Gods in Darkness, by Karl Edward Wagner
pros: well-written; interesting worlds and characters; good example of an antihero; well-developed dark characters; realistic people mixed with extraordinary characters; inevitable results of ambition and violence aren’t glossed over; Teres; 1st novel, Bloodstone, was the best
cons: Kane was a little predictable; Kane isn’t very likeable; the three books leave you hanging; transition from 2nd book to 3rd didn’t make sense; what happened to the girl from the 2nd book – I thought she was in the tower before Kane
misc: Bloodstone; Dark Crusade; Darkness Weaves;
ISBN 189238924; 528pp; pub. 2002
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The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie
pros: one of best books of 2007; great characters, situations, story; Logen Ninefingers/Bloody Nine and his little sayings; Glokta; complex plot, characters, action counterbalanced with simple elements of daily life; portrayal of wizards and wizardry; cynicism; chapter titles
cons: next 2 books in series aren’t available in US yet; ends too soon; Glokta can be hard to like; not sure where he’s going with Ardee’s storyline; Jezal’s character is unlikeable, a little inconsistent; names of lords and power players in city were confusing at times
misc: you have to be realistic; pot; blanket; Shanka/Flatheads; Dogman; Logen’s opponents; Ferro; Bayaz; Malacus Quai; Councils; Inquisitors; Arch Lector
ISBN 159102594X; 531pp; pub. 2007
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Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch
pros: continuation with good, interesting characters; fast moving; complex plot; interesting new cities/states/societies; pirates; rapelling test; creepy scene in the Night Gallery; twist at the end
cons: mysterious enemies are a bit too conveniently mysterious; the Bondsmagi are more a plot device than a specific element; I liked Jean a whole lot more than Locke; jumping around from time and place didn’t work as well this time; weak plot elements – if Jean and Ezri are discussing Jean’s problems in Ezri’s room, it could easily be overheard; cliffhanger ending
misc: pirate stronghold; Zamira; Port Prodigal; Ghostways; Tal Verrar; Requin; Sinspire; Gentleman Bastards; Carousel Hazard; card cheating; Archon; Leocanto Kosta and Jerome de Ferra; Selendri; brass arm with knives; tricky chairs
ISBN 0553804685; 576pp; pub. 2007
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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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The Demon and the City, by Liz Williams
pros: great idea; interesting characters and plot; Chinese culture and mixture with Indian pantheon; Zhu Irzh; the badger/tea pot; the guild of dowsers; Mhara; Robin Yuan; the forgotten temple; the ultimate fate of the angry dowser and his goddess
cons: very violent; the demon’s lover is just unlikable, although a bit sympathetic; too much mayhem and collateral damage; reality is very dark and ugly; what happened to the second celestial being?
misc: Singapore 3; meridians; Chi and feng shui lines; viral drugs; wealthy society vs. working and poor; earthquakes; Celestial boat; Celestials; Jade Emperor; demoted goddess; Bad Dog City; Chinese afterlife; Detective Inspector Chen; Sergeant Ma; exorcists; sorcerors; black pill; devas; Hell money
ISBN 1597800473; 256pp; pub. 2007
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Alpha, by Catherine Asaro
pros: interesting story idea; interesting characters, especially Alpha; dogfight; Jamie (grandaughter); future technologies, esp. nanomedicine
cons: sometimes stilted writing style; contrived plot at times, esp. attacks on the general’s life and Charon’s return; doubt about Sunrise Alley; ending was coy; androids and machine intelligences are more interesting than people or plot; doesn’t discuss what seems like an obvious problem – if you get your neural pathways transferred to an android’s body, don’t you still die? The immortal android is just a copy of the original. If you don’t die, which one is the real you?
