FanLit thanks Mark Pawlyszyn for contributing this interview with Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Kingkiller Chronicle Day 1: The Name of the Wind. His sequel, The Kingkiller Chronicle Day 2: A Wise Man’s Fear will be published in the future.
Mr Rothfuss won our first ever “Best Book of the Year” award (2007).
Mark: I think what I enjoyed most about The Name of the Wind is the lack of clichés and predictability. I loved that a certain mood would be set up,
August 4th, 2008. Guest | Patrick Rothfuss | Author Interviews | 5 comments |
FanLit thanks Will Daniels for this contribution to our site!
I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Janny Wurts at Capricon XXVIII.
Janny is an amazing woman — a self-made artist and author who’s been in the business since 1981. The impression I received from talking to Ms. Wurts was that she is a true fantasy geek. She writes for us, not just for profit.
I caught up with Janny toward the end of the day on Saturday while she was signing autographs for her fans. Scott Kuntzelman brought about 12 books for her to sign;
July 7th, 2008. Guest | Janny Wurts | Author Interviews | 1 comment |
Orphaned and married off at the age of 5, Marian Fitzwater is awakened during the night of her 15th birthday, the day of which she was to move to her husband’s castle, to be told that he has just died.
As an unmarried woman with land attached to her name, she is now not only a very desirable catch, but now a pawn in the Queen of England’s strategic chess game to supposedly turn all of England to her son, King Richard’s favor. The catch is,
June 12th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 3 | Elsa Watson | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter
Grace Carlyle, frustrated by her boring, predictable job and lack of romance in her life sets out on a potentially dangerous mission to find her brother who disappeared into the Amazon jungle on a research trip many weeks ago. After her guide steals from her and retreats into the jungle, Grace finds herself wandering, looking for the way out. Instead of getting out of the jungle however, she unknowingly heads deeper in, finally coming across a strange portal… the entrance to the mythical world of Atlantis.
June 9th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 3 | Gena Showalter | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
They say that the book is often better than the movie and that statement definitely applies to Bridge to Terabithia. The movie gets only 2 stars, but the book is worthy of 5 stars. While the movie had very good actors and great special effects, somewhere along the way it lost the soul of the book. No other piece of fantasy writing has so clarified for me the exquisite pain and joy of being a child. Of being terrified of one’s powerlessness,
June 5th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 5 | Katherine Paterson | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
THE MALLOREON by David Eddings
Take the plot from The Belgariad, add in the same characters, plus a couple of new ones that look strangely similar to ones in The Belgariad, and you have The Malloreon. Instead of chasing the Orb, the gang is chasing Garion and Ce’Nedra’s son.
This is a quest type of fantasy, and the same things that made The Belgariad so enjoyable are here: interesting characters and a humourous banter that makes for a quick read. The pace is fast.
May 27th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 2 | David Eddings | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Lord of the Isles by David Drake
David Drake has a considerable reputation as a science-fiction writer, but Lord of the Isles was my first introduction to his work. To be frank, it is not a good introduction.
Lord of the Isles begins in the tried-and-tested high fantasy tradition — ancient events outlined in the prologue, cut to the present on a bucolic location, unexceptional adolescent male character introduced, and on you go. The island of Haft in the Isles of the title is then shocked by the appearance of a ship from the past.
May 16th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 0.1 | David Drake | SFF Reviews | no comments |
When the Gods Slept by Allan Cole
When the Gods Slept is the first book in Allan Cole’s Timuras trilogy and I am debating whether I should read the other two books or not. Generally, I don’t like writing a review until I have read all the books in a trilogy, but I also have a strict rule against paying for additional books when the initial story is pedestrian at best. If I could develop a rating system it would not be based on stars or numbers or thumbs,
May 14th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 3 | Allan Cole | SFF Reviews | no comments |
FIRE OF HEAVEN by Russell Kirkpatrick
The Fire Of Heaven series is a Christianity-inspired fantasy. My rating for these three books varies quite a bit from the first book to the last. The first book, Across the Face of the World, was a promising start to the story and I would rate it at perhaps three stars. I had hoped the writing would improve as the story progressed, but the second book, In the Earth Abides the Flame, was, unfortunately, a step backwards rather than forwards and it introduced elements that bothered me,
April 28th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 1 | Russell Kirkpatrick | SFF Reviews | no comments |
I loved how The Elenium started. Sparhawk has to be the best character David Eddings has ever imagined. I thought, with the first book of this trilogy, that this series was a real departure from the world of Belgarath, Garion and Polgara.
The story starts as the publisher indicates, and it quickly becomes a quest for a mystical jewel that is buried somewhere. A cast of characters develops, and they go looking for the thing. However, this is where disappointment sets in.
April 27th, 2008. Guest´s rating: 2 | David Eddings | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one