meganbmoore | Entries tagged with fantasy

Simon is a kitchen boy in Osten Ard, home to Prester John, the high king. An orphan, Simon has been raised since birth by Rachel, who runs the kitchen. Very tall and absentminded, Simon is clumsy and not very good at much of anything. Nevertheless, he catches the eyes of Morgenes, Prester John’s doctor and biographer, and becomes his apprentice. Soon Prester John dies, and when his older son, Elias, takes the throne, his younger son, Josua disappears. Soon, Simon learns that Josua did not disappear to start a rebellion, but rather was imprisoned by Elias. Simon and Morgenes free him(after which, he promptly goes off to start a rebellion) but are soon discovered by Pryrates, Elias’s priest and advisor. He practices black magic, of course.

Morgenes sacrifices himself so Simon can escape and Simon begins his life on the run as he slowly heads to join Josua. Along the way he is joined by Binabik, a troll, and a boy named Malachais, who Simon had quarreled with at the castle. Eventually, Simon learns Malachais is actually a girl, and after they reach Josua’s forces, he learns that she’s actually Miriamele, Elias’s daughter, who left himto join her uncle, believing(rightly) that Elias is no longer himself and is completely under Pryrates control. Insert war, rebellion, token Doomed Love backstory, prophecy and the magic sword.

Honestly, so far, the story is relatively standard high fantasy. Very well told, but fairly standard. There is, however, an enormous amount of potential, and given that the book is 20 years old, I’m more than willing to handwave most of the standardness as not having been as standard at the time it first came out. Simon starts out your typical whiny-brat coming-of-age fantasy hero, but he pretty much literally gets kicked in the head and shoved face first into the mud over it. That and a few harsh reality checks do a good job of getting him past it by the halfway point, which is pretty promptly for the character type. Binabik and Morgenes are good mentor figures, and Josua is, so far, pretty cool, but I’m not putting any money on his not somehow going bad or getting off by the end. I do wish, though, that there was more in the way of strong female characters. Miriamele shows promise, and seems smart and capable, but doesn’t get to do a whole lot, largely because we only see her through Simon’s eyes, and he’s rather distracted by mooning over her. Rachel is a fine character, but does even less than Miriamele, and the only other female characters who are more than extras, I might forget about if Williams didn’t remind me of them.

Anyway, I doubt the series will go down as a favorite, but it’s solid and very much worth following up on.

Basically what the title says. Subgenre doesn't matter(well, no erotic fantasy or scifi, please.) Most know my wants and dislikes, but for a partial list:

(more fantasy centric here)

1. Strong characterization. Male and female. I generally need good representation of both in my fiction.

2. Strong plot. Is there isn't a solid, interesting plot, my eyes will glaze over. It doesn't have to be the most original plot ever, as long as it's good.

3. Strong female characters. I'm a girl. I like to read about interesting female characters. Preferably smart ones, too. I don't require warrior women...a damsel in distress, court lady or girl next door can be just as, if not more, interesting as a fighter, as long as the actual character is good. I don't mind if they start out as doormats or ninnies, as long as they get better, and believably so. I like character growth.

4. Worldbuilding. Please, please, please, competent worldbuilding. I don't mean "society based on X historical society but altered so I can do Y in it," as people often mistake worldbuilding for, but a viable, functioning world in which the characters live, social rules that dictate what they do, a working legal system, and a sensible system for magic/technology/mythology and how it works in the world, based on something existing or not. In other words, something more developed than a spaceship and aliens/medieval-lite society with wizards and a war.

5. Romance. I don't require romance, but if you know me, it helps. I like my romance to MAKE SENSE though. Not just the princess and the rogue because they're the princess and the rogue, but the characters that are best suited for each other. I don't need it to be prominent and am usually happier if it's backup, but if it's there, I need it to make sense and work. (And no, I don't require happy endings.) Also, if there's a romantic triangle, I need it to be there for important plot and character reasons, not just to add to the angst, keep me guessing about who will end up with who, or keep the couple separated.

6. Magic. Unless it's heavily mythology based, I do best with either only a little magic, or a world built around the magic system(see: Martha Wells, Elizabeth Willey, Moira J. Moore, Jim Butcher's Codex Alera.) The typical epic high fantasy with the standard races and wizards based on Tolkein's formula needs to have a really strong plot for me. Ditto for historical fantasy. I tend to do ok, though, with any levels of magic and races in urban fantasy(though if anyone can find me a few urban fantasy series that are good and not vampire centric, I'll love them.)

