Teckla (1987) Steven Brust In case you were thinking that I love absolutely everything that Steven Brust has written, this book is the proof that I don’t. Back to the continuing time-line, the book follows immediately after the events of Jhereg. Unlike previous books, this story involves on the Jhereg, the jhereg, Cawti, Vlad, and […]
Yendi (1984) Steven Brust Yendi is the second book in Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series, however, in the time line it comes before the first book, Jhereg. Instead of taking off from where Jhereg left off, we go back in time, to when Vlad met Cawti, his future wife. Yendi are devious and delight in […]
Jhereg (1983) Steven Brust Comfort reading. Those books that you reach for when you’re feeling low, because you know they’re guaranteed to take you away from whatever is bothering you. That’s the place that Steven Brust holds in my library. Jhereg is the first Vlad Taltos book, and also the first Dragaera book. Vladimir Taltos […]
A Stir of Bones (2003) Nina Kirki Hoffman I really liked A Fistful of Sky, as well as all of Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s short stories that I have read in various anthologies, so I put A Stir of Bones on my Christmas wishlist. It’s a very short book–only 211 pages long–so I was saving it […]
The Golden Key (1996) Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, Kate Elliot At 889 pages, The Golden Key is a very long book. Admittedly, I have not had a lot of time for reading, but even so, more than a week for me to read a book is really slow. Part of the reason is that the […]
Kushiel’s Dart (2001) Jacqueline Carey I’ve read and heard a number of glowing recommendations for Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series. It’s a fantasy series written for a grownup audience, that focuses on the theme of sex and sexuality. In Terre d’Ange, courtesans–members of the Night Court–are blessed, and have the choice of their occupation. In […]
Paths Not Taken (2005) Simon R. Green Okay. Wow. This book certainly took a different turn. And I’m not sure how much I care for the change. In this book John Taylor is, for lack of a better word, a complete asshole. I was going to say jerk, but that’s just not a strong enough […]
Hunter’s Oath (1995) Michelle West I had a strange time reading this story. I liked the characters, I enjoyed the story, I loved the writing, I wanted to know what happened. But I wanted to finish it so I could read something else. I just wasn’t in the mood for this story. Gilliam and Stephen […]
Cast in Shadow (2005) Michelle Sagara I picked up this book for several reasons. First, because I’ve been impressed with the Luna books I’ve read. Second, because I have read several short stories written by Michelle Sagara West, and very much liked them. I put off reading this book because of the cover. Not that […]
The Assassin’s Edge (2002) Juliet E. McKenna The fifth and final book of the Einarinn series, The Assassin’s Edge tells of how Ryshad, Livak, Temar, and others seek to finally make Kellarin secure against invaders from the Ice Islands. This is, far and away, the best book of the series. Juliet McKenna does a wonderful […]
The Warrior’s Bond (2001) Juliet E. McKenna The fourth installment in the Einarinn series, The Warrior’s Bond switches back to Ryshad’s point of view, and occurs at approximately the same time as the previous book, The Gambler’s Fortune. As far as my enjoyment of the story, this book had one major failing. Politics. Ryshad has […]
Murder by Magic (2004) edited by Rosemary Edghill I love fantasy, and I love mysteries, so I figured that this should be a great short story collection. After all, I’ve read some excellent fantasy mysteries recently, such as those written by Charlaine Harris and Simon R. Green. This collection, however, was a mixed bag. For […]
The Gambler’s Fortune (2000) Juliet E. McKenna The third book in Juliet E. McKenna’s Einarinn series, The Gambler’s Fortune was a mixed bag for me. Some parts of the story I liked very much, other parts I did not like very much at all. In The Gambler’s Fortune, the point-of-view switches back to Livak, who […]
The Swordsman’s Oath (2000) Juliet E. McKenna The Swordsman’s Oath is the second book of Juliet McKenna’s Einarinn series. Ryshad, at the bidding of his Lord, searches for information about the Elietimm and their unfamiliar magic. Viltred, who knew somewhat of the Elietimm isles, has scryed and seen visions of either death and destruction or […]
