Tag Archives: Fantasy

Wolf’s Brother by Megan Lindholm

American Literature

Synopsis: As a group of reindeer herdspeople approach their summer grounds, simmering tensions and unspoken accusations bubble up with murderous results. Review: Wolf’s Brother is the completion of the story begun in The Reindeer People, and I was more than satisfied with the resolution. While the book’s setting recalls Clan of the Cave Bear, the story itself focuses around what could be considered a murder mystery, and the genre-blending is what really kept me turning pages. Megan Lindholm brings the action to a thrilling climax…

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The Reindeer People by Megan Lindholm

American Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: An outcast healer and her shaman-bewitched son become caught up in the politics and intrigue among a group of reindeer herdsman. Review: The Reindeer People is only the first part of the story, and ends on a most incomplete note, so I’m glad that I’ve got Wolf’s Brother on hand to start immediately. I really hate that publishers do this–I’d much rather read one long book than wait for a second installment. This is one of Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb’s earliest works, and in it…

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Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb

American Literature

Synopsis: Outcast dragon keepers escort group of stunted dragons towards what they hope is their ancestral home, while threatened by dangerous lands without and traitors within. Review: Dragon Haven is actually the second half of the story begun in Dragon Keeper, and really they could’ve been just one book. (Though I do not begrudge any extra revenue to the gifted author Robin Hobb.) I really can’t say much about the plot of this book without giving away spoilers, so you’ll just have to be satisfied…

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Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

British Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Review: This is my third time reading JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and I can’t say I’ve ever enjoyed it more. I’ve been following along with The Tolkien Professor’s podcasted course, and the background I got from finally reading and actually comprehending The Silmarillion really enhanced the depth of pleasure I received once diving back into Frodo’s familiar world.…

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The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett

American Literature 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…

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Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm

American Literature 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…

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The Children of Húrin by JRR Tolkien

British Literature

Synopsis: The tragic tale of Túrin Túrambar, 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 Húrin is a retelling in novel form of the chapter in Tolkien’s Silmarillion called Túrin Túrambar. 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…

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The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

British Literature 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…

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Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon

American Literature 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!…

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Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card (Tales of Alvin Maker)

American Literature

Synopsis: As Alvin Maker heads out for his apprenticeship, the French conspire to rouse the Reds against the Whites for a war that will win all of an alternate America for Napoleon. Review: I am a big fan of how Orson Scott Card has created an American history that encompasses just enough of our reality to feel authentic, but then skewed to include magic and mysticism. In Red Prophet, Card turns Tecumseh into Ta-Kumsaw, and gives him a brother named Lolla-Wossiky whose transformation will affect…

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