7. Snark and badasses. See romance. As long as it's good snark and they can back up the badass. A serious scholar who's a strong character tops a "look at me, I'm so badass because I have a sword and don't mind killing but that and a bad attitude is all I am" anytime.

8. Politics. I love politics in my fiction. As long as it makes sense and doesn't overpower the plot.

9. And if anyone knows of any really fun adventuring couple series along the lines of Simon R. Green's Hawk and Fisher series, tttteeeeeelllllllllll mmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

more scifi focused:

10. No or minimal pretentiousness, I beg you. Most scifi I pick up is of the "look, i'm so much better than other forms of fiction because I have science and technobabble and space ships" variety, and I just head for the nearest fantasy book(and if they sound it from the blurb, I buy too many fantasy.)

11. I do best with near-future post-apocalyptic(or post-apocalyptic in general) scifi, as well as scifi noir or contemporary "things we don't know about" scifi. Spaceship scifi doesn't work as well for me.

12. Spaceship scifi does work for me when it: A) Gleefully embraces it's "such-and-such genre in space" origins, instead of acting like being scifi makes it better than the genre it's based on, B) Is amazingly bizarre and out there.

Not all inclusive, but I think it'll do.

Note: No Robert Jordan or Terry Goodkind, please. I've tried Jordan several times and can't get into him, and have been warned off Goodkind by several reliable sources, and given several reasons.

Tedric, the king of Hawk Haven, has a bit of a problem. His two children, and heirs, are dead, leaving every relative he has clamouring to be named heir. While the king busies himself with the greedy mob, one member of the mob, Earl Kestrel, has a bright idea. You see, Tedric had a third child, a son named Barden who he had disinherited years ago. Barden, his wife, infant daughter and several followers had left Hawk Haven to attempt to colonize wild lands where giant animals were said to roam. What if, though, Kestrel, some brave soul were to seek out Barden, and return to Tedric his granddaughter, young Lady Blysse. In fact, with well over a decade having passed and the king's other children having died, a reconciliation might be possible. And, naturally, both parties would be eternally beholden to the man who made any such reunion possible. Sure, it's not the crown, but it'd be pretty close to the next best thing.

So odd Earl Kestrel goes to the great beyond, accompanied by...well, a fair number of people, actually, but here are the more important ones: Derrian, the horse master's assistant, Race, a Forrester, Jared, a lesser noble and doctor, and Earl Kestrel's valet. In the wilderness, they find the remains of Barden's settlement, which had been destroyed in a fire over ten years ago, soon after they settled. In the days that followed, Kestrel and his men examined the ruins, hoping for some sign that Barden or his family had survived. Eventually, they got better, in the form of a wild young woman accompanied by a wolf almost as large as a man, and a large falcon. The girl has only three possessions: a cloak made of animal skins, a pouch made of firemaking tools, and Barden's knife.

Kestrel, of course, is utterly delighted, thinking he's found the missing Blysse, and seeks to civilize the girl(not really realizing that the only reason she's there is because the wolves had promised her mother to return her to her own race if any ever appeared.) Soon, they learn that the wolves call her Firekeeper, or so she claims, because she can strike a flint, and Early Kestrel declares her his ward and prepares to present her to the king, reluctantly accepting that the wold, Blind Seer, and the falcon, Elation, come with the girl.

And here is where the typical "beautiful wild child raised by wolves and returned to civilization to learn she's a long lost princess and finds true love" story stops.

( more )

The Green Man was the first book in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's mythic anthology series(which, naturally, means it the one I read last.) The Green Man is the traditional lord of the forest in myth, though he wasn't given that name until recently(I always forget and the book says when but I'm too lazy to look) and Jack in Ridley Scott's Legend and the central concept and function of myth in Robin of Sherwood are both based around the tradition, to give the most accurate examples that immediately pop to mind.

Like Coyote Road and The Faery Reel, most of the stories here apply old ideas to modern times, often specifically geared to urban or rural, instead of general modern, mostly from the perspective of a "normal" person walking into otherworldly matters. In a way, I wish I'd read this one first instead of last. There isn't as much of a concentrated vision here as there isin the other two anthologies in the series, and there are several stories where I'm not quite sure why they were there as they didn't seem to fit, unlike the others in the series where they were almost seemless in the story selection, even if there were a few stories I wasn't as fond of. Still, it remains a number of steps up from most fantasy anthologies I've read.

