Fantasy

zeroes

Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti

I’m a big Scott Westerfeld fan and was pretty psyched to start reading Zeroes. It is the story about 6 teenagers who each have a unique, special power. I wouldn’t call them “super powers,” though they were pretty cool: Flicker is blind but can see through other people’s eyes.Crash is … Read More

the star-touched queen

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The Star-Touched Queen takes place in the milieu of Hindu mythology: the worlds of gods, goddesses, demons, illusion, and reincarnation.  The story is about Maya, a young princess in a kingdom that has long been at war with the many surrounding kingdoms.  In a bid to bring peace, her father … Read More

the fifth season

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

The Fifth Season is a compelling and multifaceted story set on a geologically unstable and volatile “Earth”.  Earthquakes and volcanoes are a constant threat and if severe enough can cause a fifth season, or extended winter, due to the amount of dust and ash sent up into the atmosphere.  Tsunamis … Read More

dark days club

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

I just finished listening to The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman.  The narrator, Fiona Hardingham, an accomplished actress and reader, picked me up, transported me to Regency London and set me down among the aristocracy. It is 1812 and Lady Helen Wrexhall is 18 and ready to go out … Read More

the lie tree

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

I was immediately hooked by The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge.  As an anthropologist, I had read a number of works by “armchair anthropologists” that tracked the history of science through the Victorian era, the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species, the gradual unearthing of fossils that called into question … Read More

truth witch

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard – Another Review

Cindy spoke highly of Truthwitch, by Susan Dennard, so I decided to read it also.  Her review of Truthwitch really does a good job of summing up the book, so I won’t cover the same ground.  Rather, I’ll report that the book was fun to read and that its fast pace … Read More

the reader

The Reader by Traci Chee

Sefia, the main character of The Reader, had a happy childhood and was loved by her parents and close to her Aunt.  However, they had prepared her a hiding place in case something bad happened.  One day assassins come and kill her parents and she goes into her secret room … Read More

smoke

Is Smoking Bad for You? Smoke by Dan Vyleta

Smoke by Dan Vyleta is one of Cindy’s favorites in our Hugo reading quest.  She spoke so highly of it that I thought I should read it also.  I started off with the first disk of the audiobook, but when that had to be returned to the library I continued … Read More