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 →
Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) will soon be returning to Minneapolis to be the Author Guest of Honor at Minicon, and we’ve made an effort to acquire some of her backlist. I have for some time been hearing great things … Continue reading →
A New York Times Bestselling book from 2022 does not really need a review from me. But the sequel just came out, and a customer recommended it to me. They were right. The Atlas Six is a treasure trove of … Continue reading →
Connie Willis is a master storyteller with numerous Hugo and Nebula Awards under her belt. She excels at brilliant, frantic science fiction stories that manage to be closely personal and engaging, while somehow still ending up as world-saving adventures. Francie … Continue reading →
I chose this book because it has a really cool cover. And also because I’m currently having a blast with fantasy based on Chinese mythology. I kept reading it because the world-building is wonderfully inventive and exuberantly Chinese. And the … Continue reading →
I am not usually a fan of magical realism. I prefer magic that operates under an ordered system invented by the author, and is undeniably real in the pages of a book. The dreamy, this-may-not-really-be-happening attitude behind magical realism often … Continue reading →
A new book in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series has just arrived from Subterranean Press. And the story takes place in between Bayfield and the Red Cliffs Reservation, in Wisconsin! The bad news is that Peter Grant, constable and … Continue reading →
Local author Naomi Kritzer’s new book, Liberty’s Daughter, has arrived! She will be doing a reading and signing at DreamHaven on Wednesday, December 6th. Naomi is a multiple award winner, including Hugo, Lodestar, Edgar and Locus Awards. Her two most … Continue reading →