Fire and Sword is the second book in Brown's Keys of Power trilogy. Like most fantasy trilogies, the middle book is largely maneuvering the characters into place for the main action of of the last books: start the war, forge alliances, establish any relationships that still need establishing, etc. As a result, though still very solid and a good follow-up to Inheritace, though there was no blowing away. There was still some punching in the gut, though.

( spoilers )

However, one downside: DID NO ONE EDIT THIS FREAKING THING??? There are all sorts of agreement and pronoun and grammatical errors throughoutthe book, which is a problem the first one didn't have. Though the most major problem was a slip that changes Berayama's parentage, which has a fairly major plotpoint in Inheritance.

Empire of Ivory is the fourth book in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. Featuring an alternate history set during the Napoleonic Wars, the series makes a single nod to fantasy-what if dragons really did exist and worked in society with humans-and approaches the series as historical fiction with that addition. The series focuses on Will Lawrence, a naval captain who(with his entire crew, of course) finds a dragon egg. When the egg hatches, the dragon-named Temeraire by Lawrence-latches on to him, and Lawrence is later forced to leave the navy and join the dragon corps, as Temeraire refuses to accept another captain.

The dragons here are not portrayed exclusively as savage beasts, nor are they portrayed as eternally wise and superior to humans. Like humans, their intellect, manners and tempers come in all varieties, from the wild, savage dragons who have had little exposure to anything but the uncultivated wilds to the Chinese Imperials, who aretreated and expect to be treated like gods. Like the humans they work with, the personalities of the dragons are largely formed by how they are raised, they are neither inherently savage beasts, nor inherently wise and worldly. In fact, most of the dragons we meet are childlike in a way, having been raised by humans. They are very possessive of their teams of humans, and especially of their captains, who they seem to view both as parents and as treasured pets.

Despite their treasured status, however, the dragons are largely viewed by humans as weapons and extremely valuable possessions. In the first few books, this aspect is approached almost like the subject of women's sufferage, with Temeraire- clever on his own and well educated by Lawrence- taking on the role of the educated bluestocking trying to persuade the rest of his kind to be more independent and think more for themselves, choosing their own lives instead of letting the humans dictate their lives. In Empire of Ivory, where Temeraire and Lawrence travel to Africa and are forced to encounter slavery and racism, it takes a darker turn, drawing parallels between the relationship between humans and dragons and master and slave.

I was a bit disgruntled reading a lot of the book, to be honest. In terms of characterization, plotting, and execution, it was technically as good as the first three books, but it didn't grab me the way they did. I ripped through each of the first threein as close to one sitting as I possibly could, but kept letting myself get distracted in EoI. Each of the first three books focused on the dragons in a certain part of the world, and this was no different, but in the other three, it was immediately obvious how these encounters and explorations were vital to the larger plot. In EoI, however, it almost feels like the plot is just an excuse at seeing more dragons. It's not until near the end that you realize that yes, it is important, extremely important, and that Lawrence and Temeraire's earlier adventures were even more vital than they originally seemed. The last leg also takes the series in a direction I wasn't expecting, or at least, not this soon.

Current Mood: ditzy

Dragon Sword and Wind Child is a romantic fantasy based heavily(though according to the author's afterword, not always intentionally) on Japanese mythology, specifically, the earlier stories pf the gods. The Goddess of Darkness and the God of Light have waged war for centuries, dividing all of the land intotheir two sides. The Children of Light are led by GoL's immortal children, Teruhi and Tsukishiro, and they seem to pretty much stomp on but not be able to wipe out the Children of Darkness. The CoL aren't immortal like the CoL, but they do reincarnate, and their Priestess, the Water Maiden, is the only one who can tame the Dragon Sword a weapon the contains what it's named after. The only one who can weild DS and wake the dragon is the Wind Child, who has never been seen.

Saya is a young girl raised in a village of the Light who catches the eyes of Prince Tsukishiro(being the only one in a few centuries to be brave enough to confess her schoolgirl crush probably helped) and is taken to be a hand maiden in the palace. While Tsukishiro is kind and princely to her, Teruhi is cold and spiteful, and tells Saya that she's the reincarnation of Sayura, the Water Maiden, who killed herself by drowning years ago, and Saya realizes that it's not herself that Tsukishiro sees, but Sayura. Saya is also joined by Torihiko, a young CoD she met shortly before becoming a handmaiden, but Torihiko is taken by Teruhi to be a sacrifice.