misc: General; prodigy; self-determination; self-programming; love; courage; F-42; Banshee; fighter pilot; mesh; nanotechnology; android; robot army; nanomedicines; cardiac arrest; angina; aging; evolution of artificial intelligence; sequel to Sunrise Alley
ISBN 1416520813; 288pp; pub. 2006
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One Hex of a Wedding, by Yasmine Galenorn
pros: likable characters; believable plot; believable family issues; the way Em uses her abilities to track down the stalker; Murray and White Deer; Jimbo and his dog
cons: predictable; reads like any romantic suspense with magic thrown in; the business with the ex at the party didn’t really add to the story; the myriad of family strife details, everyday life issues, etc., don’t add to the story
misc: Chintz n’ China mystery; Emerald O’Brien mystery; crystal necklace; redheaded stalker; bustier; wedding-dress fiasco; Irish faerie and magic
ISBN 0425211177; 272pp; pub. 2006
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When True Night Falls, by C.S. Friedman
pros: good series; question of good vs. evil and if evil can ever be justified when used to combat evil and the question of redemption; the great endeavor started by the prophet shows signs of fruition; more is revealed about Tarrant’s motivation; Hesseth; Jenseny; the sea voyage; Jenseny’s solution
cons: Damien’s angst gets old fast; not enough details about the Iezu and the evil that fuels Tarrant’s magic; Hesseth’s fate and the timing of her fate; the Matria’s stranglehold on power was a little unbelievable; the troubled future, especially for the Rakh; what was the fate of the merchants?
misc: Coldfire Trilogy; Undying prince; Karril; Calesta; Siza; black lands; crystal; trees that suck the life out of you with their roots; horses; body kept alive in vat; deep dungeon in lava caverns; the “light” that Jenseny can see; “invisible” dagger
ISBN 0756403162; 560pp; pub. 2005
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Ghost of a Chance, by Yasmine Galenorn
pros: likable charcters; well-presented “paranormal” situations; family life details; love interest; Murray; Grandmother; multicutural elements without being patronizing or using stereotypes
cons: way too many cute tea details; Em’s actions at end are just stupid, and thus situation is contrived
misc: Chintz ‘N China Mystery; Emerald O’Brien mystery
ISBN 0425191281; 272pp; pub. 2003
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Wolf Who Rules, by Wen Spencer
pros: sequel to Tinker; we learn more about Elvish society and the importance of their presence near Pittsburg; we learn a lot more about Windwolf and his household; the friction between human society and the elves; Tinker’s evolving personality; the dream elements; the dragons; the Tengu; this one is a lot more complex than Tinker; good action, believable situations and characters; Tinker’s evolving relationship with Pony and Stormsong; the political situations; the paparazzi and the elves’ reaction; Pony and Stormsong; Tinker’s reaction when watching The Wizard of Oz movie.
cons: Nathan’s fate; Esme’s role; Lain doesn’t appear very much; Tooloo’s role is in question
misc: Oni; Tengu; Riki; quantum physics; ghostland; Alice in Wonderland; Wizard of Oz; Vicereine
ISBN 1416520554; 368pp; pub. 2006
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The Fixer, by Jon F. Merz
pros: fast-paced, fun read; lots of action; written like an old, gritty detective novel; vampire society; Zero; Lawson; Talya is an interesting, unusual tough-girl love interest
cons: some situations felt contrived; Lawson made some awfully stupid mistakes for such a hot-shot fixer; if the Council is on such fragile ground politically, then it shouldn’t have rebounded so easily at the end of the story; it’s hard to believe that just 2 fixers could solve such a huge conspiracy and then afterwards have everything run so smoothly; Council was just a convenient plot device
misc: assasins; wood-tipped bullets; martial arts; bushido; more books in series
ISBN 0786015004; 349pp; pub. 2002
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Bedlam Boys, by Ellen Guon
pros: familiar characters, tells us about Kayla’s beginning as a healer; from Baen’s free library; prequel to Bedlam’s bard series with Mercedes Lackey; Elizabet and her grandmother; the ogress and Elizabet’s explanation that follows
cons: portrayal of gang members seemed naive; Kayla had some very foolish moments; Kayla seems to forget her previously tight friends very easily
misc: Chicano gangs; LA; crystal figurines; ghosts; foster care/system
