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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Eccentric Circles, by Rebecca Lickiss
pros: likable characters; Grandma Dickerson; the books; the fairies; the holes in reality; the explanation of how Lord of the Rings made life so much better in fairy because Tolkein’s descriptions were better (“real” world fiction consensus of fairies/elves, etc., determines reality in fairy)
cons: felt more like an outline than a finished story; Aelvarim was a little silly; ending doesn’t work for me, it felt contrived and repetitive; the whole issue of their silly names comes up a lot but it never goes anywhere – was there a point, or was it just a way to justify a heroine named Piper Pied?
misc: Never After is much, much better; bookstore; funeral; inheritance; back door to fairy; wedding dress; wizard
ISBN 0441008283; 224pp; pub. 2001
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The Troll’s Grindstone, by Elizabeth Boyer
pros: Norse mythology; complicated situation with complicated characters; grand scale; simple and complex heroes; lots of scenery and imagery; Fridmarr and Gotiskolker; Thurid; characters have flaws; the Rhbus; the water sisters; the dogs
cons: a bit old-fashioned with the stoic hero and the beautiful, strong, tragic heroine; strong, tragic heroine only has a small part in the story, mostly as inspiration for the heroes
misc: Alfar; alar; scipling; heart of the mountain; mines; limp; Elbegast; Leifr; swords/knives, etc. not keeping an edge, crumbling; Pentacle; Sorkvir
ISBN 0345012046; pub 1989
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers
pros: well-written; fun to read; interesting characters; twisty plot; the character Jacky; the ending; Coleridge in the dungeons; special shoes for villains and chains on the feet for the good guys; some of the names; some very creepy bad guys, especially the clown
cons: the bad guys were a little spread out; Brendan’s doppleganger/ka dopeyness didn’t fit with the explanations of what happens to a ka and his ultimate fate is also inconsistent but convenient; I didn’t fully understand where the “master” came from, he just seemed like a convenient arch-enemy
misc: misfiring gun; ear loss; London in 1800s; Egypt; British and French occupation of Egypt; time travel; time as an ice flow over weeds in a river; gypsies; a wooden monkey; motorcycle crash; soul-shifting; hairy apemen; spells/sorcery gone awry; werewolf isn’t really a werewolf but a sorcerer sort of turned into a dog who keeps growing long hair all over his body and he shifts bodies about once a week because of the hair; Brendan Doyle; William Ashbless; poetry and poets; Punch and Judy show; Dr. Romany; Lord Byron
ISBN 0441004016; 400pp; pub. 1997
Feet of Clay, by Terry Pratchett
pros: Commander Vimes is in the story; the golums; a view of the underpinnings of both high and low Ankh Morpork society; introduction of Cheery Littlebottom; relationship between Cheery and Angua and the ripple effect on female dwarves
cons: parts with Vimes and Veternari seemed a little rushed; Vimes and Veternari weren’t in top form, more used as a plot device; wasn’t long enough; I didn’t get all the details and puns about heraldry as clues; ultimate fate of white golum
ISBN 0061057649; 368 pp; pub. 1997
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