books

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Swordspoint

Swordspoint (1987) Ellen Kushner I have no idea what brings it on, but I’ve been in one of those moods where I read a few paragraphs of a book, decide I’m not in the mood for it, and try something else. As is typically, I have to resort to something I know I love, so […]

Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy

Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy (2013) Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells by Delia Sherman The Fairy Enterprise by Jeffrey Ford From the Catalogue of the Pavilion of the Uncanny and Marvellous, Scheduled for Premiere at the Great Exhibition (Before the Fire) by Genevieve Valentine The […]

Tremontaine: Season One Volume One

Tremontaine: Season One Volume One (2016) by Patty Bryant, Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Paul Witcover Let me explain… No, let me sum up. There is a book called Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner that is one of my favorites–a comfort read. After Swordspoint came The Fall of the […]

Swordspoint, Audio Edition

Swordspoint (1987/2011) by Ellen Kushner (Author, Narrator) with Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones This review is of the audio recording of Swordspoint. Please check my review of the book Swordspoint for my thoughts on the story rather than the recording. First, Ellen Kushner is the narrator, and like the recording […]

The Privilege of the Sword, Audio Edition

The Privilege of the Sword Audio Book (2012) Ellen Kushner (Author, Narrator), Barbara Rosenblat, Felicia Day, Joe Hurley, Katherine Kellgren, Nick Sullivan, Neil Gaiman This is a review of the audio book. If you’d like a review of the story itself, that can be found here. Audio books take quite a while for me to […]

The Privilege of the Sword

The Privilege of the Sword (2006) Ellen Kushner I’ve been listening to the audio book version of this, when I reached a point where I gave up and started re-reading (from the beginning) on the Kindle. Mind you, I’m still listening to the audio version, but it had been too long since I’d read the […]

Thomas the Rhymer

Thomas the Rhymer (1990) Ellen Kushner Of course I’d read this before. But after rereading Swordspoint, I wanted to read it again. This is actually a novel based upon the folklore and myth surrounding Thomas the Rhymer, told in four parts. The first is told by Gavin, a crofter, living in the hills with his […]

Teeth: Vampire Tales

Teeth: Vampire Tales (2011) edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling This is an Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling anthology, so as always, there are fascinating bits of folklore. Rice, not garlic, was the most effective means of keeping Chinese vampires at bay, for they had a strange compulsion to count. Throwing rice at the […]

Swordspoint

Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners (1987) Ellen Kushner I love this book. As I’ve said before, this isn’t a fantasy in the usual sense of the genre. There are no magicians or mystical creatures. There is no magic, except the magic found in the expert storytelling. Here is our introduction to Richard St Vier: The […]

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron (2012) edited by Jonathan Strahan This is a lovely YA anthology, with some amazing stories by some of my favorite authors. I didn’t love all the stories, but none of them were bad. The theme is young witches coming of age, but the stories are far greater than […]

Naked City

Naked City (2011) edited by Ellen Datlow This collection of urban fantasy stories has several of my favorite authors, so it was a no-brainer to get. The bad thing is that I’ve been reading this collection for several months, so I now have no idea what the stories at the start of the anthology were […]

Swordspoint

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

Swordspoint

Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners (1987) Ellen Kushner Why yes, I did just re-read Swordspoint. And it was good. Published by Bantam Rating: 10/10

Borderland: Where Magic Meets Rock and Roll

Borderland: Where Magic Meets Rock and Roll (1986) edited by Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold The Borderland anthologies contain stories by some of my favorite authors, in this volume Charles de Lint and Ellen Kushner contributed stories, along with Steven R Boyett and Bellamy Bach. I’ve been a fan of shared world anthologies since […]

The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales

The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (2007) Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling I love short stories. Aside from collections by Charles de Lint, I best love anthologies by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling best. Their books are like comfort food, and I save them up for when I’m sick or feeling low. In the same vein […]