Fantasy

A Dance of Cloaks is a story with a very large cast of characters. At it’s heart there is Thren Felhorn, master of the Spider Guild, and his son Aaron. There are several other thieves guilds with their leaders and lieutenants.  There is the king and his main adviser.  There are … Read More

Sky in the Deep is an amazing, well written book based on Viking lore. It is an incredibly rich well told story about a young Aska warrior, Eelyn.  The story begins on the battlefield where once again the Aska face off against their traditional enemy, the Riki. Five years previously, Eelyn … Read More

Daughter of the Pirate King is a fun story. Like many pirate tales, there is a good mix of action, adventure, and romance. A difference is that the main character, Alosa, is female. She is the daughter of the pirate king and captain of a ship in his fleet. The … Read More

First off, let me say that Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is not Harry Potter fan fiction.  There are a ton of parallels.  Simon, the main character, is the “Chosen One.”  He was an orphan. He is attending a school for magicians in England. His roommate Baz, and the start … Read More

I love creative fantasies with rich, unique world building.  In A Darker Shade of Magic V. E. Schwab brings that to the table. In the story, there are parallel worlds which are each very different, but have one thing in common: they each have a London. There are four Londons: White, Grey, … Read More

In many ways, Blood of the Four is an amazing story. There are Four gods buried below the city.  The priesthood protects and grows powerful from their magic. The monarchy is descended from the Four and the blood of the gods flows in their veins. A mad queen wants all … Read More

Have you noticed the tendency of authors to focus on books and reading? Take The Reader by Traci Chee as an example of this self-reflective preoccupation. This is not surprising given that writing and books, and readers and reading, are at the center of an author’s life. However, there are … Read More

I listened to the audiobook version of The Queen’s Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler, read by Kate Rudd. The story opens with the Duke of Kiskaddon returning home from battle. His side was victorious, but there was a small problem, or rather a major problem. At a crucial point in the battle, … Read More