Posts tagged with fantasy
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Dark Between, by Sonia Gensler
This week's Book Giveaway pick is Sonia Gensler's gothic romance The Dark Between, which I'm hoping (based entirely upon its title and cover art, as I haven't actually read the official description yet) is a Halloween-appropriate choice. Our review should go up later today...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Across A Star-Swept Sea, by Diana Peterfreund
This week's Book Giveaway pick is Diana Peterfreund's Across A Star-Swept Sea, a "companion novel" (in this case, that means "not a sequel, but set in the same world") to 2012's For Darkness Shows the Stars. Both books have enjoyably weird literary ambitions: For Darkness Shows the Stars is a post-apocalyptic YA retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, while Across A Star-Swept Sea is an equally bizarre re-working of the Baroness Orczy's...
Untold: The Lynburn Legacy, Book Two, by Sarah Rees Brennan
Sarah Rees Brennan's novel Unspoken was one of my favorite YA books of 2012. I objected to the twee cover art, the overly-mannered dialogue, and the underdeveloped antagonist, but I was utterly in love with the protagonists' romantic conflict: an example of teen angst done absolutely right...
The Blood Keeper, by Tessa Gratton
While Tessa Gratton's The Blood Keeper is billed as a “companion novel” to her book Blood Magic, rather than a sequel, you need to have read the earlier book for this one to make sense. (Actually, this one isn't guaranteed to make sense even if you have read Blood Magic, but the light bulb might glow a little brighter...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Blood Keeper, by Tessa Gratton
This week's Book Giveaway title is Tessa Gratton's The Blood Keeper, the standalone "companion novel" to her 2011 novel Blood Magic, which we reviewed here. It's... not a sequel, I guess, but set in the same world? And maybe the pair from the first book will make a cameo? Who knows? Anyway, our review should go up later today...
Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers
Robin LaFevers's Grave Mercy rings my bell on about a million different levels. Her heroine is thoughtful, cautious, and totally badass, the story dives into a load of historical details without triggering all of my usual squeamishness about novels set pre-1800, and—best of all—it's the first installment of a trilogy, but there's no cliffhanger...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Dragon's Keep, by Janet Lee Carey
Our Book Giveaway pick of the week is Janet Lee Carey's 2008 historical fantasy novel Dragon's Keep, which we're planning on reviewing later this afternoon. I don't care for the cover art, but I was amused to note that the interior hardcover has been textured to look vaguely like snakeskin. I always approve of people trying to get the little details right...
Drama!
I recently caught the preview for the upcoming movie Seventh Son. The trailer claimed the film was based on an "acclaimed series", but that's where things got confusing: there is a fantasy novel called Seventh Son (written by Orson Scott Card), but this movie is based on Joseph Delaney's book The Spook's Apprentice (U.K. title)/The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch (American version). In addition to...
The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater
I loved Shiver, the first book in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, but I was seriously underwhelmed by its sequel, Linger. Middle books can be tricky, but Stiefvater's approach was ridiculous...
Spirit's Princess and Spirit's Chosen, by Esther Friesner
After writing everything from poetry to TV novelizations to books with titles like Witch Way to the Mall and Fangs for the Mammaries, Esther Friesner has expanded her résumé yet again, embarking on a series of YA books inspired by famous princesses from history and mythology. Previous books in the series have featured Helen of Troy and Nefertiti, but her latest effort focuses on Himiko, a shaman queen of ancient Japan...
The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, by Galen Beckett
Galen Beckett's 2008 novel The Magicians and Mrs. Quent features a plot cobbled together from the works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Henry James, bound together by a hefty dose of classic fantasy. The end result falls short of Susanna Clarke's thematically similar Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but is readable enough in its own right...
Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman
Rachel Hartman's debut novel Seraphina won the 2013 Morris Award for YA literature, but the major thing defining the book as “young adult” is its teenage heroine—everything else about it is straightforward high fantasy, suitable for readers of any age...
We appreciate it, Ms. McGuire.
A September 28th blog post by sci-fi/fantasy author Seanan McGuire about the prevalence of rape scenes in fiction has inspired a fair amount of internet buzz, and deservedly so. Apparently, Ms. McGuire, author of the October Daye series, recently had a staggering encounter with one of her readers, who wanted to know when—not if—one of McGuire's female protagonists was going to be raped...
HBO mines bookstore shelves (again)
According to Flavorwire, HBO has hired Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof to collaborate with author Tom Perotta on a TV adaptation of Perotta's 2011 novel The Leftovers. The book (which I haven't read), apparently...
The perfect spot to watch TV
If you're looking for the ideal finishing touch for your living room, may I suggest this $30,000 Game of Thrones "Iron Throne" replica? I'm pretty sure it's exactly what your home decor needs to feel complete...
Worlds collide
According to AustenBlog, fantasy author Naomi Novik is going to write a short story about Elizabeth Bennet as a dragon captain. The story will be set in the same world as Novik's Temeraire novels, a series of alternative-universe stories set during the Napoleonic Wars, but spiced up with dragons providing aerial support to the Royal Navy and the Army...
Tempest Rising, by Nicole Peeler
The cover art for Nicole Peeler's Jane True series is a perfect fit for the books: eye-catching, cartoonish, charmingly goth-lite. Also like the books, the covers would be improved by a bit...
The Game of Triumphs, by Laura Powell
15-year-old Cat Harper, the orphaned protagonist of Laura Powell's debut novel The Game of Triumphs, is not your typical wide-eyed fantasy heroine. After witnessing a murder, streetwise, pragmati...
Dude must have a lot of time on his hands
Speaking of classic manga adaptations, AnimeNewsNetwork has announced that the 1982 animated film The Last Unicorn is getting a theatrical re-release in 2012 and 2013, and author Peter S. Beagle i...
Ruby Red, by Kerstin Gier
While most of the books I write about are sent to us by publishers or PR groups, occasionally I read something so awesome that it cries out for a review, even if I had to spend my own money t...
Tighter, by Adele Griffin
I have always loved Henry James's 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw. When it comes to classic horror, this masterpiece of subtle, uncanny creepiness is the gold standard. Tighter, Adele Gr...
Clearly, Jason Momoa isn't worried about typecasting.
The first full-length trailer for the 2011 remake of Conan the Barbarian came out yesterday, and I'm almost impressed by how silly it looks. I've watched this sucker twice, and I still see absolu...
The Iron Thorn, by Caitlin Kittredge
The Iron Thorn might be Caitlin Kittredge's first book for young readers, but she's sticking to her roots. According to her author bio, she likes writing about "bad things [happening] to per...
I don't think I'm old enough for this one.
HBO's new take on George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series Game of Thrones is about to descend upon us, and the reviews are mixed. I can't say this makes me want to watch it (although the line "[...
"Best of 2010" already?
The 2010 Hugo Awards for outstanding science fiction or fantasy works were given out this week. The best novel award was a tie this year—China Miéville's The City & The City and Paolo Bacigalupi'...
White Cat, by Holly Black
Bookstores are currently overflowing with YA novels about vampires and werewolves, but the majority of the “monsters” in these books seem like fundamentally nice guys. They care about their ...