The Lord of Castle Black (2003) Steven Brust The second volume in the Viscount of Adrilankha series takes up where the first left off, even going back a bit to cover events that occurred towards the end of Paths of the Dead Zerika is now Empress in name, but has yet to become Empress in […]
The Paths of the Dead (2002) Steven Brust For me, Steven Brust books are like potato chips; I can’t read just one. And so, having recently finished all the Vlad Taltos book, The Phoenix Guards, and Five Hundred Years After, there was nothing to do but read The Viscount of Adrilankha. The Paths of the […]
Five Hundred Years After (1994) Steven Brust If you have read the Vlad Taltos books, then you already know the outcome of Five Hundred Years After: Adron’s disaster, which lead to the Interregnum. But what we don’t know, is the story that leads up to Adron’s disaster. Why did Adron act in the manner he […]
The Phoenix Guards (1991) Steven Brust As is typically the case, once I finished reading the Vlad Taltos books, I felt myself consumed by an overwhelming desire to go back and re-read the other Dragaeran books. That is to say, mention of characters and events in the Vlad Taltos books whetted my appetite for re-reading […]
Issola (2001) Steven Brust Issola, for reasons about which I am not quite clear, is one of my favorite Vlad books. I think it’s because I like Lady Teldra so much, but it could also be the fact that Vlad is back to spending time with with Morrolan and Aliera and Sethra Lavode. Set after […]
Dragon (1998) Steven Brust I really like Dragon. It’s fun, it’s well-written, and I particularly like some of the observations that Vlad makes about life and war. For the most part, Dragon takes place soon after Taltos, however, a few parts of the story take place after Yendi. And if you think that’s confusing, you’re […]
Orca (1996) Steven Brust Set about a year after the events of Athyra, Vlad has wandered into Northport in search of a sorcerer who might be able to cure Sven, the Teckla boy who lost his mind during the events of Athyra. He finds one, however, her price is keeping her from being evicted from […]
Athyra (1993) Steven Brust Once you get past the fact that it is not written from Vlad’s point of view, Athyra is a very good book. The story is told from the point of view of Sven. It’s not first person like the other Vlad books, but we know Sven’s thoughts and feelings and impressions […]
Phoenix (1990) Steven Brust Chronologically, Phoenix follows Teckla. Verra, the demon goddess, has “work” for Vlad. She wants the king of Greenaere killed, and she refuses to say why. Vlad and Cawti are still at odds, with no reconciliation on the horizon, as Cawti’s actions with the revolutionary group continue to place her in danger, […]
Taltos (1988) Steven Brust With great relief I picked up Taltos, which again tells some of Vald’s history, and returns to the tone of the first two books. Taltos is fun and amusing, especially as Vlad and Morrolan get to know each other and learn to work together. It is also interesting to see Vlad’s […]
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 […]