While looking for Torihiko, Saya finds Chihaya, the third (and unknown) child of the GoL, who has been locked in a temple by Teruhi his entire life, quieting the DS. With the help of Chihaya-using DS-Saya and Torihiko(kinda) are able to escape and flee to the Land of Darkness, where Saya is greeting and praised as their long sought for Water Maiden, but Chihaya is treated with suspicion, tolerated only because of Saya.

You can, of course, largely see where things are going, and probably even some of the things I left out. Like most myth-based stories, however, it's not where you're going, but getting there, even if you've travelled the path before. (I think this is where Pan's Labyrinth went wrong for me...I felt like I was supposed to be awed by new things, not treading a familiar path, which is what I was doing. Still, I do respect the movie.) And if this whole thing sounds a lot like the plot of half the shojo manga outthere...well, it did originally come out in 1998.

I do have 2 quibbles, but I thinkthey're more with the translator than the book itself, though I'd have to actually be able to read Japanese to be sure.

The first is that, like the Twelve Kingdoms novel, the translator seems to sometimes make the text more "grand" than it originally was. Though very lyrical and often using mythical terms and phrasing, the actual writing is usually fairly straightforward and not flashy, but every once in a while there would be this flashy, prosey phrase that would throw me for a loop. That said, there was nothing to even compare to calling the legendary general of umpteen billion battles with a tumultuous reign the "Peace King of Tai" while on a quest to assign unneccessary titles to all the world's leaders that weren't in the original novel, so I can't complain too much. (Stupid 12K translator...Gyosei would have fits over that.)

The second is that it sometimes felt like scenes were missing. To give an example, at one point, Chihaya is accused of ignoring 2 guards, and Saya realizes she's never seen him talk to anyone but her. This possibility isn't raised again, but later, he does talk to other people. Now, there are plenty of things between the two points that changed things for him, so if he hadn't been able to hear anyone else, it could have changed, it's just never confirmed. There are several instances like that that aren'tenough that you can't follow along or piece it together, but are enough to be momentarily jarring.

I think both, though, are translation problems, and neither affected my overall enjoyment of the book, which is a very nice romantic legend, and very good for fans of Twelve Kingdoms, Otogi Zoshi, or Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori series, either individually or in combination.

Current Mood: hyper

This is one of those fantasies from the 90s that looks at all the rules and tosses them out the window. Set in a land called Argylle, the book focuses on Gwydion, the current head of a family of flighty, brilliant, and possibly hedonistic immortals who rulethe city, and have for ages and ages. Gwydion has been in the position of family head for a fairly short span of 23 years, following his mother's death, and would just as soon take a break from it, but a zen dragon(who got pissed when the tax collector decided his horde was a savings account and wanted to charge interest) and a long lost sister in no way suited for the "looser" morals of Argylle make him ready to head for the hills. Too bad he's rather needed.

The book as a whole is really more of a worldbuilding exercise(rather like the mass entirety of Tolkein's works) than anything else. Unlike most fantasy, which is based mostly on a specific time and setting, this book takes bits and pieces from everywhere and jams it full of Shakespearean referrecnes and themes, both obvious and subtle, and runs with it.

While not necessarily an "amazing" book, it was a highly enjoyable and fun one. (And as it's the first of several new authors I got to check out over the weekend, I hope it's a precursor of things to come.)

Here's something I've never eally been able to figure out: I know a LOT of people who dislike fantasy, but live for scifi and will sing the praises of things like Farscape and Star Wars for as long as anyone will listen, and yet, most outer space scifi is almost literally just high fantasy in space.

Star Wars, of course, is very blatant about it. But Farscape? Normal guy transported to a strange world where he meets a beautiful woman who initially can't stand him, a comedic little guy with delusions of grandeur, a warrior-not nearly as bad as he initially seems-who intially thinks he's useless, a holy figure with A Past, and a defected enemy who joins them because they have no other options, not to mention quickly making enemies with a powerful person meant to hunt them down? I read this story multiple times as a teen, in fantasies published in the 80s and 90s(for that matter, I read one such series earlier this year-Mickey Zucker Reichert's Bifrost Guardians.) In fact, the entire setup and cast of Farscape is really your normal high fantasy cast and plot so far, the main difference being spaceships and guns instead of magic and swords.

Now, I have no problems with this....in fact, the only time I really like outer space scifi(I generally prefer near-future post-apocalyptic) is when it acknowledges this and plays up to it(Which Farscape very much does, by the way. Often blatantly and even gleefully.) I just don't quite understand claiming dislike for a kind of fiction, then praising that kind of fiction the second the trappings are changed.