ISBN 0671721771; 304pp; pub 1993
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Black Sun Rising, by C.S. Friedman
pros: fast-paced; well-written; interesting characters and world; interesting conflicts of good vs. evil and if evil can ever be used for good; Damien; Hesseth; the way religion is presented; this feels a lot more like SF than fantasy; the fear of a world with no fae
cons: characters can be very self-absorbed; Zen’s story felt incomplete; Damien’s sort of maudlin “love” for Ciani (Cee) seems out of character and contrived as a plot device – the real story is Damien and Tarrant’s relationship, with Cee as a pivotal part of that relationship
misc: fae; dark fae; Rakh; The Hunter; Neocount; Patriarch; Calesta; the forest; worms; crossbow; holy fire; caves; Coldfire Trilogy
ISBN 0756403146; 494pp; pub. 2005
Circle of the Moon, by Barbara Hambly
pros: author; great characters and interesting world and problems; as story develops it gets better and more interesting; Shaldis gets more attention, as does Jethan; Oryn’s relationship with his servants and lords is developed more; the Teyn; the island Sisters; the status of the genies(Djinn); Pontifer the pig; Foxfire girl
cons: characters that were self-centered and unlikable suddenly become reliable and reasonable; Mohrvine is a convenient bad guy in terms of driving the plot; Red Silk Woman
misc: glass; Dream Eater; green gas; obsidian; moon; sea; islands; jennies
ISBN 0446618179; 544pp; pub. 2006
Cast in Secret, by Michelle Sagara
pros: the great characters; more seems to get resolved this time; Kaylin keeps growing; Severn; the Oracles; the water; the world of the Tha’alaan; the dragons; Kaylin’s dress; the Keeper; more depth to this story, the grittiness felt more believable; the flow of the story is more smooth than in previous 2
cons: Kaylin is still chronically late and apparently a slob; while there’s a hint of tension between Nightshade and Severn, the relationships with Kaylin are still murky; deliberately mysterious hints; action is still a bit choppy
ISBN 0373802803; 521pp; pub. 2007
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The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
pros: well-written; interesting characters; interesting world; Auri; Denna; Kvothe; Sim and Wil; Ben; the trials at the Arcanum are very realistic and characters are well-written
cons: a bit too wordy; not enough action; I would have preferred more information on what it’s really all about; the whole world seems to be against Kvothe; a little too deliberately mysterious
ISBN 075640407X; 896pp; pub. 2007
White Knight, by Jim Butcher
pros: Harry Dresden; Lash; Thomas’ job; the scene in Thomas’ apartment; Mouse; Ramirez; Murphy’s new gun; Justine’s new role; Harry’s guitar playing; Harry and Lara’s escape
cons: not as many jokes and humor as in past 2 books; it ended; not enough Butters
misc: Black Council; Black Hats; Cowl; ghouls; vampire courts; Skavis; Malvora; White Council; Grey cloak; Wiccans; freeholding lord; Walkers or Outsiders
favorite quips: “cult of porn-star sorceresses” and “age is always advancing and I’m fairly sure it’s up to no good”
ISBN 0451461401; 416pp; pub. 2007
The Prophet of Lamath, by Robert Don Hughes
pros: good satire; stupid kings and courts get their comeuppance; Pelman and the Power; people actually learn lessons and get wiser, even public figures; the world and its problems; the dragon; the monastery elder and the bear cave; Ezri, the sailor; the naval “battle”; the way the siege ends
cons: Serphimera; could have been longer; Rosha and Bronwynn’s romance is a little forced; the dragon’s fate; the slavery; the merchants were too uniformly unlikable and evil
misc: two-headed dragon; blue-robes; the Power; powershaper; Tohn; Dorlyth; Chaomonous; Ngandib-Mar; Maris; Vicia-Heinox; Divisionists; “The dragon is divided”
ISBN 0345011112; Pub. 1989
Bloodsucking Fiends, by Christopher Moore
pros: fast-paced; silly fun; adult viewpoint; quirky characters; the cliché of the small-town gullible hero twisted with the aspiring young author, in a different situation; the Wongs/flower gag; laundromat scene and witness accounts; the night crew at Safeway; the Emperor; Tommy’s actions at the end
cons: what happens to the turtles; Jody isn’t very likable; more dark and sarcastic than fun; Jody’s mother was just a sad stereotype
misc: turkey bowling; graveyard shift; yacht; San Francisco; laundromat; Elijah Ben Sapir; redhead; Indiana; C. Thomas Flood; SOMA; South of Market; loft; metalworkers
ISBN 0060735414; 304pp; pub. 2004
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