Tag Archives: Fantasy

The Great Bazaar and Other Stories by Peter V. Brett

American Literature February 7, 2010 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: A selection of deleted scenes from Peter V. Brett’s debut fantasy novel The Warded Man. Review: The Great Bazaar and Other Stories is a fun little read for fans of the world and characters created by Peter V. Brett in The Warded Man and its upcoming sequel The Desert Spear (which is so so so so so good, by the way–watch for my review and an interview with Peter in April!) I enjoyed reading a few more stories about characters I have come to…

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

American Literature February 4, 2010 Superfast Reader 18 Comments

Synopsis: The dragons who emerged from their cocoons along the Rain Wilds River were not exactly the fearsome creatures of legend hoped for by many, so a ragtag group of outcasts and misfits are hired to escort them upriver, ostensibly to find a legendary dragon city–if any of them survive. Review: It was SO much fun to return to the world of the Liveship Traders series, which was my favorite of Robin Hobb’s three Six Duchies trilogies. I’m aching to reread all of them again,…

Raven’s Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet

American Literature January 31, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Led by troubling visions of a shadowy Keeper who is probably benevolent and hoping to find Auralia and her colors, Cal-raven, king of Abascar, leads his homeless people out of exile and into a danger of another sort–seductive House Bel Amica, where brews a danger of a greater kind, related to the tentacles that sprang from the ground and destroyed House Abascar. Review: Raven’s Ladder is the third intallment in Jeffrey Overstreet‘s Auralia thread, began in Auralia’s Colors and continued in Cyndere’s Midnight. The…

Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale

American Literature January 12, 2010 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: In a steampunk fairyland, a charming criminal mastermind dogged by bad luck ends up battling a beanstalk of epic proportions. Review: Calamity Jack is a graphic novel sure to delight brainy teens in search of a cool story with fun characters. The illustrations, by Nathan Hale, have whimsy and solidity in marrying pixies and steel beams, yielding an anachronistic delight. The story, by Shannon Hale and husband Dean, has all the wit, emotional depth, and creativity that you’d expect from her. I don’t really…

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by AE Moorat

British Literature January 5, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A tongue-in-cheek tale of Queen Victoria’s rule of a demon-infested England. Review: Capitalizing on the unexpected success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter is wittily written and a breezy read, even if the concept feels a bit stale. Many thanks to Hodder for the review copy.

Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card

American Literature December 28, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The seventh son of a seventh son, Alvin Miller is destined for greatness if he can only survive the plots of the Unmaker who stalks him. Review: I loved the alternate America created by Orson Scott Card in Seventh Son, where folk magic abounds and George Washington had himself executed as a traitor after liberating the colonies. The American Indian tribes are the seventh state in the compact creating America, and the French are nowhere to be found. It’s lovely to read a work…

Oath of Gold by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

American Literature October 19, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: In her final adventure, soldier turned coward turned paladin Paksenarrion finds herself on a quest to crown the true king, a quest that will bring her face to face with darkest evil. Review: Oath of Gold concludes the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy in a most satisfactory manner, no matter how trite my one-liner may seem. (Have I mentioned lately how hard it is to summarize epic fantasy?) I was thoroughly satisfied by the breadth of the journey upon which Elizabeth Moon sets her intrepid…

Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion, Book 2)

American Literature October 5, 2009 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A free lance after leaving Duke Phelan’s company, Paksenarrion finds high adventure and faces an evil that changes her irrevocably. Review: Divided Allegiance was much darker than Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, with Elizabeth Moon taking Paksenarrion to some very dark places. Yet Moon never loses her connection with the ideals of goodness, courage, and loyalty that made Paks such an appealing heroine, even as she’s shaking that idealism to its very foundation. I always find middle books in trilogies difficult to discuss. I don’t want to…

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

American Literature October 1, 2009 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: A country girl enlists as a recruit in a band of mercenary soldiers, where she excels–and may be receiving supernatural aid from a saint she doesn’t know about or believe in. Review: Oddly enough, Sheepfarmer’s Daughter reminded me a lot of Battlestar Galactica, with its preoccupations over military honor and what makes for goodness in wartime. And anyone who knows me will let you know that this is a compliment of the highest order. There are no starships or robots in the first book…

The Crow by Alison Croggon (The Third Book of Pellinor)

Australian Literature September 25, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Young Bard-in-training Hem finds himself in the midst of a war, recruited into a vicious army of children enslaved by evil magic. Review: The Crow got off to a very slow start, but once it got going I was enthralled by the uniqueness of the world and the beauty of the writing. I fell in love with Hem, a deep thinker whose life has been marred by tragedy, and his friend Zelika, an impetuous girl who is the last of her family. The war…

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