Category: Fantasy Page 45 of 47

Saturday Miscellany – 6/22

On June 22, 2013

In Books, Fantasy, Harry Bosch, Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, Michael Connelly, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Reading novels makes us better thinkers — ah ha! I have a~~n excuse~~ justification to read! Not that I needed one. Or that it seems to make me much of a decision-maker.
The 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults In History — some of these are great. I particularly enjoyed Twain on Austen and the contrast between Hemingway and Faulkner.
Amazon Orders Cop Drama Pilot Based On Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Novels — Oh please let this work. I’m thinking Michael Cudlitz.
How to read a lot of books — a lot of good advice here. May try out some of his organization. (via Lifehacker)

Wisp of a Thing by Alex Bledsoe — The Hum and the Shiver was almost unbelievably good, almost afraid to try this sequel. Not sure it can live up to it.
Killer Ambition by Marcia Clark — I’ve enjoyed the first two, should be a fun read
The Heist by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg — despite what I said about the prequel, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel by Neil Gaiman — be sure to read Patrick Rothfuss’ review

Man! I’ve got to get to reading…

Dusted Off: A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield/After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn

By HCNewton

On April 27, 2011

In Carrie Vaughn, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

A Bad Day for Sorry: A Crime Novel by Sophie Littlefield

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I knew that crime fiction would come up with someone to dethrone Lisbeth Salander as reigning Queen Bad*ss, but I never woulda figured it’d be someone like Stella Hardesty. Sure, Lisbeth could take Stella in a steel cage match–but in an extended campaign, that little girl wouldn’t stand a chance, Stella’d kick her Asperger’s all the way back to Sweden.

After years of spousal abuse, Stella finally had enough and killed him. Some years later, Stella augments her income from her sewing supply store by helping women in similar situations by making their spouses, boyfriends, etc. To say that her methods are unorthodox would be an understatement of the highest order.

The case at the center of this book seems pretty straightforward–the jerk in question seems to need (and respond to) some encouragement to stick to the behavior plan that Stella’s lined out for him–like she expected, but lo and behold, he ends up kidnapping his ex’s kid.

Things go out of control from there.

Given the subject matter, this book obviously goes to some pretty dark places. Yet this story is told with a lot of wit and charm–a few laughs, too (particularly as a mutual attraction grows between Stella and the new Sheriff). It doesn’t take long at all to really like Stella and get invested in her crusade, as well as this case.

Just can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.

After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(really 4.5 stars, if that were possible)

This should make up for my less than glowing review of Vaughn’s last book (the fun Steel). This is the best novel Carrie Vaughn has published–and that’s saying something.

Beyond paraphrasing the book description, or spoiling the whole thing, I can’t think of anything else to say.

Just read it.

Dusted Off: Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe

By HCNewton

On April 16, 2011

In Alex Bledsoe, Authors, Eddie LaCrosse, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Dark Jenny by Alex Bledsoe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ll be honest with you, I have only the vaguest of memory of what actually happened in the first Eddie LaCrosse novel (The Sword-Edged Blonde), and only somewhat better recall about the second (Burn Me Deadly). That’s a reflection on the amount of stuff I’ve read in that time, and is in no way a reflection on Bledsoe. I do have a very clear recollection about what both books told me about Alex Bledsoe’s talent and that I enjoyed them a lot. I’m equally certain that Dark Jenny won’t suffer from that same fading from memory/excuse to reread them. This one is gonna stay with me for awhile.

Essentially, this book is a variation of an Arthurian story–ideal king, queen rumored to be less than ideal, noble knight corps with a few rotten apples thrown in, a wizard figure, wicked half-sister, and a whole lotta intrigue–with a few unique twists of Bledsoe’s own thrown in for good measure. Not a sour note to be found here–some notes that were hard to listen to, sure, but…okay, there’s a metaphor that went awry. I was trying to say that yes, there were things that were less pleasant than others–this book goes to some dark, nasty places–but it all worked well.

We get this Arthurian tale via an extended flashback–in the middle of a nasty winter storm, with nothing else to occupy the attention of his neighbors, Eddie receives an interesting package. One so interesting, there has to be a great tale that goes along with it–which he ends up telling to the crowd at his favorite tavern (with only the tiniest of breaks to remind us that this is all in Eddie’s past). By making this all an extended flashback, Bledsoe is able to give us a slightly different version of Eddie–one on the way to being the guy we’ve seen in the last two books. It also gives him the excuse to have a great femme fatale to grab Eddie’s attention without having to write around his lovely lady.

