City of Masks by Marry Hoffman
City of Masks is an “other world” novel, one where characters from our world can travel back and forth to another, in this case an alternate history 16th century Italy known as Talia. These travelers (and it works both ways) are known as “stravaganti,” thus the series title. While this book takes places in this world’s version of Venice (Bellezza), others in the series will range elsewhere (City of Stars, for example, is set in an alternate Sienna).
October 29th, 2007. Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3, 5 | Mary Hoffman | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
The third book in The Chronicles of Narnia (or the fifth if you’re reading them in chronological order), is a rather unusual book within the context of the series, considering the good-against-evil theme that permeates the other six books in the series is largely absent here. Of course there are dangers and trials, as well as personal conflict that need to be resolved, but because there is no central villain nor any fundamental evil that needs to be defeated, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is more thoughtful,
October 29th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | C.S. Lewis | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Wolf Tower (also published as The Law of the Wolf Tower) is the first of a quartet of books concerning the young woman Claidi’s series of adventures in a fantasy realm, as told and recorded by her in her journal. Her story begins in the House where she works as a slave to the spoilt Lady Jade Leaf, which Claidi recounts in the book that she’s stolen from her mistress’s stationary chest. She’s not entirely sure what made her do such a dangerous thing,
October 28th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Tanith Lee | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
“It is the Power We Wield that Commands Our Loyalty…”
As the second book in the HIGH DRUID OF SHANNARA trilogy, Brooks picks up right where he left off; with his heroes in dire straights. Betrayed by the treachery of her fellow Druids, Grianne Ohmsford has found herself transported into the Forbidding, the dimension that all the demons and monsters of the world were banished into thousands of years ago. Despite making a somewhat flimsy alliance with a create called Weka Dart, Grianne has now been captured by the terrible Straken Lord Tael Riverine,
October 26th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Terry Brooks | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Prospero’s Children by Jan Siegel
Fern is a no-nonsense kind of girl, who acts as her befuddled father’s aid and her young brother Will’s mother-figure and certainly has no time for games or imaginings. But all that is about to change when her family inherit a home in Yorkshire and her father introduces two new business associates; the cold and creepy Javier Holt and the sensuous and manipulative Alison Redmond.
A painting of a lost city, a rock that looks like a cloaked man, a sinister talking idol, a ship figurehead,
October 26th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Jan Siegel | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
The Neverending Story is probably best known to the general public through Wolfgang Peterson’s movie, whereas the original novel by Michael Ende is less well known. Despite the horrid sequels and the even worse television series that Michael Ende desperately tried to prevent in the last years of his life, Wolfgang Peterson’s first attempt at bringing the book to the big screen was successful and popular. However, fans of the book will know that it only records the first part of the story — though Peterson compensates by telling us in the final segment of the film “Bastian had many more adventures before finally returning to the ordinary world.
October 16th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Michael Ende | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
Elizabeth Bear may have given her novel a rather generic title, but within the covers of the book is a story of intrigue, politics, family relations, romance, mystery and magic, as well as one of the best depictions of Faerie I’ve read in a long time. If you love fantasy, but are sick of boring Tolkien knock-offs, then Blood and Iron should fix you up nicely. Reminiscent of several other original fantasists, (Patricia McKillip and Jan Siegel spring to mind) this is an interesting take on the world of Faerie and its relationship to our own world.
October 16th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Elizabeth Bear | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley
Despite an interesting title and a beguiling title page, I honestly found nothing exceptional about Robin McKinley’s collection of four fairytales. Whether her stories are original or retold, they are rather dull, predictable, and written with long-winded language that makes for sluggish reading. All are centered on the interactions between this world and that of Faerieland — or to be more specific, the interactions between young princesses and the inhabitants of Faerieland. None of these girls are individuals, instead they are cast straight from the princess stereotype and all the stories end on a slightly sickly-sweet note with each dilemma that the girls’
October 12th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 1 | Robin McKinley | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin
The Tombs of Atuan is the second book in the Earthsea series that began with A Wizard of Earthsea. Wizard is a true classic, and it wouldn’t be much criticism to say Atuan doesn’t match it. It’s true, but The Tombs of Atuan is still well worth the read, quite strong in its own right.
The Tombs of Atuan is a near complete shift of character,
October 5th, 2007. Bill Capossere, Kat Hooper and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Ursula K. Le-Guin | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
By now the basic premise of Garth Nix’s seven-part The Keys to the Kingdom series is well established. Arthur Penhaligon has been thrown into an extraordinary world: the epicenter of the universe, known as “the House”. Ruled by the treacherous Morrow Days (named after the days of the week and each personifying one of the seven deadly sins: Mister Monday/sloth; Grim Tuesday/greed; Drowned Wednesday/gluttony and now Sir Thursday who appears to be pride), Arthur has been given the task of reassembling the missing pieces of the Will that will strip these characters of their power and return it to the Rightful Heir — himself!
October 4th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Garth Nix | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Agree! And a perfect ending, too.
I may be embarrassing myself by repeating something I already posted here, but Thomas Pynchon has a new novel scheduled…
[…] Tales (Fantasy Literature): John Martin Leahy was born in Washington State in 1886 and, during his five-year career as…
so you're saying I should read it? :)
As a native New Yorker, I love the idea of the city being filled with canals and no skyscrapers! And…