Incidentally, I also know fantasy fans who refuse to touch any scifi, and scifi fans who won't touvh Star Wars because it is a fantasy in space, or a show like Firefly because it's a western in space. Though those, of course, will praise Star Trek until the end of time, even though it's esentially naval exploration and colonization in space.

This isn't about any one person, or several people(and the first ones of any mentioned variety that I'd think of don't even have LJ to my knowledge) just something that always bugged me.

So, in case it wasn't made clear throughout the evening, I love Simon R. Green's books. He's marvelously funny in a completely straightforward, deadpan and darkly humorous way, he pulls no punches and most of his books contain a number of twists, both brilliant and nasty, big and small(I related one twist in this book to

calixaa few hours ago and she hasn't recovered yet.) He also creates some of my favorite characters in any genre.

As a general rule, his heroes are ruthless guys who will do whatever it takes to take down the bad guy, as long as it doesn't get innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. They're genuinely good guys who fight the good fight because it has to be fought and complete straight shooters. They're also, universally, strictly one woman guys, even the ones who never actually get their girl. Granted, part of that is likely due to the fact that any one of SRG's heroines would slit their throats in their sleep if they strayed. And his heroines? Half the time, it's not a question of whether or not she can hold her ground by his side, but if he can hold his ground at her side. These are the kinds of romances where the guy will likely pile up a couple unconscious bodies to use as a chair, and then talk to the semi-conscious ones about how the lovely lady kicking their pals' faces in is his girlfriend/wife, and isn't she the best?

The Man With the Golden Torc is SRG's tribute to the spy genre, especially James Bond. Ever since Rome ruled Britain, the Drood family has stood as guardians of the world against all those nasty things we don't know exist. They're the ultimate spy agency, and golden torcs provide them with impenetrable golden armor that they can summon at will, and that protects their identities. If you aren't one of them, then you're so in debt that they own you, you're scared *bleep*-less of them or you're part of a plot to kill them all. Or all three. One member, Eddie Drood, got rather fed up with their hive mind mentality and left years ago. He still does missions for the family, but mostly he leads a relatively unobtrusive life as Shaman Bond.

( more )

I now want to read another Simon R. Green book but the new Nightside book isn't out until January. Maybe I can find an excuse to reread the Hawk and Fisher books.

ETA: Spoilers in comments.

In the kingdom of Kendra(this universe likes to gives its countries people-names) Queen Usharna is dying. A powerful monarch, Usharna has 4 children from 3 husbands. Berayma, the crown prince, is kind, generous, a good leader and as smart a pile of bricks. His father is never really mentioned. Probably because poor Berayma is rather disposable. Next in line is Areava, proud, aristocratic and too aware of duty and obligation for her own good. The only affection she ever allows herself to show is towards her younger brother, Olio, a very sweet and kind prince whose unfortunate stammer sometimes leads people to think he's slow. Their father, unfortunately, was executed as a traitor. The youngest son, Lynan, pretty much makes Berayma look smart(though, as he's the hero, we assume he gets better) and is even more aware of his mixed heritage than anyone else is, spending all his time trying to find people who knew his father. His father was Elynd Chisal, was a commoner and a slave who became Kendra's greatest general and helped Usharna win wars and eliminate slavery. Was lucky enough to become the love of her life and the king in the process. (Can you say "If you ask nice, I'll publish the prequel one day"? Yes, yes you can.)

( more )

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I made it through Eragon accidentally CURSING AN INFANT TO LEAD A HORRIBLE LIFE and not even warranting a slap on the wrist with it "oh, well that was bad of you...here, let me teach you to speak the language properly so you won't have further goofs" and then having it passed off as a good thing(sadly, before they changed it to a good thing, I was thinking that couldresult in a good story 16 or so years later...)

But now?

Well, I was going to try to post it word for word, but I started gagging. Basically, Eragon's oh so convenient "destiny" that makes him capable at everything and the perfect hero has now made him absurdly pretty, but still manly enough that he can't be called pretty.

*gags*

Behold Eragon, the ultimate Gary Stu.

Everyone be happy that I did not have internet access the first 400 pages.

Murtagh, please show up and break his nose...