The Thief’s Gamble (1999) Juliet E. McKenna In the past, I have refused to pick up a series unless I can get all the books in that series. Because there’s little worse than starting a series and then not being about to find the rest of it. However, because I can now order books on-line, […]
Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988) Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer After putting down a book that looked promising but I found only annoying after the first several chapters, I picked up Sorcery & Cecelia, which I’d put on my wish list because I thought it looked interesting. I thought that […]
For Camelot’s Honor (2005) Sarah Zettel In a burst of paranoia, I held of reading this book, for fear that it wouldn’t be as good as the previous in this series, In Camelot’s Shadow. Once again I was proven to be just that–paranoid. I was pleased to discover that Sarah Zettel did a good job […]
Wizard’s First Rule (1994) Terry Goodkind Michael has been reading Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series for several years now, and has mentioned repeatedly that he thought I should read it. So, with two weeks off from work, I decided I’d read the first book, just to see. It’s good, and it’s interesting, but I […]
A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003) Libba Bray I picked this book up because the cover caught my eye. I think it’s the corset, which looks both authentic and terribly uncomfortable (or so says the eternal tomboy). Then I read the title and had to know more. Before the book starts, Libba Bray quotes part […]
Hex and the City (2005) Simon R. Green BAH! That was just completely uncalled for! Here I am, enjoying this series, which in many ways reads more like a mystery series than a fantasy series, when WHAM! No longer will the story be wrapped up in a single book. Oh no, now we must have […]
Nightingale’s Lament (2004) Simon R. Green In the third Nightside book, John Taylor is hired by a man to find out what has happened to his daughter. She has become a popular singer in Nightside, and he’s worried because he has lost contact with her, so following another job gone bad, John takes the case […]
Agents of Light and Darkness (2003) Simon R. Green >In the second Nightside book, John Taylor, back working in the Nightside, but still living in the Real World, is hired to find the Unholy Grail, so that it can be returned to the Vatican. I really liked this book. We learn a little more about […]
Something from the Nightside (2003) Simon R. Green After The Great Book of Amber, I decided that the requirement for my next book to read, was going to be small and slight. As a 203 page paperback, this fit the bill perfectly. Something from the Nightside is fantasy written as hard boiled mystery. John Taylor […]
The Great Book of Amber (1999) Roger Zelazny If you’re wondering why I haven’t written any reviews recently, The Great Book of Amber is why. A compilation of all ten of Roger Zelazny’s Amber books, The Great Book of Amber comes in at 1258 (small print!) pages. This omnibus edition contains the first Amber series: […]
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 […]
Across the Wall (2005) Garth Nix I absolutely loved Sabriel. The rest of the Abhorsen trilogy was good, but Sabriel was fantastic. So I am prepared to give anything written by Garth Nix a chance. I picked up Across the Wall for two reasons. First, because I like his writing, and second, because this is […]
The Sandman: The Dream Hunters (1999) Neil Gaiman & Yoshitaka Amano The Dream Hunters is my favorite Sandman story. It’s not a comic proper, but is instead an illustrated story. And the illustrations are gorgeous. I tend to do little more than glance at illustrations, but the art here is impossible to ignore. Based on […]
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (2004) Susanna Clarke I got Michael this book for Christmas last year, but put off reading it myself because the book is huge: 800 pages huge. It’s not the kind of book I could curl up with; instead I had to set the book on the table, or prop it […]
Supreme Power Vol 2 Powers and Principalities (2004) J. Michael Straczynski In Powers and Principalities we continue the story of Mark Milton, as well as Nighthawk, Stanley Stewart, and Joe Ledger, and are introduced to Princess Zarda and the amphibian woman. (Or, as Michael and I were referring to them: the terrestrial naked lady and […]
Supreme Power Vol 1 Contact (2004) J. Michael Straczynski I picked this up because I really liked J. Michael Straczynski’s Rising Stars. It looked interesting, so I decided to see if I liked this series as well. The story is good, although not quite as good as Rising Stars. But then that was unbelievably good, […]
