Books shelved under “Fantasy”

I couldn't stop comparing this book to the Dresden Files while I was reading it. I feel like this comparison is somewhat—but not entirely—unfair, because unlike the Dresden Files, this is not really a mystery. It's more of an action movie stuck inside a novel. Both the Dresden Files novels and Monster Hunter International deal with urban fantasy and feature a main character with a great voice, but that is about where the similarities…

Check out an updated review from 2018!

"It's a bagatelle." These words have been knocking around my mind ever since grade 10, when the world's most awesome English teacher introduced me to Sophie's World. (For those of you not in the know, I'm referring to Ms. Sukalo. She also brought her remarkable energy and attitude to drama class, much to the enrichment of myself and my classmates. And she allowed a small group of…

It's been almost two years since I re-read The Magic of Recluce. I consider the Recluce saga among the "formative fantasy series" of my youth. I associate the word "Recluce" with memories of being curled up in a massive armchair in the living room, rain streaming down the windows outside, cradling a massive 600- or 800-page hardcover book in my hands. That was the life.

With The Towers of Sunset, Modesitt returns to…

N.B.: As with my review of A Clash of Kings, I will avoid spoilers for this book but not for previous books.

We had a good thing going back in the beginning of A Game of Thrones. Robert Baratheon was King of Westeros, and while he wasn't a great guy, at least the kingdom was stable. Then he died and it all went to hell. Now we have more kings than castles. Joffrey…

I have been reading a lot of heavy, "serious" works lately, works that employ a large cast of characters to deal with issues on a big, even epic scale. And while many of these works have been upbeat, some of them have also been "downers." So I thought it was time to read something lighter. Coincidentally, a new Raine Benares book came out in April, and it happened to be sitting on my shelf.

The…

My father gave me this book for Christmas of 2009, and it has been sitting on my to-read shelf ever since. I suppose I have been avoiding it, probably because I had (and still have) better things to read. However, in my quest to empty my to-read shelf before I replenish it with books from the overflow bin, I changed that.

I didn't read this book in 2009, but I did read Flashforward. Stephen…

N.B.: When it comes to spoilers, I'm going to be talking rather liberally about the events of A Game of Thrones, so if you have not read the first book and want to remain spoiler free, stop reading now. I have avoided major spoilers for this book.

Suddenly everyone and his butler wants to be king!

In A Game of Thrones, we had the distinct pleasure of watching a kingdom fall apart as…

Damn you, Ursula K. Le Guin, for writing books that are so good, sometimes they hurt.

Like A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan follows a single protagonist over a long span of her life. Tenar, identified as the reincarnation of the First Priestess of the Nameless Ones, is taken from her parents at a young age. Her soul ceremonially consumed by the Nameless Ones, Tenar becomes Arha, "the Eaten One," and paradoxically…

Recall in my review of The Scar how I was whining about my opinion of China Miéville and his novels remaining relatively constant? How I wanted to read something different, something I could say didn't rank equally with the other three novels by him that I have read?

This is the story of why I should have been more careful with my wishing.

I knew something was wrong—perhaps I should say off—almost from the…

I know I keep telling this story over and over, and I feel like I've been talking about those books I consider "formative" to my interest in fantasy and science fiction rather a lot lately—probably because I've been re-reading some of them. So apologies if the anecdotes have become tiresome. Nevertheless, it is necessary in this case for the wavey lines of flashback to cascade down your computer screen, for A Song of Ice and…

This what A Wizard of Earthsea taught me: * To know a thing's true name is to know its nature. * Don't fuck with dragons (unless you know their true names). * Summoning the spirits of the dead is a bad idea, especially on a schoolboy dare. * Truly changing your form is dangerous, because you can become lost in the aspect you assume. * If you find yourself hunted, turn it around and become…

I'm not sure how I feel about China Miéville.

On one hand, Miéville is a competent writer and, even better, a superb storyteller. The three books of his that I've read (including this one) are good. People tend to gush about his worldbuilding, often at the expense, I think, of talking about everything else that's great about his stories, but they do it because of his obvious skill in this area. Many great fantasy…

I have a question, for you, dear reader of this review: how many times in your life have you encountered a novel printed entirely in sans-serif font? I'm willing to bet the number you come up with is, if not "zero," then very low indeed—on the higher end, perhaps, if you read more self-published/POD fiction than I do. Reason Reigns is the first book I can ever recall reading in sans-serif font, and until now,…

I seldom read an entire trilogy consecutively. Although it's nice to read the books relatively close together, I usually intersperse a series with other books, just to give me time to absorb the latest instalment. I didn't do that with the Clockwork Earth trilogy, and that has thrown a certain emphasis on the series I might otherwise have missed. It has made more stark the separation between Mainspring and the final two books; Pinion as…

It's very rare that I wish I had started a series with the second book instead of the first, but that's what I wish about Jay Lake's Clockworth Earth trilogy. I had some serious reservations about Mainspring. Its sequel, Escapement, might be an interesting example of how to avoid the dreaded "middle book syndrome" that afflicts so many trilogies. Categorically superior, Escapement is the maturation of the fantastic premise Lake began in Mainspring…

Why hello, alternate universe with airships; we meet again.

This was not the way I intended to start reading Jay Lake. I heard about him when Green came out and added that to my to-read list, but when I was at a used book store, Mainspring and Escapement were there, so I bought them. I always regret when my first experience with a new author I'm anticipating reading is a sour one. Sadly, Mainspring…

I suppose we should call this one 600 Pages of Nevare Eating Things and Arguing with Himself.

In this conclusion to Robin Hobb's Soldier Son trilogy, Nevare faces the enemy within, who goes by the name "Soldier's Boy." As the story opens, Nevare flees from Gettys after magically faking his own death. He heads straight for the Speck forest, where he unleashes his magic on the King's Road to wreak havoc and set…

Huh. Probably should have just called this one Bad Things Happen to Nevare.

Robin Hobb is swiftly spending the credit she earned with her last book. If giving Shaman's Crossing a second chance dispelled my vaguely unpleasant memories of it, those memories are returning with renewed vigour, despite the fact that I have not read Forest Mage before.

Bad things happened to Nevare in the first book, of course. Bad things have to happen…

I really haven't read enough Robin Hobb. She has flown under my radar, mostly because my first encounters with her were through the library, and I have this bad habit of checking out books in the middle of the series (ahem, Golden Fool) and then wondering what the hell is going on. Last year I read Assassin's Apprentice, and I have acquired the remaining two books in that trilogy, so I hope to…

This is the reason why I hunted down a copy of The Dying Earth and read it. Subterranean Press told me it was publishing a huge anthology of short stories by authors I love, all as a tribute to this Jack Vance guy, who is apparently a Big Deal. See my review of The Dying Earth for thoughts about Vance and my reaction to his series.

As far as anthologies go, this one is awesome.…