A great, riveting fantasy noir. Can’t wait for the next one already. A decent jumping on point for those new to the series, and a great third installment for those who’ve been around for awhile.

Dusted Off: Steel by Carrie Vaughn

By HCNewton

On April 12, 2011

In Carrie Vaughn, Fantasy, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Steel by Carrie Vaughn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let me start by saying I’m a big, big fan of Carrie Vaughn. Read every book–and can’t imagine stopping. I’ve recommended this book to my sons and am going to loan this to my niece. But, (and you knew one was coming given that opening) man, this could’ve been–should’ve been–a much better book.

Jill, a championship level fencer and potential Olympian, suffers a tough loss, sending her into a losing battle with self-doubt. Soon after, her parents drag her along on a family vacation in the Bahamas (poor girl, right?). Walking along the beach, she stumbles on to a piece of a broken sword–an old, broken sword. First time she’s held anything but a blunt, sport blade. Enchanted with the notion, she tucks it away.

Turns out, not only is her imagination bespelled, she is–before she knows it, Jill finds herself on an actual pirate ship a couple of hundred years in the past. After she figures out what happened to her, she finds herself part of the crew, growing close to a handful of them (a hunky age-appropriate pirate in particular) and learning about the sword’s magic.

While she tries to find a way home, she learns a little about herself and a little about life. (wow, that sounds like a cheesy after school special…which not exactly inaccurate, but Vaughn pulls it off).

Vaughn touches upon some pretty dark stuff here, enough to make it authentic (or authentic-ish, anyway)–but makes sure that it stays a pretty tame PG-13.

And that’s the crux of my problem with the book–she pulls her punches, just about all of them. She did it with Voices of Dragons, too–less so, here, though. Yes, it’s a YA book, and yes, I think she’s right to do it. I just think she shouldn’t pull back as much. Everything here–from character, plot, setting, narrative, action–it’s all perfectly fine, it’s all age appropriate, but she certainly could’ve fleshed it all out more without going over the line.

Still, it’s a good, swashbuckling read.

Dusted Off: Moonheart by Charles de Lint

By HCNewton

On March 17, 2011

In Fantasy, Fiction

Moonheart by Charles de Lint

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Man, I wanted to like this book. Really, really wanted to…and I almost did.

The plot, the characters, the world de Lint built…were all so close to being good, to being right what I was looking for, but ultimately missed it.

The elements are all there for something great: a mix of the real world, a secret government program, Celtic mythology and Native American tales–oh, yeah, and a magic house. Who could want more? Not me. Unless you count a plot that moves faster than a glacier and well-developed characters that get the chance to do something.

There are just far too many characters moving around this book — it’s honestly difficult at times to keep track of some of them. And tracking is essential, because the book is essentially 320 pages of introducing players and moving them around to set up the last 90 pages (don’t have the book with me, so my page counts are estimates).

Nice try, but nowhere near as good as his straight fantasy that preceded it.

Dusted Off: Wolfsbane by Patricia Briggs

By HCNewton

On January 14, 2011

In Fantasy, Fiction, Patricia Briggs

Wolfsbane (Sianim, #4) by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fun, solid read with characters you end up caring a lot about without even noticing, just a touch of action, a splash of romance, and at least one character who switches between species. In other words, it’s a Patricia Briggs novel.

Like its predecessor Masques, this was written pretty early in her career, and it shows. It’s still a heckuva story, and I’d jump right into a third adventure of Wolfe and Aralorn.

View all my reviews

Dusted Off: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

By HCNewton

On January 11, 2011

In Fantasy, Fiction

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I put off writing this review, because I was pretty sure if I’d done it right away, it’d have been filled with all kinds of hyperbole. With a few days’ worth of distance, I can honestly say most of it would’ve been deserved. I’m going to keep this short and vague, because that’s the only way I think I can keep myself from gushing and rehashing this book in detail.

The story, while solid, feels like something I’ve read more than once (tho’ I honestly can’t say where, it just feels that way). A lot of the characters aren’t that novel, maybe even a bit stock-ish. But not all of them. There are four or five characters for whom the term “multi-faceted” doesn’t seem adequate, so that more than makes up for it.

But what truly, truly makes this book great is the way the story’s told–both the structure and the voice. As much as I wanted to find out what happened to Yeine and the rest, I didn’t want to walk away from the Jesmin’s voice and style.

