth installment in the Runaways series, telling the story of five teens who ran away after discovering their parents were super-villains. Still on the run from Foster Care, the Runaways are hiding out under the La Brea Museum, […]
Day Watch (2007) 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 […]
Disappearing Nightly (2005) Laura Resnick This book was a disappointment. About halfway through I started reading as fast as I could so I could get the whole thing over with. The frustrating thing was that the story was good, the mystery portion of good. I just hated the main character. She struck me as incredibly […]
Greywalker (2006) Kat Richardson Greywalker starts off strong–Harper Blaine gets beaten to death–although she is dead only for a few minutes. I’d been surprised when the guy belted me. Most people don’t flip out when they get caught in such a small fraud. I had expected am embarrassed apology and a hasty check to appease […]
My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (2006) Edited by P.N. Elrod My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding is an anthology of short stories featuring supernatural creatures and weddings. All the stories are good, but some are better than others. In some of the stories the wedding is the main feature, while in other stories the wedding felt […]
Working for Devil (2005) Lilith Saintcrow Dante Valentine is a necromance–she is able to visit the realms of the dead and draw spirits back to the world where they can answer questions or communicate again with their loved ones. Although mages and other psis are out and somewhat accepted by the public, necromances still are […]