A Circle of Cats (2003) Charles de Lint Illustrated by Charles Vess I received this book for my birthday from Brian and Stacie. (THANKS!) I’d placed it on my wish list solely because it was written by Charles de Lint, and as usual, I wasn’t disappointed. A Circle of Cats is about Lillian, a girl […]
Into the Fire (1998) Dennis McKiernan Book Two of the Hel’s Crucible Duology The conlusion to the story started in Into the Forge, Phais, Loric, Tipperton, and Beau leave Mineholt North to continue Tip’s quest to take the coin to Agron. War continues to rage as Gryphon seeks to dominate Mithgar and all its inhabitants. […]
Into the Forge (1996) Dennis McKiernan The first book in the Hel’s Crucible duology. Tipperton is awakened by sounds of battle outside his door, and thus is drawn into what is to become one of Mithgar’s great battles of good versus evil, as Gryphon seeks to dominate not just Neddra, but Mithgar and all its […]
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2005) J.K. Rowling Finished. And grr… I liked the book up through the last couple chapters. Then it went exactly where I thought it was going to go. And I’m not happy about it. Also, this had all the feel of a second book in a trilogy–minor points […]
The Dragonstone (1996) Dennis McKiernan This is a good book, but not my favorite Mithgar books. Unlike other books set in Mithgar, there are few appearances by characters from other books: Aravan is mentioned in passing, the great dragons make an appearance, and Vanidar accompanies Arin for awhile, but mostly the characters in this book […]
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 […]
Illusion (1992) Paula Volsky Illusion is a good book, however I can’t say I really like it. The characters are good–very good. Despite starting out as a rich snob, I quite liked Eliste. Her snobbery was quite obviously a product of her upbringing, and beneath it she showed herself to be a decent human being. […]
The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S. Beagle Although I’ve read other books by Peter S. Beagle, I had not yet read The Last Unicorn. It’s mentioned as a classic, and I kept getting stunned disbelief that I had never read it, so I finally picked up a copy. Perhaps it was a case over […]
A Fistful of Sky (2004) Nina Kiriki Hoffman At loose ends last night I picked up A Fistful of Sky because it was a single book and not a series. (I picked up the first book in a series by Mindy L. Klasky, and was so annoyed by the main character I put it back […]
The Southern Vampire Mysteries: Dead Until Dark (2001), Living Dead in Dallas (2002), Club Dead (2003), Dead to the World (2004) Charlaine Harris If I told you I’d been reading erotic, vampire mysteries, would you still respect me? If the answer is “No,” too bad. Since the Victorian part of my soul has to deal […]
Tigana (1990) Guy Gavriel Kay Why is it that every time I finish one of Guy Gavriel Kay’s books, I ask myself, “How could I have forgotten how good his books are?” Even reading this book for a second time, I was still surprised at how good it was. This book was frustrating at first. […]
Across the Nightingale Floor (2002) Grass for His Pillow (2003) Brilliance of the Moon (2004) Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. I loved everything about these books. The story, the writing, even the covers. The only complaint I have is that there was very little resolution at the end of books […]
The Assassins of Tamurin (2003) S.D. Tower This book is a rare find in fantasy–a stand alone book. No trilogy, no books from the same world or with the same characters, just a single story within it’s covers. I have to say it’s really quite a joy to come across a book like this, and […]
The Shadow Roads ‘The Swan’s War Book III’ (2004) Sean Russell Finally! The book was in the mailbox when we got home, and I devoured it last night. Good. Very good! Yet in retrospect this series is quite different from other Sean Russell books I’ve read. There was more direct action. In the past I’ve […]
Tales of Mithgar (1994) Dennis McKiernan Still looking for books to tide me over, I turned to another favorite, Dennis McKiernan. I picked up Tales of Mithgar because it’s a collection of short stories, and I love short stories. Set in the “One Eyed Crow” tavern, a blizzard has descended suddenly upon the land, and […]
Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners (1987) Ellen Kushner While waiting for the last book in Sean Russell’s ‘The Swan’s War’ to arrive, I decided to indulge in a book I’ve read fairly recently and loved. This book is just as gorgeous as I remember. The writing is absolutely lovely, drawing me into the story from […]
The One Kingdom (2001) & The Isle of Battle ‘The Swans War’ (2002) by Sean Russell I’m fond of Sean Russell because he is a good writer, and because he writes duologies. I like knowing that a series will not stretch on interminably. So a year or two ago I picked up The One Kingdom […]