Mickey Zucker Reichert's The Legend of Nightfall is my favorite of her books, and one of my favorite novels period. In it, we meet Sudian, a thief and assassin known as Nightfall. Nightfall is a jaded cynic firmly convinced he's among the most evil things to walk the earth. Since losing his sole friend and father figure, Dyfian, years ago, Nightfall has only trusted one person with any of his secrets, including his name: the love of his life, Kelryn, a dancer and former prostitute who is his sole weakness. A bit of a romantic at heart, Nightfall is utterly besotted with Kelryn and tends to think of her in flowery terms, a startling contrast to his coldness in all other regards.

Nightfall has plied his trade for 20 years in half a dozen countries, with a different civilian identity in each. He is amazingly successful at his job, but, as always happens, he was eventually found out and thrown in the dungeons of Alyndar. Normally, this would have led to a quick execution, but the king has a problem. His older son, Leyne, is everything he could ask for: handsome, intelligent, a stateman with a good head on his shoulders, a leader of men on both the battlefield and in politics, etc. But his younger son, Edward? A naive idealist who sees the world through the thinkest rose colored glasses known to man. Edward, or Ned, is on the fast track to crossing the wrong person and either getting himself killed or sending his country into war. Not fond of either option, the king makes a deal with Nightfall: "Nightfall" must die, but Sudian can live if he will agree to protect and guide Edward, but only after having a compulsion spell cast on him to make him obey Ned and be utterly loyal to him. In addition, Nightfall must somehow contrived to get Ned respected and landed, and most importantly, keep him in one piece and not pissing anyone off, all the while without clueing Ned in to what kind of person he really is. If he fails in any of this, he dies. As the only option is death right then and there, Nightfall agrees.

While Ned is by far too honest, noble and forthright to be allowed to live, he actually manages to not make you want to punch him in the face, as most such young men in fantasy(ERAGON!) tend to do...a few smacks upside the head, sure, but no desire to shatter his nose and ruin his pretty profile.

What follows is a grand, swashbuckling adventure with Nightfall and Ned-and soon, Kelryn- eventually saving the kingdom and Ned himself becoming king, with Nightfall refinding his soul along the way.

( and now The Return of Nightfall itself... )

Also, as I know this matters a fair bit to several on the f-list when it comes to fantasy: The magic is pretty much limited to the fact that in this world, some people are born with a talent(in Sudian's case, the ability to control his weight) and sorcerers are people who murder them to steal the talent for their own. Beyond that, it's simply a wellcrafted faux medieval world.

Another very, very quick book post, sadly. (Gotta make them when I can...)

As its title indicates, Coyote Road is an anthology about trickster tales from around the world(though, also as indicated by the title, more focused on American folklore than European or Eastern folklore and myth, which is what I prefer) Like it's sibling anthology, The Faery Reel, Coyote Road is entirely comprised of very solid stories, ranging from "good" to "really good," as opposed to the anthology standard of "ok" to "pretty good."

I've always liked trickster tales, so I-rightly-assumed that I would like this one. Though, I've always preferred tricksters, malevolent or benevolent, protagonist or antagonist, to be a smaller part of a larger story, as opposed to the main focus. Even the ones you hate add a lot to a tale. Oddly, no one (or several) story stood out above and beyond the rest, unlike Faery Reel. which is not to say that any were bad or unmemorable, just that they were all good. The ones I liked the best-Nina Kiriki Hoffman's The Listeners, Christopher Barzak's Realer Than You, Delia Sherman's The Fiddler of Bayou Teche, Richard Bowes's A Tale For the Short Days, Charles de Lint's Crow Roads and Ellen Kushner's Honored Guest-were stories that stood out because I'm always attracted to the basic myth and original tales behind them, and as such was naturally disposed to like them more.

One thing it let me down on, though: no kitsune tales. I was sad. I feel deprived.

Anyway, very, very good book, highly recommended for fans of folklore and trickster tales.

And so ends my stash of Patricia Briggs's fantasy books, unless I manage to find a copy of Masques(my understanding is that it's out of print, so...) I hunted these down because I liked her Mercy Thompson books, but i actually prefer her high fantasy to her urban fantasy.

These books are about Ward of Hurog. Ward's a nice guy, but he comes from a long line of...well, creeps. When he was a kid, his father, who viewed him as a rival, beat him so badly that it took him two years to recover. Among other things, the beating damaged his ability to speak, making his speach very, very slow, resulting in people thinking he was brain damaged. When Ward realized that this made his father see him as less of a threat, he faked dumbness in order to survive. The fact that he's as big as an ox and has dumb puppy eyes(both descriptions being from the books) only helps. However, when his father dies Ward has to figure out how to go "hey, I'm not dumb, I've just been faking it all these years" without making everyone hate him.

