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Say what you will about the correct reading order of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, one thing is certain — The Last Battle needs to be read last. It is not simply because it was written and published last in the series, that it clears up all loose ends in the previous installments and leaves no possible room for any sequels, but because it will change your entire understanding and perception of the last six books. Do what you like with the other books’ reading order,
December 29th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | C.S. Lewis | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
THE SONG OF ALBION by Stephen Lawhead
My husband bought me the The Song of Albion trilogy because Lawhead is a Christian and he thought I should try some “Christian” fantasy. I’m a Christian, but I was reluctant. I tend to avoid Christian fantasy and, until recently, Christian music. If Christians are going to contribute to the arts (or science, or anything else), we need to make sure that our contributions are excellent. We can’t sacrifice the quality of the work just to promote a message. Christian music used to be just awful,
December 21st, 2007. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Stephen Lawhead | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken
When we last saw Dido Twite at the end of Black Hearts in Battersea she was going down with the Dark Dew ship, swept away from her friends Simon and Justin in the middle of the ocean. Whilst the two boys were forced to go on without her (eventually preventing an assassination attempt on the Duke of Battersea), Dido’s fate remained a mystery, that Joan Aiken now resolves for expectant readers in the third book in her Wolves Saga.
December 20th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Joan Aiken | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky
Jane Madison has always thought of herself as “plain Jane” and — let’s face it — her life does leave something to be desired. A low-paid, overworked librarian of an obscure resource library in Washington DC, Jane fills her days mooning after her “imaginary boyfriend” Jason Templeton, a professor at one of the local universities who does his independent research in her section of the library every week.
One day however, her boss calls her into her office to give her some bad news: the library’s funding is so bad that she is going to have to cut Jane’s pay…by 25%.
December 19th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 4 | Mindy Klasky | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
The only words that I can think of to sum up Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series are “Wow.” and “What the heck is going on here?!?” (I would have used stronger language, but this is a family website). Erikson appears to be doing something big and shiny, but I have not yet been quite able to grasp what it is. Maybe I am being dense, but this is the second of his books that I have read, and I have the pervasive feeling as I progress through this series that I am missing something important,
December 19th, 2007. Guest´s rating: 4 | Steven Erikson | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Where Have the Unicorns Gone? by Jane Yolen and Ruth Sanderson
Most people are struck by the idea of the unicorn: its imagery, its meaning and its origins. Unfortunately in present times the striking and semi-dangerous idea of a horned, goat-legged, lion-tailed creature has been reduced to a sugary-sweet horsey (usually portrayed in various shades of pink or purple).
Jane Yolen and Ruth Sanderson attempt to answer the question of Where Have The Unicorns Gone? The most popular story of where these creatures went to is found within the children’s song,
December 14th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Jane Yolen, Ruth Sanderson | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken
Black Hearts in Battersea is the second book in Joan Aiken‘s beloved Wolves saga, beginning with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and continuing in Nightbirds in Nantucket. Each book can be read separately and out of order (i.e., each is a separate story, not one big story broken into several parts), linked by re-appearing characters, plot lines and locations. Each is set in a cleverly devised “parallel universe”
December 10th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Joan Aiken | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hood is the first novel in Stephen Lawhead‘s latest series, the King Raven Trilogy, which is a historical fantasy based on the Robin Hood legend. Lawhead places his story in Wales after the conquest of Britain by the Normans and during the reign of William the Red. (If that sounds a bit odd, Lawhead gives several convincing reasons for this at the end of the book — you might want to read that first.) The Normans are encroaching into Wales,
December 7th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Stephen Lawhead | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
This volume is the second in a four-part series called Circle of Magic and is also titled The Power in the Storm. Set in a fantasy realm over a one-year period, Tamora Pierce tells the story of four young mages who are brought together to live at the temple community of Winding Circle, to control and properly use their various powers.
The children couldn’t be more different, but their studies bring them closer together till they are bonded magically (unbeknown to their four mentors),
December 6th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Tamora Pierce | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Windrider is the second of the Floramonde books, though unlike other books in series, they all can be read on their own or out of order, and indeed when it came to the first book The Willow Tree’s Daughter, the chapters themselves could be read out of sequence thanks to the format which made the book appear more like a collection of short stories rather than a complete novel.
That trend in format does not continue into Windrider,
December 5th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Pamela Freeman | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…