Category:

Fantasy

2021 Byron Fantasy Science Fiction

All of the Star Wars: The High Republic material released so far – REVIEWED!

written by Byron

Everybody is familiar with the Star Wars movies. But the Star Wars universe is bigger than just what’s shown in nine movies. The Mandalorian and other Disney+ shows, videogames, and animated television series are all part of the larger Star Wars narrative. And Star Wars novels and comics were once the beating heart of that extended universe. For decades, they were THE only source for new Star Wars stories. After Disney took over, most of those old novels were “de-canonized” and the new novels mostly served to flesh out/make sense of the new movies. In an effort to jazz up the publishing arm, Lucasfilm has embarked upon a brand new initiative that explores a never-before-seen era of the Star Wars universe: the High Republic!

The High Republic era takes place about 200 hundred years before the events of The Phantom Menace. According to the marketing materials, the aim is to portray The Jedi and the Republic at the height of their power, when they actually (mostly) work. That’s never been portrayed before!

I thought it could be neat to get in on the ground floor of this story project. The huge amount of material in the Star Wars expanded universe intimidated me in the past. The lore seemed so complex. I had no idea where to start, what was essential for a deeper understanding, what was good, etc. It looked like a lot of work to try to figure it all out. But with this High Republic era, I didn’t have to spend years reading and spending $$$ to catch up on a bunch of canon material. I could get into the series at the very beginning!

I also believed that the Golden Age of a working Republic and a solid Jedi Order could be cool to see, like a kind of magic Star Trek.

I feared that a working Republic and a solid Jedi Order could be really boring, like regular Star Trek.

Only one way to find out! I read every High Republic release that’s come out this year.

The verdict? It ain’t boring.

The Jedi are interesting, varied individuals. They explore their feelings, they openly question teachings and directions, they wrestle with doubt, they have personality. And the stories aren’t the same ol’ repetition of a Light Side nobody fighting/redeeming a Sith Dark Lord. The whole thing feels fresh and new, while still keeping the essential vibe of Star Wars intact. As I’ll explain in more detail below, not all of the releases are absolutely fantastic. Overall, though, the High Republic era is a welcome and interesting addition to the Star Wars universe.

You don’t have to read all of the High Republic releases. My mini-reviews of each one follow, but the TLDR version is: (1) Light of the Jedi is absolutely essential, (2) A Test of Courage is very good but MIGHT not be important to later releases (3) Into the Dark ain’t great but MIGHT be important to later releases, (4) and the High Republic comic book looks like it might be essential.

April 11, 2021 0 comment

Byron Fantasy

The Curse of Chalion ~ A Review

written by Byron

“Any man can be kind when he is comfortable. I’d always thought kindness a trivial virtue, therefore. But when we were hungry, thirsty, sick, frightened, with our deaths shouting at us, in the heart of horror, you were still as unfailingly courteous as a gentleman at ease before his own hearth.

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold is a 2001 fantasy novel that was nominated for a bunch of awards, including the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy Award. It’s considered an important part of the fantasy literary canon. I only became aware of its existence a couple of years ago, and this year I finally got around to reading it.

It’s pretty good!

June 20, 2020 0 comment

2020 Ardis Fantasy Horror

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Vampire Slaying

written by Ardis

Sometimes she craved a little danger. And that was why she had book club.

Sometimes, I have complex, layered reasons for picking up a particular book. Not so with Grady Hendrix’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Vampire Slaying. I mean, take a look at that title! Who could resist?

I’d just come off of a marathon reading session of challenging reads and I wanted light, engaging fare. It’s safe to say that my expectations were pretty high and my standards low. This book’s got everything I want in a vacation read, and early reviews teed it up to be the golf equivalent of a slam dunk. I was entirely unprepared to hate this book.

June 11, 2020 0 comment

Byron Fantasy Science Fiction Young Adult

Leia, Princess of Alderaan ~ A Review

written by Byron

Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray is a Young Adult Extended Universe Star Wars novel.

Star Wars was my favorite thing as a kid. I watched the movies over and over. I played with the toys. I dressed up as Darth Vader (on normal days, not just Halloween). But I didn’t get into EVERYTHING Star Wars-y. I did not bother to read the many, many spin-off novels or comic books. I pretty much just stuck with the movies and my imagination, even as I got older and more movies were released. The lackluster prequels and sequels didn’t exactly spark a greater interest in that galaxy far, far away.

However, the Disney+ show The Mandalorian got some good buzz, so I watched it. I liked it. Wanting more good Star Wars content, I checked out the cartoon series Rebels (also available for streaming on Disney+). I loved it. I wanted even more Star Wars content, particularly stories set in the early days of the rebellion (the same setting as Rebels), and preferably featuring Leia, a hero of mine since I was in pre-school. I chose the YA novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan to scratch that itch.