The Novels of Tiger and Del Sword-Dancer (1986), Sword-Singer (1988), Sword-Maker (1989), Sword-Breaker (1991), Sword-Born (1998), Sword-Sworn (2002) by Jennifer Roberson I am quite fond of the first book in this series, Sword-Dancer. I like the characters, I like the writing, and I like the story. I particularly like Tiger, who sounds quite a bit […]
Moontide and Magic Rise: World Without End (1994) and Sea Without a Shore (1996) Sean Russell Every time I read Sean Russell, I am always surprised at how good his books are. I pick them up knowing they are going to be good, but the pessimistic part of me always says, “they can’t be that […]
Rotten Relations edited by Denise Little I was really disappointed in this collection. I had, as the song goes, high hopes, but was, in the end, let down. I picked up the book because the idea of it sounded great: villains from fairy tales and literature telling their side of the story (much like Gregory […]
Twice Upon A Time (1999) edited by Denise Little Fairy tales seen from another perspective–the wife of the giant from the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The hunter in the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. The Wolf who appears in multiple tales. This book is hit and miss. Some of the stories are […]
Emerald Magic (2004) edited by Andrew M. Greeley This book first caught my eye because I didn’t expect to see Andrew Greeley’s name in the fantasy section. Then I looked at the list of authors who wrote in this anthology: Charles de Lint, Diane Duane, Elizabeth Haydon, Morgan Llywelyn, Judith Tarr, Peter Tremayne, Jane Yolen. […]
A Wolf at the Door (2000) edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling I love folk tales and fairy tales, and I love the idea of stories that have been told and retold, and then finally captured on paper. The problem of course, is finding an author who is good at translating stories from an […]
The Fifth Elephant (2000) Terry Pratchett This book barely talked about elephants at ALL. Instead, it was about the Watch and Commander Vimes, and Captain Carrot and Angua. It also is a good look at how power corrupts, even on a small level. That was probably the most disturbing part of the book–watching Sgt Colon […]
Carpe Jugulum (1998) Terry Pratchett I’m not quite sure what it is, but I found this book disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, there were places where I laughed out loud–it just seemed like those places were farther apart than usual. There were lots of tables [in Nanny Ogg’s house], mainly in order to display the […]
Jingo (1997) Terry Pratchett What surprised me most about this book was that it was written in 1997. A new island has risen between Ankh Morpork and Klatch, and war seems to be the only way to determine who really owns the island. Jingo features Commander Samuel Vimes and the Watch, including Sgt Colon and […]
The Hounds of the Mórrigan (1985) Pat O’Shea I really like this book. I can’t remember precisely when I bought it, or precisely when I read it for the first time, but I do remember that it rekindled my love of folktales and folklore. The story starts in modern Ireland, although the precise time is […]
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents (2001) Terry Pratchett The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is one of Terry Pratchett’s young adult books, are set in Discworld. Talking cats, talking rats, and an appearance by Death (as well as by the Death of Rats). Aside from being slightly shorter normal, this is a […]
Good Omens (1990) Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett Good Omens is one of my all time favorite books, and one that I’d take with me to be stranded on a desert island, because it’s funny. Really funny. With lots of passages that make me giggle, and even laugh out loud, not just when I read […]
A Stitch in Time (2000) Andrew J. Robinson Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Okay, before you say anything, I admit it, this is a Star Trek book. And I don’t even have the excuse of it being a movie novelization. All I can say is that Garak is my absolute favorite DS9 character, and I […]
The King’s Peace (2000) and The King’s Name (2001) by Jo Walton In actuality, there are really three books in two. The first book, The King’s Peace is actually two books, “The King’s Peace” and “The Kings Law” which are just a little shorter than the second book, The King’s Name. The tale is a […]
Freedom & Necessity (1997) Steven Brust and Emma Bull Delving back into Brust section of my bookshelves, I came back with Freedom and Necessity, a book that I remember as complicated, although good. And since I remembered nothing of the plot, I figured it was a good candidate for re-reading. I have to admit that […]
The Phoenix Guards (1991) & Five Hundred Years After (1994) Steven Brust Sometimes you just need to read a book that you know is going to make you happy. When those times come upon me, I frequently read Steven Brust. The Phoenix Guards and Five Hundred Years After are two of the ‘Khaavren Romances’ centered […]
