100 Great French Books: From the Middle Ages to the Present by Lance Donaldson-Evans

French Literature March 25, 2010 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A catalog of Gallic must-reads from Le Chanson de Roland through The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq. Review: 100 Great French Books: From the Middle Ages to the Present is such a fine addition to my permanent library. I love lists, especially ones recommending books to me! I will definitely be working my way through this one. I am no expert on French literature, but author and U. Penn professor Lance Donaldson-Evans was knighted in France for his contributions to spreading French…

The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett

American Literature March 24, 2010 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: The next book in the series begun with The Warded Man, set in a world where humanity is besieged by night by demons and await the promised Deliverer, who may be one of two blood brothers, one who shuns the name and the other who embraces it. Review: I freaked on Peter V. Brett‘s The Warded Man when I read it earlier this year and had the usual worries about whether or not the series would continue in the same exciting vein, or fail…

Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm

American Literature March 23, 2010 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A real, live wizard cloaks his magic in the trappings of homelessness on the streets of modern-day Seattle, as a dark evil stalks him and threatens to destroy him. Review: Wizard of the Pigeons really needs to come back into print. It’s a wonderful character study filled with subtlety, ambiguity, and plain old-fashioned good storytelling. Wizard lives on the streets, but his homelessness is just a disguise for his powerful magic. He is able to Know the truth about people and tell them the…

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

American Literature March 22, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Hired to teach at a secluded, artsy boarding school, a young widow discovers that mystery and murder roil below the bucolic surface. Review: I wanted to adore Arcadia Falls, but I only got about 80% there. I loved the atmosphere that Carol Goodman created for Arcadia, the creepy boarding school in the middle of the woods in upstate New York. The backstory was most excellent, starting with a 1920s artists’ colony founded by two lesbians, one deeply conflicted and not entirely committed to Team…

The Children of HÃºrin by JRR Tolkien

British Literature March 18, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The tragic tale of TÃºrin TÃºrambar, master of doom by doom mastered, who sought to fight evil but was undone by his own impetuousness and self-aggrandizement. Review: The Children of HÃºrin is a retelling in novel form of the chapter in Tolkien’s Silmarillion called TÃºrin TÃºrambar. I should’ve waited to read this for a year or two, because about halfway through I burned out on all the epic language and tragic plotting. My experience aside, it’s a fantastic story, one of the best ever…

The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

British Literature March 15, 2010 Superfast Reader 6 Comments

Synopsis: An account of the history of the origins of Middle Earth during the First Age. Review: I have tried and failed to read The Silmarillion on several occasions, and I can only credit my success this go-round to the podcast lecture series given by The Tolkien Professor. The early chapters are so dense with information that his interpretation and analysis helped lay the groundwork for me to be able to enjoy later chapters such as “Beren and Luthien” and “Turin Turambar,” to name two…

The Memory Thief by Rachel Keener

American Literature March 12, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The lives of a runaway who burned down her trailer, and a “Holy Roller” with a shameful secret intersect with life-changing ramifications. Review: The Memory Thief started out strong, but didn’t sustain my interest throughout. Rachel Keener does a great job depicting a world very unfamiliar to my own, but at times her prose is just a bit too much, taking me out of the story. I felt like some of the plot elements were overly familiar, and the direction of the story somewhat…

Interview–Peter V. Brett, author of The Desert Spear

American Literature March 12, 2010 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

I’m so excited to run this interview with Peter V. Brett, author of the forthcoming The Desert Spear (on sale 4/13/10). It’s a sequel to The Warded Man, one of last year’s most auspicious fantasy debuts. You can find our discussion on that book here. 1. How much of this story was in your mind when you wrote The Warded Man? a. All of it and none of it. I know that sounds like a bullshit answer, but itâ€™s really true. I had a detailed…

Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon

American Literature March 10, 2010 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: As former military hero Duke Kieri Phelan ascends the throne in half-elven Lyonya, the neighboring realm of Tsaia faces a threat from the long-forgotten blood magery of the Verrakai family. Review: Oath of Fealty follows directly after the events that concluded Elizabeth Moon‘s Deed of Paksennarion trilogy, and as such is a bit tricky to synopsize, particularly in only one sentence. And it’s clearly the first book of a series, so it’s mostly set up. That’s not to say that the book lacks action–hardly!…

Next by James Hynes

American Literature March 9, 2010 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: In Austin for the day for a job interview, a middle-aged man finds himself reflecting on loves present and past as the spectre of terrorism stalks his every turn. Review: I got kind of addicted to the prose stylings of Next, with author James Hynes weaving past and present and possible future effortlessly together to create a tapestry of need, hurt, longing, and passion. The “day in the life” gimmick really worked here–at least until the “where did that come from?” ending–because Kevin’s angsty…

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Monthly Archives: March 2010