Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
Fantasy Literature for Young Adults (over the age of 12).
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 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 |
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 |
There are lots of reasons to like a good Le Guin novel — her spare prose, her sharpness of description, her ease of storytelling, but in simple terms, when Le Guin writes well (nearly always), it boils down to the fact that reading becomes bare unadorned pleasure. Pleasure at its purest and simplest. And that is the gift of this book.
The backstory is pretty simple — families living in the Uplands have hereditary magical abilities or “gifts” (one type to a family) that can and usually are employed to harm: gifts of “unmaking”
October 7th, 2007. Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4, 5 | Ursula K. Le-Guin | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 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 |
Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce
Trickster’s Queen is the sequel to Tamora Pierce’s Trickster’s Choice and (so far) the first set of books that are not quartets, but a simple duet. It is also by far her longest book, and in her acknowledgements she credits that to J.K. Rowling due to the fact that the Harry Potter books are so thick. Both books take place in Pierce’s Tortall universe, though are situated on the Copper Isles rather than Tortall as in the Alanna,
September 5th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Tamora Pierce | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce
The last time we saw Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop was briefly in Wild Magic, as a little girl of about five. Now she’s sixteen, and the true product of her parents: Alanna the King’s Champion and George Cooper, the King’s Spymaster. Although she’s eager to take her place amongst the adults of her world, honing her gifts as a spy, she’s also perfectly content to spend her time relaxing, flirting and mischief-making — much to the disappointment of her mother.
After a particularly uncomfortable squabble with her mother over her prospects for the future,
September 1st, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Tamora Pierce | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
What the Cards Said by Isobel Bird
What the Cards Said is the fourth book in the Circle of Three series, a fifteen-volume set that chronicles the learning experiences of three adolescent girls — Kate, Annie and Cooper, in their year and a day of study in the religion of Wicca.
In this book Annie has discovered her skills in tarot reading, and after she’s been talked into playing “Miss Fortune” at the school fair, others pick up on her uncanny habit to accurately predict things.
August 31st, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Isobel Bird | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Tally has changed since she was caught by Special Circumstances. She has become one of them: a Special. Her body and mind have been altered and she is now an elite fighting machine with super-fast reflexes and a hardened body that can withstand almost anything…but none of this can really make her happy. Tally is surrounded by “friends,” but none of them can take away her memories of her friends from the Smoke and the lessons they taught her. Then she and Shay get a breakthrough and once again whiz off into the wild on their hoverboards searching for the elusive “New Smoke”
August 21st, 2007. Guest´s rating: 3 | Scott Westerfeld | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Transformation is the final book in Kara Dalkey’s Water trilogy, beginning with Ascension and continuing with Reunion, both of which are essential reads if you want to understand this final book. Previously, young mermyd called Nia from the underwater city of Atlantis came ashore in order to find Gobiath, a squid-like Farworlder that rules Atlantis. He is one of the last of his kind after Atlantis was betrayed by the evil mermyd Ma’el and his Farworlder Joab,
August 16th, 2007. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Kara Dalkey | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.
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,…