This seems to be the first novel by Seattle-based author and Tolkien podcaster, Jared Pechaček. He is also an artist; the odd drawings at the start of each chapter—which look like the illuminations on an ancient manuscript—are all different, and … Continue reading →
H.G. Parry is a New Zealand writer, known for her A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians and The Magician’s Daughter. Her latest book, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door, is also steeped in historical research and classical ritual … Continue reading →
I picked this book up because it has an interesting cover, of a silhouetted owl with glowing red eyes, and because Aimee Pokwatka’s previous book, Self Portrait with Nothing was recommended somewhere. I read her new novel instead. Also because, … Continue reading →
Olivie Blake seemingly sprang into a writing career overnight with her New York Times bestselling Atlas Series. In fact, she’s written several stand-alone novels as Olivie Blake and several more “young adult rom-coms” as Alexene Farol Follmuth. Somewhere in there … Continue reading →
I almost never read horror. I don’t like threatening bleak landscapes, lurking ghosts and witches, or (especially) intricately-described gruesome murders. Looking Glass Sound actually has all of those things. But the ocean is dangerous in the way oceans actually are—riptides … Continue reading →
This is a first novel by Kell Woods, an Australian librarian turned writer. I chose it because the title reminded me of Jack’s (as in the Beanstalk) song from ‘Into the Woods,’ which is called ‘After the Sky.’ The song … Continue reading →
We’ve been wanting to order this book since it won the World Fantasy Award last year. The author is a fairly young and very exuberant woman, who began writing the novel when she was in college in 2009. We finally … Continue reading →
Somewhere around twenty-five thousand years ago, or perhaps about thirty years ago, on a nameless island paradise, a nameless woman had a child with a man who called himself Victory. Victory had the power to reshape the world, so the … Continue reading →
Normally I wouldn’t attempt a book described on the cover as “The Godfather meets Game of Thrones,” but Paolo Bacigalupi has written several wonderful novels in which terrible things happen. His novel, The Windup Girl, is one of my favorite … Continue reading →
Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy A. Bastian This graphic novel stars a one-eyed young woman who has adventures while searching for her lost father, a not uncommon kid plot. The cover copy says that the story will “captivate adults and … Continue reading →
We’re just back from Heroes Con, a huge comic convention in North Carolina, where hundreds of comic and graphic novel writers and artists display their talents. These three caught our attention as appropriate for kids, and also well-written and fun. … Continue reading →
Peter S. Beagle is a Grand Master—his 2018 world fantasy award proves it—with numerous other awards and achievements. He has not written very much, overall, but he is best known for The Last Unicorn, which he wrote in 1968 and … Continue reading →
Based on the amount of publicity I’ve seen, including an advance reading copy sent to DreamHaven (thank-you, Simon and Schuster!), this book is poised to become a bestseller. There are supposedly already multiple translations and a TV series in the … Continue reading →
I have noticed a trend in young adult literature for its female heroes to be incredibly sure of themselves. I come from an era in which young women often spent most of their stories trying to get over the negative … Continue reading →
Wesley Chu is acclaimed for his Tao Series and the Eldest Curses Series (with Cassandra Clare). He was born in Taiwan and claims that a “steady diet of wuxia” martial arts movies informed both his childhood and this new series, … Continue reading →
This book was recently listed as a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in Genre Fiction, to be given to a Minnesota author on May 7th by the Friends of the Saint Paul Library. Two other books previously reviewed here … Continue reading →