The Initiate Brother (1991) Gatherer of Clouds (1992) Sean Russell I love to re-read books. There is something about recapturing the joy they gave me the first time, that allows me to pick up some books again and again. But sometimes, time passes, and other books are read, until all that remains is the memory […]
The Last Light of the Sun (2004) Guy Gavriel Kay Good luck finding this book. I came across it only because I was searching Amazon for another of his books, and realized that he had a new book out. Of course I’ve found a lot of books on Amazon recently that I saw nowhere in […]
Magician: Apprentice (1982), Magician: Master (1982) Raymond E. Feist I wanted something that I’d read before as my vacation wound down. For some reason, this book wasn’t as I remembered it. Not that it wasn’t good, only that it wasn’t what I wanted at the time. In retrospect, I think I was remembering The Empire […]
American Gods (2001) Neil Gaiman Sometimes, you just need to read something that you’ve read before and loved. After reading a bunch of new fantasy it was time to re-read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. In some ways, American Gods is the perfect novel for me; It combines mythology and folklore, two of my favorite subjects. […]
The Liveship Traders Trilogy Ship of Magic (1998) The Mad Ship (1999) Ship of Destiny (2000) Robin Hobb The most frustrating thing about this series, is that I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. The story was great, the writing was great, but not only were there characters that I really liked and was […]
The Tawny Man series Fool’s Errand (2002), Golden Fool (2003), Fool’s Fate (2004) Robin Hobb I have two problems with really good books. The first problem is that once I start reading I don’t want to stop–eating, sleeping, everything is secondary to the book. The second problem is that when I finish a book or […]
Legends II (2004) edited by Robert Silverberg I picked up this book just for the Neil Gaiman Shadow story, so the fact that I found it in the bargain bin means that any stories beyond ‘The Monarch of the Glen’ were an added bonus. And ‘Monarch of the Glen’ was good. Very good. It made […]
Thieves’ World: Enemies of Fortune (2004) edited by Lynn Abbey I still haven’t completely decided how I feel about this series. The stories are good, and I enjoy them, but they’re not quite the old ‘Thieves’ World’ and I’m not quite sure what it is that’s missing. As I said, the stories are excellent–Lynn Abbey […]
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword And Sorceress XXI edited by Diana L. Paxson I wasn’t sure that I was going to get the 21st edition of Sword And Sorceress. MZB died, and so I wasn’t certain whether the anthology was going to be continued because it was a quality anthology, or because they were looking to […]
Year’s Best Fantasy (2001) edited by David G. Hartwell I’m a sucker for short story collections–I love short stories, and fantasy collections are my favorite, so if I come across a collection, I usually buy it. This has, of course, led to some rather poor choices, such as “The Sorcerer’s Academy” and “Earth, Air, Fire, […]
Thomas the Rhymer (1990) Ellen Kushner I thoroughly enjoyed Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint, so I was excited when I saw that Thomas the Rhymer was being re-released. Thomas the Rhymer is one of the books that managed to be precisely what I want to read. The tale is of Thomas the Rhymer, minstrel who falls for […]
The Faery Reel edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling Any time I see a fantasy anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, I’ll often as not pick it up, because I know that it’s going to be good. Usually very good. This volume however, has the added bonus of poems by both Charles […]
The Death Gate Cycle Dragon Wing, Elven Star, Fire Sea, Serpent Mage, Into the Labyrinth, The Hand of Chaos, The Seventh Gate by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman It had been years since I’d read the Death Gate cycle, mostly because 7 books is a lot to read for someone who has to complete an […]
Waifs and Strays (2002) Charles de Lint Charles de Lint’s latest short story collection is not as much for young adults as it is about young adults. As I recognized several titles in this collection from other collections, I hadn’t been in a hurry to get this collection. That was my mistake. Only the last […]
The Legend of Nightfall Mickey Zucker Reichert Nightfall, the legendary assassin, has taken his name from the children’s song that warns about the danger of the night. A master of disguise, he survives by his wits, but survives primarily, despite is small size, because of his natural talent. A talent coveted by sorcerers who methods […]
Men at Arms, Soul Music, Interesting Times, Hogfather Terry Pratchett Men at Arms I’m rather fond of the night watch. Captain Vimes is getting ready to retire, and not only must they find his successor, they need to discover who broke into to Assassin’s headquarters, discover what was stolen, and find out who or what […]