Before he can do so, however, the (EVIL!) king orders him sent to an asylum for mad nobles. To prove his mettle, Ward escapes, along with an oversized dwarf(again, book description) the family ghost and his mute sister and sets off to make a name for himself as a smart man. The first book deals with the history of Hurog(the lords of Hurog are rumored to be descended from dragons, and it's believed that there are treasures hidden there) and Ward establishing himself, while the second book takes care of the loose ends, particularly dealing with the scum!king. Not as good as the Raven duology, but I liked these a lot and they had a few good twists.

I'm also catching up with Bleach. After comments in

telophase's post earlier today, it seems I can't look at Byakkuya without thinking "noodle hair." I've also realized that I'm rather fickle about Byakuya: it seems I either like him or want to punch him in the face depending on the latest opinion I've read or discussion I've had about him. I don't know if this means I have no opinion of him, or if I both love and hate him. But then, I'm kinda fickle about Bleach in general...my favorite is Ichigo, Renji or Ishida...whichever happens to be in front of me at the time.

Also, why is it that Rukia looks normal sized most of the time, but teeny weeny when around Ichigo or Renji. They aren't gisnts. She isn't a midget. Maybe it's their giant swords...

Spirit Fox is a high fantasy novel set in a world where heirarchy is determined by women (an aspect that is downplayed as opposed to turned into an endless power struggle or bondage game or any of those other things that tend to pop up in such fantasy worlds) and sometimes people "spirit link"(effectively, mix their souls with) animals at birth (it's like Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books only...kinda cool and fun.)

Kiarda, the firstborn daughter of a noblewoman, spirit links with a fox kit at birth. However, her father, Stane, not knowing of the link, kills the fox kit out of mercy because it's weak and it's mother has died. This causes the fox's spirit to enter Kiarda. Instead of one soul in two bodies, as most linked pairs are, Kiarda has two souls in one body. The fox spirit lies dormant inside Kiarda until she's sixteen, when it starts taking over from time to time. The first time it happens, Kiarda ends up alone and naked in the mountains. Maddock, a stableboy who loves her, finds her and saves her, but is accused of having kidnapped and raped her.

( more )

Right now I'm reading Moongazer by Marianne Mancusi, from the Shomi romance novel line, which is fun but would likely be more fun to the gaming/matrix crowd. It is, however, a bit rough for me, as it's written in the first person, which I'm usually OK with but don't care for in romance novels, and in the present tense, which tends to give me hives. Still, the story is fun and I'm enjoying it.

ETA: Entry was rather rushed because there was free time before home time and I wanted to be productive.

So, Books of Magic. If you mention Harry Potter to most people who've read this book(or many times, just the ones who know a fair bit about Tim Hunter,) the polite ones will say that HP is an all ages version of BoM, or heavily influenced by. The less polite ones will just say it's a ripoff.

( As a quick referrence to what they're talking about, Tim Hunter, 7 years before the first Harry Potter book saw print. )

I've been meaning to read this book(and the sequel series) for some time. Now that I have, I'd say that the wikipedia explanation of the similarities explains it best, though Neil Gaiman is more generous than I am(but then, he's always struck me as a very generous man):

Many people have noticed similarities between Timothy Hunter — a bespectacled English teenager with family troubles, a scar on his forehead and who has a magical owl as a pet — and the later and more famous Harry Potter. Neil Gaiman has been quoted as saying that while there are similarities between the two they are largely superficial and most likely reflect the fact that both draw on common archetypes. [1] [2]

Personally, I find it difficult, if not impossible, to believe that Rawling didn't read Books of Magic before coming up with Harry Potter. I would say, however, that I think Harry is more inspired by Tim Hunter than based on Tim, looks aside(sorry, but while dark haired 12 year olds are common, and glasses, the scar and owl kinda make it hard to ignore...)

(Incidentally, Books of Magic predates Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by 7 years and Tim's ongoing series had been running for 3 years when HP was first published)

As far as my opinions on the book itself go?

( read on )

The Faery Reel is a giant(530~ pages, trade paperback size) anthology editted by Terri Wingling and Ellen Datlow, two women who apparently like to go around winning awards for their anthologies. It also has tiny but pretty pictures by Charles Vess on the first page of each story. Most anthologies tend to range from "barely readable" to "pretty good" but here it steps up a bit to range from "good" to "really good."

