The Black Throne, by Fred Saberhagen and Roger Zelazny

pros: the authors; the story idea; story moves along quickly; twist on magic and parallel worlds; explanations for some of Poe’s elements in poems, like the tapping and the raven and the cask of Amontillado

cons: sketchy details; seems hastily written; not familiar with Poe’s body of work; resolution was weak

misc: Edgar Allan Poe; alcoholic; alcohol; ghost ship; sea voyage; balloon voyage; vortex; plague; dwarf; orangutang; zombie in wine box; very small wineglasses; sandcastle; alchemy
ISBN 0743435796; 288pp; pub. 2002
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The Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander

pros: classic fantasy; great characters and world; fast, easy read; there is reality and the darkness of war and evil, but has an overall upbeat and positive feeling; Gurgi; Kaw; the magic gifts at the end of The Book of Three; Taran’s banner; the final ending

cons: repetitious elements of characters habits and sayings get a little annoying; some pat situations and solutions; a little predictable; Eilonwy was headstrong and foolish; Glew

misc: The Book of Three; The Black Cauldron; The Castle of Llyr; Taran Wanderer; The High King; Assistant Pig-Keeper; Caer Dallben; Hen Wen

ISBN: various editions and an anthology
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Territory, by Emma Bull

pros: author; well-written story with great characters; historical setting is realistic and believable and details of area and time are very good; great idea; plenty of action but still doesn’t feel like a typical fast-paced action fantasy; Chu; newspaper details

cons: ending leaves me hanging; I would have liked to see more details about Jesse’s abilities and his lessons with Chow Lung; would have liked some more details of the conflicts between the various wizard factions

misc: OK Corral; Tombstone; Wyatt Earp; Cochise County; silver mine; Chinatown; Mildred/Millie; typesetter; Nuggest; Tombstone Epitaph; cowboys; ranchers; Mexican border

ISBN 0312857357; 320pp; pub. 2007
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Nameless Magery, by Delia Marshall Turner

pros: fun story; likable heroine; good twists on old elements; fast-moving story; some great characters; interesting explanation of magic and different ways of “seeing” it

cons: Lisane makes some foolish choices that seem inconsistent with her general character; details can be sketchy and sometimes seem inconsistent; I would have likes to have more details at the end

misc: seeing magic; ller and Lle; Kahain; kings; wizards; school for mages; mage school; Detter; neck bands

ISBN 0345424301; 240pp; pub. 1998
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