Delicate Creatures (2001) J. Michael Straczynski Delicate Creatures was not what I was expecting, though I’m not sure what I was expecting. The art was interesting in that it was definitely in a style that I associate with comics, but was written like Stardust and The Dream Hunters–more like a picture book than a comic […]
Where’s My Cow? (2005) Terry Pratchett If you like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, then you will definitely want to read this book. First of all, it has an award, “Children’s Winner of the Ankh-Morpork Librarians’ Award. OOK!” Also, it has blurbs on the back, “‘…wonderfully instructive’ Tuppence Swivel, the Times of Ankh Morpork” and “‘…Are we […]
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 […]
Powers of Detection (2004) edited Dana Stabenow I like fantasies. I like mysteries. So… “Stories of Mystery and Fantasy” sounds like a good thing. Plus Charlaine Harris has a Sookie Stackhouse short story, and that had to be a good thing. Well, it was an okay thing. The Charlaine Harris story was good. In “Fairy […]
Rising Stars: Born in Fire (2001) Power (2002) Fire and Ash (2005) J. Michael Straczynski Wow. When I asked for comic recommendations, Tom gave me several suggestions. The one I found locally was Rising Stars. Initially I only picked up the first volume, however I saw that all three volumes were there, so I figure […]
Maiden, Matron, Crone (2005) Kerrie Hughes and Martin H. Greenberg I try to pick up fantasy anthologies when I see them, since chances are they won’t be there the next time I look. I picked up Maiden, Matron, Crone while ago, but saved it to read during the school year, because short story collections are […]
Assassin Fantastic (2001) edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Alexander Potter I know that Martin Greenberg puts together good anthologies, however there’s something about the “Fantastic” that gets tacked onto the end of each anthology theme title that puts me off for some reason. However, I’ve always been fond of Assassin characters, so I picked […]
Silver’s Edge (2004) Anne Kelleher This book really pissed me off. And the stupid thing is that there was a simple solution that would have made everything okay. That solution? MARK SOMEWHERE ON THE DAMNED BOOK THAT IT IS PART OF A TRILOGY. Up until the last twenty or so pages I loved this book. […]
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 […]
The Compass Rose (2005) Gail Dayton In response to a desperate plea to the Gods to save her city from ransacking, naitan Kallista Varyl becomes one of the Godstruck–suddenly possessing more power than anyone in Adaran has for centuries. This is another book published by Luna. I picked up several that all looked VERY good, […]
The Wild Wood (1994) Charles de Lint Eithnie feels like she has lost something in her paintings, and is wandering the woods near her home searching for the soul that used fill her paintings. Originally published in ’94, Orb rereleased The Wild Wood in 2004. It’s a very short book, just 205 pages with wide […]
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 […]
A Sorcerer’s Treason (2002) Sarah Zettel Bridget Lederle has inherited her father’s job as a lighthouse keeper on Sand Island, a job that is perfect for her, not only because she is shunned by much of the community, but also because she has a sight that often shows her when danger lurks. When she rescues […]
In Camelot’s Shadow (2004) Sarah Zettel I knew when I started the book that this was going to be a fantasy/romance. Perhaps for that reason, or perhaps because the romance was well done, and I haven’t read a well written romance before. But whatever the reason, I really liked this book. I picked it up […]
Byzantium (1996) Stephen R. Lawhead By all rights I should love this book. It’s set in ancient times, in this case it starts in ancient Ireland not too long after Christianity has taken hold of the land. The writing is good. The main character is well developed. But I just can’t get into it. 150 […]
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 […]
Silver Wolf, Black Falcon (2000) Dennis McKiernan This is the final book in Dennis McKiernan’s Mithgar series, where all the loose ends are tied up. We follow the journal of Bair, the impossible child, borne of Riatha and Urus. The reeds speak of Bair as the one to find the silver sword, to be borne […]
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 […]