I loved it!

May 18, 2020 0 comment

Ardis Fantasy Science Fiction Short Story Collection

Was Palwick’s All Worlds Are Real a Vanity Publication?

written by Ardis

I’m always down for a short story collection. There’s a huge amount of skill involved in getting the pacing and the density right in a short story, and I absolutely love how accessible they are. Little bite-sized pieces of art. And the good ones, the really good ones, are full of tiny little pocket dimensions wherein time stands still.

Not so with Palwick’s 2019 short story collection All Worlds Are Real.

April 7, 2020 0 comment

Ardis Books Fantasy Reviews

The Hazel Wood failed to deliver

written by Ardis

I walked a block on rubbery knees, feeling the way I did the time a van clipped my bike and sent me reeling into a line of parked cars. Ella had dropped her cigarette and jumped on the fallen bike, screaming at the top of her lungs as she sped after the car. Bleeding in three places, I watched her go, glad she knew I’d rather have retribution than comfort.

As excited as I was to read Melissa Albert’s 2018 contemporary fantasy The Hazel Wood, I cannot but say that it failed to deliver on its promise. Which is unfortunate, because there was some serious promise!

The initial premise was a huge draw, setting a reality-meets-fairytale dynamic in a grim urban fantasy world. With a strong set of characters and a clear mystery to follow, this should have been an easy win. And at first it kind of was.

February 6, 2020 0 comment

2019 Ardis Books Fantasy Reviews Young Adult

Ninth House is Everything I Wanted It to Be

written by Ardis

But would it have mattered if she’d been someone else? If she’d been a social butterfly, they would have said she liked to drink away her pain. If she’d been a straight-A student, they would have said she’d been eaten alive by her perfectionism. There were always excuses for why girls died.

Leigh Bardugo’s latest book Ninth House is by every measure a success, and it’s easy to see why.

In Ninth House, Alex Stern begins her new life as a student at Yale University. But with her background, and her ability, she’s not like the other students. In Ninth House we explore, through Alex, a blend of the real and the unreal as she learns about Yale’s exclusive clubs and their influence, their dealings with magic and ritual and power.

January 21, 2020 0 comment

2019 Byron Fantasy

The Starless Sea ~ A Review

written by Byron

a paper star that has been unfolded and refolded
into a tiny unicorn but the unicorn remembers a time
when it was a star and an earlier time when it was part of
a book and sometimes the unicorn dreams of the time before
it was a book when it was a tree and the time even longer
before that when it was a different sort of star

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is the 200th book I’ve read since I started keeping track of that sort of thing on Goodreads. The Starless Sea turned out to be a great thematic selection for that #200 spot because it is a celebration of reading and stories.

What is it about?

Some chapters are composed of myths and legends about love, about fate and time, about the moon and a man, with bees and keys and stars and owls and swords and rabbits and pirates and doorways and books. Other chapters follow a grad student who, after discovering a book in a library in which he is a character, goes on a bit of a quest to unlock the origins of that book, to decipher the meanings of the myths and legends contained within, and to find a doorway which he had earlier refused to enter.

January 18, 2020 0 comment

2019 Byron Fantasy Literary Fiction

The Bird King – A Spoiler-Free Review

written by Byron

“God bless the man who first taught the world how to cure olives. He and the man who invented cheese are two unsung pillars of civilization.”

“They were probably women,” muttered Fatima, fanning her face with the sleeve of her robe. “If they were men, we would remember their names.”

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson is a historical fantasy novel about a concubine, a gay Muslim “sorcerer” (for lack of a better word), and a jinn fleeing the Inquisition after the fall of Granada. It’s good!

September 21, 2019 0 comment

2019 Ardis Books Fantasy Reviews Young Adult

Surprise after surprise from Magic for Liars

written by Ardis

The library at Osthorne Academy for Young Mages was silent save for the whisper of the books in the Theoretical Magic section. Honeyed sun poured through two tall windows onto rows of empty study tables, which still gleamed with the freshness of summer cleaning. It was a small library – each section took up only a row or two of tall metal shelves – but it was big enough to hide in. Sunlight from the windows along one wall of the library spilled between the shelves, casting long shadows.

I didn’t know what to expect from Sarah Gailey’s Magic for Liars. Not when I purchased it. Not when I began reading it. And not on page 100, nor 200, nor 300. It’s safe to say that I haven’t been this continuously surprised by a book in quite a while.

There are so many different things at play in this book. It hits on so many familiar themes, it feels like it should be completely cookie-cutter. But it isn’t. Gailey brings so much more to these pages than just that. Somehow, though, even at that last page turn I couldn’t quite shake those cookie-cutter expectations.

June 13, 2019 0 comment

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