Tag Archives: Magic

Visibility by Sarah Neufeld

American Literature 4 Comments

Synopsis: When introverted teen Natalie discovers that she has inherited her mother’s gift for invisibility, she’s caught between her desire to use her powers for good and her fears that her mother will find out. Review: Visibility was written when Sarah Neufeld was only 19, and it’s an impressive debut. She’s crafted a fresh take on the superhero origin story, thanks to her nuanced portrayal of Natalie, who is both brave and insecure and therefore utterly relatable. Natalie’s mother Jadyn is the only known invisible…

Read More »

Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb

American Literature 2 Comments

Synopsis: Soldier Son Nevare’s adventures culminate in a battle within his divided self for mastery of his body in defiance of the magic. Review: When last we saw Nevare, he was grossly fat and resigned to a life on the outside. A Soldier Son of modest ambition, Nevare’s soul was cleft in two during a battle with the tree goddess Lisana. Now, in Renegade’s Magic, the trilogy’s conclusion, Nevare finds himself trapped, with his Speck alter-ego having taken control of his body in order to…

Read More »

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

American Literature 2 Comments

Synopsis: In a world characterized by politics and intrigue, a sorceror unites a legendary rogue, a dandyish fighter, and an outlaw woman in the fight to… oh, I’m not really sure what, honestly. Review: Seriously, what is The Blade Itself about? I was lost from really early on. The characters were interesting, but there didn’t seem to be much of a story, just a bunch of incidents loosely threaded together. I never got the connections or what the stakes were, or what anyone’s goals were.…

Read More »

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

American Literature 6 Comments

Synopsis: After finally returning to her homeland, having been kidnapped as a child, Yelena must tame the magic she never knew she had even as she’s suspected of being a spy and embroiled in the hunt to catch a nefarious serial killer. Review: It’s been a little exciting up in here lately, with new baby being WAY more interesting than any book in the world. Strangely enough I was between books when she made her arrival, having just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies. I…

Read More »

The Bone Doll’s Twin by Lynn Flewelling

American Literature

Synopsis: To fulfill an ancient prophecy, dark magic is woven around a baby girl so that she will appear to be a boy, but the cost is the life and soul of her twin brother whose ghost now violently haunts the castle. Review: For some reason I thought The Bone Doll’s Twin was a one-off, so towards the end I got impatient when I realized that the story wasn’t going to wrap up anytime soon. I wasn’t in the mood to commit to a new…

Read More »

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

American Literature 3 Comments

Synopsis: A legendary folk hero tells the first part of his life story, encompassing his early years as a vagabond and his time spent at University studying alchemy and magic. Review: It’s not for nothing that The Name of the Wind has been touted as a great fantasy debut. It absolutely is. I am leery of beginning fantasy series that have not been concluded, but my brother was so enthusiastic about this one that I had to check it out. Patrick Rothfuss’s writing has a…

Read More »

World of Wonders by Robertson Davies

Canadian Literature 2 Comments

Synopsis: The premature baby of Fifth Business was kidnapped by roustabouts, grew up a circus performer, and has grown into the greatest magician in the world. His life story offers the final piece to the question posed in The Manticore: “Who killed Boy Staunton?” Review: Robertson Davies’s masterful Deptford Trilogy deserves to be on more must-read lists. I discovered it thanks to Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose, and can say that Davies’s writing not only warrants Prose’s close reading, it actually provokes it…

Read More »

Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet

American Literature 12 Comments

Synopsis: In a world where color has been banished, a young woman defies the king with a cloak woven from all the hues of nature, throwing the fabric of society into chaos and turmoil. Review: I became a fan of Jeffrey Overstreet after reading his book on film, Through a Screen Darkly, and subsequently become a reader of his blog, Looking Closer. Auralia’s Colors is the first in a proposed series of four, to which I say, “Bring it.”

Read More »

The Red Queen’s Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov

American Literature 6 Comments

Synopsis: The orphaned daughter of Henry VII’s widow Katherine Parr finds herself at court, ostensibly as a lady-in-waiting but in reality to serve Queen Elizabeth as a white magician. Review: The Red Queen’s Daughter is one of the last of the galleys I picked up at Book Expo this year. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction but I was intrigued by the magical aspect to the story. The book has a good balance of historical detail (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived–anybody remember…

Read More »

The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle

American Literature 3 Comments

Synopsis: The unicorns have all disappeared from the world, save one, who cannot accept that she is the last. Review: I know I said no fantasy for a while, but The Last Unicorn is a children’s books so it doesn’t count. I have long been a fan of the Rankin/Bass animated movie, but never read the book. When it showed up from BookMooch, I couldn’t wait any longer.

Read More »