The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman has paired up with illustrator Gris Grimly to create The Dangerous Alphabet. This is not an alphabet book for young readers, unless you like staying up with them all night as they stare at shadows in the corner. Rather, Gaiman wrote a ghostly piratical poem in 26 lines, each starting with a letter of the alphabet, and then gave it to Gris Grimly to illustrate.
Grimly’s style is dark and grim — with a name like Gris Grimly,
May 3rd, 2011. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 4 | Neil Gaiman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
First, congratulations to erysimum for winning our cover art contest last week. Please contact us to let us know which book you would like from our stacks.
Now, on to the main business of the day.
Next Thursday I am guest lecturing in a college class on YA literature. I’ve been asked to speak about the state of the YA Fantasy market. The class is designed for people who are planning to teach at the junior high or high school level, and I’m turning to you for some advice. I got my list of classics every kid should read,
April 28th, 2011. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 11 comments |
Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess have paired up again to produce the breathtaking Blueberry Girl, a fantastical blessing poem or lullaby that Gaiman wrote for his two daughters.
Invoking “Ladies of light and ladies of darkness and ladies of never-you-mind,” Gaiman prays for blessings to be bestowed on his blueberry girl. Reminiscent of fairy godmothers — Gaiman’s prayer for protection and spindles makes that allusion even stronger — the author lists off his wishes for his daughters to be bestowed by the ladies who take different forms throughout the story in Vess’s enchanting drawings.
April 23rd, 2011. Ruth Arnell´s rating: 5 | Neil Gaiman | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I’ll be defending my dissertation today so I’ll turn the thought-provoking question-asking duties for the day over to one of our readers. In response to Terry‘s Magazine Monday post, Mark Lawrence asked:
I’m a fan of the short story both reading and writing (not that any of mine were Nebula-nominated). I’ve always felt they deserved a bigger press/market/readership. It’s odd really… we’re told the public’s attention span is getting shorter and shorter, and yet the short-story market shrinks day by day and the best selling fantasy is delivered in 1000+ page door stops!
April 14th, 2011. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 26 comments |
As one might expect from Neil Gaiman, Instructions is an unusual little book, and despite technically being a picture book, isn’t necessarily something you would give to a child. Not that the content is objectionable — just a tad incomprehensible to anyone who isn’t well versed in the rules and patterns of fairytales. With that in mind, a child might be the perfect audience! I think what I’m trying to say is thatInstructions is a story for those who love stories,
April 13th, 2011. Rebecca Fisher and Ruth Arnell´s rating: 5 | Neil Gaiman | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
My niece turns 20 today. I’m not sure what space time warp continuum breach accounts for that since I’m pretty sure she is still nine, but, advanced mathematics and all aside, somehow she grew up. She’s more like a little sister than a niece, because I lived with her and her mom for years after she was born.
Muffinhead, for that is what I called her, is an inspiration to me. She decided she wanted to be a pastry chef so she up and moved to a different state to learn to bake. And then she wanted to see if she could make it in New York City,
April 7th, 2011. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 12 comments |
Dear readers, this one is short and quick. There’s a reader who is wondering if there are any fantasy books where an old person is the protagonist. I can think of a few middle aged heroes, but not any old ones. The closest I can get is Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold where the female protagonist is late-middle aged. Unless undead counts as old, because some of those guys are hundreds of years old, but I don’t think that is what she is going for.
So, dear readers, we’re crowdsourcing this one.
March 31st, 2011. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 28 comments |
Mau returns home from a rite of passage concerning his transition from boyhood to manhood to discover that every member of his island village, the “Nation,” has been killed in a tidal wave. Who will teach him to be a man now that he has only himself to rely on?
Daphne, a distant heir to the British throne, is shipwrecked on a small island in the ocean. She has received the best education that a woman of her station can receive in Victorian England, so she is well versed in English customs,
March 27th, 2011. Ryan Skardal and Ruth Arnell | Terry Pratchett | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin
I think maybe I love Kate Griffin’s A Madness of Angels. It’s a mature love, too, not just a crush, because I can see the faults in the thing and I love it anyway. It’s a hard book to write about without spoiling the fun for everyone, so instead of discussing the plot I will focus on what I loved.
I love Griffin’s view of magic. Reviewers compare A Madness of Angels to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere,
March 23rd, 2011. Marion Deeds, Rebecca Fisher and Ruth Arnell´s rating: 3.5, 4 | Kate Griffin | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
First off, congratulations to Franziska for winning last week’s knock knock joke competition. Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to send books overseas right now, but feel free to contact me and tell me which book I should read next. I look forward to your choice.
Okay, so I’ve been surfing around the internet a bit and I stumbled upon a most disturbing rumor. You probably know that Hunger Games is being turned into a movie. Well apparently, the rumor is that Alex Pettyfer and Jennifer Lawrence are being considered for the leads of Peeta and Katniss.
March 17th, 2011. Ruth Arnell | Giveaway!, Thoughtful Thursday | 11 comments |
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is my favorite fantasy series. It's fantastic. I've been holding off on starting The Last King…
I believe you are missing the point of this book here. I don't believe the purpose is to tell a…
I love it!
Almost as good as my friend: up-and-coming author Amber Merlini!
I don't know what kind of a writer he is, but Simon Raven got the best speculative-fiction-writing name ever!