Great debut novel. Sooooo looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

View all my reviews

Dusted Off: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

By HCNewton

On December 22, 2009

In Fantasy, Fiction

I’m going to try really hard not to over-hype this book, so I have to be brief here. Read this novel.

I haven’t blogged about books much lately for some reason–I have about a dozen drafts about various books started, tho. But I’m going to see this one through to the end (yet another reason to keep it short).

This is one of my Top 5 of the year. No question about it. A gripping mixture of “real world” and “fantasy”–without being an “urban fantasy.” This is Harry Potter + C. S. Lewis tossed in a blender operated by Michael Chabon or Jonathan Lethem. I think knowing too much about the plot beforehand would hurt the experience, so in brief, it’s about a high schooler named Quentin who’s accepted into a small private college version of Hogwarts in New York and then follows Quentin and his friends/classmates through school and into adulthood.

The world created here is fully formed, and fully capable of being the setting for a series of novels. The characters are well-drawn, brilliant and tragic–most of whom could carry a novel by themselves. In real life, I don’t think I’d want to call any of them friends, but am sure I’d love knowing them. The plot isn’t perfect, and there are many, many places in which I wished things had gone differently, but I can’t say that Grossman erred in going where he did with his creation (I just would have preferred it–I feel like Fred Savage’s character at the end of The Princess Bride complaining about the ending).

Dusted Off: Living with the Top of Our Son’s Head

By HCNewton

On July 28, 2009

In Authors, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, News/Misc.

This is pretty much all we’ve seen over the last week of Frodo. It’s mostly encouraging, but a little strange at the same time.

Frodo, like his siblings, reads more than your average kid–he really has no choice in this household, like I’ve intended it all along (TLomL has intended it, too…probably not as intensely as me).^* I should add that it’s not all by coercion, he actually enjoys reading. Granted, he’s not at the level I was at his age, but that’s probably a good thing. He might actually have a social life in a couple of years.

Things changed a week ago, though. After repeated suggestions from his parents over the last few months, he pulled down Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from the shelf and dove in. I’m not going to be one of the roughly 97 bazillion people to use the line about Rowling casting a spell on him, but…she basically did that. He’s been plowing through them at a rate he’s never hit before–seven days after he started Sorcerer’s Stone, he started in on Half-Blood Prince. Samwise has been following his lead, but not at the same rate.

What’s more, he’s devoted hours to this project–he’s ignored opportunities to play outside, to play video games (not every opportunity, mind you), to do basically everything he normally does so that he can sit with a Potter novel open in front of him.

I do realize that parents all over the world have experience this phenomenon. It’s just great to see this in action. Never would’ve figured the top of his head would be such a great thing to look at (cowlick and all).

^* Can I legally call that a sentence? Someone grab a Defibrillator for my inner-editor…

Dusted Off: The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

By HCNewton

On February 11, 2009

In Fantasy, Fiction

There are really only so many reactions a father can have when, thanks to his young daughter, his home and life are invaded by the Disney Princesses. Through DVDs, toys, costumes, books, clothing these characters can thoroughly infiltrate a family’s collective consciousness. A dad can run to such things as home improvement projects, sports, denial, or attempts to turn their daughter into a Tom-boy; but once these girls take the beachhead of your home, they don’t give an inch of it back for years.

Jim C. Hines took a different tack–the author of the satirical Jig the Goblin fantasy series started writing. The result “is a cross between the old (pre-Disney) fairy tales and Charlie’s Angels.”

The book opens with one of Cinderella’s (Danielle) stepsisters trying to assassinate the new princess a few months after the whole glass slipper incident. Danielle, some of her animal friends and another princess in disguise put a stop to that, but discover that Danielle’s husband has been kidnapped. Thankfully, the Queen is the head of a covert operations team (or the fairy tale equivalent thereof) made up of princesses who rarely qualify as damsels in distress.

The book works pretty well as a light, fun fantasy adventure. When you throw in Hines’ reworking of the original fairy tales–well, that’s icing on the cake (thick, rich and creamy icing). Happily ever after isn’t everything we tend to think it is.

“Are all the tales like this?” Danielle asked. “Did Jack Giantslayer fall into despair and poverty? Was Red Riding Hood murdered by wolves seeking revenge for the death of their kin?”

Talia snorted. “No, Red survived. But that kind of thing changes a woman.”

“Changes her how?”

“The Lady of the Red Hood is one of the most feared assassins this side of Akenkar.”

Looking forward to the next two installments of this series.