Tag Archives: Fantasy

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

American Literature

Synopsis: The interlocking stories of Darcy, an 18-year-old who has just gotten a contract for her first novel, and Lizzie, the protagonist of Darcy’s novel who is having a love affair with a Hindu death god. Review: Afterworlds had great promise but Scott Westerfeld loved Darcy too much, and didn’t make her suffer enough. I got tired of hearing the characters talk about how they were all wonderful writers. Even if they are wonderful writers (and Darcy’s novel does have “the juice”), it grates. But…

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The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks (Lightbringer)

American Literature

Synopsis: In the third Lightbringer book, bastard son turned full spectrum polychrome Kip Guile finds himself fully immersed in politics and war, while ex-slave Teia discovers that her seemingly obscure talent for drafting a color invisible to all but a few might in fact make her a key player in the coming of the apocalypse–or its prevention, and ex-Prism Gavin Guile’s past sins wreak their vengeance on him as he becomes a color-blind galley slave. Review: Awesome, awesome, awesome. Brent Weeks’ strongest book yet and…

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The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman (Magicians Trilogy)

American Literature

Synopsis: As Quentin tries to make sense of a life without Fillory, a mysterious bird summons him to pull off the heist of a magical lifetime. Review: I got so much reading pleasure out of the trilogy that concludes in The Magician’s Land that I won’t wallow too much in my disappointment. Let me make one thing clear–my theological differences with Grossman have nothing to do with my criticisms of the ending of the story. Sure, his worldview is about as far from mine as…

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Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

American Literature

Synopsis: After being hidden away for 19 years, the lawful heiress to the throne of the Tearling emerges from hiding, only to find her kingdom tarnished by an ongoing atrocity perpetuated by someone she always admired, and her life in danger from many sides. Review: Queen of the Tearling is a bold, skillful beginning to a promising series. The twist here is that the feudalism typical of epic fantasy is actually the fallout after all technology has failed. It’s futuristic and medieval all at once,…

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A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire)

On Reading

Synopsis: When honorable Ned Stark goes to court to serve as the Hand of the King, he places his family into danger at the hands of the Lannisters, who will stop at nothing to stay on top, even as zombie-like White Walkers are killing people in the north, and across the Narrow Sea a deposed princess is amassing an army for an invasion. Review: What struck me most on this reread of Game of Thrones (I think this is #4 or #5, I can’t be…

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Cornerstone by Peter Diamantopoulos (Touchstone Series)

American Literature

Synopsis: Tasked with protecting a vulnerable heiress pursing arcane knowledge, an elite soldier finds himself following her to an ancient city in pursuit of a madman and an object that grants ultimate power. Review: Cornerstone is a solid debut, offering a world with strong possibilities for a developed storyline. I think Peter Diamantopoulos was smart in the choices he made regarding point of view and structure, because he did keep me guessing throughout. I really hope that in the second book he develops his ideas…

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The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, Volume 1) by Brandon Sanderson

American Literature

Synopsis: The first installment in a planned 10-book series set in a world where the remnants of long-forgotten magic may prove to be the undoing of all mankind. Review: My brother has been begging me to read The Way of Kings for ages, and he finally went and bought it for me. I’m ever so glad he did because it was a highly enjoyable read and a cut above Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, which I enjoyed but found a bit flat. I am going to have…

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Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb (Rain Wilds Chronicles)

American Literature

Synopsis: The fourth and final book in the story of the return of dragons to the world, and how they change humans for better and for worse. Review: Robin Hobb is one of my very favorite authors and I really wish I had done my due diligence and re-read the first 3 books in this series (as well as brushed up on the Liveship Traders series) before reading Blood of Dragons. I really love the world she created here but I didn’t connect with any…

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Quintessence by David Walton

American Literature

Synopsis: In an alternate version of Europe during the pre-Elizabethan years, with the Inquisition raging in Spain, an alchemist and a scientist and a headstrong girl bonded to a magical creature travel to the edge of the world to find quintessence, a substance that can unlock the powers of the universe. Review: Quintessence was great fun, a novel that felt as deeply “researched” as any historical novel, and with a fully realized magical world that kept unfolding until the very last pages. Catherine, the girl…

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The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett (The Demon Cycle, Book 3)

American Literature

Synopsis: As Ahmann Jardir amasses an army to fight the demon war he believes is coming soon, Arlen Bales refuses to be called the Deliverer even while the people around him beg for a hero to save them from Krasia and the threat coming up from the Core. Review: The Warded Man was such a strong debut that I will continue to believe in, support, and read Peter V. Brett–despite my disappointment with this third installment in a series I’m heavily invested in. The Daylight…

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