Tag Archives: Fantasy

Series vs. Recurring Characters

On Reading June 22, 2007 Superfast Reader 15 Comments

In the comments thread for Will the Series be Unbroken, Brad & Imani‘s insights made me realize that I was thinking of series in a very limited way. I was only considering a series as having the following criteria: Set in the same world Recurring characters A forward-moving story that aims for cohesiveness across multiple books There is a discrete end in sight, whether or not the author ever reaches it (coughrobertjordan) In other words, the common model in the fantasy/sci fi world.

To Green Angel Tower (Part 2) by Tad Williams

American Literature June 17, 2007 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: As the Storm King’s minions gain power, the forces opposed to his evil influence struggle to fulfill an ancient prophecy–that may, in fact, be their ultimate downfall.

To Green Angel Tower (Part 1) by Tad Williams

American Literature June 4, 2007 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: War looms ever closer as the dreaded Storm King’s forces grow in power. Review: To Green Angel Tower (Part 1) is the continuation of Tad Williams’s Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. Parts 1 and 2 clock in at 800 pages apiece, but I don’t know why they’re one book split into two, unless it’s because trilogies are cool and four-book series aren’t.

The Trouble with the Magical Talisman

On Reading May 30, 2007 Superfast Reader 8 Comments

Why is it that so many kids’ fantasy adventure books can be boiled down to: “Children find a magical talisman that transports them to a wondrous world where they must fulfill their destiny or be trapped for ever.” I swear I’ve read this book about a zillion times for work, and today was no exception. Some, like today, are better written than others but it makes me wonder if we’ve run out of stories with which to delight and dazzle children. Is it just me,…

Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams

American Literature May 15, 2007 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: Young Simon is in the middle of the biggest adventure his land has seen in years, but if he and is friends fail their mission, the wicked Storm King will prevail. Book Two of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. Review: I know it sounds like Lord of the Rings, but it’s all in the details, people. (Though he does team up with a dwarf and spend some time with some Elf-like folk.) I found the first book in the series, The Dragonbone Chair, a bit…

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams

American Literature April 17, 2007 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: After the death of the beloved king, a land falls into chaos and war, and one young boy finds that his destiny is inextricably linked with that of his people. Review: The Dragonbone Chair is the first in an epic fantasy trilogy that borrows from Arthurian legend and the myth of Prester John, among others, in a vaguely medieval world where dragons are not yet a memory. I found book one to be a very slow start to a series that got rave after…

Contemplating Structure, Time and the First-Person

On Reading April 11, 2007 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

In another incarnation I spent some time teaching screenwriting, which, as you may know, is all about structure. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that there is no screenwriting without structure. Typically, that means three acts highlighting a tightly causal chain of events with linear narration. In films that utilize flashback structure, these flashbacks are usually ordered so that they unfold in a linear fashion. Even Memento, to provide a notable example of a film that plays with time, employs linear temporality…

Luck of the Wheels by Megan Lindholm

American Literature March 18, 2007 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Gypsy teamster Ki agrees to ferry a most disagreeable boy to another town, and discovers a world of trouble when she and her companions find themselves in the middle of an uprising. Review: Luck of the Wheels, the fourth and final installment in the Ki and Vandien Quartet, is the best Lindholm I’ve read so far. Here, she pushes her protagonists as far as they can be pushed, taking the kinds of story risks that make her books so accomplished. She’s not afraid to…

The Limbreth Gate by Megan Lindholm

American Literature March 17, 2007 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A gypsy woman is drawn into a shadow world to fulfill the destiny created for her when she was briefly kidnapped as a child. Review: The Limbreth Gate is the third installment in Megan Lindholm’s Ki and Vandien Quartet, and is perhaps the most conventional of her books. The plotline is a familiar one–a shadow world opens up, sucking the main characters in–and while Lindholm doesn’t exactly take it to new heights, she does deliver a solid, well-written, suspenseful fantasy tale.

The Windsingers by Megan Lindholm

American Literature March 14, 2007 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The second in the adventures of gypsy teamster Ki, hired by a wizard to reunite his head with the rest of his body, which have been seized by the menacing Windsingers. Meanwhile, Vandien has contracted himself to a fool’s errand retrieving a treasure of the Windsingers, trapped in a sunken temple. Review: As I mentioned in my post on Harpy’s Flight, it doesn’t seem like Lindholm will be developing an overall mythology, though she is using some recurring characters, and might be continuing some…

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