Tagged fantasy
Nov 15 2023
Wish of the Wicked Fails to Enchant
When you think of classic fairy tales, Cinderella is bound to come to mind. After all, who (other than Prince Charming, perhaps) could forget the girl with the glass slippers?
But what about Cinderella’s fairy godmother? Never before had I considered the motivation for the woman who granted the wish…
Sep 09 2023
Deny Me, the Nightshade Boy Is a Minnesota Urban Fantasy with Stronger Social Commentary Than Story
There is something comforting for me about tales that blend the fantastic into the world of the mundane. It was a penchant of mine when it came to my reading selection in my youth, which I can confess now as an adult was a choice made with unfettered optimism and hope that maybe one day I too would stumble upon…
Jun 12 2023
Minnesota Author Kat Howard Gives Urban Fantasy a Shadowy Twist
Hidden societies and realms hiding in plain sight are tropes in fiction that never get old for me, and Minnesota author Kat Howard’s Unseen World duology is no exception. Following an elite society of magicians battling for power and esteem in New York City, the Unseen World books have consistent…
Feb 07 2023
Worldbuilding Partially Saves Seven Faceless Saints from Its Cast
I once worked with a woman who notified everyone that a book wouldn’t keep her attention unless there was a dead body in it. I must admit that she and those words came to me within the first chapter of Seven Faceless Saints as it successfully grabbed my attention with—what else?—a dead body. M. K. Lobb’s…
Jun 01 2022
Twin Crowns Delivers in Its Plot and Protagonists
There are times when I see the cover of a book and immediately know I’ll love it. That was the case for Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber’s fantasy YA novel Twin Crowns; Charlie Bowater’s art is distinctive and easy for me to recognize, and Twin Crowns became my most anticipated…
Nov 24 2021
Amazon’s Wheel of Time Makes a Bold Beginning, but Will It Hold Up?
If you know anything about the Wheel of Time book series (written primarily by Robert Jordan and finished by Brandon Sanderson following Jordan’s passing), you know that it’s one heck of a commitment. The 14 books total in the core series—not counting the prequel or companions—clock…
Jul 21 2021
A Conversation with Lois McMaster Bujold on Penric, The Physicians of Vilnoc, and the World of the Five Gods
The eighth novella in author Lois McMaster Bujold’s Penric series, The Physicians of Vilnoc, is out in print this month. As with the rest of the Penric novellas, it was released first by the author as an e-book, but I like the solid feel of a book in my hands. Happily, while I’ve been waiting, the ninth novella…
Jan 07 2021
Saiyuki Gets a New Translation with Kodansha’s “Resurrected” Editions
Fans of the 20-year-old manga Saiyuki, by Kazuya Minekura, will be happy to know that deluxe editions—with color pages and new translations—have been coming out over the past year from Kodansha Comics. The releases seem as good an excuse as any to review one of my all-time favorite manga series.
The…
Dec 14 2020
Magic Dark and Strange Doesn’t Quite Live Up to Its Potential
Kelly Powell‘s debut novel, Songs from the Deep, was easily one of my favorite books of 2019. Atmospheric and emotional, what starts as a murder mystery involving sirens doubles as a narrative about handling grief and moving forward in the wake of tragedy. When Powell’s sophomore novel,…
Nov 28 2020
Horror and Inner Bravery Are Found Among the Beasts and Briars
It’s no secret that 2020 has been a wild year for all of us; for me, it’s been challenging in terms of motivation. There have been times when I’ve found it difficult to focus on the things I enjoy, with reading in particular taking a major hit as I’ve struggled to finish both books…