As is usually the case with such anthologies, the book kicks off with a long introduction detailing faery mythology and it's representation in fiction. Very nice an informative, though it threw me when it referred to Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid as being about "a pair of doomed faery lovers." I'd say it's about a faery's doomed love for a mortal and her choice to be selfless instead of selfish myself, but to each their own, I suppose.

The stories were good overall. There were 2 stories-a Captain Hook story and a "make your own race" biography story-that felt out of place(all the others were folklore based) and likely would have come across a lot better in a different anthology.

As there are about 20 stories in the book, I'm not about to comment on them all. Instead, just a few of the ones I liked best.

( read on )

This fantasy duology (through I'm assuming there will be more in time) is set in a world loosely based on 18^th century England and Europe where people called Sources have the ability to stave off natural disasters(and, as we learn in the books, are starting to be able to control and affect nature in other ways, too). Since they tend to have the forces of nature ripping through their bodies when they do that, they require Shields to protect them so they won't die. Sources and Shields both are usually detected at an early age and are noticeable by their speech patterns and emotional states-Sources tend to have random speech patterns that almost sound like madness as children, whereas Shields tend to have blunt, monotone speech patterns and suppressed emotions.

( more )

Don't expect an incredibly lot of cohesion or coherency, here, as I'm largely babbling.

Haven't been updating as much as usual lately, which seems to be going around. People who usually post 4 or so long posts a day have been posting one. I think it's a combination of finals, holiday stress, and blahs from the weather. In my case, I've been in more of a viewing mode than a reading one lately(my not being in a reading mode is what most would call bingeing) but most of the viewing has been doramas, and as far as I know, everyone on my flist who cares about doramas is on

dorama_chat anyway, so I haven't been crossposting.

I've got a lot of manga, comics and trades read, but little to say about them that I haven't said about other volumes and issues of the comics and manga series, and most of the trades didn't stick with me. I think, though, that I'm going to try to do some random series posts over the next few weeks.

( angst, historical stories and contemporary stories )

( coming of age fantasy, mostly Eragon and Codex Alera )

smaller musings on a couple of spoilers/theories

( spoilers: Veronica Mars 3.10 )

( rumors: Captain America/Bucky )

And lastly, I just really hope that the parents took the hint at lunch today and get me Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest for my birthday. I also really, really hope the third movie doesn't go in the Elizabeth/Jack direction hinted at in the second, as part of why I love the movies is Elizabeth and Wills near blind obsession with each other's safety.anyway, so I haven't been crossposting.

Profile

meganbmoore

July 2020

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Syndicate

Page Summary

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Rec me fantasy(and maybe scifi)
Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold
The Green Man: Tales From the Mythic Forest
Fire and Sword by Simon Brown
Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara
The Well-Favored Man by Elizabeth Willey
and while I'm talking about scifi anyway...
The Man With the Golden Torq by Simon R. Green
Inheritance By Simon Brown
Eldest: OH GOOD GRIEF!!!!!
The Return of Nightfall by Mickey Zucker Reichert
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales: Anthology by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs(and a little Bleach
Spirit Fox by Mickey Zucker Reichert and Jennifer Wingert
The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman
anthology: The Faery Reel
"Resenting the Hero" and "The Hero Strikes Back" by Moira J. Moore
fannish rambling stuff

Style Credit

Style: Wisteria for Nouveau Oleanders by branchandroot
Resources: OpenClipart and Siren

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jun. 8th, 2025 09:54 am

Of Swords and Parasols

I'm a damsel. I'm in distress. I can handle it.

Entries tagged with fantasy

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams

Rec me fantasy(and maybe scifi)

Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold

The Green Man: Tales From the Mythic Forest

Fire and Sword by Simon Brown

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik

Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara

The Well-Favored Man by Elizabeth Willey

and while I'm talking about scifi anyway...

The Man With the Golden Torq by Simon R. Green

Inheritance By Simon Brown

Eldest: OH GOOD GRIEF!!!!!

The Return of Nightfall by Mickey Zucker Reichert

The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales: Anthology by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs(and a little Bleach

Spirit Fox by Mickey Zucker Reichert and Jennifer Wingert

The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman

anthology: The Faery Reel

"Resenting the Hero" and "The Hero Strikes Back" by Moira J. Moore

fannish rambling stuff

Profile

July 2020

Syndicate

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags